Three Stories (Story Three - Part four)

Three Stories One Middle East

Nader Habibi

(Story Three)

Part Four

Prince Jassem's Wish

 

The next morning, Jassem left the mansion at a quarter to five when it was still dark. This time he walked all the way to the tree that he had spotted the day before. He sat under the tree for almost an hour.  The beautiful view and the quiet environment put him in a calm and peaceful mood. He was still thinking about what had happened to him and to Professor Ubaid over the past two weeks, but these thoughts were not associated with anger and anxiety anymore. He recalled his long conversations with Professor Ubaid and thought about the Professor’s vision for a new generation of younger, patriotic leaders in the Gulf countries. Even though he had blown his own chance for leading this change, he still longed to play a role. Then it suddenly occurred to him that perhaps he could still play a part in fulfilling the Professor’s dream by working with Hamed.

If I can work with Hamed, I can help him become the kind of leader that Professor Ubaid was hoping for, he said to himself. Hamed still looks up to me. I should maintain a close relation with him when I return. When the time is right, I should talk to him about the Professor’s vision.

 

By the time he arrived at the mansion, it was half past nine. As he entered the gate, he noticed two official cars parked in front of the building. He immediately recognized the three palace security guards that were standing between the cars. They regularly escorted members of his family and their presence meant that a visitor was inside. Jassem guessed that it must be Sheikha Lubna and walked toward the building excitedly. He was right about Sheikha Lubna, but she was not the only visitor. Prince Hamed was there too and, as usual, he was holding Mohammad in his arms. Jassem was truly happy to see both of them. Had Hamed shown up two days earlier, before Jassem had discovered his early morning ritual, Hamed might have been greeted less warmly. But now Jassem was in a better mood and was happy to see Hamed. 

Sheikha Lubna could not hold back her tears as she kissed and hugged Jassem. “Oh Jassem, my dear, I have been so worried about you. I’m sorry I could not come earlier,” she said as she hugged him again.

“Mother, I’m fine. Please don’t cry,” replied Jassem.

“This is such a tragedy for our family. This should not have happened,” said Sheikha Lubna, unable to stop her crying. Princess Sara also started to cry quietly.

“Stop it, both of you. I’m fine. Please stop crying,” said Jassem as he hugged his mother again.

After a few seconds, they stopped crying and Jassem turned to greet his brother. The resentment that he had felt toward Hamed was no loner there. Sheikha Lubna and Sara were anxiously watching to see how Jassem and Hamed would greet each other, and they were surprised by the friendly exchange between them. Hamed himself was also surprised. He was expecting to see a bitter and depressed Jassem. Instead, he seemed very energetic and talkative as they ate breakfast. Even Sara and her mother were surprised. Jassem spoke enthusiastically about his morning walks and suggested they all drive that afternoon to where he took Sara the day before to watch the sunrise.

“Hamed, let’s go to the garden for a walk. The weather is still nice,” suggested Jassem. Hamed welcomed the suggestion.

“So, what have you been doing in the past few days?” asked Jassem.

“Several formal ceremonies so far, mostly boring. I met with a group of ambassadors yesterday who were invited to the palace for a formal meeting with the new Crown Prince.” 

“Well Your Highness Crown Prince,” said Jassem jokingly, “get ready for a lot of these boring meetings from now on. That’s one of the burdens of being the Crown Prince, and it gets even worse when you become the King.” They both laughed.

“Oh really? What other burdens do I have to carry on my shoulders?” asked Hamed.

“Well, my dear brother, you should enjoy the last few months of your freedom. You will be married before you know it. I bet mother has already brought up the issue. Am I right?”

“No way. I’m only twenty two,” replied Hamed.

“That’s what I was saying when I was twenty two but look where I am today. The Crown Prince can’t be single. I tell you Hamed, soon mother will have a talk with you, and I bet you a thousand dinars that six months from now you will be engaged.” 

“Why don’t we make it five thousand dinars, because I’m not going to get married.”

Jassem laughed aloud. “In that case, why not ten thousand?” said Jassem and extended his right hand.

Hamed shook his hand as they both laughed.

Then they walked quietly for a few seconds. 

“Brother, it is very important for me to make sure there are no ill feelings between us and that you don’t blame me for what happened,” said Hamed.

“You know that I don’t blame you. It was father’s decision. How is he by the way?”

“In public he is normal, but at home he is still very upset about what happened,” said Hamed.

“Has he talked to you about me?”

Hamed was hesitant. He looked at Jassem for a few seconds before responding. “Yes … he feels that you betrayed his trust and disobeyed him. And when you lost your temper and accused him of removing you under orders from the Americans, he took that as a grave insult. I wish you had never said those words to him. That was the first time that I have ever seen you disrespect father.”

Prince Jassem felt no regret about what he had said to his father but decided to hide his feelings. He now had an important mission and needed to manage his relationship with Hamed very carefully. His main priority was to gradually enlighten Hamed to what he himself had learned from Professor Ubaid. 

“I know! That was very stupid of me. I got very upset and I lost my self-control for a moment,” said Jassem.

“I think you should apologize to father and try to regain his trust.”

“I don’t think he would even talk to me now.”

“I didn’t mean right now but after a few weeks,” said Hamed.

“Do you think he will accept my apology after what happened?”

“Brother, I’m sure he will forgive you. You just need to be patient. Mother and I are working on him. Besides, even if he doesn’t miss you, he misses Mohammad.”

Sheikha Lubna and Prince Hamed wanted to fly back to Bahrain that evening, but Jassem and Sara convinced them to stay for the night. That afternoon, they all drove up the hill to the place that Jassem had walked to in the morning. Several Bahraini and Omani security guards escorted them. As they were enjoying the scenery, Jassem asked Hamed if he was interested in joining him for his morning walk to that spot tomorrow.

“Walking is for kids. Let’s drive here and hike to that peak,” said Hamed as he pointed to one of the mountain peaks behind them.

“Well, Your Highness Sheikh Hamed bin Hadi al Kowsar, it would be my pleasure to accompany you to that peak,” said Jassem as he bowed to his younger brother. Hamed reciprocated the gesture and bowed to him. Sheikha Lubna was relieved by the warm relations between her sons. Jassem seemed at peace with himself, and it was as if he had come to terms with the new circumstances of his life.     

Later that evening, Jassem was surprised for the second time in twenty four hours. This time it was not an unexpected visitor, but rather an unexpected phone call. He was sitting on the balcony with Sheikha Lubna, Sara and his mother-in-law when a maid brought the phone to him.

“Hello Sheikh Jassem” said the caller. Jassem immediately recognized the voice, even before the caller identified himself. It was Sheikh Nasser bin Issa al Fahmi, a member of the Saudi royal family and one of the richest Arab businessmen. He owned many hotels and resorts in Bahrain, Dubai and Saudi Arabia. Jassem had met him many times during the GCC Summits where leaders of the GCC countries gathered once or twice a year. He was a personal friend of Sheikh Hadi and had even stayed in the palace overnight a few times.

