"You're Haitian and Muslim? No way, what on earth made you decide to embrace Islam?" Sawsan asked, and she looked at the big and tall young black man who stood before her, looking rather sharp in his dark blue security uniform, and shook her head. Will wonders never cease? For weeks now she'd been noticing the security guard following her every move whenever she came to Walmart, and today, of all days, he finally struck a conversation with her.
The City of Ottawa, Ontario, had always been a major hub for recent immigrants, and Sawsan guessed that the brother who seemed so utterly fascinated with her was a newcomer. Most of the guards whom she saw at the vast supercenter located near her house were recent immigrants, whether African, Latino, South Asian, or some other minority group or classification. Most of them were simple people, but this one, well, he kind of stood out among the rest, hence why Sawsan spoke to him.
Sawsan and Suleiman had spoken a few times, but never about anything too deep. She was used to having guys of all shades holler at her. At five-foot-ten, the curvy and sturdy Sawsan was considered quite beautiful. With her dark bronze skin, long curly hair, and a beautiful, slightly angular face dominated by lively brown eyes and full, ever-pouty lips, Sawsan had that raw sensuality quite common among Middle-Eastern women. Thus, she understood the brother's fascination with her...
I've got this one mesmerized, Sawsan thought to herself as she faced the security guard. For example, she knew that he was born Salomon Vincent in Ouanaminthe, Haiti, and was a newcomer to Ottawa, studying chemistry at the University of Ottawa. He spoke with a bit of a French accent, and seemed curiously out of place. This one feels that he's meant to do more than what he currently does and I can relate, Sawsan remembered thinking the first time she saw Suleiman.
"I felt drawn to the Islamic faith, it kind of surprised my Haitian Catholic family but I made my choice," Suleiman said firmly, and there was a look of determination in his soulful brown eyes which surprised Sawsan. There's a lot going on in that brain, Sawsan thought, and when Suleiman's eyes flitted over her, she blinked and blushed as something unexpected shot through her. A bolt of excitement, seemingly out of nowhere...
As Suleiman went on about his conversion to Islam, Sawsan noticed that something seemed to come over him. It was almost as if something inside of him were fighting to get out. Only once had Sawsan seen eyes of such smoldering intensity, back in her homeland of Fujairah, in the heart of the United Arab Emirates. On that fateful day, Sawsan had been riding her horse, a magnificent black stallion which she called Shaitan.
Sawsan, daughter of Amir Kalba, a high-ranking member of the Sharqiyin tribe, the powerful clan which ruled the Fujairah realm of the United Arab Emirates, was a woman of privilege. After graduating from the University of Melbourne with a degree in business, Sawsan returned to Fujairah to help her family govern it. There were rising tensions between the traditionalists who felt that the UAE was losing its way, thanks to the 'infidels' in Dubai, and the modernists who wanted the Emirates to become even more westernized.
Sawsan Kalba understood the viewpoints of both sides, and that's why she was one of her father Amir's closest advisers. After living in the City of Melbourne, Australia, for four years, Sawsan understood the western mindset. On a day when she was free of her duties, Sawsan went riding by Wadi Ham, an important trade route leading through the mountains of Fujairah all the way to the Persian Gulf. Upon arriving by the docks, she heard shouts and went to investigate the commotion.
A tall, slender young Somali dockworker was quarreling with his manager, a burly, bearded old Emirati. The two men had come to blows after engaging in a shouting match. Things soon took a very violent turn. In the United Arab Emirates, men seldom went about unarmed. Everyone carried a pistol, or at the very least a knife or dagger. Blade drawn, the Somali dockworker launched himself at his tormentor, and managed to stab him fatally before three guardsmen subdued him and took him away.
What became of the Somali dockworker, Sawsan didn't know, nor did she care to. The United Arab Emirates was a dangerous place, people got killed or outright vanished all the time. Blood feuds between noble families, as well as between commoners of all hues, were pretty common. The outside world thought that the fabulous City of Dubai represented all of the Emirates, and while it was an important as a place of commerce, business, entertainment and the like, it was but a drop in the ocean.
Outside of the glittering spires of metropolitan Dubai, the United Arab Emirates was an almost medieval world of tribal alliances, staunchly steeped into tradition. Lots of people from places like Somalia, the Philippines, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Pakistan and the like came to the United Arab Emirates in search of work. Their Emirati employers were often unkind to them.
Sawsan guessed that the Somali dockworker had a serious grievance against his manager. She thought she saw a similar intensity in Suleiman's eyes, and then it vanished as quickly as it came, replaced by his shy smile. Suleiman was once more calm, cool and collected. The man acts as though he's not bothered by anything, Sawsan thought.
"Well, Suleiman, I for one like to encourage all new Muslims, it's people like you who make our faith the beautiful and diverse place that it is, so if you need anything, don't hesitate to call me," Sawsan said, and she surprised Suleiman, and herself, by taking out her business card and handing it to him. Suleiman smiled and nodded gratefully before pocketing the card, and then Sawsan wished him a good day and casually walked away.
