rebellious

 Gilman pulled Brian to the side. - What's going on boss?  - What do you mean? Brian replied pretending to be surprised. -  "Dont play that game with me. I know you too well by now. I saw you roaming around Saba's cousin past few hours. If I am not mistaking, you were having a talk with her. What is it about?" -" I was just curious about her. She is quite interesting and smart. Now please excuse me!" Brian took a sip of the wine and left. Gilman stood there for a good minute or two. He still can't believe his ears.' Some woman sounds interesting to Brian! It gotta be very bad.' Gilman thought. 'Should I call for help. Damn! I don't want this in my engagement party.' Confused Gilman left to look for Brian. ------------ Rocky, Brian, Gilman, Saba and rose are sitting in the sunroom with beer. The elders are in the living room including Ruby. -" This girl is becoming more and more annoying every day. " Saba said while looking a...

 Everyone is busy in Gilman's house. Rocky just arrived with Rose. Mahad Nasr and his wife are helping Saba's parents to get everything ready for the program in the evening. Even Gilman is running some last minute errands to make sure there is enough supply of the booze. Brian is walking back and forth in his room. "Doesn't make sense! Something doesn't match." Ruby's background check didn't provide enough information to answer Brian's questions. According to the results, Ruby is harmless. Brian started pulling his hair with his hands. He does this whenever he can't figure out any answer.  "How does she know that I work for the military or I have been deployed multiple times. She shouldn't be knowing this. " Brian thought. "Somehow, I need to get close to her and find out more about her. But that damn woman is covered head to toe. I can't even read her facial expressions or have any sort of eye contacts." Brian mutte...

  Gilman doesn't look too much happy but still continuing to exchange greetings with Saba's uncle's family. Ruby is responsible for it. Gilman was so excited since that morning but as soon as he saw a covered woman walking toward his front door, his heart sank. He heard from Saba about Ruby's beauty but wanted to see in person. That didn't happen!   A slap on his head, woke him up from his thoughts. -"My condolences for you, brother." Brian said trying to stop himself from laughing. -"Don't talk about it. Does she really need to dress like that? It feels like I am back in my mission. Don't wanna experience that while I am home." Gilman's wrinkled forehead proved his disappointment. -" Dude! It's nothing personal. I just can't hold my laughter anymore." Brian started laughing out loud.  Few feet away, Ruby shook her head. ' I am stuck here with bunch of idiots.' -------------------- -"Are you planning to ...

It's about 6 hours drive from Ruby's house to Virginia. Putting the phone aside, Ruby started getting ready. This isn't the first time she is going for a long drive but this is the first time she getting outside the house like this. Before finishing up, Ruby looked at the mirror. Nothing is showing except the eyes. Everything is covered with black overhead jilbab. Even she got the hands covered as well. Part of her mind rebelled, ' Do you really have to dress like this? It's too extreme! It's been only few months that you started practicing. You dont have to go through that drastic route. Look at all the girls around you, their fashion forwardedness made them more attractive.' 'Yes, I had to. The minute I read that I am supposed to cover myself, I didn't have the courage to do it otherwise. Yes, extreme I know. But, what if I don't survive tomorrow to practice this? I can make up for the salah I missed. How am I supposed to make up for the years ...

 Mahad Nasr and Shirin is sitting in the backyard and enjoying the cool summer breeze.  - How is Ruby doing? Did anything get better? Mahad asked his wife Shirin. -" Same as before. As a matter of fact, it's getting worse everyday. " Shirin replied with her eyes closed. -" How so?" -" Past whole month, she is been wearing this headscarf. No matter, how hard I tried to convince her, she doesn't buzz. It's like I am talking to a tree. The more we try to make it harder, the stronger she gets. Other day, I tried to tell her that she is young, she has all the rights to beautify herself. If she covers that much, she is never gonna be able to make friends. ' Boys are not going to be interested. They prefer a smart woman. I am not saying that you are not beautiful, you are still beautiful enough to turn any boy's head with this scarf of yours.' The consequence was, she increased the width of her scarf and the style of wearing it. Now it's ve...