“Hello Sheikh Nasser! What a surprise,” Jassem was so surprised that, as he said these words, he rose from his chair and stood up. Sheikha Lubna and Sara’s mother interrupted their conversation and stared at Jassem. Sara stopped playing with Mohammed and tried to keep him quiet.

Jassem was speaking with excitement as he exchanged greetings with Sheikh Nasser.

“Jassem, I’m very sorry about what happened. I was shocked when I heard about it in the news,” said the businessman who, because of his age difference and his friendship with Sheikh Hadi, took the liberty to call the Prince by his first name.

“Thank you, sir. It was a surprise for me as well,” said Jassem.

This was a rather short response, and there was a moment of silence as if Sheikh Nasser was waiting for an explanation. But Prince Jassem was still trying to gather his thoughts after this unexpected call and was thinking about the possible reasons for this call. 

“Jassem, this might be a little too soon, but I’m calling to see if you are interested in helping me out with my tourism business. I need someone to manage my hotels and resorts, and I can’t think of anyone who is better qualified than you. I think you did an excellent job managing the Bahrain Tourism Authority over the past few years.” 

Jassem was overjoyed with this unexpected offer. Nasser el-Fahmi was no ordinary businessman and his hotel and resort holdings were a well-known business empire with billions of dollars in assets and thousands of employees all over the world. It was a far larger enterprise than anything that Jassem had dealt with in the Tourism Authority. This offer was an immediate boost to his self-confidence after everything that had happened over the past few days.

“Sir, this is very unexpected, but I’m certainly honored by such an offer.”

“You don’t have to give me an answer now. Take a few days to think about it. I’m visiting Oman next week. Let’s meet in Musqat and talk about it,” said Sheikh Nasser. How did Sheikh Nasser know that he was in Oman, Jasssem wondered as he was listening. No one outside the royal family knew that Jassem was in Salaleh. Then it suddenly occurred to him that his father must have talked to Sheikh Nasser. He quickly suppressed these thoughts as his excitement overcame his suspicions.

“Sir, I’m in Salalah, and I’m not sure if I can come to Musqat for a visit.”

“That is even better because I have a house in Salalah, and I was planning to spend a couple of days there after my meetings in Musqat. How is the weather down there these days?”

“It is very nice, certainly much cooler than Manama or Riyadh. It would be my pleasure to meet with you here,” said Jassem as he smiled at Sara and waved at Mohammad. Sara stood up walked toward Jassem and gave him a chance to kiss Mohammad as he was listening. Then she took Mohammad inside.

“Very good. Then I’ll let you know before I arrive. I hope you will accept my offer. I can really use a young and talented manager like you,” said Sheikh Nasser.

“Thank you sir. I am truly flattered by the offer and look forward to seeing you.”

“Me too. We will talk about the details of my offer when we meet, but I have one condition that I have to mention upfront because it is very important to me. I can only offer you this position if you can meet this condition,” said Sheikh Nasser.

“Yes, sir. Please go ahead,” said Nasser as his facial expression turned serious. Sara’s mother and Sheikha Lubna were quietly listening to Jassem’s conversation.

“Jassem, if you accept this position you will be the highest ranking manager in my establishment. You will be in touch with my family on a regular basis. I need to have complete trust in you and make sure you see my family as your own. There must be a deeper bond between us than just a business arrangement. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Jassem was not sure what Sheikh Nasser meant by a deeper bond. Then it suddenly crossed his mind that Sheikh Nasser was talking about a marriage between the two families.

“Yes sir, I think I understand. You are suggesting a marriage between our families. Well it is interesting, because I was talking to my brother, Crown Prince Hamed, today about the fact that as Crown Prince he must now choose a bride and get married soon. So a young eligible bachelor is available in our family, and I’m sure Sheikh Hadi and my mother will pressure him to get married soon,” said Jassem as he looked at his mother and smiled. Sheikha Lubna smiled back as she shook her head to indicate that she did not think Hamed would agree.

“We also have a young girl in our household, my daughter Yasmine. But I was not thinking about Prince Hamed.”

“Oh! Then who did you have in mind?”

“Prince Hamed is too young, and I think he needs to wait for a few years. Besides it is you that I would like to bond with my family. I would like you to marry Yasmine.  Then you will be like my own son, and I can trust you with all my businesses.”

Prince Jassem could not believe what he was hearing. The earlier smile faded away from his face as he looked at his mother again and made a gesture with his right hand as if to say that this man was crazy.

“Sheikh Nasser, I’m flattered by this offer but as you know I’m already married. My son is one year old.”

“So? I married my second wife when I was twenty seven and my third wife, may God bless her soul, when I was 35. Sheikh Hadi married his second wife before he was thirty.”

Jassem was beginning to feel offended by these remarks and was not sure how to react. The job proposal was very appealing to him but not at the price of a second marriage. “I’m really flattered, but I’m afraid I can’t consider this.”

“Listen Jassem, please don’t make a decision now. I know this is a very odd condition but just think about it for a while. Yasmine is really beautiful. Her mother is Syrian and you know how beautiful Syrian women are.

Jassem laughed nervously as he tried to collect his thoughts. Now he began to question the intentions of Sheikh Nasser. Was he looking for a manager or using the job proposal as an excuse to find a husband for his daughter? 

“I don’t know what to say. I’m really flattered, but is there any other way that I can gain your trust?” he replied as he looked at his mother-in-law. He gradually walked to the other side of the balcony to be further away from where his mother and mother-in-law were sitting. “Besides, Miss Yasmine might not be interested in a husband that is already married.”

“Listen Jassem, I know this is a very odd proposal, and you know very well that I’m a man of integrity. Believe me, Yasmine is a very beautiful woman, and I’m not trying to marry her off out of desperation because she is unattractive. She is very talented and just graduated from college a couple of weeks ago. Actually, she is very interested in you.”

This conversation was becoming more confusing for Jassem by the minute. He tried very hard to stay calm.

“But sir, your daughter has never met me!”

“I know. I know. But she has seen you on television and she is very interested.”

“What do you mean?”

“Actually, she was the one who suggested that you would be suitable manager of my hotel enterprises. She thinks very highly of you.”

Now Jassem was not only confused but anxious as well. What was going on, he wondered.

Before he had a chance to respond Sheikh Nasser continued. “I know that what I’m saying is very unusual, but she is really a very exceptional young woman. She is here with me and she would like to talk to you.”

“Sir wait! I don’t think …” Jassem heard a woman’s voice before he had a chance to complete his sentence.

“Hello Your Highness, this is Yasmine,” said the women. Prince Jassem immediately detected her Syrian accent.

“Hello!” Jassem said with hesitation as he turned around and looked at his mother and mother-in-law. They were both looking at him and could see the confusion and anxiety in his face. 

