Duplus

Chapter 34

--Third Person's POV--

Jaber and the others took some rest, knowing that they had lost the attackers for a while. Usama took out a loaf of bread and threw a piece of it at Sufiyaan and Jaber. Sufiyaan halved his and gave one to Amaani, who was sitting against the tree trunk lost in her thoughts.

It had been about an hour in that place and as much as the darkness bothered Amaani, she knew she had to endure it not to seem overbearing to Jaber. Besides, she had faced many painful and dark nights back in her home country. It had become normal for her and her siblings to spend the night in a little compartment in their basement to avoid getting caught by the night patrolling soldiers.

It was unfortunate that two of her siblings ended up getting killed in that same compartment anyway.

"I hate to say it but, Amaani was right. We should've stopped outside the jungle." Sufiyaan took a bite and spoke up. All eyes turned to him.

Jaber nodded. "It seems those men were waiting for us to enter the forest so they could attack us. Maybe the man Ms. Sohail saw was tracking us. When he saw us coming here, he probably signaled his fellows to start the attack." he elaborated, looking at Amaani.

Amaani couldn't help but smile triumphantly. She gave a smug look and sarcastically shrugged slowly. "Can't say I told you so. You guys should listen to me more often." Usama laughed a little. "That's why we brought you with us, Ms. Sohail. But you have to give it to us, we weren't expecting anything of this sort to happen."

Jaber was quick to butt in, almost cutting Usama off. "Ms. Sohail, do you think those men were from Megmel?" his voice carried a hint of annoyance which Usama felt but didn't react to, considering Jaber was his boss and he respected him a lot. Amaani, being her oblivious self just shook her head in response to Jaber's question.

"Nope. Their clothes were very different. The man I saw earlier was one of the attackers and I managed to see his attire. The cloak was ragged and ripped from the ends and the hood was pointed-like a wizard's hat!" she added.

Her words made everyone fall into thought. "That means we have more enemies than we thought," Jaber concluded when Amaani almost cut him off, "Not to mention, enemies literally living in the past. Who dresses up like that anymore?" she scrunched her nose with partial disgust.

"And somehow, they know exactly what we're doing," Usama added, it suddenly hitting him. It was scary how they were being targeted by so many places without even being aware of it.

"And the sad part is, we came here to escape all this turmoil. Little did we know, we were just stepping into another war." Sufiyaan's voice held sadness and disappointment. It seemed fruitless to have made such a long journey from the other side of the world in the end to just get targeted and endangered again.

"Don't say that, Sufiyaan." Amaani placed an assuring hand on his shoulder. Her voice held comfort and encouragement. "Maybe Allah brought us here to do something greater than we ever imagined. Maybe we were sent here to free the people of Megmel or maybe to guide the Kazefaanrians to the truth. If you see it this way, even the cost of our lives seems little compared to that. If we take it as doing Jihaad (struggle in the way of Allah), then it's the biggest blessing for us. Then, coming here is something good rather than an unlucky decision." she ended with a smile, slightly rubbing Sufiyaan's shoulder.

Jaber's eyes had widened as he looked at Amaani, unaware. Her words had touched him, undoubtedly but, to hear it from her? It was a surprise. He knew she had a habit of seeking the good in everything which could be annoying sometimes, but it was the first time he actually understood it from her perspective.