Sunday, March 26, 2006

The prologue to my book Inshallah

3udbi was playing outside when it happened. She heard the bloodcurdling screams start off at the edge of the village as it made its way towards her like waves crashing on the reef. At first she didn't know what to do. She stood with her head cocked towards the noises and her hands still holding on to her pebbles. After a few minutes she saw the smoke rising above the huts and she knew she had to go find her mother. Her feet barely touching the ground she bounded over stones and around trees as the sense of dread filled her little heart. 3udbi stood a few feet from the closest hut as she witnessed men with turbans around their heads setting it on fire. This didn't look good. She knew very well from the village legends that men with turbans around their heads came to take people away to Hell. She had to find her mother and little brother fast before they were taken to Hell. Skirting around the now burning hut she used a rugged path to get to her side of the village.3udbi skidded to a stop and out of breath by her neighbour's hut or at least where her neighour's hut used to be. Peeking around the now carcass of a hut, that was still smoking, she saw her mother's hut. It was burning with intensity as screams and wails come from within. Rushing forward towards the house without any forethought or precautions 3udbi had only one thought ringing in her head, "Hooyo needs me! She is crying for me!." Someone grabbed her as she got close enough to see the fire engulf the door. She kicked and yelled at the top of her lungs, "Hooyo...........alaa Hooyo. Hooyo macaanto...........Hooyo kadax bax. Hooyo! Hooyo! Hooyo!" Tears flowed from 3udbi's eyes as she clawed and kicked to be freed from her captor. Her mother was burning up in that hut and was calling for her. She knew she needed to be there for her. She needed to be with her mother even if it meant dying in that furnace with her. She watched as her home collapsed in on itself. She watched as the sounds of her mother's wail died and in its place was the hissing of the fire and absence of the voice that had lulled her to sleep many a night. 3udbi stopped fighting and crying as the blackened hut groaned its last. She knew it was over. She would never again see her mother and brother. They were gone . They had left her alone in this world with nothing. The wind whistled through the village carrying with it the smell of burnt flesh and palm trees but more profoundly it carried 3udbi's mother and brother away from her forever.


I had inspiration and encouragement from a lot of people during the past years and I finally decided I will pour my heart in a book and Inshallah may it be a work that will educate and entertain people. Let me know what you think of the prologue. This is just an excerpt of it.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent, Oh god good I felt it, dunno what it is but i felt it that was very touching can't wait for full book!

Anonymous said...

Masha Allah. Keep it up.

Anonymous said...

i told you .....you have a Tom clancy style of writting....very good

SleepDepraved said...

A critic in the making aberrant. I will work on the ponctuation (punctuation), syntax and coherency. :)

As for me not posting again dear I don't think you can tell me when to and when not to. Incase you ain't noticed the blog you just criticized is mine, hence I do what I want with it (To blog or not to blog as FOC puts it).

I am assuming you are a somali blogger. Wanna give us (poor writers) a looksie to your blog? FOC and I link somali blogs to our page. That is if you ain't embarrassed.

Ps:- I will try not to make you lauph (laugh) anymore. Cheers!

Anonymous said...

i think there is a lot of truth about what the (sister or brother)??? is saying i guess that the sister/brother lauppphed so much that she/he probably decided to go with the PH (kkkkkkk) i guess you have to be SLEEPdepraved to come up with a such rotten prologue

Flower.of.Chaos said...

Oh look at these cowardly haters?

G'luck SD.

Leyla said...

I LOVED it, it even brought prickless of tears and made me question who is the person holding her back, and why hasn't she noticed it yet so we can see. I'm looking forward to it...but I do agree about the punctuation, in all honesty it threw me off. Leyla your a beautiful writer mashallah keep it up, and hurry with the book I want to know how she overcomes her hardships, I'm a romantic at heart soo yeah lool.

NATIVE said...

Salaam sista.....all the hating happenin aside i gotta say i like your prologue.
The last few lines........when u say she will never see her brother and mother...and that the wind has carried them away forever.......makes me think......asemayo kesho ni mwongo. Tommorow is not promised! I think am gonna go tell my family i love them!
Good luck with the book writting sis......inshaAllah we will be reading it soon.
peace!

Inspired said...

asalamu alaikum

what's a good author without a few critics?

keep at it sis.They'll pretend to know you when your book is a best seller.