“Your Highness, it is an honor for me to speak with you,” said the young woman with a confident and excited voice.

“Thank you. How are you?” replied Jassem, who was not sure what else to say so he waited for the woman to speak.

“I’m very well, Your Highness. I can’t believe I’m actually speaking to you. Oh! This is so exciting for me.”

“Thank you …” replied Jassem with a cold and detached voice.

“Your Highness,” continued Yasmine, “It would be the greatest honor for me to marry you.”

Now Jassem began to question the sanity of Sheikh Nasser and his family, or perhaps they had an ulterior motive. He started thinking about a polite way to end this conversation. He was no longer even interested in the job proposal.

“Thank you,” he said with a soft voice, “but unfortunately I’m already married.”

“Your Highness, that is fine with me. I promise to be a perfect companion for you and a younger sister for Princess Sara.”

Jassem was losing his temper but tried hard to stay calm. “No, thank you. I’m very honored but no, thank you. May I please talk to your father?”

“Your Highness, please! I know this is very odd, but I believe God wants me to be your wife.”

“Did you hear what I said to you? I have too much respect for Sheikh Nasser to hang up on you. Just give the phone to your father please,” said Jassem with an angry tone.

“He is not here but will be back shortly,” said Yasmine with a low voice – almost like a whisper.

“Your Highness, please let me explain for one minute. Just one minute. Please! I know it may seem like I’m humiliating myself, but I can explain. Please, Your Highness, just one minute!”

Jassem saw her behavior as not only self-humiliating but crazy. This whole phone call now seemed odd to him. “I’ll listen but my answer is the same.”

“Your Highness, I hardly knew you until a few days ago. Two weeks ago I had a dream about a man that I had never met before. In my dream, this stranger was holding my hand and walking me through a beautiful garden. We walked in silence for a few minutes, and then he stood in front of me and lifted up his sleeve. He showed me two moles that were about two centimeters apart. Then he said that one of them was mine and asked me to choose one. The dream ended at that moment. Then I had the same dream the next night and the night after that. It was very upsetting for me. I didn’t know who this man was or why he was appearing in my dreams until I saw you on TV last week by accident. As soon as I saw your face, I realized that the man in my dream was you.”

Prince Jassem’s breathing became heavier as he listened to Yasmine. He indeed had two moles on his left shoulder but very few people had seen them or knew about them. He always teased Princess Sara by pointing to these moles and claiming that they meant that God wanted him to have two wives. How did this woman know about his moles? He wondered.

“Stop this nonsense,” shouted Jassem, no loner able to control his rage. “You must commit yourself to a mental hospital. Who told you about the moles on my shoulder? It is beneath the daughter of Sheikh Nasser to say such things,” shouted Jassem. Sheikha Lubna walked toward her son anxiously to see what was happening.

“Your Highness, please believe me. I’m not mad. Just let me finish. Please listen. Not only am I having this dream every night but also, over the past few days, I have had visions about you when I’m awake. In fact, I have a vision about you right now. I see you standing on the balcony of a beautiful building. A woman is standing near you and another woman is sitting in the other side.”

Jassem gasped for air and nervously looked around him as he shouted, “My God! What is this?” then he walked quickly toward the light switch and turned off the balcony lights.”

“Now you turned off the lights,” said the woman. Jassem silently signaled his mother and mother-in-law to go inside as he also approached the nearest sliding door.

“You now walked into the living room.”

Jassem was looking around frantically as he closed the balcony curtains and signaled his mother to close the other curtains.

“Your Highness, you don’t have to turn off the light or close the curtains. I’m not spying on you. I’m having a vision. I feel like I’m there with you. Be careful, a woman is right behind you.”

Jassem turn around and saw his mother approaching him slowly in the dark. “What is going on?” she asked. Jassem signaled her to be quiet.

“Prince Jassem? Hello?” asked Yasmine.

“Who are you? Why are you doing this?” shouted Jassem.

“Because it is our destiny to be together. There must be a reason that I’m having these dreams and visions about you. This must be God’s plan for us.”

“Stop this nonsense. You are a sick woman. Shame on you and your father,” shouted Prince Jassem and hung up.

Sheikha Lubna put her hand on Jassem’s shoulder. “What is going on?”

Jassem sat down on a sofa. He was breathing heavily. “So strange! Somebody is spying on us.”

Before he had a chance to say anything else, he heard a voice from the master bedroom.

“Prince Jassem? My prince?” It was Yasmine’s voice.

“Who was that?” asked Sheikha Lubna. Jassem stood up and stared at the bedroom door. Before he had a chance to say anything, another voice was heard.

“My future son-in-law!” It was the voice of Sheikh Nasser.

“Turn on the lights!” shouted Jassem to Sara’s mother who was standing near the wall.

“Prince Jassem?” said the female voice again.

Jassem shouted “Bastaaaaaaards!” as he rushed toward the master bedroom and opened the door. Sara and Hamed were standing in one corner. They were each wearing a headset. The headsets were connected to an electronic device the size of a shoebox with many switches and knobs. The device was connected to a laptop and a speaker. A maid was attending to Mohammad in another corner of the bedroom. Jassem froze in disbelief.

“Hello my Prince!” said Princess Sara, but the voice that came out of the speakers was not Sara’s. It was the voice of Yasmine.

“Prince Jassem, my dear son-in-law, so good to see you!” said Hamed as he pointed his finger toward Jassem. The sound that came out of the speakers was the voice of Sheikh Nasser. Sara and Hamed burst into laughter. Jassem was still standing in the doorway in a state of shock. He slowly turned around and looked at his mother. She was also laughing. This was another one of Prince Hamed’s pranks. He turned around and looked at his brother in silence for a few seconds. Then he looked at Sara. He was so angry that he wanted to curse his brother but, before he had a chance to say anything, he felt the hand of his mother on his shoulder.

“My dear, your brother wanted to cheer you up,” Jassem managed to control his anger.

“When are you going to grow up Hamed?” he said while still breathing heavily. “Shouldn’t you stop these pranks now that you are the Crown Prince?” continued Jassem as he walked into the room.

“Stop? Why? To the contrary, I’m now upgrading from princely pranks to Crown Princely pranks,” said Prince Hamed.

As Jassem walked forward, Sara began to move towards him. She had sensed that Jassem was angry and wanted to make sure he didn’t start a fight with his brother. Sheikha Lubna also followed Jassem with a look of concern. Sara reached out and held Jassem’s hand.

“My dear, I’m so glad you were not tempted by Yasmine’s offer,” she said in an attempt to distract Jassem.

The warm touch of her hand was enough to calm Jassem down. He looked at Sara and shook his head as he smiled. Then he looked at Hamed and his smile gave way to a chuckling laughter, which soon became elevated to a loud laughter. He jokingly punched his brother on the shoulder.

