BAD BOYS

About this Novel

During their conversation, Salima heard her husband, Sheikh Al-Miqdad, calling her. Startled, she quickly rose from their renowned white bed draped in soft, white sheets. Her heart racing, she rushed to the kitchen, where she had heard his voice, her mind preoccupied with the scalding water or an electric shock. She swung open the door, entering the kitchen to find him pacing back and forth, clapping his hands in excitement. "Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun! Woohoo! Um um, you're still in this world!" Salima, visibly shaken, asked in Arabic, "O Sheikh, ma asabak? (What happened to you?)" Her husband pointed at the trash bin, prompting her to glance at it hurriedly. Finding nothing, she turned back, puzzled. "O Sheikh, manil hadha? (What is this?)" The thunder of his voice rattled her to the core, and she trembled in fear, tears of anguish welling in her eyes. "What do I see here, Foreign Foreigner?" Letting out a composed sigh, she raised her hand to wipe the beads of fear streaming down her face. "O Sheikh, it's burnt rice (Kanzo)."