In the name of of Allah the most Merciful the most Compassionate
......
This was his childhood—a past he could barely piece together. When he finally woke up, a week had passed since the accident. He found himself in a hospital with two young men standing over him; they had been driving along the highway when they found him unconscious. Seeing the injuries on his body, they assumed he had been kidnapped and managed to escape, so they rushed him to the hospital.
When asked for his name, he gave them his first name and his father's first name, as he was more accustomed to those than his family name. Being so young, he struggled to recall his surname. Unfortunately, the police found no clues leading to his family.
Even his parents' car had already been cleared from the scene and their bodies moved before he was identified; thus, no connection was made. Due to the exhaustive and failed search for his kin, he was moved to an orphanage, where he spent the remainder of his childhood until he left at eighteen.
He shook his head, forcing himself out of the spiral of memories as he finished his shower. He grabbed his robe and stepped out, drying his hair with a small towel. Upon entering the room, he saw the housekeeper—the head of his household—arranging his suits in the wardrobe.
"Are you finished, sir?"
He nodded. "Yes, I am. But what is this 'sir' business again? Didn't we agree you'd call me what you used to, Anna?"
She finally turned around after hanging the last suit, approaching him with a tender tone that contrasted sharply with the stern voice she used with the other maids. "Even so, I am now the head of service in your home, and it is my duty to address you with respect."
"Anna, before you were my employee, you were my nanny and my second mother. You must consider my home your own. Just as you see me as your son, it is my duty to treat you as a son treats his mother."
Her eyes shimmered with affection as he continued, "You were the one who stood by me during the hardest moments of my life—both in my childhood and eight years ago."
She wiped away a stray tear. "Thank you, dear. You know you are the most important person in my life since my husband passed."
He gazed at her face for a moment; her wrinkles told a story of years of toil and exhaustion.
Anna—or Anna Sophia, as he called her—was one of the very few people he still held feelings for. His harsh life hadn't managed to turn his heart cold toward her.
She was a mother to him in every way that mattered. They had met at the "Happiness Orphanage," where she worked when he was first brought in. Back then, he was suffering from the psychological trauma of the accident and the loss of his family. She had worked tirelessly to care for his mental health, helping him adapt to his new life and bond with the other children.
Thanks to her, he had crawled out of his shell of loneliness, becoming a beloved child whom others loved to play with.
When he turned seventeen and his legal time at the orphanage ended, he promised to visit her often. Six years ago, during his struggle to rebuild his life and start his small software company, he discovered that the orphanage management had changed and many veteran staff—including her—had been laid off. He searched for her and found her widowed and alone. He offered her the position of housekeeper, knowing she would refuse any help she perceived as charity. She had been the witness to his rising success ever since.
Anna broke the silence. "So, you haven't told me why your clothes were covered in mud. Even as a child, you never came home looking like this."
He replied curtly, "Please, don't remind me. Just thinking about it makes me burn with rage."
She smiled at his shifting expression. "Am I to understand from this reaction that a young woman was responsible?"
"Good grief," he blurted out. "Have you ever seen me this angry when a nuisance of a girl wasn't the cause?"
"Tell me what happened then. Perhaps the girl is innocent and you're just looking for someone to blame."
"Anna, you always defend your own kind, whether I'm right or not."
"Forget my bias for a moment and tell me. It sounds like an entertaining story if it has you this worked up."
"You've become quite annoying, Anna," he grumbled.
She crossed her arms. "Come on, speak up. Since when were you so secretive about your adventures with women?"
"You're making me feel nauseous. Since when do I 'deal' with women? Just thinking of the word makes me sick."
"Oh, spare me the boring prologue and get to the point!"
"Blah, blah, blah. You won't provoke me, Anna; I've developed a strong immunity to your teasing."
She gave him a sharp look that demanded he stop the back-and-forth and speak plainly. He sighed in frustration. "Fine. I told Uncle Albert I'd walk through the park to get home. I was walking among the trees, admiring the scenery, when—bam—I hear screaming behind me. I turn around and see this girl. I knew instantly she'd be the most irritating female I'd ever met. My instincts were right. She comes charging at me, screaming in a language I didn't understand, and then—bam—she lunges at me and knocks me to the ground. Before I could even process it, she's back on her feet and running away. Then I hear the barking. A stray dog was closing in. I had to sprint out of the park to escape it. Once I got out, she saw me and hopped into a taxi to get away. And that is what happened to my clean clothes because of that idiot."
Anna clapped her hands in delight. "Wow! How entertaining! I applaud that girl for her courage and her quick escape. I can't imagine what you would have done if you'd caught her. I'm actually curious to meet her and give her an award of honor for upsetting a clean-freak like you!"
He rolled his eyes. "Na-na-na. Mock all you want; I'm not affected."
She leaned in with a mischievous glint in her eyes "So, you haven't told me... is she beautiful?"
He stared at her in disbelief. "Who?"
"The girl! Is she beautiful?" she asked impatiently.
He realized where she was going and replied with total indifference, "She's ugly. Hideously ugly. Like a witch from a fairy tale. Short as a mouse, with a voice like a braying donkey. And she's so heavy I think my ribs cracked when she landed on me. Not to mention she wears tons of makeup—I nearly had a heart attack just looking at her."
Anna laughed heartily. "You know, I've learned one thing from everything you just said... that girl must be a beauty. You'd never praise a girl since you 'hate the gender' so much. Your testimony is biased!"
He stared at her blankly. "Fine. I'm done talking. Now, leave. I need to get dressed, have dinner, and finish my backlog of work."
He started ushering her out of the room. "Wait, we aren't finished! One minute!"
He paused at the door. "Go on, admit it—you've never seen a girl as beautiful as her."
Before she could finish the sentence, she found herself outside as the door slammed shut. "Wait! I didn't take the laundry for the—"
The door flew open for a split second, the soiled clothes were shoved into her arms, and the door slammed again. She turned away with a wide grin, clutching the clothes and humming to herself.