“This was good,” he said still laughing, “very smart.” Princess Sara gave out a sigh of relief as she looked at Sheikha Lubna and then they all laughed along. Prince Jassem was indeed offended by Hamed’s prank, but he now had a more important priority which demanded maintaining good relations with his immature brother.

***   

The next morning, Jassem and Hamed drove to the same spot that they had visited the day before. They were escorted by three bodyguards in another car. It was around 5:20 and the contours of the al-Dhofar mountains were barely visible when they began their hike. The bodyguards followed at a distance. Despite the previous night’s prank, Jassem felt no resentment toward his brother.  After chatting casually for a while, Jassem slowly shifted the conversation towards politics. He began with the latest developments in Palestine. American Secretary of State Colin Powell had visited Arafat in Ramallah that week and promised American support for the international monitoring forces in the West Bank and Gaza to observe the latest U.S.-backed ceasefire. The media had reported this as a major victory for Arafat.

“Arafat is wasting his time kissing the behind of the Americans. He should forget about the ceasefire and push forward with intifada. Israel will not stop its targeted killings,” said Jassem.

“But Bush stood up to Sharon in the White House a couple of days ago. He is putting more pressure on Israel,” said Hamed.

Jassem was surprised. He didn’t expect Hamed to have followed the news on the Arab-Israeli conflict.

“Don’t be so naïve, Hamed. That was just a show. The Israelis will probably keep quiet for a week or so before they resume their assassinations. They are not afraid of Bush. Bush is afraid of them. The only people who are afraid of Bush are the cowardly Arab leaders. The more he supports the Israelis, the more Mubarak and Abdullah want to kiss his ass.” He was referring to Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Crown Prince Abdulla who governed Saudi Arabia.

“That is not the case – at least not the case with Abdullah. He rejected an invitation to visit Washington a few weeks back because of the Palestinians. He has also been privately asking Bush to put more pressure on the Israelis,” said Hamed as they slowly climbed toward the mountain peak. There was more sunlight and they had a nice view of the town and the sea from that elevation.

“Privately asking him? What good will that do? Abdullah still sells them oil, buys their weapons and lets American firms control Saudi oil production. If he cared about the Palestinians, he could have done a lot more than just asking Bush nicely.”

“He is gong to do more. Father says that Prince Abdullah is planning to send an open letter to Bush and warn him that if he doesn’t stop the Israelis, he will end Saudi-US relations.” 

“That is just an empty bluff. He will never do that,” replied Jassem.

“Father says Abdullah is very serious, and he has asked other GCC leaders to support him.”

“That is a big surprise! Whoever thought Abdullah would be man enough to do such a thing. I don’t think the Emirs of Kuwait and Qatar will ever go for this. The Al-Sabah clan now owes Kuwait’s survival to the Americans. What is father going to do?” asked Jassem.

“I don’t know. He hasn’t said anything.”

“I bet he will say no. He will never risk his relations with the Americans for the sake of the Palestinians.”

Hamed did not say anything, and they climbed a steep slope in silence for a few seconds.

“What would you do if you were King right now?” asked Jassem.

“About what?”

“About the relations with America, about the Palestinians? How far would you go to support the Palestinians?”

“I don’t know,” replied Hamed. “Can we talk about something else?” he continued.

“No! I’m just curious what will you do? After all, you are going to be King one day,” said Jassem.

“I agree with father. We are a small country and we need America’s protection to survive.”

“Even at the expense of our honor?” asked Jassem.

“Our honor as Bahrainis lies in surviving and protecting ourselves.”

“What about our honor as Arabs? Doesn’t that matter?” asked Jassem.

“As father says, we should let those who claim Arab leadership, like the Saudis and Egyptians, to fight for Arab honor.”

“And you agree with him? What if every Arab leader thinks like him? Then all of us will just sit on our asses and watch the Israelis slaughter the Palestinians like sheep.”

Hamed wasn’t interested in continuing this discussion. To him, it was looking more and more like an argument.

“As father says, if we threatened to cut off our relations with America, they would not end their support of Israel. Bahrain is not important enough.”

“Hamed, stop saying ‘as father says this,’ ‘as father says that!’ I want to know what you think,” asked Jassem with a calm but firm voice. He was more interested in influencing his brother’s views than to argue with him.

“Brother, I agree with him. I know how you feel about these issues, but I support father’s views. If there is any unified Arab action regarding the Palestinians, Bahrain should cooperate and do its fair share, but we should maintain good relations with Americans. Whether we like it or not, we need them. And to be honest, they have been good to us. What have they done to harm us?” replied Hamed.

“The ‘us’ that I imagine is much larger than just us Bahrainis. If you think about the greater ‘us,’ then you will have a different perspective on Americans,” replied Jassem.

“Well, my dear brother, let ‘us’ enjoy this beautiful view!” said Hamed, trying for the second time to change the subject. They spotted a large rock with flat surface to sit on. The sun was now fully visible just above the ocean, but the temperature was still pleasant.  Jassem pulled out a Thermos from his backpack and signaled the security guards, who were about fifty meters away, to come get some tea. The hot tea was refreshing, and the scenery below was breathtaking.

“What is that?” asked Hamed as he pointed to an opening around two hundred meters northwest of where they were sitting. It looked like the entrance to a cave.

“I don’t know. I have never been this high before,” replied Jassem. 

“Looks like a cave,” said Hamed as they both stared at it. “Let’s go check it out after tea,” he continued.   

“You know brother, all this talk about Americans this, Americans that, just gave me an idea for my next prank.”

“No! No! No more pranks Hamed.”

“No way brother! Pranks are my passion, and you are my favorite target. Be on guard! Although, I’m sure you can never anticipate what I’m going to do to you in the next one,” said Hamed as he put his hand on Jassem’s shoulder.

After a few minutes, they began climbing toward the cave. The opening of the cavity was almost circular with a diameter around two meters wide. It looked like a tunnel that was about 10 meters deep. Both the floor and the ceiling were uneven but the rocks had been moved around to make the floor less uneven near the entrance. There were some trash and burned wood on the ground, which showed that climbers had used it as a rest spot. The sunlight was shining in at an angle and the front area was partly visible.

“It’s just a small cave that people have used for shelter,” said Jassem as they walked in.  He stood near the entrance and looked around. Hamed slowly walked forward. “Be careful! It’s too dark down there,” said Jassem. 

“I just want to see how deep it is,” replied Hamed as he used his hands and feet to slowly walk into the darker areas. As his eyes adjusted, he could see the floor, which was covered with small and large rocks.

“Do you have a flashlight?” asked Hamed.

“No, but I have a box of matches. Don’t go any further. I can barely see you. There might be some animals nesting there,” answered Jassem.

Hamed returned only to take the box of matches. He walked a few meters before lighting a match. By now the security guards were standing in front of the cave and looking inside. Hamed used the dim light of the match to slowly move forward in the dark. After lighting another match, he reached what looked like the end of the cave. The ceiling and the floor came together in a V-shape formation. Jassem walked closer, but he was still a few meters behind Hamed. Then Hamed turned to the left.

