The Dangers of Islam: The Terrorist

Chapter 3: Choices

     "Jannat!" Mehak yelled as she ran after a half naked Ali. "Grab him!" Ali looked around in a panic as he realized that his half naked run was soon to be cut short by his mommy and auntie. "Ahhh!" He yelled before abruptly turning ninety degrees and crawling underneath the living room's coffee table. "Ali!" Mehak cried out in exasperation. "It's too early to run after your tiny butt!" "Has Ali gotten loose again?" Amina asked as she walked into the living room with her morning cup of tea. "Mama, he just took a bath and scrambled out of Sulaiman's grip," Mehak sighed and got on her knees to look under the coffee table. "Get your bum out here, now." Ali giggled and shook his head before darting out the other side of the table. Jannat dived over the couch to grab him, but missed by mere inches and instead slammed her arm against the table. "What's going on here?" A soft voice asked from the front door. "Has Ali gotten loose again?" Mehak looked up and sighed in relief, "Aisha! Grab him!" Aisha smiled and scooped Ali up in her arms before kissing his cheek gently, "Why do you run away from your mommy?" Ali looked at Aisha in surprise and smacked his small hands against her cheeks in delight. Aisha laughed and carried him to Mehak, "Yes, your Aunt Aisha is happy to see you too." "Thank you," Mehak sighed and carried Ali back to her room. "Why do you insist on making my life so hard?"

     At that moment, a very sleepy Dawood walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge as he rubbed his eyes. "Huh? Is that who I think it is?" Aisha asked in surprise as she spotted him. "Why didn't anyone say anything?" "Mama," Dawood called out, "do we have any waffles?" "Check the freezer in the garage," Amina called back. Dawood shuffled off towards the garage, still oblivious to Aisha standing in the living room. "You two were on vacation," Amina began, "which is why you didn't know that he's been home for two weeks." "Mama!" Amina heard a familiar voice call out as the front door opened again. Amina looked up as she sipped on her tea and said, "Vacation's over, Musa?" Musa Khan beamed at his mother as he walked inside. He waited for her to put her cup down and picked her up only to give her a massive hug, "Yup! Vacation's over and I missed you." "Put me down!" Amina exclaimed as she struggled to break free from her second oldest son's grip. Musa laughed and put Amina back down before kissing her forehead, "Like I said, I missed you, Mama." Whenever Amina looked at Musa, she felt as if she was looking at a much younger Harun. He looked exactly like him, from the way he stood; down to the way he parted his hair.

     "Mama! We have no syrup," Dawood called out as he shuffled towards the living room. He yawned and rubbed his eyes before stretching a little, but stopped in mid-stretch once he spotted Musa, "Bhai?" "Dawood?" Musa said in equal surprise. "When did you come home?" "Couple weeks ago," Dawood replied and squinted his eyes. "When did YOU come home?" "Just now," Aisha replied. "Oh, hi, Bhabi," Dawood smiled. "How are you?" "I'm doing well," Aisha replied. She approached Dawood and looked at him at arms length, "You've lost weight." "I swear the next person that says that is going to be force fed butter by me," Dawood sighed. Aisha smiled and ruffled Dawood's hair, "It's good to have you back." "It's good to be back," Dawood admitted. Aisha smiled and glanced at her husband who seemed to be at a loss for words. She knew that Musa and Dawood weren't close, but when his little brother was hurt in Afghanistan, he was the one who was up all night praying that he came home safely. "You guys need help bringing your stuff in?" Dawood asked as he tried to break the awkward silence. Musa snapped out of his daze and said, "Yeah, if you're up for it." "Sure. Can I borrow your car then?" Dawood grinned. "I need to buy syrup." "Should have known you had ulterior motives," Musa sighed as they headed outside.

     "They're so awkward," Aisha said as she cringed. "How can they be brothers?" Jannat rubbed her wrist and finally spoke up, "He's the baby. I guess we never really wanted to hang out with the baby, which is why he's so different." "Still with the way Musa worried about Dawood, you'd think he'd give him a hug or something," Aisha sighed and sat down next to Amina before giving her a hug. Amina patted Aisha's head and said, "What's bothering you, my love?" "Nothing," Aisha sighed, "well, actually I did have some news to share." "You're pregnant," Mehak said matter-of-factly as she walked back in the living room with a fully clothed Ali. "You're what?" Sulaiman asked as he walked into the living room as well. "Is this true?" "Yeah," Musa said from the doorway and handed Dawood the luggage he was holding. Dawood huffed as he was burdened with two extra suitcases on top of the suitcases he was already dealing with. "You're home," Sulaiman said and gave Musa a hug. "Congratulations!" Dawood gnawed on his bottom lip as he watched Sulaiman smile and embrace their brother. "Well, it was supposed to be a surprise," Aisha sighed and spotted Dawood who looked at his brothers in contemplation. "Dawood," she called out. Dawood shook his head and looked at his sister-in-law, "Yes, Bhabi?" "Don't you want to chime in?" Aisha asked. "Yeah, sure. Let me go put these bags away first," Dawood said quickly. "That can wait," Aisha said as she stood up. "It's not a big deal if he actually does work around here, Aisha," Sulaiman said offhandedly.