The Moon of Masarrah

by Farah Zaman

  “Yes,” Zahra nodded. “It’s the capital city of Midan.”

  “Have you ever visited Ghassan and Wijdan?” Adam asked.

  “Oh, yes,” Zaid nodded. “We’ve been there several times. In fact, Mom and Dad are leaving this evening for a lecture tour in Ghassan City. Dad is head of the history department at Crescent City University and he and Mom goes on a lecture tour to a different country every year.”

  “That’s nice,” Layla said. “They’ve probably seen a lot of places.”

  From the western turret, they headed back downstairs to the library, which was next to the prayer room and Mr. Horani’s study. The door of the study was closed, and Zaid guessed that Mr. Horani was probably busy at work on his memoirs. In the library, they stared in delight at the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Except for a table with three chairs and a wooden stepladder to get to the upper shelves, the library was filled with nothing but books of all sizes and colors.

  “Why don’t you stay here for a while?” Adam suggested. “Lunch is at twelve-thirty, so you can look around while Layla and I help Maymun lay the table.”

  “Shouldn’t we be helping too?” Zahra asked anxiously.

  “You can help us to wash the lunch dishes later,” Layla told them.

  “Of course, we’ll be happy to,” Zaid said.

  Browsing among the books, Zaid and Zahra found that the time flew by until it was time for lunch. Mr. Horani and Aunt Hafza spoke fluent English and Zaid and Zahra truly felt a part of the family when they both requested that the teenagers address them as Grandpa and Aunt Hafza respectively. Conversation flowed as they enjoyed the hot dolmas – succulent vine leaves stuffed with meat. Zaid was puzzled when Mr. Horani spoke loudly to Aunt Hafza several times until Adam whispered, “Aunt Hafza’s forgotten to wear her hearing aid. You may catch a bit of her Professor Calculus routine.”

  Zaid understood what Adam meant almost at the end of the meal when Mr. Horani said to his sister, “Hafza, did you tell Maymun what you wanted for dinner?”

  “Maymun said I am thinner?” Aunt Hafza frowned, holding her arms out. “I really do not think so.”

  Zaid hid a grin as Mr. Horani sighed and bellowed his question. Aunt Hafza flinched and snapped, “You do not have to shout so, Yusuf. I can hear you perfectly well.”

  The captain stood on the stern of his ship, The Desert Queen, as she plowed along at a jaunty clip on the high seas. The sun shone brilliantly down, drying the drops of spray that splashed onto his face. They had set sail that morning, The Desert Queen laden with rare spices, luxurious bolts of fabrics and magnificent carpets.

  “Captain!” the first mate called out urgently. “We’re being pursued by pirates. I’ve spied their skulls and crossbones through the telescope.”

  “How far away are they?” the captain asked, his worst fear materializing.

  “About ten knots. They’re moving fast.”

  “Pirates ahoy, pirates ahoy,” the captain shouted. “Full speed ahead, mates!”

  “Aye, aye, Captain!” the sailors responded as they scrambled into position. They fired the cannons several times as a warning, but it did not deter the pirate ship, which continued in close pursuit.

  The Desert Queen sped along, the wind buffeting furiously at her sails. But it was no match for the smaller pirate ship, which was almost at their stern. The captain and his men watched stoically as the pirate ship drew alongside The Desert Queen. The pirates swarmed aboard, and a deadly battle ensued.

  The pirate captain, a brawny giant with a bushy beard and a black patch over one eye, smiled evilly, showing rather large yellow teeth as he came at the Captain with his sword. The Captain fought valiantly with his pirate counterpart, their swords flashing furiously as they lunged and feinted and blocked and parried. As the Captain stumbled over a coil of rope and lost his balance, the pirate captain saw his chance. Lunging forward, he raised his sword with deadly intent. The Captain moved desperately aside to escape the death blow, but the side of the sword slashed into his left arm and he cried out as all went dark around him.

  Zaid awoke with a start, his heart thumping madly and his arm still stinging from the slash of the sword in his dream. What a weird dream, he thought as his heartbeat returned to its steady rhythm. Imagine him dreaming that he was captain of a ship! And the pirate captain had borne a remarkable resemblance to Mr. Ahmed!