“Wow, Mashallah!” he exclaimed. “What is it?” asked Jassem who could barely see the shadow of his brother.

Jassem asked one of the guards for a box of matches or a lighter. One of them handed him a lighter. He lit the lighter and walked closer to his brother. In the dim light, they could see the contours of a cavity the size of a small room with very uneven floor and ceiling.

“Interesting!” said Jassem.

“Lets go in.” said Hamed. Jassem was hesitant. “It’s too dark, and I can barely see the ground. Don’t go any further.”

Hamed didn’t pay any attention to his brother’s warning. He lit a match and took a couple of steps forward. The match burned out and, as he tried to light another match, a loose rock under his left foot moved and he lost his balance. As his body was falling forward, he reflexively moved his hands forward. He felt a sharp pain in his right palm as he fell on the ground and screamed loudly. 

“What happened?” shouted Jassem as he stepped forward holding the lighter in his right hand.

“Did you injure yourself?” he asked. As he tried to get closer to his brother, Jassem himself slipped on another loose rock and lost his balance. He franticly struggled to avoid falling on his face but dropped the lighter as he struggled to maintain his balance. He managed to regain his balance by bending forward and putting one hand on the ground. Luckily, he did not hurt himself, but the lighter flame died on impact and therefore it was too dark to see anything. Jassem started crawling slowly toward his brother.

“Where are you hurt?” asked Jassem.

“It’s my right hand. Ahhh!” screamed Hamed.

“Your Highness, Your Highness” shouted one of the security guards as he entered the cave holding a match.

“Do you have another lighter?” shouted Jassem.

“No,” said the guard as he lit another match and, after a few seconds, reached the entrance of the dark chamber. Jassem and Hamed were able to see the guard, but they were barely visible to him.

The guard took one step forward and lit a couple of matches at the same time to generate more light. Now he could see them, and they were able to see the ground in the dim light.

Jassem held Hamed’s right arm, and they slowly crawled toward the guard. Once they reached the guard, they stood up and walked out of the cave. Jassem looked at Hamed’s injured hand. It was bleeding, but it was only a small cut.

“It’s not that bad,” said Hamed as Jassem used a clean napkin to wipe off the blood.

“I told you not to go in there,” said Jassem. He turned to one of the security guard. “Sorry about your lighter. I’ll buy you one.”

“No need, Your Highness. It was just an ordinary lighter. Alhamdolellah it is not a serious injury,” replied the guard.

“Next time I visit you, we should come back with a flash light and see what is out there. We might find a hidden box full of treasures,” said Hamed jokingly.

They stood in front of the cave for a few minutes while Hamed pressed napkin against the wound.  “I think we should head back and take you to a hospital,” said Jassem.

“For a small cut like this? No way. It’s not even bleeding anymore.”

Jassem tried to convince Hamed to turn around but it was useless. Instead Hamed wrapped a handkerchief around his palm, and they continued their climb toward the peak. Beside the inconvenient cut and a few bruises, his hand was fine.

After talking about the cave and what had just happened, they started talking about political issues again. Slowly and intentionally, Jassem led their conversation toward a friendly debate about the role of the Americans in the Middle East. He gave many examples of how Americans were exploiting and humiliating the Muslims and Arabs but, in the end, Hamed was steadfast in his belief that Bahrain needed the Americans. Earlier, Jassem was under the impression that his younger brother had little, if any, political views and it would be easy to influence his opinions. Now he realized that his father had already brainwashed Hamed with his own perspective.

The task ahead is more challenging than I thought, Jassem thought to himself, but I won’t give up. If father can brainwash him, I can help him see the truth.

***  *** 

Prince Hamed, Sheikha Lubna and Princess Sara’s mother flew back to Manama that afternoon. That evening, Prince Hamed gave a detailed account of his conversations with his older brother to Sheikh Hadi.  Even before being debriefed by his son, Sheikh Hadi received an audiotape of some of Hamed’s conversations with Jassem. These recordings were made automatically by Prince Hamed’s cell phone.  

In the days that followed, Jassem’s life gradually sank into a regular routine. It began before dawn with a walk to the hills. Some mornings, he drove to the hills and hiked to higher elevations from there. The mountain hikes took up to three hours. This was followed by a leisurely breakfast with Princess Sara and playtime with Mohammad. Then Jassem would spend the early afternoons with Nidal. They often drove to various tourist spots near Salalah and returned to town for lunch at one of the local restaurants. Jassem spent the late afternoons reading the latest news of the Arab world on the Internet, followed by dinner and family time in the evening. Although it looked like a vacation on the surface, both Sara and Jassem were aware that it was indeed an exile.

Despite all the free time and the pleasure of his morning escapes into the mountains, Jassem was still periodically overwhelmed with anxiety and anger about his fate. He missed the prestige and the responsibilities of running the Tourism Development Authority. He also thought about Professor Ubaid and blamed himself for Ubaid’s arrest. Princess Sara was trying hard to be supportive and reassuring when Jassem was around but she sometimes cried in private. They didn’t know for how long they had to stay in Salalah and where would they end up next. That decision was up to Sheikh Hadi. Princess Sara was free to travel but Prince Jassem was confined to a limited area around Salalah, and he was forbidden from making any contact with the media. The team of Omani and Bahraini intelligence officers that provided security for the Prince and his family kept him under tight surveillance at all times.

**** 

 

“Jassem,” said Princes Sara softly, “Habibi, it’s quarter to six,” she continued as she gently touched Jassem’s shoulder. For a few minutes, she was debating with herself whether to wake him up or not. Ever since he had started his early morning hikes, he rarely slept past five. She finally decided to try once more and, if he didn’t wake up, to let him sleep. After all it was Friday and it was raining. Jassem did not move and Sara did not try again. Sara pulled the sheet over herself to go back to sleep but, after a few seconds, Jassem suddenly sat up.

“What time is it?” he asked, yawning at the same time.

“Quarter to six…. Don’t go today it’s raining,” said Princess Sara.

Jassem got out of bed and walked to the balcony. “It’s only a mild drizzle. It will stop by seven or so. It always does.”

Sara did not respond. She quietly watched as Jassem changed into his sport clothes.

“Are you going to climb today?” she asked, as he was about to leave the room.

He walked toward her. “Yes, I want to take a picture of that cave for Hamed. I want to give it to him tonight.” Then he bent down and kissed her.

Jassem had talked to his brother the night before and found out that he was joining Sheikha Lubna and Sara’s mother who were flying to Salalah that Friday afternoon. Hamed was accompanying Sheikh Hadi on a formal visit to the United States on Sunday and had decided to spend a day in Salalah before this trip.

