CHAPTER 2 : BRAVE 2

Awsh! These prickly shrubs are really torturing. Licking her index finger, a young lady stood close to a magarya tree, a shrub known for its medicinal purpose and has sweet tiny red seeds. It wasn't the ripe season of the dry fruit but the leaves are highly required and the the short tree was full of the leaves. Picking the leaves wasn't easy because they are small and the stems of the shrub have thorns which when one isn't careful can get injured.

This is the seventh time hassana have been pricked by the throns but like a witch, she got stuck to that particular shrub to pick from only because it has the most leaves and the leaves were wider than the other shrubs she have encountered earlier. The air was quite hot and she was busy sweating in her short hijab. She had to endure the pain in her fingers and precede to pick the leaves.

If not for dhalhat, her stupid twin brother who wouldn't listen to people at all, how can she be here, in pain and agony picking medicine to cure that stubborn boy. He just had to go with his friends into the forest, destroyed a shuri, a termite house and got himself entangled with a jinn who reside within the shuri.

When dhalhat was taken to malam, after the ruqya, the jinn revealed himself and complained about how her brother and his friends destroyed his home. The home have been intact for generations but in one strike, dhalhat and his friends broke it down to the ground. How can he forgive such cruelty? No way! That boy must suffer for the lost that he the jinn had suffered.

No amount of apology could deter that jinn from his vengeful state. It is not even something that they can build again and apologize to him to reduce the burning in his chest, so why would they even waste his time seeking forgiveness. He will not forgive and dhalhat must pay for the lost with his health.

Malam had to battle with that jinn by force by fire before he eventually retreated but just in case other jinns find dhalhat a prey, malam requested they find the magarya leaves so he could bath with it. There wasn't even any remaining at home or anywhere near their house so hassana had to venture out alone into the wild in the hot weather looking for magarya leaves which picking it was so torturing on its own.

Hassana had to go deep into the dry lands filled with dry dusty sand to find the magarya shrubs. She came along with her water calabash because if anything she will need that the most. She also came with her dry food, gurasa which she love the most in case hunger strike at her stomach. That thing is satisfying. Fanning herself with her cane fan which she was grateful she didn't forget it to wad off the heat even though the tree in the dry lands were well, completely dry too.

The dryland is a vast land which stretches out far wide and a mountain can be seen though not clearly. Although the dry lands is uninhabited it contains a lot of herbs her master needed and she venture out now and then to get it.

Most of her master's apprentice were scared of the wild because of the wild insects and animals but not hassana, she even plays with the wild insect such as scorpions and the animals, she avoid by just ignoring them.

Somehow, the animals do not harm her too.

No one knows of her ability but she can somehow communicate with animals by just staring at them. She attributed such thing to her twin abilities. While she can do numerous things, her twin dhalhat is well known for only one thing, causing trouble and because of his trouble, here she is, getting tortured by thorns and heat.

Hassana looked up, the sun was shining so bright and extremely hot. Looking back at her scavenging, she still needs more because she didn't want to come out again in this heat if the leaves are needed again. The heat is unbearable, the neck of her hijab was like soaked in water and she thank Allah she didn't wear a heavy clothing. It could've been a sweat bath.

Hassana was a young apprentice to her uncle zakari, a well known physician in the city. She was the brilliant, intelligent, fastest to learn apprentice he had ever gotten. One remarkable thing about her was that, she was extremely brave, even braver than the young men he trained together with her. She can go into thick forest, crawl into bushes, even swim in rivers to get any type of herb he requested. As long as it exist, she will get it.

Collecting the last leaf from the shrub, hassana stood up feeling satisfied for plucking each and every single small magarya leaves from the thousand leaves she met leaving the shrub naked. It is extremely remarkable for a person to endure such hard work. Yet, not a single leaf was wasted, all packed inside her skin bag. All she need to do now is to head ho.....

A gust of wind mixed with a neigh of a horse and scream of a man nearly stopped her heart from beating. However, before she could register what happened, the horse, it's neigh and the man or men were suddenly gone. GONE! After they nearly knocked her over!! How dare them!!! She quickly ran to the place she tied her mount, untie it and mounted it, ready to galloped over to those barbarians.

Yes they are barbarians and although they didn't committed the crime, she was known for seeking justice no matter what. However, her mount started moving extremely slow and with that speed, she will never reach those men and catch them on time. It's even better to run after them. Lazy donkey. Eating too much yet not delivering any work. She should persuade her father to sell it and buy a hard working one.

Ooooh! How is she suppose to catch up with those barbarians? She wouldn't even know...her eyes caught something on the ground and she quickly dropped down, bending down to pick it. Hm, that's more like it. So this person that tried to crush her was somewhat rich because only wealthy people can carry along this golden symbol with them. Throwing it up and catching it on her palm, hassana smiled sinisterly.