Ahmed and Raheem walk with Akhirah and the others as they gather at the poolside. “Hey, don’t worry, you practice well and the little mermaid will be ashamed of your abilities underwater. So don’t pout because you are my little warrior, don't forget that” said Ahmed to her. “You always excel at anything you wish to do.” The young man smiles at her as he pats her head to comfort her.
Her gaze is blank although she knows what her companion is talking about. Akhirah was still mourning her loss, her mother. That is why her father invites the sons of his good old friend Kareem Abdulrahman to go with his only daughter. And he is optimistic that his daughter will cope up in time for the diversion he arranges for her.
“Akhirah and company, are you guys ready?” The man that holds a timer is on the other side of the pool. Six lanes with their perspective spot. Five boys and a girl at the last lane. A friendly competition with her god brothers. A bang shoots up in the air as they jump into the water and puddle away from the bunk board.
As she plunges into the water, her feet are propelling swiftly as every stroke of her hands synchronizes to its feet. She swims as fast as she can without thinking she is competing with her god brothers. A few moments later she is the second one to tap the bunk board in her lane. Akhirah smiles at her progress. Although Raheem sits on the pool side already as he heads first among them.
“Wow! Not bad you come after me, that’s a vast improvement of yours.” Raheem stretches his hand to lift her out of the water. She feels the sudden blush on her face as his god brother praises her. Akhirah grabs the hand and pulls him back on the water and laughs aloud as he dives back.
“You!” Raheem just laughs and chases her in the pool, but she swims towards others taunting him. For the moment she forgets that she is mourning. They splash water with each other while they are at the pool. Laughter echoes at the villa like an orchestra playing its symphony.
From afar, her old man watched them with his good old friend. “I love to see her smile rather locked up herself in her room mourning. I have loss too and it is hard for me as well.” And hard to the way she a girl and she is not yet ready to embrace the world that I am preparing for her. She still needs guidance from a mother. Celest express his agony to his friend Kareem.
“At times we need to face that, and we should be strong for them even if it wrecks our hearts to see them at that phase. All we can do is guide them to what their hearts desire. And that is why we are here. Worry that she will eventually accept it. Trust your princess, she is an amazing and clever girl. She will be able to cope with all this, and she will embrace the fate, which is given to her, with all her heart.” Kareem Abdulrahman comforts his friend.
“And I guess those brats needs more time for themselves to know each other.” Celest agreed as he raised his goblet with the red liquor to have a toast with him as the chuckled with each other. His high hope for her daughter is clear as the bluish sky that shines on her.
The black Olympic size pool had precious memories from her god brothers. One of the activities they love and fun to do. Hanging out in the pool. It is why she grew up different from the other girls. She loves doing things that make herself progress in various activities. Akhirah knows it will be more worthy of her time to engage in such activities than to spend money for nothing.
Late afternoon, she and her god brothers are planning for recent activity for the next day since their coach in swimming is on leave for a week, yet they have been given exercises to do. She lay at the red bean bag on the porch as the others gathered to hang out with her.
“What should we do tomorrow after the swimming exercise?” Nazeer asked her while sipping on his orange juice. Akhirah rolls her eyes and smiles. “Well, there are more things we can do here, and you guys haven’t seen the whole villa yet” she replied to Nazeer. “Probably we can do rappelling or wall climbing. The one is on the right back of the villa and on the left wing we can do shooting on the firing range” she suggests to them.
Akhirah munch fruits that are served to them. “Please tell the butler to bring some croissants here and more fruit juice.” She orders one of her servers. The server nods her head and walks away from them.
“Can we arrange an outside activity?” Farris spoke out of nowhere and pulled her close to him with the other bean bag on her side. As the young chap put his arms around her shoulder. “We should talk about that to my father. And there is one place he will suggest for us. And father knows you like racing, because I accidentally heard it when Papa and Uncle talked before you came here. And too bad I make Papa worry about me just being here inside and not hanging out with others.” She sighs and finishes her juice.
You said there’s a firing range here?” Ahmed asked. Akhirah nods at him and points at the bushy area of the villa. “At the back left of the villa. It is well equipped and offered. A present from Papa since you thought I was shooting. And Papa always goes with me to his hunt, so I need to learn. Plus, self-defense too.”
“Since you have a shooting range here, let’s do paintball shooting tomorrow, what do you think?” They look at Ahmed with a smirk and Akhirah furrows her brows then chuckles aloud. “I love the idea and I guess we should plan our activities here since you are just here for a few months. You are here for a short visit, and I do not know if Papa will allow me to travel and pay a visit to Uncle Kareem.
Next morning after having breakfast she and her god brothers. They’ll walk to the firing range. Few huts built from a meter-to-meter gap to another. There are various kinds of rifles and ammunition at the first hut. Next to the first cut is the line range for shooting. A yard or two is a log shooting backstop. From that end of log range is the railroad tie backstop with pins and a three-yard tire backstop.