  Zaid had not expected to fall asleep so quickly. After lunch, he and Zahra had helped Adam and Layla make quick work of the lunch dishes before they had all come up to their rooms. After the midday prayer, he had sat on the window seat for a few minutes gazing into the bay. Spying a little sailboat in the distance, he had stared at it until it disappeared beyond the horizon. He had then picked up a book to read but had fallen asleep with it still clasped to his chest. As he lifted the book and sat up, he noticed a small orange-colored object lying next to him. He stared at it in surprise. It was a dart.

  “Where did this come from?” he said aloud. Suddenly, a muffled giggle came to his ears. Scrambling up, he peered over the bed. Crouched at the foot, he saw two identical, freckled faces grinning up at him. One of them was clutching a dart gun in his hand.

  “Why, you little rascals,” he cried. “Did you shoot a dart at me while I was sleeping? No wonder my arm was stinging.”

  Before the twins could answer, they heard Adam calling, “Hassan! Hakeem! Are you up there?”

  “They’re here,” Zaid called out.

  Adam poked his head into the room and eyed the twins suspiciously. “What are you doing here? Layla’s been looking everywhere for you.”

  “Um…they sort of took a shot at waking me up,” Zaid said, his sense of humor getting the better of him.

  “Out with you,” Adam hustled the twins out the door. “And don’t you dare pull a disappearing act like this again.” Pausing in the doorway, he turned back to Zaid and said, “We’ll be having afternoon tea on the patio in fifteen minutes. Come join us when you’re ready. And tell Zahra. I’m not sure if Layla told her.”

  After using the bathroom and freshening up, Zaid went and knocked on Zahra’s door. She did know about afternoon tea and was in the process of getting dressed, clothes strewn all over her bed. As Zaid was about to beat a hasty retreat, Zahra said, “Wait a moment. Which outfit do you think I should wear?” she pointed to the bed.

  Zaid smothered a groan. He had been trying to avoid this very trap.

  “Hmm…,” he said as he pretended to look, “wear the green dress.”

  Zahra glared at him. “If you had looked properly, you’d have known that there is no green dress there.”

  Reluctantly, Zaid turned his gaze to the bed and said, “What about that blue one?”

  “No, I think the lavender one is better for the afternoon. You’re no help at all,” Zahra turned up her nose at him. “I pity your wife when you get married.”

  “I don’t know why you even bother to ask me,” Zaid grumbled. “Hopefully, I will have the good sense to marry someone who won’t put me through this torture.” Zahra stuck her tongue out at him but when she appeared on the patio ten minutes later, she was wearing a smile on her face, along with the pretty lavender dress.

  They all sat down to eat at the white wicker table, which held freshly cut fruits, crumbly pastries and a large pot of cinnamon tea. Mr. Horani did not make an appearance and Adam told them that he usually had Luqman take him a light snack in the study. Gul flew onto the patio, mewling softly.

  “He wants to eat with us,” Hakeem said, throwing some crumbs on the ground. Swooping swiftly down, the bird pecked up the crumbs. They took turns feeding it, Zaid marveling at its ravenous appetite.

  After finishing up the goodies, Adam and Layla continued the tour, taking Zaid and Zahra to the cellar next. The indoor entrance was in the kitchen, through the door that Zaid had mistook for a storage closet. Adam opened th
e bolt and turned on a light switch. Bright fluorescent light flooded the stairway and cellar below. It was a large area, cool and musty, and packed floor to ceiling with groceries, homemade preserves, and household supplies. A stepladder stood to one side next to a small round table.

  Adam pointed to a door. “That door leads outside. It’s kept open so Abbas can be able to come in. In the old days, the Captain used to keep his ship’s supplies here. They would get ready for a voyage weeks in advance, stocking up on salted fish and meat, fruit preserves and barrels of water.”

  “A sailor’s life is pretty dangerous, isn’t it?” Zaid remarked, thinking about his odd dream.

  “It sure is,” Layla agreed. “They leave their families for a long time and are at the mercy of the sea.”

  After leaving the cellar from the door that led outside, they went past the patio towards the thick spread of almond trees. In the middle was a smooth, paved path.

  “Abbas’s cottage is behind the trees,” Adam looked impishly at Zaid. “Wanna race to see who gets there first?”

