Home

1. Home

Home

It was early on a day towards the end of summer when the glowing sun cast its golden rays before the feet of Sally, the young doctor who was twenty-nine years old, of medium height, with wheatish complexion, and her long, soft, curly black hair cascading and swaying behind her, gathered into a braid to tame it during her travels on such a hot day.

Sally stood, carefully observing the large building labeled "The Home," as the sun's rays fell upon her brown eyes, prompting her to raise her hand to shield herself from the blinding beams that hindered her careful reading of the sign. She whispered softly:

- "The Home".

She remembered the past fifteen years spent solely in study and earning degrees, her academic and professional life crowned with success and excellence, flashing before her like a movie reel that ended with her resignation from her job, only to return now to that job, but in a different way. Inside, she felt a sense of irony about the fate that had brought her to where she now stood, murmuring to herself with a resigned smile:

- "It seems there's no use in running away".

she returned her gaze to the elegant building, which consisted of three floors with high white windows, designed in a way she had never seen before, It combines modern architectural style with classic touches, a delicate mix that left a psychologically comforting impression on the eye, yet in a contemporary manner.

Sally asked herself in amazement:

- 'Is this really a home for orphans?!'.

She looked again at the word "Home" to ensure she was in the right place and noticed around the word names written in childish handwriting with children's colored pens, murmuring as she read the names with difficulty:

- "Farah, Hassan, Noor, Rahim, Ahmed...".

She deduced that surely the children in this house had written them, and during this, Dr. Noufal's words echoed in her mind:

- 'It's not an orphanage'.

That phrase resonated in her mind several times as she adjusted her posture and painted a kind smile on her attractive face, approaching the gate where three men sat, one in a galabeya 'a loose-fitting, traditional garment from the Nile Valley in egypt' and the others in security uniforms, engaged in loud conversation, which she interrupted with her gentle, refined voice:

- "Excuse me!".

Her heart was beating very fast, and it quickened when the three men turned towards the source of the voice, finding a medium-height young woman with long hair tied in a braid that fell just above her waist, wearing a long blue dress and carrying a suitcase. One of them approached the gate and called out to her in a heavy Upper Egyptian accent:

- "Yes, miss!".

His loud voice frightened her, causing her to step back hesitantly, then after a moment, she introduced herself shyly:

- "I am Sally, the new doctor".

The three men looked at each other in confusion, but the man who had spoken to her opened the large gate, which creaked annoyingly, and welcomed her with his loud voice:

- "Welcome, doctor, please come in. Forgive us, we didn't recognize you. Mrs. Anisa left us a message about your arrival. I am Hamdi, and these are Mohamed and Sameh".

Hamdi introduced her to his colleagues, and the two men couldn't take their eyes off her, increasing her tension to the maximum, so she nodded to them without even looking at their faces: