Abducting The Little Girl?

We finally reach the safety of the recreation center and the throngs of excited people. Suddenly, Arielle pulled away from my back.

"Arielle Marie Doucette! How many times did we tell you to not go wandering around without us ?!" Katie shakes the child angrily before clasping her into an embrace.

"Thank God you're safe! You nearly got me into trouble!"

"Thank you so much !" Bev takes hold of my hands. "Thank you so, so much for returning the Lil rascal to us."

"Don't thank me, all thanks is to God." I pant, trying to catch my breath, my figure still trembling. "I think you should definitely alert the police, some strange man with a gun had her in his possession!"

Immediately the two girls' faces paled in apparent fear. "No, don't call the police !" They both declare in unison. I give them a questioning look of exasperation.

"Katie, I told you we should have gotten Serge and Grigori to accompany us! But you wouldn't listen !" Bev frantically paces back and forth. "This wouldn't have happened if they were here."

"Let's just get inside for now!" Katie ignores her and rushes into the building, with Arielle still in her arms. Bev glares after her before following. I tag along while glancing cautiously over my shoulders.

When we get to our cubicles, Mister Cortes stands there stiffly with a stern expression along with Leila. I glance at the massive watch board on the wall ahead, it was 6 pm. I had obviously missed the fashion show.

"Where were you? Didn't you know you were to model for Mister Cortes?!" Leila chides, disappointedly.

I hastily commence explaining. "I'm so sorry, I-there was a bit of a problem. This girl nearly got abducted and her family needed help! And I -"

"Miss Kashani if you could just return the dress now, I'd be grateful." Mister Cortes quietly interjects through my valid excuse. He's completely disinterested in knowing the reason why I had to bail out on him. I heave a sigh of embarrassment while I comply.

"Alright, I'll go change."

As I complete unpinning the hijab and veil, tiny arms encircle my waist. I yelp in fright and look down to find Arielle grinning up at me.

"Arielle! Why didn't you knock!" Bev yells, and she pokes her head into my cubicle. "I'm so sorry, please excuse her rudeness. I always tell my friend to fix her niece's manners in her mum's absence!"

"It's alright, please come in" I laugh and crouch down to hug Arielle.

"I love you princess Jasmine" Arielle confesses. "I finally got to meet you! My favoritist princess."

"It's favorite, not favoritist, how many times does mummy have to correct that darling ?" Intrudes another female voice and we glance up to spot Rachael standing at the entrance. She is holding in her arms a little boy of around four years of age. I figure that must be Charlie.

"Mummy! Mummy!! PrincesJasminene rescued me today!" Arielle hastens toward her mother.

Rachael quirks an eyebrow questioningly at me before glancing at Bev again. "Has Arielle been troubling you ?"

"Oh no! Not at all!" Bev chuckles nervously. She crouches at Arielle's level, speaking through clenched teeth and an artificial smile. "What did Katie and I tell you five minutes earlier?"

Arielle gasps in apparent remembrance. "We were just playing some games mumy! I was being good !"

Rachael eyes them both incredulously. Yet before she could comment any further, Charlie ends up vomiting over her blouse.

"Ewww!!" Arielle pinches her nose and then giggles.

Bev looks at me apologetically before ushering Arielle out after her mother to the restrooms in search of towelettes and napkins.

"I'm Beverly Townsend by the way, but Bev for short." She extends her hand out.

"Hazel Kashani," I reply, shaking her hand. I knew she was here to further question me about what had unfolded an hour ago. So I filled her in on the details.

"Please, don't mention this incident to anyone else." She pleads right away.

Before I could ask why she gave me a look of relief and stated. "I'm glad you were wearing a face veil when you confronted that man." She shakes her head exasperatedly as she ponders out loud. "The security here must have been tipped off to allow access to him so easily!"

My brows knit in puzzlement. "Who was he? Why was he abducting the little girl?"

"Look you don't need to worry about it anymore. Fortunately, you were wearing a veil so he never got to see you!" She looks me in the eyes reassuringly as she clasps my hands into hers. "Thanks again!"

I was left feeling uneasy as soon as she departs from my cubicle.

Exactly what the hell was going on?

I swiftly change into my clothes and hijab. I want to go home already, the unease has triggered a headache.

I find Leila and explain. "I'm not feeling too well."

"I'm quite tired myself!" She adds as she holds her pregnant tummy.

We decide to let Naheed know we were leaving early. She's in no mood for us to remain anymore either.

"Fine go! I don't want to see you two puking all over here. Save me the embarrassment!" Naheed flicks one of her hands dismissively as she pins up Najma's hair into an updo.

"You sure you can manage without me? I mean I did teach you all the tips and tricks !" Leila asks nonchalantly.

