Something Fairytale-ish

Something Mulan-ish Part XII

A/N: Warning: This chapter contains some slightly cringe-worthy content in the end. Like "When Harry Met Sally" kind of cringe. And it might be cliche...okay, no, it's super cliche, but I'm sure you'll enjoy it all the same. 

"A'asal, hold on tightly," Huriyah instructed as she helped the girl mount the camel, before mounting on the same camel behind her.

"Lu'aiyl, Malik, I want you two to hold on the camel tightly as well," Harith instructed the two boys, who were each sharing a camel with an adult, Malik with Harith and Lu'aiyl with a tall, well-built man.

"Are we all set?" the man asked.

"Yes we are. You can start riding Azmi," Harith said. The man took off, everyone else following him.

There were 10 people in all, including Harith, Huriyah, and the three kids. Azmi was a young man who came from a family of farmers. The four other men, Jelal, Fadhil, Labib, and Nasir, were all men of similarly humble backgrounds. They were all good friends of Harith, and were more than willing to help when Harith told them of his mission.

"We have a long road ahead of us," Nasir remarked.

"Let's all pray that we arrive safely," Labib said, his voice low and gruff from lack of use. Huriyah knew this to be due to how rarely he spoke; farmers were generally men of few words, something that Huriyah knew would make this trip a long and quiet one.

"Enough talk, we must focus on the road ahead," Fadhil said sternly, proving Huriyah's thoughts to be true.

And just as she had predicted, the rest of the journey was made in silence.

...

After a long, arduous week, the group finally arrived in Mecca. They went to the same inn as before and booked five rooms to be shared by each pair, Huriyah and A'asal, Malik and Lu'ayl, Harith and Azmi, Fadhil and Labib, and Jelal and Nasir. After stashing their belongings away, they regrouped outside of the inn.

"Let's get down to business. The first thing we need to do is find out where this man goes to speak," Harith informed them.

"I think in the letters Nouri sent us, he said that Muhammad spoke in public places, like right in front of the Ka'ba," Huriyah piped up.

"I think we should try there first. If we can't find him, then surely someone there can point us in the right direction," Jelal said. The rest of the group nodded in agreement and soon, Huriyah led the way to the center of the town, to the Holy Ka'ba.

They weren't disappointed. On a pulpit in front of the Ka'ba, a middle-aged man whose face shone brightly stood, preaching passionately about the importance of morals in one's life.

Huriyah was fascinated by his words. Never before had she heard someone speak so...eloquently and sensibly. Not a word he uttered was meaningless, and everything he said made perfect sense. Huriyah noticed that her companions were also fascinated by this man's words. But soon, her fascination began to ebb away, and she began noticing something strange.

"Why are the people passing by him like he isn't there?" Lu'ayl asked.

One of the passersbying civilians, upon noticing the group and their fixation on the man whom they assumed to be Muhammad, came over. "I'm assuming you guys are travelers," he stated.

"We are," Harith affirmed.

"Let me tell you one thing to remember during your stay--do not listen to what that man has to say. He's crazy and the things he spouts are the words of a feeble-minded old man. Block your ears whenever you see him," he said before leaving them.