The Next Morning
The next morning, as Yaman stepped out of his house, he noticed his neighbor's little girl standing silently at her doorstep, her head bowed low, sadness painted clearly on her face. Concerned, Yaman called out to her,
"What are you doing here, little mischief?"
The girl replied softly, "My father came back and started yelling at my mother again, so I ran out of the house."
A flash of anger ignited within Yaman, but he quickly calmed himself for her sake — he didn't want to deepen her fear. Instead, he smiled gently and said,
"Come here, don't you want to see a magic trick?"
Her face brightened with childish joy, and she ran towards him.
Yaman knelt down on the ground, his backpack resting on one shoulder. "Now, let's perform a beautiful magic trick. You like sweets, don't you?"
With a sweet, innocent smile, she nodded, "Yes, I love them."
Yaman grinned, "Then I'm going to pull some sweets from behind your head."
With a simple sleight of hand, Yaman secretly pulled a candy from his pocket without her noticing, closed his fist behind her head, then opened it again to reveal the sweets. The girl's eyes widened with surprise as she laughed, taking the candy.
"Wow, you really are a magician, Brother Yaman!" she exclaimed happily.
Yaman lifted her into his arms and said warmly, "Next time, your brother will bring you lots more sweets."
The girl's eyes sparkled with delight, "That's wonderful!"
Suddenly, the door opened — it was her mother, who had come searching for her. She saw Yaman carrying her daughter, laughter lighting up the child's face.
"There you are! What are you doing here? You scared me," the mother said with relief.
Yaman reassured her, "She wasn't anywhere far, just outside the door. Don't worry, ma'am."
"Thank you, my son," the mother said gratefully, taking her daughter's hand and heading back inside. The little girl turned, waving goodbye to Yaman. He smiled and waved back.
---
Later, Yaman headed to university. Upon arrival, he went to the library to study, then proceeded to the lecture hall. At the end of the day, the professor asked the students to stay behind to receive their project results. The entire department gathered, and the professor spoke:
"As expected, you never disappoint. Yaman, I predicted this — you have the highest grade and the best project. Well done, my son. I wish you continued success and excellence."
Yaman replied humbly, "I'm honored by your trust, and I promise to keep working hard."
"I'm confident you will," the professor said.
Yaman's classmates congratulated him, and he thanked them sincerely.
After the results were handed out, everyone left the hall, including Yaman. He checked his phone and saw a message from Detective Danny asking how he was and if he could meet up to spend some time together. Yaman replied that he would come out, and Danny asked his location.
"I'm leaving the university now but going somewhere first. We can meet after that," Yaman answered.
"Where are you headed? My colleague and I are out meeting someone, and we can pick you up," Danny offered.
"No need to trouble you," Yaman declined politely.
"Just tell me where you are," Danny insisted.
Yaman suggested, "You and your colleague go meet that person. I'll go where I want and wait for you there."
"Good plan. What's the place so I can find you?"
"The charity organization for elderly care. It's well-known, so it should be easy to find."
"Alright, I'll wait for you there. I won't be late."
"Okay," Yaman said, ending the call and heading towards the charity.
---
Not long after, Danny arrived with a colleague who was driving. Danny asked his colleague to wait while he went in to meet Yaman. Inside, his gaze fell on a beautiful garden where three elderly men sat around a table playing cards, laughing loudly with Yaman.
Danny approached quietly and stood behind Yaman.
"You seem to be having a good time here," Danny's friend said with a smile.
Yaman turned to see Danny's friend.
"I thought you'd be late," Yaman said.
"No, our talk with the man was brief. We had some questions for him," Danny replied.
"And did you get what you wanted?" Yaman asked.
"Yes, the man was cooperative," Danny answered.
One of the elderly men looked at Danny and asked Yaman, "Is this your friend?"
"Yes, he is," Yaman confirmed.
The first elderly man smiled, "Your friend is very handsome."
The second agreed, "Indeed he is."
The third added, "We were like him once, when we were his age. Those were wonderful days."
Danny laughed, then said, "Your friends are very funny."
He then thanked the elders for their kind words and joked that he was sure they had been more handsome in their youth. They all laughed together.
One elder looked at Danny kindly, "You are not just handsome, but kind as well. What do you do, young man?"
"He's a detective in the crime department," Yaman answered.
Another elder nodded respectfully, "It's an honorable job requiring courage — to reveal the truth and bring criminals to justice is no easy task. Bless your efforts, son."
The third elder said, "We're glad Yaman has a friend like you. Please take good care of him and don't let anything harm him. He's kindhearted and deserves the best."
Danny smiled, "I will definitely take care of my friend. Don't worry."
Yaman chuckled, "Enough talking now. You don't miss any chance to chat, do you?"
Danny replied, "They're just very sweet."
Yaman warned, "Don't be fooled by their sweet words — these three are as mischievous as children."
