Syed has discharged himself from hospital and moved into his flat. Reviews appreciated!
Chapter 3
Syed tipped the delivery men and turned to face the five crates – the sum total of his possessions, well at least those that were not still in his marital home, but he had no intention of trying to reclaim them, they were part of his past.
These were the things that held some value for him, which he had quietly put into storage over the last year. The flat had been kitted out for letting so it was bland, but had all the basics so there was no great hurry for him to refurnish or redecorate. Not one of his strong points, so he would need to find someone with style to do it for him.
He unpacked, first clothes, then office, then domestic and was finally left with a few small boxes of personal mementoes. There were scrap books from his childhood, the Qur'an his father had given him, his first business award, various presents from family and friends and piles of photos. He pulled out one of Amira and the children and propped it up on a shelf, and one of himself, Tamwar and Shabnam. As he tried pushed the others back into the box one escaped and fluttered to the floor. He didn't need to see it to know what it was.
It was small, crumpled and dog-eared. A year ago when his life had felt so desperate that he had seriously considered ending it, he had gathered together everything that reminded him of Christian and thrown it away, in the vain hope that it would help erase it from his memory. It didn't work of course –and he had got up in the middle of the night to rescue this one small photo from the bin.
He ran his fingers over the photo and said out aloud "Are you trying to tell me something?" He propped it up on the shelf staring at the green eyes and continued. "Where are you? What are you doing? Are you happy?"
He remonstrated within himself, you are supposed to be leaving the past behind, if you found him what then – he is probably with someone, and even if he isn't why would he have anything to do with you after the way you treated him?
He decided to cook, then ate contentedly in front of the TV and did the exercises the physio recommended and prepared for bed, but couldn't sleep. He got out of bed and padded through to the living-room, squared up to the photograph and said "OK I know you are part of the past, but you are also one of the demons that haunt me – so I have to know. I have to find you, I have to say sorry, only then can I move on."
That was why the next day Syed found himself in Albert Square for the first time in nearly five years. It was both reassuringly familiar, but also strange; he didn't immediately see any familiar faces. He had two targets – Jane and Roxy, if anyone knew where Christian was they would.
Well the club was still called R&R and the cafe Kathy's, so that was promising. He thrust his hands in his pockets and went into the cafe and got a mug of tea and ordered toast. As the young girl served it he asked "Do the Beale's still own this place?"
"Ian – yes, not that we see much of him."
"And Jane?"
"Jane? Never met her, that's his ex wife isn't it? She moved away a few years ago, took the youngest kid with her."
One dead end. He started retracing old haunts, without thinking he found himself in Turpin Road, his eyes were drawn to the blue door and the windows above it. The memories can flooding back, the passion, the laughter, the love, the angst, the arguments and the pain.
"Syed isn't it? What you doing back here, thought you were some high flyer now?"
"Bianca, good to see you, just passing through so I thought I would look in on old friends – seems like a few have moved on. How are you, do you still work in the cafe."
"I'm OK; nothing stays the same – no after Jane left Ian got rid of me."
"Do you know where she went?"
"No she didn't tell anyone, I think she was terrified Ian would follow her. You should head for the Vic, still where all the locals gather."
"Do the Mitchell's still run it?"
"No after the fire the Moon's took over, Roxy still runs R&R though. She's away on holiday just now."
Syed made his way to the Vic and ordered an orange juice. He met a few familiar faces and chatted idly, he finally managed to bring Christian into the conversation.
"Christian" said Kat, "Was he the big hunky guy, lots of muscles that was at Amy's birthday party? No he's back in London now, working as a personal trainer somewhere."
With this snippet of information Syed's heart lifted and he left.
