It was already evening; in the garden, Leonardo was chasing after Angela. After two years, Leonardo gotten taller but was still shorter than Angela who became prettier and more athletic. Two years ago, Leonardo couldn't bring himself closer to Angela while playing tag, but recently, he became stronger than before but still lacks if he was compared to the girl.
Leonardo was closing-in the distance and was about to catch the girl a head, but Angela dodged him and changed her path like usual. Angela was quite witty; she used to play tricks on Leonardo whenever he managed to close the distance. On the other hand, Leonardo was persistent and stubborn; he didn't give up that easily either. He only stops until Angela was caught.
"Pant! I got you! pant!", said Leonardo who was panting really hard while holding on to the shoulder of Angela. Whereas, Angela was breathing heavily. Both of their faces were flushed due to continuous running. "How about another round?", asked Angela through sign language. Leonardo smirked, "Why? I've already beaten you in this game of five. I have caught you three times now! So, I am the winner.", and waved his arms in mid-air.
Angela frowned and smirked, "Are you chickening out, now that you know you can't go any further than three rounds straight?"
"…pant! O-oh yeah! …. pant! T-then bring it on!", replied Leonardo with uncertainty. He couldn't decline the girl's challenge, otherwise his pride might get hurt.
Angela knew Leonardo, she made such a request because three rounds were his limit. After three rounds he could barely keep up with Angela. It might be disadvantageous for him in this case, but on the bright side the harder was the challenge the more rewarding were the gains.
As usual, after third round Leonardo was unable to keep up with Angela and fall behind her. Once Angela drew some distance, it would become harder for Leonardo to get himself closer to her.
"Damn, she's fast!", cursed Leonardo while chasing after Angela. Whereas, Angela had this sweet playful smile on her beautiful face. She enjoyed the latter's frustrated expressions while provoking him. However, things didn't stop here, Leonardo would manage to get his revenge when he beat Angela in virtual games.
The bond of their friendship became intimate in these two years. They ate together, slept together, played together and did a lot of stuff together. There were some moments when Angela blushed or felt shy in front of Leonardo, when he does something out of ordinary such as playing guitar or singing a song for her. Spending time with Leonardo, Angela cherished it most more than anything. She never wanted to be separated from him again, like it happened two years ago on her birthday.
Before meeting Leonardo, Angela was a lonely and introvert little girl. She couldn't make any friends at school. Everyone in her class distanced themselves from her because she couldn't speak. Her disability became a humungous wall in communicating with others. She felt like an outcast in the circle of her own kind because she used signs to speak.
Angela was already walking on eggshells until she was molested in the school. Her once bright world collapsed and turned dark. She couldn't trust anyone around except for her grandmother. But the day she met Leonardo; she began to change. He was like a shining star in her dark world. His respectful attitude towards her made her to open herself again. She took a leap of faith and trusted him.
In few days, Angela realized that Leonardo was a person who could be trusted because he approached her first. She wanted to draw a line between them but Leonardo breached it and befriended her even after learning that she could not speak. And that was not the only reason she gave up the idea of remaining alone. The way Jennifer treated her made her feel like she had two grandmothers. In these two years, Angela bloomed beautifully. But when she heard the news of Leonardo's departure, it struck her like a lightning bolt.
Both Leonardo and Angela were depressed after learning that they won't be able to see each other for a while. Leonardo was young so it was hard to convince him, but Angela was five years older than him therefore, she could understand the circumstances better than him. The only thing she could do, was to endure this pain to live apart from Leonardo.
Leonardo and Angela were informed two days prior the departure. In these two days, they didn't spend time together like they always did. Angela didn't go in his room to see him either and locked herself in her room. Leonardo tried to visit her but she refused to see him.
Two days later, a man arrived at the gate of Guryon mansion early in the morning. When he was invited inside the Guryon manor, everyone was surprised by his appearance. He was a middle-aged, leaned physique, fair-skinned, dressed in white Thawb, white Amamah on his head, shaved moustache and six inches long black-beard—entered the main hall. His gaze was directed at the floor. All the maids and guards in the hall were staring at him with strange gazes.
(Note: Thawb is an Arabic traditional dress. Amamah is basically a turban, which Muslims wear.)
Jennifer got up from the couch when she saw this graceful looking man approaching, she was dumbstruck for a moment. Although he looked decent but he was radiating the vibes of holiness. Everyone in the hall couldn't take their eyes off of him for a moment. Even Amanda had some difficulty in managing her thoughts together.
"Ahem! Welcome!", Jennifer greeted when she noticed that Amanda next to her was struggling to speak. Jennifer gestured at the couch in front, "Please! Make yourself comfortable!"
"The pleasure is mine!", replied man with his gaze directed towards the floor while he sat on the couch across Jennifer.
"H-how should we address you?", asked Amanda. The man unzipped the bag in his right hand and took out a paper. He put it on the table in front. Amanda picked it up and read it.
"So, you are called Sheikh Hassan Bin Abu Bakkar! Is this your full name?", asked Amanda while reading the resume. "Umm—no my name is Hassan. Abu Bakkar, is the name of my father." Replied Hassan with a delightful smile. "I am curious about this word Sheikh. Is this a cast or a family name?", Amanda stole a glance at Hassan.
