Ravi the Unknown Prince (20 page)

He had made some preparations for his next life; he opened an orphanage on the main-land and was taking care of twenty orphans.

He provided free education for all the children in the Kingdom and a free bus for them.

He went twice for the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca; once with his wife and another time with his orphan son Alam.

He was strict with the rules and laws governing the Kingdom but his people loved him for being a ‘Just Ruler’.

Nine years he had been searching for me to continue his legacy and work that he was leaving behind.

He had some trust in me and I intended to carry out his work diligently and tried to be as good as he was if not better.

I joined him as he strolled along the beach and then he told me that he was going to redesign and rebuild my house with a concrete foundation.

He would get all the trees removed so that when I looked out I would see the ocean clearly and that he would get that done before I returned home.

He also said that he would like to come and stay here on the West Coast for some time to sit on the beach and to walk on the warm sand.

I thought that he could afford it, and then I told him that he was welcome, to come and stay as long as he wished.

Afterwards we joined the others still sitting on the log of wood and watching the swell of the ocean with the sea gulls flying over head.

Then uncle wanted to find out how I became friendly with the Manatee.

I told them that one afternoon I was out fishing and some-one had opened the sluice gates.

And the water from the savannah came rushing down with such speed it took me further into the ocean.

I could not swim against it and I kept going down and coming up, shouting for help even though I could not see anyone.

Then these two big creatures came; one picked me up with its head and tossed me up in the air and away from the fast flowing current.

When I landed the other one was moving me slowly with its head towards the shore.

I was exhausted and I got on its back and it swam with me as far as the sand-bank.

When I got off its back I was frightened and disoriented and then I crawled onto the beach and lay there for sometime.

When I looked they were gone and everyday after that I would come here and look for them.

I thought that they were dolphins and then a local fisherman told me that they were a pair of sea cows and if I whistled they would come.

Then I began to whistle and when I saw them again I swam out to meet them. I felt safe and would swim between the two of them.

By then the cold sea breeze was blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean and uncle was feeling cold and then we decided to return home.

The next day uncle with his son and carer left us after lunch, and Muna and I began to make preparations to leave for Kuwait that coming Saturday.

That same day I decided to break the news to Muna about our future. I took her for a walk along the beach and then we sat on the warm sand.

I told her to listen carefully to what I was going to say to her. Then I told her that we were going to leave our jobs in Kuwait and return home, but not here.

We were going to live and work in Manaos. Husain would be joining Nizam in England at the same boarding school.

We would be going to Birmingham, England to visit her friend and stay there until Husain settled into his new school.

And then she and I would take some time off to an exotic Island for two weeks.

“I want you to choose the location that you want us to go, where the sea is blue and the sand is golden.” I remarked.

I did not mention anything about the Palace and the luxurious living I had encountered and the sum of money that I was about to receive.

She was staring at me and her mouth fell open, “I think you have gone crazy,” she remarked, “What have those men done to you for you to come up with such weird ideas?

Manaos does not exist, that place was destroyed in the twelfth century and how are we going to afford two sets of school fees for both our sons in a private school and a holiday as well?”

I giggled and picked up both of her hands and held them in mine and said, “Trust me Muna, there is another Manaos and I have been there and seen it, and do not ask too many questions. Keep to yourself what I have just told you.”

But I knew that she was not going to keep quiet about it. I rang Edwin and made an appointment to see him that Friday at 2pm and I booked two rooms at the Lotus hotel for one night only.

That Friday morning we left West Coast and travelled to the capital and booked in at the hotel and after lunch I went to see Edwin.

I decided to take half of my inheritance and had it transferred into my bank in Kuwait and I took the paper-work with me.

With the rest of the money I would make some investments or secure it for my children when they were much older.

I had noticed that the Lotus Hotel was up for sale and I told Edwin that I was interested in buying it and whether he could do some investigation into its profit margin.

I have never handled that much money before and I was going to be careful how I spent it.

Ruby invited us to her home that evening. She wanted to meet Muna. The two women got on well they were both secretaries and they had a lot in common.

Muna worked as a school secretary in an American run school and she was telling Ruby that she was going to miss her friends when she left and that I had decided to return home.

It had something to do with my uncle but I would not tell her the full story and she did not know what to think.

Ruby reassured her and said, “Your husband has got you and his son’s best interests at heart, so you should not worry too much.”

The following day we flew back to Kuwait and two months later we left the city and went to England.

We rented a house in Birmingham and stayed there until Husain was ready to enrol and start school.

Then we flew on to Antigua a small Island in the Caribbean with its turquoise sea and white sandy beach.

Our all inclusive accommodation was next to the sea front amongst the beautiful green and colourful gardens.

The beach stretched for many miles. It was a place to unwind and take in the scenery of an Island life.

There were all types of water sports in which Muna and I joined in with the other tourists.

Our last evening on that beautiful Island Muna and I sat on the warm sand and watched the sun going down.

Then I finally told her that we were going to live in a place called Sunset Palace in Manaos Kingdom.

“My uncle is dying I said and he is leaving his entire fortune to me, his only surviving relative, to carry on his legacy.

When we get there I want you to be polite and to show him respect and to every one of his staff that worked for him, and try not to ask too many questions.”

“I am always polite to people,” she answered, “Except that Asma she said bad things about you and I hate her for it.”

“Just ignore her, Muna, she is not worth it,” I reassured her.

