The Second Path

Chapter 38

A fair middle aged Reverend Sister dressed in her blue and white Sister attire came out of the building to meet us. She grinned from ear to ear, glad to meet another visitor in her orphanage.

"Welcome my people. Welcome." She repeated gratefully while coming to help Hamid with one of the cartons, "Please come inside."

I got down from the motorcycle and Hamid and I followed the Reverend Sister behind. As we entered the first place inside the building, which was probably their parlour, some of the bigger children ran happily to our side and collected the other two cartons from Hamid. Two of them tried to carry the school bag and nylon bag from me but I hesitated. Those were specially for Kauna.

The children and Reverend Sister walked away with the cartons to a door that led to the remaining parts of the building. Hamid and I waited in the parlour and just looked at each in amusement.

"Have you seen her yet?" I asked him, talking about Kauna. He shook his head.

The Reverend Sister returned and smiled at us, "Please seat down, seat down."

We sat down on the long couch beside their inner door without saying anything. The Sister sat on the couch facing opposite us and kept smiling at us. She was so friendly that it seemed like nothing would ever offend her.

"Welcome to Saint Margaret's Motherless Home. As you know, my name is not Margaret." She laughed at her own joke and Hamid and I just folded our mouths and glanced at each other, "My name is Sister Eve."

I almost let out a cough. What a name for a Reverend Sister.

Some of the children came to join her on the couch and they sat there and stared at Hamid and I in amusement.

"My name is Abdulhamid." He introduced himself and pointed at me, "And she's Ma- I mean Miriam."

"Welcome. The kids will be very happy with the things you generous children have brought for them." The sister said while putting her hands around one of the little boy's shoulder. He was dressed in a kaftan, just like some of the other boys I saw playing outside the garden.

I glanced at the other children, most especially the two girls that sat beside the boy. One was dressed in a green hijab and the other one wore a small blue Reverend Sister's head gear with a white rosary dangling around her neck. They faced each other as they were trying to share one Baba Blue sweet by breaking it into half with their teeth. It was such a really cute sight.

What amused me the most was the fact that the children in the orphanage were from different backgrounds and it seemed like they were not all forced to be converted into Catholic Christians like any other Catholic orphanage would have done.

"I know it's surprising, seeing children from different backgrounds." Sister Eve cuts my attention while smiling at me, "We are not biased here. We let the children decide whether they want to remain Muslims or Christians or indecisive."

"It's good." I nodded in agreement.

"We are lucky enough to have an understanding parish priest. Because any other parish priest would have forced all the children to be converted to catholic."

Hamid and I nodded our heads slowly and glanced at each other again. We didn't say anything and I think it was time for us to state the reason we came here.