"Uh—no, Sheikh is basically a title, which is given to someone who becomes a scholar in our religion." replied Hassan. "So, you are a scholar and—" before Amanda could complete her sentence, she read the education section of Hassan. It stated that he was not just a scholar but also an engineer in mechatronics, Ph.D. in environmental sciences, business science and management.
It was okay if he had done Ph.D. in environmental sciences but in human resources, business science and management too, it was really overbearing for Amanda to see someone like him for the first time. She frowned, "Are these degrees of yours just for the show or you really had done it in reality?"
"Amanda what are you doing?", asked Jennifer in a low tone. "It's impossible what is written in his resume. I cannot even believe that this guy could do it all this by himself at such a young age." Amanda handed the paper to Jennifer. When Jennifer read the resume, she indeed became rather doubtful regarding his credentials and said, "Mister Hassan! I am sorry! But its rather difficult for me to believe this too."
"My honorable ladies! I didn't come here to bluff. If you think, I wrote all those achievements just for a show then you may ask me any question regarding my degree. If I won't be able to answer then I will leave immediately and if I do, then I'd perform my duties. Will that suffice your curiosity?"
"Very well." said Jennifer. She faced Amanda and signaled her eyes towards Hassan. Amanda nodded and began questioning Hassan. The questioning and answering session continued for about an hour. During the session Amanda tried her best to make the give up but in reality, she was amazed that every answer Hassan gave was correct. She got up from her place, "I have just one final question for Mister Hassan no I mean Sheikh Hassan."
"Please ask, my sister!"
"…There is something I am struggling with for few weeks. I was unable to come to a conclusion. Will Sheikh take a look at it?", requested Amanda.
Hassan sighed, "So, this was the reason, my sister asked me all those questions!" Amanda gulped in wrong-doing; she had already realized that Hassan was no ordinary man when she asked him the most difficult questions regarding human resources, business science and management because these were the courses she had to take for a bright future of a company, but the man in before her had almost complete command on these subjects.
In her eyes, Hassan was a unique genius, which had rarely been seen in their empire. So, Amanda decided to ask him the problems she was facing these days and to her surprise she got the answer in just few seconds, therefore, Amanda asked about her main problem. And now the solution to that only depended upon the answer of the genius in front.
"Since, my sister is struggling then I think I should have a look too." Hassan agreed to her request regardless of her witty attitude towards him from the start. His humble reply made Amanda felt guilty like how she was trying to use him. Amanda quickly brought a report form her room and put it in front of Hassan.
Hassan looked at the report and inquired, "This is the final report, right?"
"Yes."
Hassan nodded; he picked up the report and began reading it. After reading the whole report he took out a pen and few papers from his bag and began writing.
Couple of minutes later, his hand stopped scribbling, he put the papers in the report and put it on the table in front, "This is the only conclusion I can come up with right now! My theories could be wrong!"
Amanda picked the paper from the report and read it. After reading it her body shivered a bit therefore, she sat on the couch beside Jennifer. Jennifer noticed the pissed off expressions of the latter and frowned, "Amanda what's wrong?"
"Someone's been messing with our company funds!", Amanda clenched her teeth. She subsided her anger, her gaze fell on Hassan; whose eyes were staring at the floor not her. Amanda wondered, 'Why is he staring at the floor and looking at me. If I recall correctly, he never looked at me since he came here.'
Amanda dismissed her thoughts and asked politely, "Mister—I mean Sheikh Hassan, would you be willing to work for us while you are here?"
"I am sorry my dear sister, I came here for another purpose. If I do, then wouldn't I be breaking my commitment from the very beginning."
Amanda thought for a moment and asked, "If you are worried about money then, just name your price Sheikh Hassan! We will compensate you in every way possible."
"Money is not the problem my sister. I came here with the pure intensions of teaching Leonardo. I don't want him to think ill of me in the future. However, I have already made my reservations regarding our departure. I cannot undo the commitments I made to the people earlier. If I do then it'd tarnish the name of my empire, my family and my religion. So, I'd like to apologize in advance that I can't accept your offer. There are a lot of people out there—you can hire someone else for this job."
'Well, what he said, does makes sense. We invited him for young master, but how would I find someone as good as him. He is a perfect candidate for this job, but it's a pity that I cannot rope him in our company.' Amanda thought.
Amanda sighed, "I am sorry. I got carried away after reading your conclusion of the report. Please do forgive me for my misconduct!"
"It's okay, my sister!", Hassan accepted her apology and requested, "Now, if I had passed your test. I wish to see the boy."
Jennifer replied quickly when she heard the guest, "Oh yes! Yes! Why not!". She gestured a maid to bring Leonardo. The maid moved hurriedly towards Leonardo's room. Shortly after, Leonardo arrived in front of Jennifer and didn't notice Hassan. He was feeling down a bit due to his sudden departure.
Hassan smiled when he looked at Leonardo.
"Good morning! Mister Leonardo Guryon! How do you do?"
Leonardo turned around and faced Hassan.