A few days later we flew back to Georgetown and drove down to the West Coast.

Uncle had rebuilt the house like he had promised, with five bedrooms on the second floor and one on the third floor.

He had all the trees removed that were blocking the ocean view and the garden was replanted with dwarf coconut trees and some citrus fruits.

The transformation was magnificent and we could now look at the ocean from the bottom floor.

Muna remarked, “I think I am going to love uncle Hanif.”

“And me,” I answered.

Two weeks after we returned home Muna fell ill and was constantly vomiting. I began to get worried and took her to a private doctor in New Amsterdam.

The doctor told her that she was going to have a baby that news came as a shock for both of us.

She started crying and told the doctor that her last child was almost ten years old and he could be wrong.

The doctor was looking at me and then he said to her, “Madam there are two hearts beating, you are going to have twins, and I am always right.”

That was even more shocking for both of us to take in, but there was no room for argument from either of us.

She started speaking in Arabic, and the doctor with his nurse was both looking at us.

She said, “What am I going to do, Hasan?”

“Nothing, I answered you going to have these babies and I am going to be there for you every step of the way.”

When the news had sunk in and she was feeling much better I took a trip to Blairmont Estate to look for the family that lived in the logy, that I had once visited before I went to America.

I found the place but there was no one at home, in the court-yard I saw an elderly man sitting under the shade of a large Chinese tamarind tree knitting a fishing net.

I greeted him and asked about the family in logy number six and he told me that the woman still lived there by herself.

Her husband had died and her two sons have moved away and she worked for someone in the market place.

Then he asked me whether I was a relative and I told him that I met the family once, before I went abroad and now I came back and I had come to see them.

He told me to wait, that she should be back soon and he offered me a seat next to him on a long wooden bench.

While we were talking the woman arrived and the old man said, “Bena this young man is waiting to see you.”

The woman looking frightened and then I reminded her that I came to see her logy a long time ago when her sons were little.

Then she remembered and she began to tell me her life story; after listening to her I told her that I was offering her a job.

To help my wife to look after our children after they were born and if she was interested I would come and fetch her to live with us.

The old man told her to go and that she would not get another chance like this one, instead of living here alone and struggling to make ends meet.

She told me to come back on Saturday afternoon to pick her up after she paid the logy manager her rent and told him that she was leaving.

When I arrived home I told Muna that I had someone to help her when our twins were born and on Saturday I would take her to meet this woman.

That Saturday Bena was waiting for me as planned and then I introduced Muna to her.

Afterwards I took Muna to show her where Bena lived and told her that my great grand-mother Princess Razia once lived in a place like this.

Muna was in tears and I hugged her and said, “When I first came here and saw this place I also was in tears.”

I looked for the elderly man but he was not around and then we left. Muna gave Bena some of her dresses and told her to get rid of her old ones.

Then she explained to her that she was having twins and that she would need all the help that she could get.

A week later at the end of my six months we packed some of our belongings and left the West Coast for the Air-base.

Alam was waiting to fly us to our destination. When we arrived we were chauffeur driven to the Palace.

Bena asked Muna where we were going and she told her to our new home and that she was going to meet an old man and that she must be polite to him.

I kept in regular contact with uncle and he was aware of what was going on and the woman, Bena, we had brought with us.

Bena was given some light kitchen duties until the twins were born and the staffs were informed that there was going to be two new arrivals.

I took over from uncle and for the first time I was going to meet with all twelve of his veterinary surgeons.

That day I drove to the ranch house and met with Red Eagle and asked him about these men and he told me that they did good work.

While they were out checking some of the cows before they were sold into the food chain, I went through their C. V [Curriculum Vitae] to make sure that they were fully qualified to do their job and the salary uncle was paying each one of them.

They were all trained abroad from Canada to England and the West Indies. After they had finished their duties I told Red Eagle to get Condor to bring the men in to see me.

When they arrived I introduced myself to them and told them to sit down and then I asked each of them to tell me about him-self.

The men looked worried perhaps they thought that some of them were going to lose their job.

Condor and Red Eagle went to brew us some tea and when they brought that in the men were more relaxed.

I told them that I was going to increase their salary starting from the following month. Apparently they did ask for a pay rise but uncle turned them down.

As we talked and drank our tea I realised that diligent workers should be given a decent salary.

The men invited me to come and watch when the calves were being branded and other duties they performed daily.

Six months later, my twins were born at the Palace, uncle brought in a Private physician and a midwife to take care of Muna during the birth and afterwards.

I had a son and we named him Mahir and a daughter uncle named her Razia after his grand-mother and my great grand-mother, Princess Razia and their names were added to the family tree.

We had a visit from Muna’s mum and Maymun, the woman who called me her son and they spent two weeks with us before returning home.

By then I took up flying lessons with Alam and was learning the Arawak language. Shooting was not my style and I stayed clear from it.

Eighteen months later, I was out on the ranch and Alam came out looking for me. He told me that uncle had taken ill and that I should return immediately.

I left my horse Jupiter with Condor and told him and Red Eagle to take care of him and gave them the keys to the ranch house.

They were good guys and I bonded with them, they were teaching me their language and I was teaching them mine.

I drove back with Alam in the Jeep and when I arrived home uncle told me that he wanted to go back to the West Coast and that I must take him there.

I took some of our staff with us and the rest I gave them time off, except the two guards, and closed the palace.