Hearts of Faith

1

To her dismay, Zinneera did not posses the supreme quality of self control; the ability, the will, to not throw something at her sibling's head to leave a remarkably artistic bruise. Or if she was lucky, knock them out for a short period of time.

Oh how satisfying, the thought.

Luckily for her older brother, he had anticipated his sister's hair raising fury and made his escape earlier. Probably immediately after committing his crime.

Disgusted, Zinneera picked up her syrup soaked tunic and held it as far away from her as possible, eyeing the dead flies and moths decorating it with revulsion. She had to hold back a full-body shiver as she gingerly made her way out of her room, avoiding the obstacles of stray clothes and hairbrushes her sisters had left in her path.

"That is absolutely disgusting." Safiyya, Zinneera's sister in spirit stated, lounging on mosaic patterned cushions on the living room floor. "Not to mention rather horrific for the poor flies."

Zinneera shook her head and headed over to the bucket she had left earlier next to the entrance of her house after her ablutions, still full of, albeit rather dirty, water, and dropped her expired tunic into it with a splash. Her mother could burn it later.

"If Muhammad was here, I would ring his neck with that cloth." Zinneera scowled and Safiyya smiled affectionately.

"I hardly think so. All he would have to do is give you his infamous sad face or tell you a silly little joke and you would melt like wax."

"Not this time." Zinneera said indignantly, though inside she knew her friend was right. "Let us leave now before our families return. Or we will have to go through another round of tearful goodbyes."

Nodding in agreement, Safiyya grabbed her satchel off the ground, gulped down the remainder of her coffee and jogged over to Zinneera, who had grabbed her own beige, linen bag and was rifling through it to make sure she had everything she needed.

"I visited Mahmood earlier." Safiyya opened her bag for Zinneera to peer inside. "He gave us some milk and dates for the journey and a dua (prayer) for our success and safety. As well as a stern reminder for you to stay out of trouble."

"Me?" Zinneera smiled innocently at her friend, heading to the back of the house. "What trouble could I get into?"

Safiyya snorted. "Do not get me started or we will have to postpone our journey for tomorrow."

"My love!" Zinneera ignored her friend, opening the back door to see her black, Andalusian stallion tied to the fence, who neighed back with equal excitement. "Oh, how I have missed you Habiba."

Safiyya's Arabian horse watched complacently as Zinneera energetically patted and stroked her beloved companion as if this was the first time she had seen her in weeks, despite only seeing her last night. But as Safiyya reached her, she looked away and nuzzled her with quiet and undying affection. Safiyya smiled against Malika's soft white fur and looked into her wide, black eyes as she stroked her mane, before patting her encouragingly and preparing her for a long ride.

"Water flask, snacks for humans, snacks for horses..." Safiyya muttered under her breath, conducting a final search. Zinneera shook her head and leapt onto her loyal steed, checking for her most valuable item, tucked away in its leather sheath on the left side of her belt. Satisfied, she slipped on one of her black, cotton cloaks and covered up her sword, turning to her right to see Safiyya was finally sitting on Malika, ready to leave.

"Onwards?" Zinneera beamed and Safiyya mirrored her.

"Bismillah!" They breathed, before riding towards the open desert.