In the name of of Allah
the Merciful
Where are you..
..from the beloved of the Heart?!
By:
The Protected by Allah
"What?!.. you don't remember me?!.. oh brother.. the fever must have affected you..
well, perhaps I'm the best person to remind you..
You got to know me when my mother died and left me her wealth, then I had to move from Russia to yours..to our father..because I was still a minor at about seventeen years old, while you were about twenty-three at the time, that was the first time we met because I was living since I opened my eyes with my Russian mother after my father divorced her...
Of course, like any young man at this age, I was ready to do the impossible to prove that I am smarter and stronger than you, especially, I am not only rich but also have blond hair and blue eyes while you are brown, your eyes are brown and you were just looking for your beginning?!..
So, several months passed, I was not leaving any opportunity to be arrogant without seizing it, but
everything that was teasing me was your smile that you used to meet me with every time and your simple answer that shows your kindness and your good manners, this is what I considered
the
height
of
naivety
and
coldness..!
As for the story, it began when our father suddenly had to travel to Africa for his trade, and then you could not stand the surprise, because that would have forced you to postpone your wedding, and so you mistook -
that day- and talked him with words he was not accustomed to from you..
Maybe if I was the one who said those words, he wouldn't have been angry at all!
Here our father rose standing and anger radiated from his eyes, but he did not say a word.. He entered his room, then the house was filled with horrible silence before we went to sleep, then in the morning we found my father's room empty and when we did not find his suitcase, we knew that the matter had passed and there was no trick in the hand..
Or maybe there.. because that day you were very shocked, and after hours of sitting alone in the dark, you came out of your room carrying a suitcase in your hand, so I couldn't catch myself to let out a sarcastic laugh and say:
- Where is the date of your fiancee?! .. It seems that the matter is even bigger than the fiancee..!
I smiled sarcastically, but your serious looks made my words lose their fun, you went to the door while I said to you:
- To Africa?
And you answered firmly:
- To Africa.
I got up and threw my house clothes, saying:
- I will go with you!
- Why?!
- Well.. I have traveled to Turkey, Europe and even America, but I haven't tried Africa yet..
This will be a special summer vacation!
I hurried to my room, packed my things, filled
my pockets with money, put on summer clothes in European style, and I didn't forget my sunglasses either..!
We got into a taxi and headed towards the airport, I still remember that we did not find a flight close, so we traveled to the nearest airport and from there we flight to Africa, passing through the Red Sea and over the vast lands. The sights from the plane were marvellous, but you were corrupting them with your pale looks!
Quickly, the plane landed and we felt the temperature of the equator hitting our faces while the black eyes ,among their black eyelids, were staring at this blond stranger who was me!
We went outside to experience the scorching African sun for the first time, but drops of sweat was falling on our faces and bodies like torrents..
After I transferred some of my money, we rushed to our destination, heading to the city where our father resides.
Two hours passed before a bus -or what they call a bus- came up, we hardly found a place among the crowds, then the bus set off for us to suffer a hard and hot journey in the vast wilderness of Africa, where the horizon is as wide as the eyes can see..!
An hour passed fine before the old bus broke down, we had to get off and wait for it for an hour or two.
I lay weary under a tree and quickly fell asleep, then when I opened my eyes feeling a stinging sensation under me, the sky was ready to take off its orange robe to put on black, so I got up in fright and shook those ants off me.
While I was dealing with this topic, my memory started to come back to me, so I turned around looking for that bus..or any person of it.. but there was no trace!
These were not just words, but in fact they were disasters!.. Darkness descended and dogs howled from here and there while I was screaming.. The worst of them was that I was
screaming.. I was not used to wild life, not even for one day, frankly, I had been fearing of the insects in the city, so how if I am alone in darkness and between the monsters?!... So I have the right to scream!
I screamed and screamed, I did not stop until I felt a hand closing my mouth behind me, I turned to find you behind me, so I opened my mouth in amazement and said eagerly to hear your answer:
- You mean we didn't miss the bus?
