Page 31 - The Muse 2019-20 Issue

That, You Pull Out the Flat. This was a peculiar poem. It didn’t seem to have a meaning and it hardly rhymed. But did it have a meaning? I looked at the clock and rested my finger upon the twelve. I counted five steps counter-clockwise and realized the number I landed on was slightly bigger than the rest. I pulled it out and a small opening in the wall appeared, it looked like a tiny room, a flat! Inside, lay a map, and a gun. I immediately closed the opening and ran out of the room!
The rest of the night was dark and hot. The next day was horrible. I was so confused and disoriented all day that my family thought I was very sick, and I was excused from my chores. I couldn’t help but wonder, how did my father get a gun? We certainly couldn’t afford one, and why did he put it in the basement? What was on the map? I left all these questions lingering in my mind as I knew deep inside, I didn’t want to know the answers, not yet anyway.
Three long days past, and I tried my best to stay busy, so I couldn’t think. But after three long days, I needed to know. I went to Emil’s car around the time my father got out of work. I wasn’t going to tell him everything, but when I saw him, my plans were compromised. His face went pale, his eyes went dark, and his lips went dry. Then he grabbed my hand and pulled me into his car. I had never been in a car before, it was all black and the seats were clean and comfy. I wanted to fall asleep right then but, I listened. He told me the craziest thing I had ever heard, but for some reason, I believed him.
“Misa, I’m sorry for not telling you this before but, I know what is going on with your father. I’ve known since that day at the factory. Today only confirmed it.” He said with sorry eyes
“What? What do you know?”
“Well, two years ago I found out the truth about my father. He is in a group, some sort of dangerous one. They kill people, set traps, and have secret meetings. I think your dad might be in one of these groups.”
This was not the end of what he was saying, but it was the end of what I heard. I could only hear the sound of my heart pounding. I could feel my toes curl, my face change, and my entire body wither. I ran out of the car, sprinting towards oblivion, I could hear blurry noises of Emil screaming behind me. As I was running my vision began to blur, my muscles began to soften, and the noises of Emil screaming behind me became so faint I could hardly hear them. I passed out on the red dry sand, feeling as relaxed as I had in days.
When I woke up, I was in my house with Emil by my side. He was intensely staring at me, waiting to see what I would do next. I rose to my feet and hugged him. I wasn’t sure why, but all I knew was that I had been waiting to hug Emil Massumor since the moment I laid eyes on him. It was unbelievable.
Then Emil started to speak, “Misa, we can’t stay here. We can’t live our lives as if we don’t know what terrible things are going on under our roofs. I know I have known for a while, but now that you know, it’s too much. We need to leave Saudi, together.”
I let his words sink in, filling my mind with confusion, sadness, and joy.
“How would we even do that? Our families are obviously connected to Saudi, we couldn’t leave,” I replied.
“No, Misa, just us. Let’s run away to America! We can start a new life.”
“That’s impossible! We don’t have any money, and how would we even get there? No Emil, it’s just too crazy to leave for America. That’s just a dream, and dreams don’t come true.”
Emil thought about my stern answer for a minute, then he replied, “I know a man; his name is Luke. He is an American, and he can help us get there!”
By the next morning, September 8, 2011, our bags were packed. Luke ran a train from a station near the factory to an airline that delivers packages overseas. Emil said Luke could bring us and get us on a plane to America. The walk was long, twelve miles, holding the one bag Luke said we were allowed to bring. Once we arrived at the station, Luke greeted us with a cold smile and rough hands. Honestly, Luke didn’t look like a kind person, but Luke said he was, and he was usually right. Luke helped us on the train, and we stayed there for a day and a night. We weren’t hungry because Emil had food for us but still, it was hot and loud. We spent the whole time planning out our new life which we were to begin once we arrived at our destination, which we didn’t know anything about.
When the train screeched to a halt by the planes, we saw Luke go talk to a woman, who talked to a man. The man drove over in a bus-like car and drove us right up to the plane. They all helped us on with
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