The speaker who was the community head watched the various expressions of shock, anger and the like from the community folks.
Hubbubs of furious emotions surged immediately and then something happened that caught the hawk-like eyes of the community leader.
One of the people in the gathering suspiciously drew back with silent steps and rushed away from the community square furtively.
"Mr Specter?"
The community leader muttered the name after he recognized the person who left the gathering that was yet to conclude. The elderly man's eyes narrowed but he did not voice out his thoughts and went on addressing the crowd.
From what the victim that's, Salim said, him and his friend were chatting and walking through their usual path and then met the woman in the alley. From what was told, they neither looked for trouble nor said anything annoying, aside from Maiden Houdini, Soccer criticism, nothing more.
However, as vastly experienced as the elders who listened to his narration, they concluded that the culprit was in all likelihood Maiden Houdini because not only did the boys spoke ill of her, but her father the gentleman Abbas Rifi too. To their unfortunate, Maiden Houdini had heard them which led to the incident.
What's more, Salim was the one who spoke ill of the gentleman and was exactly the one who had been beaten until he nearly passed out.
Though it was a wild conclusion as Maiden Houdini's location was unknown and she could be anywhere around the world, the elders of the community could not think of any plausible reason apart from that, thus also concluded that Maiden Houdini was probably lodging in their community.
At Specter's
"Time to cruise Maiden Houdini, they already know that it was your deed"
Specter dropped shopping bags in front of Rasha, in the sitting room. He lost his cool since the moment he heard from the community gathering about Maiden Houdini being the suspected culprit of what happened to Salim.
Rasha unfazed, went through the bought materials, from one shopping bag to another.
"Unsurprising isn't it? Even if it wasn't me they would still say it's Maiden Houdini's doing. I am such a disease"
She laughed until her face wrinkled.
Specter found himself not knowing what to do or say, he just stared at her, silently acknowledging her rare beauty.
Her chocolate skin radiated rich beauty and overall, such that even her insouciance was profoundly charming, as though she came from a different world.
She was like a lily, an epitome of untainted femininity, delicately graceful and the image of female resilience. In spite of being most of the times, the femininity in her was so deep-dyed that it overshadowed the roughness and made her look as delicate as the first time Specter laid his eyes on her, when she was dressed in men's cloth that was too oversize for her body.
"Do you have anywhere where we could shift to?" He asked, concentrated on her every movement as though he would miss a sight to behold.
"Mmm, so you want to come with me?"
"Do I have any other choice?"
"You do, certainly you do have a choice. If I decide to leave, no one would find traces of me here let alone hold you accountable for sheltering me. However, if you want my survival and action-filled lifestyle where every breathe of yours is counted, you can still come with me"
At this time the call for Magrib prayer reached the ears of everyone residing in the community including Specter's.
In the silence of the sitting room as the prayer call continued, Specter closed his eyes thoughtfully, unable to imagine what his life would become if he officially joined Maiden Houdini, would he even last for a month?
But he was not sure if he could survive his former bosses either coz it went without saying that they are looking for him and would find his house sooner or later.
What should he decide?