A House in the Sky

It was another night for Samba to sleep outside in the rough dirty streets of downtown Cairo. His father in law, Moussa, was home that night, and he hated nothing in his life more than the twelve-year old boy.

Whenever he was home, Moussa would shout at Samba, beat the hell out of him, and rip him off of the few pounds he had been saving out of his work in the garage. Samba’s mother would stand in the corner helplessly watching her son beaten up by the ruthless old man. She was a weak woman with a poor health, and had seven young kids other than Samba. After the usual beating course, Samba would stare at his mother with many unanswered questions running in his mind.

But Samba was a brave strong boy. He was naturally gifted and full of life, and hardships only made him stronger and more resilient. Out of his seven brothers and sisters, he loved Rooka and Ziko the most. The six-year old girl and the eight-year old boy were his favorite. They were like his little children, and he was like a father to them. 

Every other night, after finishing his work at the garage, Samba would buy dinner and sweets for his little siblings and would meet them by the football court of the abandoned school building at the end of their street. They would spend the whole night eating, telling stories to each others, making fun of Moussa, or simply gazing at the stars on the sky and making shapes out of them. Some nights, other children from the neighborhood would join them for a heated football match that would last all night long. Some other nights, the three children would climb to the rooftop of the abandoned school building to spy on the neighbors or watch the wedding celebrations taking place at the close-by youth center hall. They loved dancing to the music filling the air, and sometimes would sneak in to the crowded hall to steal a piece of gateaux or a bottle of coke.   

One night, Samba’s older brother knew about the food that Samba brought only to his two young siblings. He was filled with envy, and hurried to Moussa and told him “Samba is spending his money on food and sweets that he gives only to Rooka and Ziko. He knows we are in need for this money as well. You should teach him a lesson.”

 Moussa was filled with anger, and that night, he followed Rooka and Ziko to the football court. When Samba saw him, he tried to hide the food but Moussa had already seen it. He grabbed Samba from his shirt and slapped him on the face “You dirty pig. I spend every pound I earn on your sick mother’s medicine and feeding your brothers and sisters, and here you are enjoying your time eating and drinking.” He started putting his hands inside Samba’s pockets to steal his money, but samba kicked him off in his balls. He quickly grabbed his knife out of his pocket “If you came one step nearer to me or my brother and sister, I swear I will kill you.” Feeling angry and in pain, Moussa looked at him and the young children, spitted on them and walked back towards the house. He shouted from afar “don’t you dare come near the house again. I’ll cut your legs off if you did.”

Rooka and Ziko were crying so hard, but Samba took them in his arms and hugged them tightly. They couldn’t eat that night, and instead they climbed the rooftop of the abandoned school; it was a little windy up there. They lay on the ground beside each other and gazed at the stars. Rooka pointed up towards the sky, “Do you see that house over there?” “Where?” Ziko asked. “That one on the right side of the moon. The one with the garden and the big tree. I have an idea, we can live there. We can take a plane and go up the sky and live there. Moussa won’t be able to reach us.” She looked back to Samba, but he had fallen into a deep sleep, with his fist clenched tightly around his small knife.