The heated argument that Jassem had with Hamed in the middle of their phone conversation that evening was one of the reasons that he was sleepless and did not wake up on time. It was Hamed who called Jassem to let him know that he was coming down on Friday. They had a good and friendly chat until Hamed brought up his trip to the United States. When Jassem asked him what was the main topic of negotiation in this visit, he did not like the answer. Finally, Hamed told him that Sheikh Hadi was going to negotiate the terms for renewal of the lease for the American naval base in Bahrain. Not surprisingly, Jassem expressed his opposition to this base and to the renewal of the lease. As expected, Hamed was in favor of U.S. military presence in their country and repeated his view that Bahrain needed American protection.

Hamed’s position on this issue did not come as a surprise to Jassem but what he said about another issue infuriated him. Sheikh Hadi was going to meet the representatives of two American corporations to begin formal negotiations for a contract for the construction of the Al-Kowsar Sports complex, which included a sixty-thousand seat soccer stadium. As Head of the Bahrain Sports Authority, Hamed was also attending the negotiation.

“Another major contract unfairly awarded to the Americans as a reward for what they are doing to Arabs!” Jassem commented.

Hamed reacted by defending the contract for both strategic and commercial reasons. Jassem was outraged but managed to control his temper. He decided instead to stick with his plan of gradually influencing Hamed’s attitude. He carefully guided their conversation to what they could do on Friday. Jassem had asked Hamed if they could go hiking but Hamed turned down this idea, because he wanted to return early Saturday and prepare for his big trip to America.

“Next time you go to the cave, you should take a few pictures for me,” said Hamed. “I’d really like to know what is down there. Don’t forget to look for the lighter that you lost last time.”

This was the second time that he was asking Jassem to visit the cave and take pictures for him. Jassem agreed.

An Al-Jazeera news report on the latest Israeli attack in the West Bank further enraged Jassem after his phone conversation with Hamed. The report was about Abdul Kareem Tamimi, a retired teacher in the Al Nabi Saleh village north of Ramallah. According to the report, Israeli forces had raided the village in the middle of the night on July 8^th and forced Abdul Kareem and his family out of their house before throwing out their belongings from the second floor windows. The camera showed Kareem and his wife and children sitting in a small room at a relative’s house in Ramallah. As his wife cried, Kareem explained the details of the incident to the reporters. Apparently, Israeli soldiers had occupied the second floor of Kareem’s house to use it as a military outpost.

“God damn Jews. Goddamn Americans. Goddamn cowardly Arabs. Goddamn Sheikh Hadi. I wish you could see this report before kissing America’s ass,” Jassem kept saying as he watched this report. He could not sleep and stayed awake until midnight scanning the Arabic satellite news channels.

**** 

By the time Jassem drove to the base of the mountains and parked his car, it was half past six but he didn’t mind because it was overcast. Light drops of rain came down, but he didn’t mind at all. Without wasting any time, he put on a plastic see-through raincoat, picked up his backpack and started hiking. The backpack was not heavy – a flashlight, camera, snacks and a small first aid kit. Jassem began his hike at a moderate pace. He was familiar with the terrain and knew how to navigate his way around various rock formations. He was not following the same path that he had taken the past few days, because he wanted to stop at the cave before climbing any further. After about fifteen minutes, he changed his mind and decided to hike up first and then visit the cave on his way down. He figured by then the rain would be over and the sunlight would give him more visibility in the cave.

After hiking for another hour or so, he stopped at a spot that was about half a kilometer below the peak. This was how far he had climbed the previous days, and he didn’t intend to go any further. The rain had stopped, but it was still overcast. He rested there for a while still thinking about the images that he had seen on television the night before. He hiked down in the direction of the cave and reached it after about half an hour. He put the camera’s strap around his neck and, with the flashlight in his right hand, walked forward. Soon the dark chamber came into view and, under the flashlight, he could see what it actually looked like. The walls were highly uneven – almost like a metal box that had been kicked around in various spots and looked anything but rectangular. Jassem was hesitant to go inside. Instead, he stood in front of the chamber so that he could see the entrance of the cave over his left shoulder. The chamber was not too big – almost six or seven meters deep and no more than four meters wide.

As he moved the flashlight around, Jassem was surprised that there was no graffiti carved into the larger rocks, like most caves that he had seen. Among the ground rocks, however, there were a few pieces of garbage, including empty matchboxes, pieces of half-burned wood and a couple of empty water bottles. Carefully, he walked two steps inside the chamber and found a stable piece of rock to stand on. He put the flashlight on another rock and lifted the camera.  Using the camera’s powerful flash, he took pictures of all sides of the chamber. Next, he picked up the flashlight to look for the lighter. After a few seconds, he spotted the lighter about four steps to his right. Jassem carefully walked toward it and, as he got closer, a piece of green cloth lying next to it caught his attention.

He picked up the lighter and put it in his pocket first. Then used a small flat pebble to examine the cloth. He tried to pick it up, but a portion of the cloth was under a rock and did not come out. Holding the flashlight in his left hand, he rolled the heavy rock to one side with the other hand to free the piece of cloth. He realized that it was a cloth bag and, as he slowly touched the surface, it looked like there was something in the bag. The bag looked torn and dirty in some spots. Overwhelmed with curiosity, Jassem cautiously lifted the bag from the top so as not to drop whatever was inside.  With one hand holding the flashlight, he was not able to open the bag so he decided to carry it to the entrance of the cave first.

Jassem found a small flat rock inside the cave near the entrance to sit on. There was enough light in there so he turned off the flashlight and carefully opened the bag. He immediately recognized the shape of the object and began to smile. It was a brown color teakettle with the shape and design of the magic oil lamp that he had seen so many times in the Aladdin cartoon movie. He picked it up and looked at it in the light. The body of the lamp was engraved with geometric patterns and other shapes that looked like a written text, but they were not Arabic or English or any other alphabet that Jassem could recognize. It did not look old or antique, and there was hardly any rust on it. The texture did not feel like metal or plastic, but it felt heavy for its size.

Jassem tried to open the lid but, no matter how hard he pulled, it did not open. He tried to look into the snout but there was no hole. He turned it over and looked under the base. There were no screws or buttons to suggest that it could be accessed from underneath. It seemed like a solid material that was made by pouring a liquid into a mold.

Jassem continued his examination by shaking the oil lamp to see if anything moved inside. There was no noise or vibrations to suggest that there were any moving parts inside. Jassem decided that it was probably just a toy magic lamp as he looked at the patterns.

Then, suddenly a strong red light flashed inside the lamp. Jassem quickly put the lamp down on the cloth bag. A few seconds later, the snout began to shine with a green light for about three seconds. Jassem wondered if he had turned on the toy by shaking it. After a few seconds, he picked up the lamp.

“What is this?” he asked as he closely looked at the lamp.

Suddenly a human voice that seemed automated and machine generated, uttered three words in Arabic: “Arabic language identified.” 

A red light emanated from the body of the oil lamp and flashed several times. The sound frightened Jassem, and he put the lamp down on the cloth bag again. But suddenly he realized what was going on and his fear gave way to laughter.

