With a huff, she rises to her feet, sleeves tattered and water drenching the hem of her dress. Placing the basket between her armpits, Aisha starts for the village. When she nears a shrub of trees, an ear-splitting shriek rattles her bones.
Alarmed, Aisha pivots in time to witness the ghastly scene...
Йой! Нажаль, це зображення не відповідає нашим правилам. Щоб продовжити публікацію, будь ласка, видаліть його або завантажте інше.
Ya Allah!
Zeeb was attacked!
"Zeeb! Ya Zeeb!" Aisha screeches, running to the path where Zeeb last traced. She remains near a bush just above the steep beds. To her horror, Zeeb's arm is caught in the mouth of the crocodile—her piercing cries ruffling the winds in every direction.
Suddenly, a horde of knights on the other end of the creek catch her eye. The clamour of horses drowns out Zeeb's cries as the men vanish, leaving nothing but dust in their wake. Aisha stumbles and falls on her back from the impact, the contents of the basket spilling all around her. Ignoring the sullied clothes, her head darts around to see no one else in sight, save for the shrill echo of ravens cawing in alarm. She was far from the village, and there wasn't a single soul roaming the creeks.
Aisha whirls her head in the river's direction. Zeeb is no longer to be seen and young Marwa has fainted. She covers her mouth. Her eyes fill with horror as a rivulet of tears stream down her face. She can hardly swallow, choking on her own resolve. It feels as though burning coals journeyed down her throat to scorch her piteous heart.
Once again, the vivid memory of death strikes her voiceless and all she can see is Noor's lifeless body floating toward the shores...
Breathless, Aisha hyperventilates, unable to look away. Her efforts are futile; as her body attempts to fight a battle it had already lost. Terror engulfs her veins like wildfire and sends a chill down her spine, paralyzing every nerve-ending as it renders her frozen.
Why weren't her feet moving?
Why was she not running to save Zeeb!
As if they heard her fear, the horses slowed to a trot as one of the knights veered about and hastened for the river with unnatural speed. Simultaneously, a woman sprints over the dunes with a giant sword in hand. Aisha did not notice her before in her hazy spiral of dread and heaved in a breath at the scene.
The gutsy woman bounds across the banks with the grace of a gazelle—yet with the power of a lioness—punctures the eye of the ravenous beast causing it to release Zeeb's hand.
Just as it struggles to fight back, the lone knight arrives at the scene. Swerving, he slightly bends down on his horse to yank the sword out of her grasp before slaughtering the head of the crocodile. Aisha watches flabbergasted as the jaws of the headless beast continue to snap even as it lands on the grass, blood spurting everywhere.