- The bus?!... Weren't you who was sitting here watching it impatiently?
- Yes..that was when I had patience, but after my patience ran out, I slept..what about you?..why didn't you wake me up to leave?
- Oh.. I was busy.. and I thought you were waiting for it.. Allah suffices us and He is the best agent!
-Busy?!.. what were you doing?.. Establishing new relationships with Field rats?..or with crows?..don't tell me it's with those howling dogs..
But you did not answer me, however, I did not leave you and insisted on you until you admitted that you were praying all the time until you heard my screams and rushed to me, thinking that I needed help..
Here we realized that we shared in the same anguish and lost our bags, each one because of his whim!
We tried so hard to follow the bus trail through the slivers of savannah in that dark air and on that endless road, you might remember how impossible that was!
Finally, after we were exhausted by fear and tiredness, we decided to look for some shelter, but it did not take long, because I quickly slipped my feet and skated with my whole body on a thorny and harmful slope, it was terrible seconds before everything settled down, and I opened my eyes to find myself in the long grass, among which I glimpsed the full moon light, but I was wounded and in a catastrophic situation...
Worse, I could feel something moving through the lawn from afar, and little by little, the
muffled sound was getting closer and closer to me..
I even thought that I was between the jaws of a harmful beast, so my breath stopped, my voice rattled and my eyes narrowed, only the angel of death was the one who sought me, but finally the grass opened to appear... to you appear!!!
To appear with a smile on your face and say to me:
- Praise be to Allah, my Lord! .. I see you well!
At that moment, I wished that the earth would open up and swallow me up and swallow with me the signs of fear and panic that appeared on my face to hide them from you..
I stood up straight away, despite all the physical pain on me, numb some of my psychological pain and sharpened my hoarse voice to say with artificial firmness:
- From me you learn!
Amidst your questioning looks, I walked in front of you, or I tried to walk hardly!, then we tried to get back on the road when the world
around us was darkening!
We walked and walked, but all around us was the tall savannah grass, then at last you said that we should stop until morning came and see the way before we got too far from it..
And so we stopped and swept the grass around us to sleep..
Or so we thought, but the reality is that we did not close our eyes at all, so finally you decided to use the time to pray while I was spending a terrible time driving insects away from me and watching for the attack of animals..
Part of the night passed before you got tired and went to sleep, but I kept awake dreaming of the day..but no way!
The wild wolf smelled the smell of my blood and hurried to get its share of this wounded prey, its howling sounded, so I woke you up quickly to escape, but it was too late, the wolf had reached us..
The wolf appeared to us - in the moonlight -
from afar, treading cautiously towards us, so I tried to run, but my legs got heavy and I quickly fell to my knees from the intensity of fear..
My teeth almost broke from the intensity of the chatter while that wolf was strutting coming to us until he circled around us, then finally sat down next to you, it put his head on his hands watching you while you pray quietly..!
When you finished your prayer, you wiped his head for a while, actually it seemed so happy, then he got up and took one last look at you then went on his way..!
You lay down to sleep without noticing that something had happened to me or that I needed help, while I spent the rest of the night trying to relieve my severe muscle spasm so that I could walk, and I explained what had happened to myself saying: Maybe he wasn't hungry..!
Finally, the dawn came hardly, the light began to creep over the universe, so we did the ablution with dust and prayed the Dawn-Prayer, then we tried to find the way, but it was no way
between all this long grass..
We saw water, so we approached it, hoping that we might find someone of our kind, but we did find kinds other than our own kind!
We found elephants, eagles and little hyenas were stealing drinks of the water during the unawares of the elephants!
There are types of birds, which we did not know about and what we did not know.. In the face of all this, we watched these strange creatures with astonishment, and then we got used to the scene, so we tried to go around the pond, but you suddenly left me and headed towards it, I shouted:
- Crazy!.. come back!
But you did not turn to me, you approached little by little to the water with confidence, as if you were alone!.. The elephants looked at you angrily at first, but it was all the wonder that none of them stopped you!