 It's been ages that Brian hasn't been to a bar. Last time he went was right before the deployment, about 6 months ago. He isn't a heavy drinker but he enjoys the company. Especially, girls! Girls, they are a totally different chapter. The chapter that Brian never understood beyond the bed. May be that's why, he never got married. 35 years is not awfully old but to his father, he is. According to his father, men should settle themselves by the age of 28. Anything beyond that means those men are destined to be single for the rest of their lives. Brian doesn't care! Especially, the profession he is in, loose lips might be deadly. Women are very good at that. A phone call got him out of his thoughts. It's Gilman.  -"What's up?" -" What's your plan for today?" Asked Gilman. -"Nothing much." -" Come to the bar. Steve and Parker would be there as well." -"Alright, see you soon." Brian got up from the bed,  ...

 "Mom, dad! You need to have a talk with Ruby about it. She is going overboard with this whole religious thing! She doesn't talk like before, she doesn't behave like before, she doesn't dress like before. We live in a society. If she continues to behave like that we'll soon be outcast." said Rocky in Stern voice. -" I think you have done more than you are supposed to. Raising Ruby, I never said a harsh word to her but you crossed your limit as a brother. I supported you intially because I did want her to go such extreme. But your behavior is making her more stubborn than ever before. Don't you see that she doesn't really care if she gets beat up or  mentally tortured in a dark room? My daughter hasn't eaten anything in past whole week except water. " tear welled in Mahad Nasr's eyes. He continued, " I have decided from now on she will get what she wants, she will live the way she wants. My words are final!!" -------------- A...

Darkness is everywhere! Can't tell whether it is day or night, just like any other basements in this part of the city. Trying to move the right hand, Ruby felt a sharp pain.         'May be it's a sprained wrist. Not a biggy!' Ruby told herself. It's day-to-day incident now since she decided to be more sincere about her religion.  Being borne in a so called Muslim family, hasn't proved to be beneficial for her thirst for knowledge. To them, being Muslim means stay away from pork, pray the Eid prayer and occasional drinking in the parties. This is what means to be an American Muslim. But Ruby started walking against the tide! That's when everything fell apart. The brother who adored her the most became her worst enemy. Now he doesn't even flinch to swing a baseball bat at her! The effort to stop that blow caused her the wrist sprain. Ruby could've called the police and complained, but she didn't. She read about the Abysynian slave Bilal (ra). when...

-" Ali, what's going on with you? I have noticed that in past couple of days, you are not doing your chores properly. Neither you are eating on time nor you are sleeping!" Ali's mom said in utter disappointment. -" It's not the time to sleep or eat, mom! We are in the verge of revolution. A new day is about to come. Let me do my duty to the fullest." -" I don't understand what revolution are you talking about sitting in front of this box. You know what would bring a better day?" Ali looked at his mom for the answer. -" You getting out  of this house and working on the farm.  Useless son, I gave birth to! Wants to bring revolution sitting in the house!" Minutes Ali's mom and left. - Ali smiled. " Wait and see mom. You will be proud when you see the streets taken over by the youngsters tomorrow and your son will be leading them." On the other side of the mountain, Parker put down the headphone. "Mission accomplish...

  Abdullah's sleep broke as soon as the azaan called in. It's early but Abdullah prefers this hour of the day. Everything is nice and quiet. He can even hear his own breathing. Refreshing mountain air wakes up the body and soul.  "Can't imagine a better place to live in the whole world." Abdullah told himself. - "Hurry up, you are getting late for the masjid. We have a long day ahead of us." Abdullah's wife Amina said. ---------- - "Is it really necessary to do the things you are doing?" Amina said while serving tea to Abdullah. - " I am not doing anything wrong. I am just doing my duty as a Muslim. Most youth in our locality are getting far far away from the religion. If my single effort can bring them back together then it's worth it." -"I understand but people are spreading rumours that you joined some extremist militant groups. I am worried that this rumour will cost us dearly." -" Rumours are rumours. The p...

Mornings are always bone chilling cold in this mountaneous village. It's very hard to believe that this picturesque village is in fact a death trap. A wrong move is enough to wipe anyone out of his existence. Especially, person like Brian Thomas. He is sitting with a bunch of other locals around the fire. This is the usual morning routine of these people. Only one exception, Brian is not a local!!  --------- -" This local government is ridiculous. They can't decide how we should live our life. I am young, I have my whole life ahead of me. I don't want any backwarded belief system hold me down."said 22 years old Ali. The rage in his voice is evident. -"You are absolutely right, buddy. The world is progressing, everything is changing, new opportunities are opening up. You have the right to choose a better life for yourself."said Brian eyeing Ali's reaction. - " We are so helpless here. We can't even say anything. We can't demand anything. ...