Superman Elseworlds: 'In the Name of...'

Chapter 1: Arrival

"Hush, my love. God guided this child to us and us to him. He will protect us."

The man put his arm round his wife and together they walked back to the cart where their horse was waiting patiently.

As they neared their village an hour or so later, the couple feared that they would have to explain the arrival of the child to the others but then both paused and smiled when they realised that they wouldn't have to. The child was theirs…a gift from God.

"He has blue eyes…they're almost like your father's." said the woman to her husband.

"If he were a girl," said the man, "I would have suggested Inara…"

"Well, we can't call him Aladdin!" laughed the woman.

"Aladdin…'God-given'…hmm…" he laughed at the look of horror on his wife's face. It wasn't that it was a bad name, far from it, but the name would have put the boy in a position where he may grow up taunted and mocked, perhaps asked about his 'genie' and his lamp. No, choosing the name for a child is very important. It had to be just right. He smiled at the sleeping baby and then whispered a prayer to God to look after the children they had already lost.

***

"They're here!" the children cried out. They had been sitting on the village wall watching for the return of their favourite uncle and aunt, their hearts filled with the hope that this time they would have a little cousin as well. They rushed to the cart, the horse proudly raising its tired head.

"It's a boy" said the woman. The children stopped, gasped and then, grinning with delight, they ran back to the village to make the announcement.

The couple were not rich by any means. They had farmland and could afford to hire farm-hands but compared to most of the villagers who had sons and daughters settled in the West, they were the poorest. But they were loved and honoured above and beyond almost any other family. They were good people, maybe one of the select few in the world who could have raised the child they now had in a manner that would bring out the best in him.

The whole village had been waiting in anticipation, fearful that their beloved friends might lose another child, but the shouts of joy from the children triggered something in the adults. They rushed around gathering fruits and making sweets and food, everyone helping to make this joyous occasion a notable one. There were always celebrations upon the birth of a child in the village but this occasion was considered by all the villagers to be just that little bit more special. Their Uncle and Aunty had a son. They now had a little brother.

***

The seventh day came and it was now time to name the baby boy and to circumcise him.

The naming was hard. There were so many suggestions but then little Hajra suggested that they name him Ishmail. Everyone agreed that it was the best name for him, and the fact that Hajra had said it made it seem all the more right, after all, Ishmail was the name God told Hajra to give to her child.

***

Asiyah

He was three years old when it happened. I hadn't felt fear like that for years.

Some of the Children had come home for a holiday. They were all so grown up but you could plainly see their discomfort in the village. They were no longer used to it after spending so many years in the cities in Europe and America. But at least they wanted their children to have some knowledge of their heritage, their background.

When they had left all those years ago, I had assumed that they would forget their Aunt. It was a surprise to see them all come back after Ishmail was born. They all came back to see him. They all offered to help in any way they could. It still brings tears to my eyes remembering.