Chapter XXXIII. The Young Spies.

As her face becomes fierier red.

-Wait a moment; she will soon begin speaking audibly.

-I’m scared, Baibars, I don’t want to see this.
-Don’t be afraid, Solmaz. I watched her repeatedly. Nothing to be afraid of, as long as she doesn’t see us.

At ten o’clock in the evening, Alara reassured them, they fell asleep, closed the door of their room behind her, went to her room, and partially closed her door, a small part of it remained open, since she was alone in the house, along with the children, and it was necessary to hear any sound that might come from outside.

Once they were certain she was in her room, they crept into the hallway. Baibars will have Solmaz get to know her for the first time on this, their first spying mission, to find out more about Hatshepsut.

Alara is lying still on the bed, watching TV but not actually watching it as the news anchor reads the bulletin to himself. Her eyes are rolling around the room’s ceiling as she does so, frequently squinting at them and raising her eyebrows in the process as if she were keenly interested in what was being said.

Baibars knows, she talks with Hatshepsut, sometimes, when the discussion rages between them, the mother begins to speak in a loud, audible voice, and even quarrels with her sometimes, if she is reassured that no one is in the house, or she thinks Marwan is asleep.

Mother Aloud: There has to be a solution, even if it means that I have to be cursed in the same manner that you were cursed a long time ago.

She ceased talking.

-I don’t mind that; I don’t see any hardship in your life. You’re moving from person to person here; what’s the pain in that?

She ceased talking.

-I have the right to learn about talismans, you’ve always kept them a secret, you won’t trick me like you tricked my mother.

She ceased talking.

Her face turned even more red: Alara, I’ve told you this before, stop talking about talismans; they are very hazardous; I can’t say them, it’s not a game you play with like a child.

“This is her; this is Hatshepsut”, whispers Baibars.

She screamed: “Damn you, Hatshepsut, I swear you will die with me, I will end your existence in this world, to eternal hell, a fire that burns you, roasts your bones, if you do not reveal them,” while her fingers clenched and her eyes twinkled.

She ceased talking.

-I understand what’s going through your head. To you, Nubia represents a place of hope. To her, you wish to move. Do not assume that I am gullible or foolish. You closely peered into her eyes. She is suitable for moving. Since that time, your disposition has changed.

She ceased talking.

As soon as she heard her name, she immediately covered her mouth with her hand out of fear. Baibars is staring at her in shock.

Alara: You patted her on the shoulder and assured her that everything would be all right while she was in the hospital.

She ceased talking.

-By the way, even if you wanted to, you couldn’t do it without my preparation. If you wanted to move securely, your only options were to use talismans or, ultimately, die beside me.

she fell silent

Nubia’s body began to shake, and Baibars said, “Shut up, she must not feel our presence here.” He took her hand in his and walked her back to their room without making a sound.

Their first mission was a success. They were able to get extremely valuable and novel information, and most crucially, it is the kind of information that may save a human life, Nubia, and disrupt a planned criminal act. There is no such thing as critical information.

Solmaz: I’m scared, what does this transition mean?

Baibars: Perhaps, as happened to my grandmother Zeinab, I told you, Hatshepsut was my grandmother’s second personality, and she then moved to my mother.

-Why not move to you then?

-I don’t know, didn’t you hear her say Nubia is suitable, maybe I’m not suitable for her.

-I don’t want to stay here, Baibars, I’m afraid.

He came close to her, hold her hand, “do not be afraid, I promised Uncle Fouad that I would be by your side, I would not allow any harm to happen to you.”

She seemed more at ease, with children’s curiosity: What are the talismans?

Baibars: It’s not the first time I’ve heard them talk about them. They seem to be magic words. Whoever knows them will have a miraculous power, enabling him to do whatever he wants, except that Hatshepsut refuses to teach my mother about them. They always quarrel over this.

She was ecstatic when she heard: superpower? Are you serious? A power that allows me to do anything I want?!

-Yes, it appears like way, he said, shaking his head.

She didn’t say anything as her thoughts wandered, believing that since the softness of people’s toenails, the paranormal and power have always made people feel good.

Children who think themselves to be remarkable, flying everywhere, achieving feats that their peers cannot, exceptional, unusual, and dreamers—and what a power it is, the power of dreams.

Only a small percentage of people see their dreams come true, and many people’s dreams pass away along with them. They were just illusions, and they still are.

The girl regarded him with suspicion, her eyes sparkling with excitement and a great deal of interest. She murmured, her eyes closed, “Your mother won’t let the power come to me; she wants talismans in return for this.”

He looked at her, her eyes sparkling with curiosity, he replied: Yes, she bargains with her, but…

He is thinking about something, an idea in his head, he continued: But this is the first time that she has anything related to Hatshepsut’s life!

-What do you mean? Explain, Baibars.

-I heard her bargaining with her previously about many matters, as my mother is stubborn and prevents her from a lot of what she loves and asks for, in exchange for talismans, and Hatshepsut refuses.

He looked at her excitedly: except that this time is different, what my mother has is the life and death of Hatshepsut, she has a trump card.

For the days that followed, the two young spies used to observe Alara and Hatshepsut. It was no longer as scary for her as it was, but rather the curiosity of a spy, taking her first steps, on a thorny and dangerous path that only exceptional people can take.

They heard many of their conversations and quarrels, some of which were normal, they did not understand anything from them, and some of them were full of mysteries, and even hallucinations, many of them about death and life after it, and sometimes they were beyond the limits of respect.

They talk about Sardar, the short blue dance suit that Alara refused to wear since her wedding day. Hatshepsut tried to make her feminine, but she, despite Alara’s beauty, failed.

-What is the matter of the dance suit, Baibars?

His face reddened, shyly, he replied: She has a dance suit in her closet, which she refuses to wear.

He added, “They quarreled one night. Hatshepsut wants her to dance for my father, but my mother refuses.”

Solmaz’s face flushed red, with childish naivety, asked: Why would she refuse that?

Baibars: It seems she can’t dance.

He laughed, something he wanted to say, he hesitated, his face reddened even more.

-What is wrong with you? Speak.

-Not only dancing, many things Hatshepsut wants my mother to learn and do, but she always refuses.

Alara is different from Zainab in that she is an unyielding, uncontrollable fanatic who is impossible to understand. Whereas Zainab was cursed by Hatshepsut, it appeared as though Alara was a curse of Hatshepsut, holding her captive in a prison of rejection, stupidity, indifference, and recklessness.

This is what worries Alara the most. Hatshepsut eagerly awaits the moment of her transfer to another, which she never allowed, unless she permitted her the talismans that would make Alara immortal, forever.

Solmaz replayed what she overheard in their conversations, made inferences from it, imagined many of them, recalled them, and sought to embody it as a reality in front of her before she went asleep.

Not only is Solmaz’s presence making Baibars happy, but there is another factor as well. His mother did not strike him once throughout his two months in Ankara. Violence and torture are now partly accepted.

Alara tries hard to portray herself as the ideal mother; she goes practically everywhere with them, including to restaurants, shopping malls, and play areas for kids. The devil has now left her, and all that is left is the loving mother.

Two months later, the Presidential Palace, the State Security Service’s administration, and every Egyptian official showed compassion for the girl’s situation. At the Egyptian embassy in Ankara, a decision was made that permits the issuance of a passport to Nubia.

They will travel to Egypt, Kuwait, and Jordan, where they can live together as a family.

But not Türkiye, Turkish links with the Ottoman lands were permanently broken.

The young child desired that his mother remains as she was in Ankara.

It’s possible that Nubia’s presence altered the situation.

“Why not?” Everything is possible.