“Hamed you lizard! Nice trick, but you won’t fool me this time,” said Jassem as he picked up the lamp again. “Now I see why you were insisting that I come here to find the lighter,” he continued as he looked around expecting Hamed to reveal himself. The digital voice from inside the lamp spoke again with a formal Arabic accent.

“This is the Genie of the magic lamp. Since you have awakened me, I will grant you three wishes. Each wish must start with the words ‘I wish’ or it will not be executed.”

“Stop it Hamed. I know this is one of your pranks. You are not fooling me this time. Show yourself,” said Jassem.

He then stood up and walked to the entrance of the cave and held the lamp above his head with both hands as if it was a victory cup.

“Ok Hamed, come out wherever you are hiding. Come out now,” said Jassem as he looked around the mountain to see if he could spot his brother. There was no response.

He brought the lamp close to his mouth: “Hamed, show yourself. Don’t feel ashamed brother. Hahaha. Actually you should feel ashamed. This was a very cheap prank – a talking lamp with flashing lights! At least you could have tried some holographic trick to bring the Genie out of the lamp with blue smoke first. Okay brother, talk to me.” Again there was no response. Then suddenly the red light under the spout of the oil lamp started blinking.

“You have five minutes to make your wishes,” said the digital voice from inside the lamp.

Jassem did not find this amusing anymore. “Hamed, reveal yourself or I will make a wish to turn you into a frog.” There was no response. Jassem began to wonder why Hamed did not end this game. He was still fully convinced that this was one of his brother’s pranks.

“Okay. You asked for it.”

“Genie, I wish to turn Hamed into a frog,” said Jassem with a smile.

After a few seconds the lamp began to flash with a blue light. “Number of males with first name Hamed exceeds one million. Which Hamed is the target of your wish?”

“The target is you, stupid mule. Turn yourself into a frog. Hahaha!”

“Sorry. This wish cannot be granted. Two more wishes left, Time left one hundred twenty nine seconds.”

“Ok Hamed, this is enough, where are you?” said Jassem. There was silence.

“Ninety seconds,” said the automated voice as the lamp flashed with red light.

Jassem was no longer amused. But he suddenly thought of one more wish that he knew would truly annoy Hamed.

“Okay, Genie. I wish that all Americans would be banished from the face of the earth.”

After a few seconds of silence, the lamp began to flash with blue light.

“There are multiple definitions for Americans. Please specify,” said the Genie voice.

Where was Hamed going with this prank? Jassem wondered. Well, if he likes to play this game to the end, let’s play! He thought to himself.

He brought the lamp close to his face: “Let’s see, that will be anyone who is a citizen of America.”

“Do you mean the United States of America?” asked Genie.

“Yes.”

“There are multiple definitions for banishment. Give exact definition.”

“Okay. Let’s see. By banishment I mean wiped off the face of the earth. Make them disappear. What is the matter? No one will be around to protect your kingdom anymore.”

“Verb definition clear. Two questions ignored. You do not have any time left for your third wish,” Said Genie. The lamp kept flashing and making sounds that resembled telephone dial. “Processing wish number two,” said the Genie’s voice as the lamp kept flashing with random colors.

“Yallah Hamed. I’m waiting. What’s the matter? You want to do this after your own trip to Washington? Ha! ” Said Jassem.

“Identification of all humans in this category will take several hours. Some individuals will be subject to partial body part banishment. The command will be executed as soon as the list is ready. It will take approximately four to six hours. This magic lamp will become inactive immediately. Another magic lamp will randomly be deposited in a remote location on the surface of the planet. End of communication,” said the Genie and then the flashing lights stopped.

“Okay, Hamed. You played your little game. Will you talk to me now?” said Jassem.

There was no response.  He waited for a few more seconds and tried to speak to his brother one more time but there was no response and the lamp was no longer emitting any light. After sitting there for a few minutes with the expectation that his brother would show up he finally gave up, put the lamp and the cloth bag in his backpack, and left the cave. 

As he walked down the mountain, he wondered why his brother did not admit that he was behind this prank. He could not think of any other explanation for what had just happened. Then he concluded that perhaps Hamed knew that he would quickly see this as a prank, and there was more to his plot than what had just happened in the cave. Perhaps there was a second part to this prank that Hamed wanted to execute tonight. But then he wondered how his brother was controlling the lamp if he was not nearby. Perhaps he had positioned a relay transmitter nearby and was controlling it by phone from Manama. I’ll find out tonight, he said to himself.

*** 

Since he did not drive to town with Nidal on Fridays, Jassem had lunch with Sara. When Jassem showed the lamp to Sara before lunch, Sara also speculated that it must be part of an elaborate prank by Hamed. Jassem asked if she was also part of the plot this time. “No, no. Honest to God, I have nothing to do with this one,” she responded.

Jassem asked again and again, and Princess Sara had to swear several times before Jassem was convinced. They talked about the magic lamp during lunch as well.

It was a little past 1:30 in the afternoon when Sheikha Lubna, Hamed and Sara’s mother arrived.

“Welcome, welcome my Genie. Welcome!” said Jassem as he greeted his brother. 

Hamed thought his brother was calling him Genie because of his smart pranks. “Not Genie brother, just smart and creative,” said Hamed.

“Hey, what you pulled off today was not so genius. I called it as soon as the lamp flashed for the first time. Genie of the oil lamp! It was so childish,” said Jassem.

“What are you talking about? I didn’t do anything today.”

“Come on Hamed! No point denying it.”

“Honestly brother, I don’t know what you are talking about.”

Jassem pointed to the brown oil lamp on the coffee table, “I’m talking about that.”

“What is it?” said Hamed as he walked toward it. Sheikha Lubna and others also walked closer to the coffee table.

Hamed picked it up and carefully looked at it. “Where did you get this?” he asked.

“Right where you had placed it in the cave,” answered Jassem.

“I don’t know anything about this,” said Hamed. Jassem just looked at him without saying anything and then looked at Sara.

“Honestly, I just flew in with mother,” said Hamed.

Jassem looked at his mother, then at Sara and then back to Hamed. “I found this in that cloth bag right next to the lighter in the cave. You wanted me to go get the lighter because you wanted me to find this and fall for your three-wishes genie.”

“Hey brother it wasn’t me. Someone else has pulled this prank on you,” said Hamed.

“No one else knew I was going there. No one else wanted me to go there. Come on, Hamed. It’s over, admit it.”

After two more rounds of accusations and denial, Jassem finally began to doubt that Hamed was behind this prank.

“Then who did this?” asked Jassem.

“Maybe someone left it there a while ago figuring that it would be a nice trick on whoever found it,” said Sheikha Lubna as she examined the oil lamp. “The material has a strange texture. It doesn’t feel like metal. It’s probably a Chinese toy. These patterns are so strange!” she continued as she looked underneath to find any marks or signs of where it was built.