You began to do ablution with all tranquility
among those monsters in the midst of my eyes, my jaw was hanging from excessive astonishment!
Then you came back to me after you had did the Dawn-Prayer again with an ablution with water and said to me:
- If you want to do an ablution with water, go, otherwise let us go.
Since I don't want you to feel that you are better than me, I didn't say a word, but I started walking with hundreds of words floundering in my head!
After that a smoke appeared to us from afar, so we thought it was the fire of humans, we ran towards it, but were surprised that many animals were running in the opposite direction that we found it difficult to pass between them, but we came up on the edge of a sharpe slope..
As soon as we approached, it became clear that it was a fire covering the horizon, burning the country and the people.. I did not come out of my astonishment but only when you whispered:
- It must be that fire that the tribes kindle to burn the grass and fertilize the pasture..
We tried to get away from it, but the cliff betrayed and taunted us. The rock broke under my feet, so I held on to you, hoping to prevent my body from falling. But ,on the contrary, we fell together...
It seemed that I fainted, because when I opened my eyes, I found myself lying, my left leg stuck to the stones, I tried hard to get it out, but the pain increased to no avail..
I stayed for a while before I saw you coming with a somber face, you blindfolded your hand with a piece of your clothes as if it were wounded, while you were carrying a knife in the other, then you said to me with sadness that squeezes your words:
- Brother.. in fact, we are about to roast, and I don't think we have more than half an hour to act..
I inform you that I tried to free your leg from the stones, to no avail. The stones are too
heavy for me to carry with one hand, since the other is wounded, as soon as I used it, it begins to bleed, and so.. .
Your tongue fell silent for a while, while your eyes began to speak of sorrow, then you added:
- Brother, it must be cut off..
Unconsciously, I screamed while sparks flying from my eyes:
- No, never... Do you want me to live lame for the rest of my life??
- Unfortunately, this is better than death.
- Death is better than this.. What is the value of life when everyone despise me?!..I am one-legged man?! ..no..and thousand of no..
I was silent for a while, panting in anger, and then said firmly:
- You go.. save yourself..I decided to die!
I threw myself on the land lying down while you stood confused.. but your reaction was simply that you turned towards the Kiblah (the destination of Muslim prayer) and started
praying as usual..
So I cried curiously:
-Ah..is this the time for prayer?!.. Can you not take two steps without praying?!
Minutes passed like embers, the horrific smell of fire stuck in my nose, so I started imagining how my handsomeness would be in a few minutes..
I felt a movement behind me, so I held myself until I turned, but I did not know what misfortune fell on my head when I saw a black giant behind me.. hair standing disgustingly, lips like beaks.. teeth on the neck and bones and skulls of birds on the waist as if he was a devil!
Without thinking, I stammered:
- So what they are saying is true!..there is an angel of death and he..appears to the people of Hell in an ugly look..!
I began to lament myself, the land narrowed in my eyes despite its width, I wished that my life
would be long, even for a day, so that I would reconcile what is between me and my Lord.
All this was in a moment.. and at that moment you finished your prayer and turned around, filled with panic because of my words, you thought that I was dying, but you said trying to calm me down:
- Take it easy, brother.. this is a person of flesh and bone, not death angel or anything else!
In fact, I had never seen any of the men of the African tribes except in pictures, but the reality and the difficulty of the situation made it different anyway..!
Here, he came to us after realizing that we are peaceful,
with
his
huge
muscles
and
experience, he saved my leg in seconds!
He started pointing at us and speaking to us with strange words that were not related to any language as it seemed to me.. Then we understood that he wanted us to go with him, but when he found me unable to walk, he held my hands with two iron fists and carried me on
his back and started wading through the bushes with great skill and speed.. You found it hard to catch up, but in the end you did!
So we bid farewell to the wicked fire, with all its sorrows and griefs, and reached the huts of the tribe, where we could see many of its strange-styled
members
staring
at
the
newcomers with unbearable looks!
The man took me into his house and threw me harshly on a heap of straw then went out, I got contemplating the hut around me and its strangeness and simplicity..