  “You’re on,” Zaid said recklessly as he rose to the challenge.

  “Layla, can you start us off?” Adam requested.

  Layla rolled her eyes. “By all means, run like wild beasts if you must. Okay, on your mark. Get set. Go!”

  The youths pounded down the path with as much speed as they could muster. Zaid was a good sprinter but Adam was faster. As the other boy neared the thick screen of trees, a man stepped out and ran full tilt into him, sending both of them crashing to the ground. Fortunately, Zaid was able to swerve to the side before he too met with the same fate. Adam and the strange man got slowly to their feet. The impact had knocked the breath out of them but thankfully they seemed fine. Layla and Zahra hurried forward and they all stared at the stranger. He was rubbing his left shoulder with a disgruntled look on his face. Zaid wondered who he was. He was in his late twenties, and was tall and lanky, with overlong hair, a shadow of a beard and dark, intense eyes.

  “I’m sorry,” Adam apologized. “I didn’t expect to run into anyone here.”

  “You shouldn’t have been running here to begin with,” the man said cuttingly. “This isn’t a racetrack.”

  Adam’s face turned beet red at the admonition. Before he could make a rejoinder, Abbas stepped out from behind the canopy of trees. Behind him, Zaid caught a glimpse of a little whitewashed cottage.

  “Assalaam Alaikum, everyone,” Abbas said, impervious to the tension in the air. “I see you’ve met my nephew Mir. He’s visiting from Crescent City. Mir, these are Mr. Horani’s grandchildren and their friends.”

  Mir nodded to them, his face unsmiling. He did not seem to be a very friendly person.

  After an awkward moment of silence, Abbas asked, “Were you coming to see me?”

  “Oh, no,” Adam replied. “We were showing our guests around. If you’ll excuse us, we’ll continue the exploration.”

  “Yes, yes, of course,” Abbas nodded. “Mir and I are going out for some groceries.”

  As the two men moved out of earshot, Adam said, “Whew! Mir’s nephew is one mean guy.”

  “Well, you just knocked him down,” Layla said. “What did you expect?”

  “A little more graciousness for one thing,” Adam grumbled. “It was an accident, but he acted like I deliberately did it.”

  “Well, forget about him and let’s move on,” Layla said. “I can’t wait to show Moss Haven to Zaid and Zahra.”

  “Moss Haven?” Zahra queried. “What’s that?”

  “You’ll see,” Layla said mysteriously.

  Behind the almond trees lay Abbas’s little whitewashed cottage. To its left was an herb and vegetable garden filled with the pungent aroma of thymes and mints planted in neat rows, along with tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. There was a rough pebbled path on the right which led to a huge grove of acacia trees with gnarled limbs and great trunks. Once they entered among the dark shelter of the trees, Adam veered right, and they walked until they came to the wall which ran around the property.

  Adam drew alongside it and pointed to a door with a bolt across the top. “You see that door? It leads out to the bluffs. That’s the only way to get to the cove. The other way is by boat, of course.”

  They continued walking until the trees thinned out to reveal an old lopsided shack covered with creepers and green moss.

  “This,” Layla pronounced, “is Moss Haven. Isn’t it a charming little place?”

  Zaid and Zahra eyed the crooked building dubiously. “Is it a storage shed?” Zaid inquired.

  “Grandpa said it used to be the gardener’s shack before the new cottage was built,” Adam told them. “Come on, we’ll show you the inside. It’s in much better shape than the outside.”

  He pushed on the door of the shack and it swung open with a series of rusty creaks to allow them entry. They entered an average-sized room with two windows facing out front, both covered with thick green moss that blocked out the light and cast the shack in gloom. It was empty except for several worn armchairs arranged around a scratched, lopsided coffee table. Other than the bitter odor of rotted leaves and a smell of dankness, the space was surprisingly clean and dry.

  “I hope there aren’t any creepy-crawlies in here,” Zahra looked uneasily around.

  “Oh, we haven’t seen any so far,” Layla replied nonchalantly. “But there’s a spider web hanging over your head,” she pointed upwards, her eyes dancing with mischief. As Zahra scuttled hurriedly to the side, Layla chuckled and said, “I guess I forgot to mention that the spider is long gone.”

  “Very funny,” Zahra huffed.

