| Previously Featured |
| Book One of the Moon Chronicles |
"To hear, one must be silent."
The Power of the tongue and intelligence of a human being is what makes them different from God's other creations. It is what makes them powerful, it i...
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The next morning I woke up with my mother muttering how we could never keep our house clean.
It had been long since I had slept peacefully, so nothing, not even my annoyed mother could hamper my refreshed mood. I slid from my bed and padded outside my room, to the kitchen to make myself tea.
"Ayah, you have to clean the front yard." My mother said as she caught sight of me. I nodded.
It took me a while to prepare tea and by the time I was done with eating breakfast, my mother was cleaning the terrace. Not wanting to anger my mother, I sighed and grabbed a long broom and made my way outside in the scorching heat.
I stared at the sky, covering my eyes from the sun and wished for the temperature to cool down. I was tired of the heat. I was tired of the way everything in my body felt dry. I crouched down, pulling my skirt to my knee for ease in movement and started cleaning the yard. It was mostly sand, some papers, dried leaves and dead insects. The Neem tree right outside my house did nothing to help curb the heat or provide shade. It was drying out too which was a bad sign because that meant even the roots of the gigantic tree could not reach the water in the ground.
After an hour of cleaning the yard, washing the steps, I sat down and leaned against the step and closed my eyes. Sweat trickled down my forehead and from my chin. I knew that I reeked and I should take a bath.
"Ayah Beizeen?" A voice made me open my eyes and I quickly pulled my skirt down. It was not often that someone passed our house at this time of the day. However, the man in front of me was not someone that belonged to our village. He was the messenger that had come to Master Omar with the news of his brother! I quickly got up and took a hesitant step towards my house, unsure of what to do.
"Who are you?" My mother appeared, eyes narrowed and a broom in her hand that almost looked threatening. He was quick to notice that too but all he did in response was to give her a smile.
"My name is Aqib Suleiman. I come from the City of Alam."
"Why are you here?" My mother moved forward and pushed me back so that her body was covering mine. Aqib Suleiman was a quick man and he noticed all of this. He had cleaned himself now but there was still a hint of shabbiness about him that was unlike Master Wali and Omar.
His hair was brown and reached his shoulder and it looked windswept. There was a careless stubble in his chin as if he was lazy to shave it off. His eyes were a beautiful brown, something that was rarely seen. I had not noticed all this that night. I was too busy deciphering the meaning of his presence. He even looked the same age of Master Omar.
"Ah, that is a complicated answer. Something that is not in my position to say. Master Maha, your husband, and son will be arriving soon in their carriage. I just came first because I despise carriages." He smiled sweetly.
My mother gasped, "Master Maha is coming? Ayah, go change your clothes. Master Aqib, please come inside." My mother said hastily.
"I am no Master." I heard him say as I hurried to my room and to my trunk to pull out a fresh pair of clothes. What was Aqib doing here? He belonged to the court of the Monarch. Why hadn't he left for the City? Obviously, he was needed there.
