It was an intensely bright day—the kind where the sun blazed fiercely from every corner of the sky, spreading its scorching light and heat across the earth to the very limits of human sight. The kind of heat that forced every living being, whether human or animal, to seek shelter in whatever shade they could find, just to escape the burning rays and the oppressive weight of the sun's wrath from head to toe.   At such a time, Ummukulsum walked with deep resentment and a simmering anger. She was a young girl, barely fifteen years old. 

  She was not fair-skinned—not like those with lighter complexions—but rather a deep chocolate brown. She had thick, flowing hair, a well-proportioned nose, and medium-sized eyes. She was blessed with bright, striking eyes, and her teeth were a gleaming milk-white. Her lips were neither too thin nor too full, perfectly shaping her face. In short, Ummukulsum was among the women of moderate beauty.   The heat burning in her heart was fiercer than the sun beating down on her head. Her eyes were filled with tears, which she struggled to hold back, having already cried enough earlier. She was a stubborn, strong-willed girl—a trait some interpreted as sheer hardheadedness and a difficult nature.  

As she walked, she swallowed the lump lodged in her throat and glanced at the empty paths stretching endlessly before her. It seemed everyone had gone to the farms—those who had no farms to tend to or nothing to do on them had simply retreated to their front yards.   Her left hand brushed against a narrow shortcut just ahead, and she quickly decided to take it, despite rarely favoring such paths unless absolutely necessary. Even her mother sometimes urged her to be patient and stick to the main road. But right now, she just wanted to get home quickly—before her stepmother began waiting impatiently for her return.  

She hadn’t even taken a few steps into the shortcut when she suddenly froze.   Asiya.   Her half-sister—the one who shared her father but had a different mother.   She continued walking toward them, her eyes fixed on them as she approached.   It was her and Ayuba—one of the...