“But it lit up and there was a voice that spoke formal Arabic. It asked me to make three wishes,” said Jassem.

“There are lots of toys and gadgets like that,” said Hamed

“But this was interactive and I spoke to it, because I thought it was you talking through a remote transmitter.”

“Nowadays, small computer chips do wonders with voice recognition and sound generation. It probably had a series of preprogramed responses to the most common wishes. So what did you wish for?”

“Since I thought you were behind it, I asked it to turn you into a frog but the Genie refused that one. Then I made a silly wish about something bad happening to Americans to make you angry.”

“Put an end to this rage towards Americans, brother. It will put you in trouble again.”

“Hey it was just a joke to annoy you. I figured if I provoked you, you would show yourself.” 

“And your third wish?” asked Sara’s mother.

“The stupid thing said time was up, and it didn’t let me make a third wish,” responded Jassem and they all laughed.

“It’s just an electric gadget with voice recognition and a bunch of pre-programmed responses,” said Hamed who was still examining the lamp and trying to turn it on. “I just don’t know how it was assembled. I’m sure there must be at least a battery chamber that can be accessed to replace the batteries.”

Soon their conversation turned to other topics, and Jassem’s attention shifted away from the oil lamp. Jassem asked about his father and other relatives. He asked Sheikha Lubna if there was any chance that Sheikh Hadi would end his exile soon.

“I’m trying to persuade him to change his mind my dear, but I think it will take a few weeks. He is still angry with you.”

This was not the answer that Jassem was hoping for. After a few minutes, he asked Hamed to join him in the garden. They had been talking outside for about fifteen minutes when a maid approached them.

“Your Highness, please come inside immediately,” said the maid in English to Prince Jassem.

“What is it?” said Jassem as he and Hamed walked toward the house at a quick pace.

“Please come,” said the maid. They quickened their steps as they sensed the anxiety in the maid’s voice.

“Sara?” said Jassem as soon as he entered the house.

“Come upstairs!” shouted Sara.

Sheikha Lubna was on the first floor and came out of the dining room as soon as she heard Jassem’s voice. Jassem went upstairs and Hamed walked toward his mother. He could see that she was anxious.

“Mohammad is missing,” she said. “Look around and help me find him.”

Hamed followed his mother as she walked into the kitchen and started inspecting the cabinets.

“Mohammad? My dear, where are you? Mohammad!”

“He can’t walk away. How can a toddler go missing?” asked Hamed as he also started opening the closets. “When did this happen?”

“Just a couple of minutes ago. Oh God! Oh God! Where can he be?” said Sheikha Lubna.

As she and Hamed searched the kitchen, Sara’s mother and one of the maids checked the attic.

“He is not there. We looked everywhere.”

Suddenly, they all heard Sara screaming and then crying as she called her son. Hamed ran upstairs and the others followed.  

“Did you find him?” asked Hamed.

“No,” replied Jassem. He was holding Sara in his arms and trying to calm her down but she was hysteric.

“Go get the guards and search the garden,” shouted Jassem to his brother.

“No!” shouted Sara. “Mohammad! My dear,” she cried.

Jassem signaled his mother and Sara’s mother. “You watch her. I’m going to look for him,” he told them and pushed Sara, who was frantically shaking, into her mother’s arms.

They searched every corner of the house and the garden for another five minutes along with two security guards. Three policemen entered the palace compounds and were talking to the security guards and Hamed. Jassem was beginning to suspect that his son must have been kidnapped. He was trying to comfort Sara without saying anything. Sara was still crying and calling his son’s name. Sheikha Lubna and Sara’s mother were quietly crying as well while trying to comfort her.

Suddenly Hamed rushed into the house. “Jassem come!” They all rushed toward the entrance.

“Did you find him?” asked Jassem.

“No but the police just told me that two other families reported missing children in the last ten minutes,” Jassem rushed toward the two policemen who were talking to the compound security guards. As soon as they saw Jassem approaching them, one of them walked toward him.

“Your Highness, I just got word that two children in Sheikh Salman’s palace are also missing.”

Sheikh Salman was a member of the Saudi royal family who regularly vacationed in Salalah during the summer months. Jassem had met him and his family a couple of times. He had two children who were both younger than ten years old.

“Did you find him?” asked Sara.

Jassem told him what the policeman had said. The news of the other missing children caused further panic for Sara. “Two other children? Then it is a kidnapping. Oh my God!” she broke into screams and tears.

Jassem held her and asked her mother to take her back inside. Sheikha Lubna and Sara’s mother held her hands and pulled her back. She was resisting and wanted to join the conversation, but Jassem forced her to stay back.

As Jassem was talking to one of the policemen, a junior officer interrupted them. “Sir, sir,” he said to the senior policeman.

“What is it?”

“Sir, there has been another missing person’s report. This time a young woman and two children are missing. The chief wants you to report to the station immediately.”

“Another? Where? Who?” Asked the senior police officer.

“Sir, in one of the mansions near Salalah Beach Villas.” As the two policemen walked toward the compound entrance, Jassem, Hamed and two security guards followed.

“Do you know name of the family?” asked the senior policeman.

“Sir, it is a Kuwaiti Prince, Sheikh Yasser.”

The policeman told Jassem to stay in the compound. Jassem asked if he could come to the police station, but the policeman said no and drove away as fast as possible.

“This is a coordinated political kidnapping. They are kidnapping the children of royal families,” said Jassem.

“I need to talk to father about this immediately. This isn’t just an ordinary kidnapping. Besides, he needs to know about Mohammad,” said Hamed.

As he and Jassem walked toward the building, one of the security guards that had flown to Salalah with Prince Hamed was walking toward them.

“Your Highness, there is a phone call for you. It’s your uncle. He says it is urgent.”

Sheikh Zayed was the head of state security. Jassem wondered if this call had anything to do with the disappearances as they both rushed inside.

“Hello Uncle, this is Hamed.”

“Hamed you need to return to Manama immediately. There has been a strange development and Sheikh Hadi wants you to return as soon as possible.”

“Is father okay?”

“Yes, he is fine. It is the disappearances. He has declared a state of emergency.”

“Disappearances? What disappearances? What emergency?”

“It’s all over the news. The entire staffs of the American naval base and American Embassy are missing. All American citizens in Bahrain have suddenly disappeared.”

Jassem was standing near Hamed and tried to listen in as much as he could.

“What? That does not make any sense,” said Hamed as he signaled Sheikha Lubna to turn on the television.

“Hamed, I have to go. Just return to Manama immediately. Sheikh Hadi wants Sheikha Lubna to stay in Salalah for now until we find out what is going on,” said Sheikh Zayed and hung up.

“What is going on?” asked Jassem. “All the Americans are missing in…” said Hamed but did not finish his sentence as he saw the running news banner on the Aljazeera channel.

“American airplanes crashed in several countries. Americans have disappeared all over the world. Hundreds of millions are missing.”