  “Don’t you think this would be an excellent meeting place?” Adam asked. “No one would bother us here.”

  “Meeting place for what?” Zaid asked.

  “To plan how we’ll search for the hidden diamond,” Layla replied.

  “Hidden diamond?” Zahra’s eyes became wide as she looked from brother to sister. “For real? You’re not pulling our legs, are you?”

  “Not at all,” Adam replied. “Let’s meet here at eleven tomorrow. We’ll tell you everything then. And remember, it’s a secret.”

  Chapter Three:

  Captain Red Rafiq

  Eleven o’clock the next day found them all gathered in Moss Haven. Zaid and Zahra were all ears as they waited for their new friends to speak.

  “It all started with our great-grandfather, Captain Rafiq Horani,” Adam began. “To tell you a little about him, he was born here in Midan to English parents in the days when Midan was a British protectorate. He converted to Islam as a young man and changed his name. He joined the British Royal Navy and fought on a destroyer during World War Two. After the war ended, he married Great-Grandma Saffiyah and became a sailor. Aunt Hanifa was born a year later, and Aunt Hafza and Grandpa two years after her. Eventually, the captain got his own ship and named it the Yuhanza, which is a combination of his three children’s names – Yusuf, Hanifa, and Hafza. That’s when he became known as Captain Red Rafiq.”

  Layla took up the tale. “The Yuhanza came back from its last voyage on the Night of Catastrophe. I think you both know this bit of history, right?”

  Zaid and Zahra nodded soberly. The Night of Catastrophe as it had become known, was the conclusion of a deadly coup that had taken place in Midan over half a century ago.

  “To make a long story short,” Layla continued, “the rebels burned the Yuhanza and murdered the Captain right here in the house that night. Grandpa, who was twelve years old at the time, found him dying in the great hall, stabbed with his own dagger. With his dying breath, the Captain told Grandpa about a diamond that he had hidden in the house. He died before he could say exactly where. Grandpa searched everywhere but never found it. Dad also searched when he was younger, but he didn’t have any luck either.”

  “What makes you think
we’ll have any better luck?” Zaid asked.

  “We might not,” Adam shrugged. “But we’re going to give it a shot. Will you help us?”

  “Of course,” Zaid nodded. “It sounds like great fun.”

  “I think it’s very exciting,” Zahra said enthusiastically.

  “But why do you want to keep it a secret?” Zaid asked. “Wouldn’t it be better if everyone helps?”

  “We’d rather not tell them,” Layla said. “The twins will pester us and Grandpa will probably think we’re wasting our time. Besides, it’s more fun looking for it in secret.”

  “We’ll search whenever we can spare the time,” Adam said. “I’d really love for us to find it before we leave.”

  “Where are we going to search first?” Zahra asked.

  “We’ll have to discuss the most likely places,” Layla said. “Then we’ll start searching the first one on the list.”

  Fifteen minutes later, after a vigorous discussion of where the diamond could be hidden, Adam said, “Okay, we’ll start searching the western turret tomorrow.”

  That night, Zaid sat on the window seat in his room, cool tendrils of bay air swirling around his face. The night was rather dark, with no moon or stars and the only sounds to be heard were the muted roar of the waves crashing against the cliffs and the far-off cry of a night heron. Zaid closed his eyes and inhaled several deep breaths of the salt-tinged air.

  Perhaps there’s a boat crossing the bay right now, but I can’t see it, he thought. He tried to conjure a picture of what the imaginary vessel looked like. It’s a small outboard motor, modern and sleek. It cuts swiftly and powerfully over the waves with hardly a sound.

  My imagination is really good, Zaid thought as he heard the faint buzz of an engine. As the sound became louder, his eyes flew open when he realized that he was hearing a real engine rather than an imaginary one.

  “It’s a real boat coming in,” he murmured in surprise as he peered into the darkness. He could make out the shape of a small boat in the waters off the cove. Even as he looked, the boat entered the cove and disappeared from sight in the shadows of the cliffs. He could no longer hear its engine either. Zaid wondered what the boat was doing in the cove at this time of the night. And stranger still, why was its lights off? Perhaps it was in some sort of distress and was awaiting help? Puzzled, he went to bed and was soon fast asleep.