One elder teased back, "And you are just like us old men."
Danny laughed again, and the elder said, "See? Even your friend agrees with me."
Yaman looked at Danny, who stopped laughing and said, "Sorry, I didn't mean that."
Yaman addressed the elders, "I'm leaving now, but before I go, Captain (one elder) — don't forget to take your medicine as usual."
"Fadi," (to another elder) "don't eat too much sugar. Next time I visit, I'll check your levels. If they're high, you'll be on a strict diet for a month — no sweets or fast food."
They all laughed.
Yaman turned to the last elder, "Oh, dear Raed, don't forget to calm down. Stop shouting at the nurses — they're just trying to help you."
The three elders groaned jokingly.
"Goodbye, see you later," Yaman said.
Danny shook hands with the elders, "It was a pleasure meeting you."
"And we were happy to meet you, handsome. Come visit again."
Danny promised, "I'll definitely come."
---
Danny and Yaman left the garden, heading toward the exit.
As they walked, Danny said, "You really enjoy spending time with the elderly."
Yaman replied, "Yes, they need company."
"Or maybe they don't have families," Danny added.
"Some have lost their families forever, and others come here because their families abandoned them. They come hoping to find someone who cares and listens," Yaman explained.
"That's sad," Danny said thoughtfully. "But you seem to know them well. Do you come here often?"
"Yes, after my university day ends, I come here. Since I don't have many friends, I spend most of my time with them, listening to their stories."
"That's wonderful and shows how kind you are. I noticed you call one of them 'Captain.' Why?"
"His name is Rasheed. He used to be in the army and was the leader of his unit. During the war, he was injured in his leg, which disabled him from continuing his service, or else he would have been a burden to his team. When he returned home, he found his entire family had been lost to the war. He lived alone until this charity opened. He came here hoping to find a new family."
Danny smiled at Yaman, "Looking at him now, it seems he has found that family."
---
Danny and Yaman reached the gate and left the organization, heading toward the road where a car awaited them — Danny's car, driven by his colleague.
As the door opened, a man familiar to Yaman stepped out — the same man Yaman had seen in the hospital days before.
Danny introduced them, "This is my colleague, Ziyad." He then looked at Ziyad, "And this, Ziyad, is Yaman's friend I told you about."
Ziyad extended his hand to Yaman, "Nice to meet you."
Yaman shook his hand in return, "The pleasure's mine."
Danny said, "Let's go."
The three got into the car: Danny and Ziyad up front, Yaman in the back. Ziyad started the engine and drove off.
"Where are we going?" Yaman asked.
"To a place I'm sure you'll like," Danny replied.
They drove until they stopped in front of a basketball court.
"We've arrived," Danny said.
Yaman looked surprised, "Why here?"
Danny reminded him, "You told me you love basketball, so I brought you here today to see your skills."
Ziyad asked Danny with a laugh, "Will you play too?"
"What's wrong with that?" Danny replied.
Ziyad laughed nervously, "No, I meant I haven't seen you play before."
Yaman said, "If you haven't seen, then Danny is a star at this sport."
Danny smiled, "Let's go in and play, the three of us."
Ziyad admitted, "I'm a beginner."
Danny reassured, "Don't worry, you'll team up with Yaman against me."
Yaman protested, "Why would you play with me? That's not fair — two against one."
Ziyad agreed, "True, I think I'll just watch and be the referee."
Both Danny and Yaman said at once, "You'll play."
Ryan laughed nervously, "Okay, okay, I'll play. Decide quickly, who do I play with?"
Danny said, "You play with Yaman — his hand is injured, so he can't use it well."
Yaman corrected, "No, you should play with Danny — he hasn't played in a while. That's fairer. And as for my hand, you forget I'm an engineering student. Engineers don't rely on one hand — if one fails, they work with the other, so I can still play well."
Danny smiled confidently, "Alright, you convinced me. Since you chose to be alone, don't be upset when you lose."
Yaman, matching his gaze, said, "Don't challenge someone at peace with his solitude. You'll always lose."
Ziyad chuckled, "This doesn't feel like a friendly match between friends — it feels like a fierce rivalry between enemies. Let's play and see who wins."
The three entered the court. Yaman grabbed the ball and passed it to Ziyad to start the game. Ziyad passed it to Danny, who played skillfully, dribbling and passing with flair, scoring points against Yaman.
But Yaman was a tough opponent. Playing with one hand was a challenge, but he was quick, stealing the ball and scoring three consecutive baskets. His leaps were high, his body sweating, hair falling over his eyes — he looked like a fierce professional player, focused and relentless.
The match ended with Yaman winning, impressing the detectives with his performance.
---
After the game, the three went to the stands. Ziyad brought water bottles and towels from the car and handed them out.
"You really surprised me, Yaman. I've never seen anyone play like that — you looked like a hawk snatching its prey, a true professional," Ziyad praised.