"Go! Go! I knew most of this already! Don't flatter yourself," Naheed scowls without looking at us. She has her daughter Najma face the wall away from the dresser and mirror in order to pin up the curls on her left side.

Of course, typical Naheed refuses to provide gratitude where gratitude is due. Leila rolls her eyes. She took this opportunity to replace Najma's soft sculpting hair spray with one of the hard spray sample bottles Mister Cortes had been offering for free. I bit back my laugh until we leave their presence.

"You just wait and watch on tv!" Leila remarks in between her giggles. She proceeds to dial baba so he could pick us up.

A few feet away, I spot Bev and Katie smiling and waving at me. They stand near two dark-haired guys who eye me with suspicion. I feel the uneasiness return as I nearly trip over my feet while following after an unaware Leila.

Those two men are clad in immaculate black suits and ties not much different from Arielle's abductor. Their suave appearance emits a sinister vibe. I'm uncertain if both Bev and Katie are beckoning me over. Fortunately, Leila grabs my arm in time and starts heading towards the exit. "Let's go, baba is on his way!"

****

Naheed and Najma return home shortly after us. Their expressions were utterly defeated and humiliated for they were unable to go through with the pageant.

This resulted in Najma's termination. Leila and I exchange knowing looks with each other, aware too well of what must have occurred. The result of the switched hair spray rendered Najma's hair unpliable. It looked as if some crow had built a nest that was destroyed later by a tornado.

A few hours later I click on the tv just in time to see who won tonight's round in the beauty pageant.

There on-screen is Katie clad in a pale pink sleeveless evening gown. A silver necklace gleams around her graceful long neck. It was no surprise to see a silver crown for the first round's winner, set atop her head.

"and again I'd like to thank everyone I've mentioned, I wouldn't have gotten this far without you!" She concludes her speech which I've missed out on. The host, a short chubby man then proceeds to speak through his ear mic.

"Give another round of applause for Katie Nikolay!" He claps his hands joyfully. The audience roars in approval as Katie curtsies on the stage. Even I'm happy for her. I nearly stop myself from applauding since Naheed and Najma are present.

Yet suddenly a deafening blast overtakes half the screen. If I'm not mistaken, the sounds of gunshots pierce through the tv speakers. There on-screen, a tempest of screams and shrieks emit from panicking people in the audience. The camera swivels around fully towards the bleachers. I catch a glimpse of those two dark-haired men aiming their guns, shooting and ducking behind chairs while someone else is firing back at them. There is a trail of fire rampantly blazing all over the bleachers.

The crowd rapidly disperses from the few seconds of live tv footage we could receive before the screen goes black. We stare in horror at the blank screen,

What the hell just happened ?!

"That was so cool! I wish I was there to see the action !" My stepbrother Asad says, extremely impressed. "Mummy, why didn't you tell me this was part of the show ?"

"It's not, you idiot !" Najma snaps at him.

Naheed grabs the remote control from my hand and switches to the local news channel. They are already issuing a state of emergency as they air video clips of the gunfight. For the first twenty minutes, the news anchors report of the police and ambulances making their way onto the scene. They replay the footage of the gunfight and the panicking crowds. They state the unidentifiable gunmen have fled the scene already.

No seriously wounded or death casualties were reported so far. However, people were being transported to the hospital for minor bruises from the stampede.

"no suspect is in custody as of yet. But the police are questioning the family of tonight's beauty contestant winner eighteen-year-old Katie Nikolay who has been hospitalized for sustaining minor injuries resulting from the stampede-" A female news anchor reports, standing outside of the local hospital. Naheed clicks the tv off before I could listen to more details. She gathers Najma into her arms. "My baby! Allah has saved you! You see this! It's the reason why we didn't stay there! This was going to happen!"

I reach for the remote again to click so I could find out more about Katie and her family. I hope they were safe.

"What are you doing ?" Naheed's bitter tone halts me. "I don't want Najma traumatized any further! Do not turn the news on for a few days and nor should I hear any one of you discussing this pageant and anything related to it in this house! Now get to bed, it's late!"

Bilal and I had decided to sleep in the guest bedroom with Leila since she got here. We discuss in hushed tones the gunfight. I reveal the details of rescuing Katie's niece, Arielle from an armed man.

My sister listens, clearly horrified when I mention that Bev told me she was glad I had a face veil. But like me, Leila is uncertain as to what to make of Bev's cryptic words.

Albeit, she reassured me that what I did was a good deed and that because of it God will keep me safe from any harm. Those words comfort me a little. Soon I drift into a restless sleep, only to end up dreaming of dark shadows looming closer around me. I spot a glimmer of blue eyes as vast as the ocean, seeing them brings me tranquility.