Outside, the evening call to prayer drifted through the neighborhood, and the apartment filled with the familiar sounds of Sami playing in the next room.
It was an ordinary evening.
And that was what made it precious.
One year after the lawyer’s visit, Malik’s business had grown enough to employ three drivers and a bookkeeper.
The family had paid their overdue rent, settled their most urgent debts, and begun saving for a larger home.
Suleiman remained in the apartment by choice, although Malik and Amina offered to move him somewhere more comfortable.
“I have spent enough years moving from one place to another,” he joked. “Let me enjoy one home where I know which cupboard holds the tea.”
Everyone laughed.
Even Amina.
But the most important change was not financial.
Hamza had begun visiting occasionally. Their conversations remained strained, and Suleiman had not handed him control of any property. Still, the old man answered his calls and welcomed him when he came respectfully.
