Ahmad Hussein opened the door to his home and stepped into the courtyard. Across, in the kitchen area, his mother was sitting at the fire, she was starting to cook something. She turned her head and said to Ahmad, “A stanger has come.”
Ahmad Hussein took off his school bag and went across to the guestroom and inside he found his father sitting with a visitor. A small coffee table between them. He went over and shook the man’s hand and sat down next to his father.
He said, “My son, our visitor I met quite by chance just now in the bazaar. I’ve invited him to come and be our guest. Now, go and tell The House to prepare some tea.”
“No! No!” The visitor leaped to his feet. “That’s too much trouble. Please don’t put yourself to any trouble!”
But Ahmad’s father said, “It is no trouble. It’s my duty, in fact!” And he nodded at Ahmad.
But again the visitor waved the boy down. “No! No! There is no need. Really. And anyway, my car is waiting for me up in the bazaar. We can just sit for a while then I will go.”
But Ahmad’s father just smiled. “The driver will wait, my friend. There is plenty of time! Now come…” And Akbar slipped out.
“Well…thank you,” the visitor mumbled. Then he said, “My friend, I have come up here from the city. As you know the city is very, very hot in the middle of summer. It is too hot for my daughter. Too hot for my son. And for my wife; she has to take cold baths and sit under the fan. Too hot for my shop. The bazaars are empty and there is no business. I want to come up here in summer to your village and rent a house so my family can escape the heat.”
“My friend!” Ahmad’s father spread out his hands. “My home is your home! Rent my house! I have a brother in the village and he can make one room spare for me. I will put my family in that room and your family can have my house.”
The visitor beamed, and the two men got down to discussing just how cheap the rent could be.
After some time Ahmad came back. He was carrying a tray and set it down carefully on the table. He set up the two best china cups and saucers. Then he raised the big tea pot and poured out hot, brown, delicious, sweet tea.
The visitor brought his family up that summer, and the next, and the next. The arrangement was good for both men. Ahmad’s father was not a wealthy man and the income was helpful. And the visitor had a place to escape the heat for a very cheap rent.
Some years passed and one day, a few months after Ahmad Hussein graduated from high school, his father called him and said, “My son, I want to show you something.” He reached up and brought down a set of papers. He said, “These are the official government documents for this house. And they have to be stamped. I want you to take these and go down to the city, find the government office and have the clerk stamp them. Then bring them back safely to me.”
To the city! Ahmad did his best to hide a huge smile that was creeping across his face. He was going to the city! To do adult work!
Early the next morning, Ahmad was up at the roadside waiting for the first bus to come. He had the papers carefully hidden under his shirt and his thin shawl was wrapped around his shoulders. It was still and quiet and peaceful and cool.
It was a long, long way to the city. And it was late at night when the bus came to a stop. Ahmad climbed stiffly out. The noise! There were cars and buses and trucks. Crowds of people were moving past, shopkeepers were yelling, music was playing lights were everywhere. Ahmad looked around and spotted a small mosque. He went inside, found a space on the hard floor, removed his sandals, wrapped his shawl around himself and went quickly to sleep.
Next morning he was up early and went looking for the government office. The people down here spoke a different language but at school Ahmad had learned a link language and some people here knew it. They helped him and soon he was outside the massive entrance to the office. He waited in a long queue. For many hours. But eventually he got the clerk’s desk and handed over the documents. The clerk looked at the papers and then at Ahmad. He paused, but then reached into a drawer, pulled out a stamp and banged it down on each page. “There!” he said handing them back. “Go!”
Outside, Ahmad carefully tucked the paper safely under his shirt and looked for the sun to judge the hour. There was time. He could find the shop of the family visitor, grert him, and still catch a bus back home. A line of small food stalls ran along the footpath and Ahmad was tired and hungry. But the food was different here. And the tea was very different; it was green and without milk! Ahmad thought, “I will find our visitor’s shop. He will offer me some decent tea and a snack. I’ll wait and eat there.”
So he set off down the hot, wide street. People directed him and he walked down lanes and paths and narrow places until at last he came to the shop. There it was. Ahmad paused. He straightened his hat, wiped some sweat off his temples, adjusted his shirt, and…opened the door.
He was hit by a blast of air conditioning. And then at the other end there was their visitor rising to his feet, a huge smile breaking out on his face.
“Ahmad Hussein! My son! Welcome, welcome! How good to see you! What has brought you to the city? How is your father? How is your mother? How is your house? How is the village? How is the bazaar? How is the weather?”
He paused. Something has just occurred to him. He bent forward and looked straight at Ahmad. “Tea! My son, let me bring some tea!”
“No! No!” Ahmad leaped to his feet. “No sir! That is too much trouble for you. Please don’t. There is no need. And anyhow, my bus will leave soon, I must go.”
The visitor paused, still starting intently at Ahmad. Then he jumped to his feet, held out his hand, and said, “Very well, my son. Thank you for coming.” He opened the shop door. “Give my salaams to your father!” And as the door shut behind him, and Ahmad stumbled blinking into the bright sunlight, he asked himself, “What did I do wrong?”
After the story
Did you like that? Was it interesting? Was there something particular that was interesting? Do you know of situations like that? What do you notice in the story that is true about people? Some stories will show us something about who God is or how He interacts with us; did you see anything in this story like that?