Hearts of Faith

9

"Ismael! By Allah, this boy is driving me to insanity. How Ibrahim stayed so calm all the time I do not know..." Maha grumbled to her friends, seeing that her brother had disappeared amongst the stalls once again.

They paused in the middle of the street and grimaced awkwardly, handing out their apologies as people grumbled their complaints, stepping around them. Shuffling to the side, next to a popular sweet stall, they tried to lift their heads above the crowd, eyes scavenging for the mischievous little boy that liked to slip through small spaces like a sneaky elf. They had tried calling out earlier, the first time Ismael had disappeared, but it was so noisy along the market street that it was futile.

Busy stall owners were talking loudly to their customers or shouting out towards other customers, trying to entice them to buy their merchandise; beautiful textiles, silk and satin or jewellery, many with the Al-Amin symbol carved into it. Sweets, coffee, fresh meat, milk, fruit, or juice. The path was narrow. The gaps between stalls were about the width of three grown men and so people bustled past one another, trying to avoid clashing or bumping into each other, but they seemed to have all mastered the skill, gliding through the street or between stalls easily.

To shade the citizens, giant palm leaves hung above, tied to the roofs of the houses next to the stalls so only slithers of sunlight managed to get through between the gaps. And somewhere amongst the men and women, dressed in varying shades of orange, yellow, green and red, was Ismael. First, he was at a juice stall, then he wanted a ring far too big for his hand, then he saw the stall with the wooden swords and Allah knows where he was now.

"I will go check the previous stall," Safiyya ordered out, still searching in the crowd. "Maha quickly run down ahead where we have not been yet. Zinneera, stay here in case he comes back."

"Of course my Queen." Zinneera smiled teasingly. Safiyya rolled her eyes but smiled back before hurrying in the opposite direction as Maha.

Zinneera turned around to see another textile store. She ran her fingers over the Syrian and Yemini cloths but halted at a familiar light blue scarf. She reached out to touch it and shuddered at the feel of the satin.

"Sister," Zinneera called out, her voice cracking. She cleared her throat and called out again, louder and clearer. The store owner walked over with a smile on her face.

"Yes, my girl? You like this one? I am not surprised. The colour is an effort to get."

"Yes." Zinneera forced a smile. "How much then, 10 dirhams?"

"Oh no my girl. 50 at least."

So Zinneera spent the next few minutes trying to lower the price as she did not have enough money to afford the scarf but the woman would not budge. Sighing, defeated, Zinneera was about to tell her that she was leaving but then a woman in niqab materialised beside her.

"Here sister. I will pay for her." She handed the stall owner the money, who lit up and immediately asked Zinneera what dimensions she wanted. Zinneera blinked and was about to decline but the woman placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently, so she told her and in a minute received her new hijab.

"Thank you, sister." Zinneera bowed her head and placed her hand over her heart. "This means a lot to me. I cannot tell you how much."

"It is no matter. I know you must not have too much wealth on you at this moment."

Zinneera raised an eyebrow and tilted her head as the woman began to stir her away. Then realisation hit her.

"Ameerah. Thank you but you should not have burdened yourself-"

"Hardy a burden my dear Zinneera." The Ameerah turned to her and Zinneera could tell she was smiling at her. "But if my aid bothers you, in return, you can tell me why you seemed so upset."