The Request [Under Construction]

11. No Home in the Hearth

11. No Home in the Hearth

Finally, we turned into an abandoned, broken building. With a sigh, I leaned against the wall, trying to catch my breath, but a sudden screech had me halfway out the door.

"Julie, thank God!"

I was engulfed in a hug. "I thought you were gone!"

Amna put her hands on my cheek before giving me another hug.

I cracked a smile. "Not at all. It will take more than kidnap and torture to get rid of me."

"Torture?" Amna echoed.

I nodded.

She hugged me tightly again before turning around and addressing Adon, "Thank you."

He merely nodded.

"You guys must be exhausted," Ahmad said, handing us all some olive stuffed bread. "Found this in a burn down house. Eat up."

We sat down on the floor, and as elegantly as I could, I stuffed the energy source in my mouth.

It was silent for a while, whilst everyone ate a bit.

When everyone was done, I finally asked the question that was burning inside of me, "What happened while I was gone?"

Amna and Ahmad shared a quick glance before Amna started talking, "Well. When they into our concrete shelter, I threw the brick, as you had told me to. I-I missed, Julie." Amna's lips trembled. "The rock h-hit you instead. Before I could throw another rock at them, they had already dragged you out. I-I am so sorry. It is all my fault."

I shook my head. "No! They would have taken me anyway. It wasn't your fault." I gave her a small smile.

She half-heartedly returned it and continued, "I tried to run after them when they dragged you out, but the one soldier threw something in my face and I fainted. When I finally woke up, Ahmad had moved our hideout to this empty, one room house. Adon was there too," at this, she glanced nervously at Adon before continuing, "and they were talking very quickly. Only after Adon had left did I show Ahmad I was awake. They had planned your escape. It took two days, but here-"

"Okay, wait," I interrupted. Amna had been weird about Adon since she first saw him, and I didn't understand why.

Amna glanced at me, then at Adon and then at the wall, all the while opening and closing her mouth like a goldfish.

"Uh-"

Adon shifted uncomfortably before blurting, "I'm her brother."

I stared at him.

What?

It was my turn to be a goldfish now. I looked from Amna to Adon and then back to Amna.

"What?"

Amna sighed. "When I saw him the first time, I thought it wasn't possible. Because, you know, the army took my brothers and I thought they had killed them, and our glance of him was so quick. But then that bomb hit, and I saw Adon outside of the house, and I-I felt it. I felt it in my heart. It was Muhammad. I knew it."

"Muh-"

"Me," Adon said. "My name is Muhammad. Of course, they couldn't have someone named Muhammad in their army, so they renamed me Adon."

I stared.

"And-And you knew who Amna was?" I asked.

Adon – Muhammad – nodded. "Immediately. How could I forget my sister?"