Talking to the Moon ✔

- Chapter Six -

The following morning, I woke up with a start. My heart hammered furiously against my ribs as if ready to jump out. I had barely slept for an hour, I had spent the entire night tossing and turning, trying to switch off my mind and the whirlwind of emotions I felt.

Something in the back of my head told me that I could be losing my mind and that these were merely the symptoms that I had naively disregarded, thinking that I was someone special.

But my heart, which still fought adamant, told me that this was not a product of my silly imagination or some symptom. My heart made me feel that whatever the Voice of the Moon had said was right. It made me feel comforted over the fact that not many people in this world were warned beforehand about their life taking an unpredictable turn.

This, itself, was something incredibly special.

"Ayah?" Asad walked in and gave me a puzzled look which I reflected back.

My brother looked haggard, as if he hadn't slept the entire night himself. His black smooth hair fell above his eyes in an untidy manner – which was unlike my neat brother. I could see that his eyes were red as if he had rubbed it with his hands.

What happened to you? I signed.

"I was about to ask you the same thing." He raised an eyebrow.

I am fine, was my reply.

"Well, then I am fine too." He said as he turned towards the door while I frowned at his back. Why was he so edgy? He started walking but stopped near my door and sighed, I could see with the way his shoulder slumped.

"I made tea for you, in case you were suffering with same pounding headache as I am." He told looking at his shoulder.

I smiled, it was typical Asad.We couldn't be rude to each other for long, I nodded at him even though I knew he couldn't see and slipped from my bed to follow him outside.

One look at the hall and towards the kitchen, reminded me that I had so much work to do. My parents were finally returning to our house, even though Master Maha had insisted that they could stay as long as they wanted.

Master Maha had been too kind, but the people had already started to gossip in our village. They didn't care to ask whether my father was well or about the miraculous recovery, no, their focus was mainly on why my father always got special treatment from Master Maha?

The reason was simple, at the time when Master Maha's household was going through a dark period and it had come to a point when his sons had decided to leave him forever, it was my father who had stepped up from his role as a servant to that of a friend. It was my father who told Master Maha that sometimes the simple act of letting go didn't always mean goodbye.

My father was proven to be right as time changed, even though Master Maha and his sons might not be in the friendliest of terms, they did come to visit him. He did get to see his grandkids. It was also the reason why he threw the party every year – as an excuse to get the family together.

I stared at the hall again, I had to get everything cleaned before my mother's arrival or she would throw such a fit, Asad was exactly like her.

After a quick breakfast, both of us started to make the house in order. We knew the scene that my mother would create, if anything was out of place. I glanced at my brother as I crouched on the ground with a broom in my hand. He was quiet today, which was again, unlike Asad.

He must have felt me staring at him because he looked up while cleaning the dishes.

"What is it?" He asked.

Are you okay, big brother? I signed dropping the broom the ground. There was something wrong with my brother; he was not the one who would be quiet for too long. He always had something to say.

"I am fine, Ay." He said using the nickname he had given me when I was young, "Get back to work. I have to clean the front too."

I picked up my broom walked towards my brother and poked him with its handle. He sighed, running his wet hand through his uncombed hair.

"You are so stubborn."

It was meant to be a jibe, he expected me to react but I wasn't taking his bait. I had never seen Asad so worried about anything before. The last time I saw him so tensed and so quiet was when my mother was giving birth to our youngest brother- Imad.

Maybe, he had been the same way when my father had had heart attack, but I was unconscious so I didn't know.

Is it father? I looked up horrified.

"No, no." He said and shook his head. "Father is alright."

Please tell what is worrying you? I asked because everything after last night would scare me for the rest of my life.

"It is something I saw last night, okay?" He scratched his chin thoughtfully and I froze. What did he see last night? Could it be possible that heard the voice of the moon too? If so, what did She tell him?

"Look, I am not too sure about this. But when I showed you the horse's hind legs near Doctor Nasser's house, did you see something else?"

I shook my head, in response. I was sure that I didn't see anything else besides the hind legs.

"Well, okay." He took a deep breath, "I was trying to find anything that would help me know about the owner of the horse. I just wanted to know who it could be at the late hour, so I tried to look more, to get a peak of anything that might help link it back to the owner and at that precise moment, the horse moved and I could see its saddle. The saddle had a symbol."

I nodded, I still didn't know where he was getting at, but I could see whatever it was, it had made him really worried.

"It was the insignia of the Monarch."

Oh things are getting interesting in Ayah's life. Any thoughts? Why is Asad reacting the way he is? What about the insignia of the Monarch? Why is it such a big deal? More about it on the next chapter :D Till then enjoy the cliffhanger ^-^

And the banner there? You wanna know who it is? It's Omar!!!!! Isn't he gorgeous? *-* He is drawn by @Ciphertext :D