Chapter 18: Garden Feast

It was just past high noon, and the morning sun had already receded behind the cloud cover. Fraser’s Hill rarely had a full day of sunshine.

The girls’ unrestrained, high-pitched laughter could be heard all the way from the front gate.

“Guess who’s back?” Tengku remarked drily.

Sharifah immediately got up to welcome her girls back, and Jackie followed behind her.

The girls were already dashing into the lawn by then, with Bob some distance behind.

“Hi, Mummy, Daddy!” Azeela called out, panting as her younger sister tried to race her to the garden.

“You cheated! You ran up first…” Nabeela cried breathlessly before she spotted her parents. “Hi, mummy, Daddy. It was so much fun… I saw a big eagle, Daddy!”

“It’s a falconet -- it’s only the size of a pigeon, haha,” Azeela teased.

The girls were soon bickering again until Bob stepped into the garden. The little one ran up to him.

“Uncle Bob, Azeela says I didn’t see an eagle. I did, didn’t I?”