“Holy cow!!! Thrilled with excitement and amazed at the premises, Ahmed and his brother explore every edge of the firing range. “This is a superb place you have, and Uncle Celest just built this for you. You are such a spoiled lassie that Uncle has, Ahmed commented. All of them were stunned by Akhirah's collection of guns, long and short. “When we boys don’t have this kind of luxury yet it’s amazing that Uncle Celest built this for your birthday as a present,” Nazeer replied. “He did this because of Mama, you know my mum loves things like this as well but sad
She smiles at them “you don’t know how I plead this to Papa before he gave me this as a birthday present. And this one is not easy for him to do.” Shiro just stared at them, yet he stared at equipment on the table. The chap walks to the computer room of the firing range. He saw and studied how things worked.
She walked past them and pulled a drawer. One of her favorite guns is an automatic nine mm Smith and Wesson. Akhirah loads bullets on the magazine and slides it into the barrel. She walks back to them and hands the gun to Raheem, “you can try this, and I don’t mind if you want any of the rifles here, you can have them.”
Raheem takes the gun and his position as he pulls the trigger to fire out. Six shots, two perfect shots and others are fatal shots. “Not bad, you still have a good pulse pulling the trigger. Raheem hands it over to her and she reloads the magazine and takes her stand as she pulls the trigger.
They drop their jaws on the scoreboard done by her perfect shots to all templates that have been hung as targets. Ahmed and Nazeer walk beside her and ruffle her hair. Oh! My god that was impressive and you nailed all your hits, Nazeer speaks. Raheem looks at her with admiration as he says, “that’s more formidable than what I did.” Her cheeks flush with redness as she looks down and reloads the magazine and slides it again.
“That is what I am talking about with this young lady here. She looks like a lady, but she is an alt among walks to the mockup of the railroad tie backstop and start his assault. The full round of magazine fires up when he continuously pulls the trigger.
Eying to what Ahmed pull off, she takes the smaller firearm. Arrange mockup and she position at the middle. Taking all the hits as the sixth round of bullets runs off, she pulled at her side pocket and runs at the second mockup as she begins her assault again.
“Yeeha!!! Wow that so amazing of you, they’re amaze to what she has executed yet her face blushes as they taunt her. “That’s impressive, how did you learn that?” A pick of curiosity paints on their faces, “I train every day without missing any of it. Papa knows I don’t go out, so why not I’ll be able to study tricks”, she replied to them with a smile.
For consecutive days they spend their time at the firing range. One of the boys wonder on the other side of the villa while they are still busy on the firing range. Trailing the back of the villa Shiro found her training ground. A welded galvanized wire mesh surrounds the cage ring to which she trains herself for self-defense. Shiro takes a snap at the ring and send it to his brothers as he put a caption on his text, “hey guys check this out I found the other place where our little warrior spends time together and I’m speechless to this place. She is really a lucky girl to have this luxury.”
The boys gather and talk about what Shiro have sent them, and they are amaze to what the god sister offers them on her place. “This is so neat” Ahmed says “yes, this girl here so lucky to have all this recreational area for herself, no wonder why Uncle Celest invites us to join his warrior princess here, Nazeer smiles as he replied to his brother.
They all enjoy their selves at the firing range the entire day. Another accomplishment for them to make her happy and see them she is lively and full of blissfulness. Although the little miss lay tired on the couch of the receiving area of the shooting range. Her companions let her rest as Farris tuck her with a sheet he pulled in the drawer near the couch. As for, the boys they continue playing on the range. “You guys are too noisy,” Raheem scold them.
While others are busy to their activities, Raheem watch her sleep on the couch. Something on the deep of himself love to pull her in his arms yet the doubt on the other side that the beautiful relationship between them maybe tainted. The young man let out a deep breath as he keeps his little secret upon himself. That one day the dream of holding her will become reality.
Raheem slightly brushes his fingers to Akhirah’s hair. He enjoys staring at her face. Her soft and thin pink lips. Her eyebrows that match with her deep-set eyes. Her skin is radiant though a little sunburned. He perks a kiss on the lassie’s cheeks. The feeling that he cannot restrict.
Akhirah moves her hand pulling Raheem down beside her, although it was not his intention, he lay still beside her even his position is not even. Hours later Akhirah wakes up, as she opens her eyes, she stares blankly at Raheem that lays beside her while they hold each other. In an instance she jolted out of the couch while Raheem rolled down on the floor that wakes himself up.
Her face flushes red as she turns her back to the young man. “Pardon, I did not know you are here” she mumbles the words as she speaks to him. “No, it’s my bad I should have let you rest here” Raheem mutters to her. “Let us go back, I am tired, and I want to sleep more, Akhirah replied. She marches back to the house leaving the young man in his silence as he sits back on the couch. The only thing he can do is watch her leave at the firing range.
Akhirah walks fast leaving the firing range and ascended at the stairs towards her room. At her room, she sits at the corner of her bed with the picture on her head with Raheem in the couch. A frantic beating her heart does yet she need to console herself it is not the right time to be in love with the young man. However, a little voice yells “don’t fool yourself when you know you love the guy.” This is nothing but admiration or puppy love to her, he still my god brother. I let alone must set aside this feeling. She falls asleep thinking over the thoughts of her god brother, Raheem.
Early dawn, she finds herself at the ring. With gloves at her hands, indulges herself in shadow boxing. She needs the distraction of his desire for her god brother. Furthermore, sweat drips on her face and panting. A silhouette of a man that stands far from her and staring while she’s doing her routine of shadow boxing.
