Alnihayya

||K a s h f||

"No you can't." She answered, rather gloomily. "It's all fake, nothing in there is real but it seems so real and people can't handle the shock Mashal. It tests all your weaknesses. I tried it once, failed miserably."

I gave a weak nod even though it was hard to believe that someone as skilled as Saddia couldn't do it.

We continued our normal training. I was running on the track, contemplating whether it was worth going to Kashf or not. Beside me, Zara was running as well, both of us not saying anything while everyone else in Zanjabeel kept talking about Kashf and the challenges it held.

"Hey Mashal!" A girl came up to me, along with two of her friends. I recognised her to be the same girl who had teased and laughed at me a number of times in Khawlah when I couldn't even punch properly.
I stopped running and faced her. "Yeah?"

"He's your husband right? That fake MZS with the face of a burnt kebab?" She said with a sardonic grin, her friends giggling behind her.

I don't know what happened, six women fighters had to pull me off of her and her face was a bloody mess. I had punched right into her face.

"Mashal what are you doing?!" Zara had to shake me to get some sense back into my mind.

"I- I am sorry." I stuttered uncertainly, regret rising in me as I saw the girl's blood on the floor and a few other girls trying to stop the bleeding.

I ran out of Zanjabeel, tears sprinkling out of my eyes and astagfaar on my lips. I hadn't even stopped to think about my fast before punching her. Anger was controlling me.

I went straight to the masjid, cried and cried until I finally had peace.
Before I knew how to fight, I could only scream to express my anger, but now my anger had become lethal. It could do a lot of damage.

That is when I knew I had to go to Kashf. If it really does test one's weaknesses, it will surely test my anger control.

*

I never knew it was going to be such a celebrated event.
Everyone had gathered in the cavern and huge screens were put up, one for each contestant. The people who were not competing would be able to see everything the contestants went through.

The two female seniors Aymur Aga and Maryam Amjad, Saddia, Soha and ten other women including me were going to compete. Zara chose not to go and I completely understood her reason when she said, "Such a lot of struggle for nothing but a worldly concept that doesn't matter at all in the Akhirah. I would rather read Quran during that time."

From the men, almost all the male leaders except for Simayi Wang, the leader from China and Hussain Karim- the Saudi leader were participating.
Instead of competing, both of them took the role of the hosts.

When all the non participants had gathered to spectate in the cavern and all the participants were lined out in front of Kashf, Hussain began speaking. A screen in the halba allowed all the participants to see and hear what he was saying in the cavern.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the final challenge to determine who will lead the male and female forces is about to begin! Kashf has only ever been conquered eleven times in the history of Alnihayya. Ten of those people are our current senior leaders and the eleventh as we all know, the founder of Alnihayya, the highly respected, prestigious Naeem Ansar himself." Cheers and applause erupted as party poppers sent confetti fluttering in the air. The technicians had developed special glow sticks which when pulled, formed holograms of the Alnihayya logo, the red bird in the golden cage. The resulting scene was more of a football match.