Sipping his tea Salim was glad that the days were getting cooler. He remembered the time when he first came to Dubai. The searing heat seemed to be the first and only thing that he noticed as he got out of the plane. He had left the comforts of being at home to eke out a living in a foreign country…….the need for money was overwhelming. Debt had forced Salim to an uncertain future in the Gulf.
His uncle had helped him land a temporary job at a local trading store. That would atleast ensure that he got a visa which would then help him in getting a driver’s license…….which is akin to getting ambrosia from the Gods………a near impossibility!!! None the less a license would open the floodgates to other opportunities……..better paying opportunities.
As soon as he won his lottery Salim landed his second job as a taxi driver. The pay was decent even though the work hours were long and arduous. Besides the traffic was a nightmare…….but Salim didn’t complain as the jobs were helping him clear his debts. He drove during the day and his partner took over at night, this helped as their monthly targets were then split between them.
His journeys took him to every corner of Dubai………and he served a wide variety of customers – young and old, Indians, Pakistanis and Philipinos’ even the local Arabs came in often.
It was a December when his partner went on his annual leave. As a result Salim had to cover a certain part of the evening to ensure that they were not behind on their target. During one of his nightly runs he thought of visiting his uncle in the shop he worked. It was late in the night so he knew only his uncle would be there closing up shop. He parked his car and walked into the shop. What he saw next shocked him!!!!!
He saw his uncle lying down in a pool of his own blood. He quickly knelt down to see if he was still alive and just as he was about to check his uncle he felt a sharp pain on the head and saw blackness engulf him. He woke up later tied up, with beads of sweat pouring down his face and a throbbing pain in the back of his head. His assailants were standing over him menacingly.
“Who are you?” Salim asked weakly. “What do you want?” he asked again. They wore ski masks and so he couldn’t see their faces properly. They spoke a foreign tongue to each other, one he couldn’t recognize. Then suddenly one of them frisked him and took out his wallet. He then took his gun and pointed it to Salim’s head and said “You will take us to the airport. Do you understand……..Salim?” looking at his ID card. He threatened Salim “Never mind who we are………your only concern should be that the police must not catch us now……….otherwise!!!!”
Salim was shaken up from his ordeal but he nodded to the assailants demand. Salim then plucked up the courage and asked “My uncle needs help”. The men all laughed and one of them said “The old geezer has had it……….he’s caput……..kapish!!!”.
Salim was seething within anger, why did they do this…….what had his uncle done to them? They removed his bonds and took him to his car .They piled in and started their perilous journey to the airport.
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