Shadow on the Wall: Superhero | Magical Realism Novels (The SandStorm Chronicles | Magical Realism Books Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

without screens. Chickens clucked as they scurried from yard to yard, having escaped one of the make-shift pens so many people had. Hasad could smell spices swirling in the air from kitchens where the day's cooking had begun. Cardamom and cumin, and the taste of yeast accented his hunger.
    In a time past, he had been a wealthy man, an engineer teaching at Mumbai University. In a time past, he had a lovely young wife and two small children. In a time past, he did not fear those in charge. It was so long ago it was hard to believe that he was that same man. Now he was poor. A trader. A member of the slave underclass who worked wherever necessary to provide his daughter with as good a life as he could.
    Yes, it was time for her to marry; perhaps to a man who could offer her a life like the one Hasad had fled.
     

     
    Recai woke slowly. As the aches and pains of his body demanded recognition, his mind was overrun with the memories of the last thirty-six hours. He recalled meeting the mysterious woman with his mother's accent. The desert. Almost certain death. And now being here, in Rebekah's expert care.
    Groaning once again, he sat up and appraised his surroundings with a fresh clarity of mind. His "bedroom" was actually a converted storage room, full of animal feed and blankets. Stockpiled food lay stacked on shelves: dried fruits, bags of nuts, jarred jelly and chutney. The room was built to serve as a porch, connected to the rest of the home but not built with nearly the attention to detail and quality as the rest. But he was safe, and dry, and the bed was kind. Despite his penchant for luxury, he decided this Jewish family's display of human decency made this among the best places he'd ever stayed.
    Recai found sitting up to be easier, and decided to get to his feet. Determined to move around and care for himself, Recai gritted his teeth as he prepared for the inevitable pain. Dressed in cotton pants presumably belonging to Hasad, he stood. An avalanche of agony crashed over him. With a thud, Recai fell solidly to the ground. He cried out from the sudden ripping in his knee as the injured joint bent more than it should have. His damaged feet, ribs, and left knee throbbed.
    "Recai!" Rebekah called from the kitchen, running in to investigate what had caused her patient to cry out. "What have you done?! Why didn't you call me?"
    She looked him over to make sure none of his healing wounds had re-opened from the fall.
    "I'm fine," he smiled through clenched teeth. "I only bent my knee too far, but look—I can straighten it!"
    He moved to extend his leg but grimaced as he forced the angle.
    "Don't hurt yourself worse in the name of pride," she teased. "I'm sure that in other circumstances your leg can bend and straighten quite impressively."
    Her smile was radiant. Wavy black hair whispered around the frame of her face, unwilling to be completely tamed by her headscarf. The consideration she showed in covering within her own home touched him. It wasn't necessary—he was a guest—but he appreciated her gesture.
    The two struggled together to get Recai back into the bed, where he succumbed to the weakness of his body. It had taken three tries and much more contact between the two than should have been allowed to manage it. But in the end, both were laughing comfortably, although Recai's voice was ragged and his breathing labored. As she gently tucked him in, she chuckled beneath her breath.
    "It's not nice to laugh at an infirm man," Recai feigned offense.
    She laughed openly.
    "It's not nice to show up on a woman's doorstep bloody and missing pieces of yourself!"
     "Not the best first impression I admit."
    He scooted against the wall to make room for her to sit. She sat gingerly on the edge of his bed, careful not to allow their bodies to touch.
    "No, but it is the most memorable."
    "Memorable I will take."
    Recai's tone was soft and sincere; his face relaxed into a grin.
    "Are you hungry?" Rebekah asked.
     "Yes, thank