Perfect Execution | Previous Challenge Entry

how it works

TITLE: Perfect Execution | Previous Challenge Entry
By Gary Ritter
03/14/16
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Said peeked around the doorframe. Good. Their mother had cornered Abdullah and he wouldn’t get free for a while. Said eased the door closed and began opening the drawers of his brother’s dresser. With the practiced hand of one used to searching through others’ belongings he left no evidence. Once he looked, everything remained as it had been. He finished the last drawer and again checked on Abdullah. Mother could go on forever.

In the closet he felt each pocket, dumped the shoes, and finally reached up on the top shelf. It was higher than he thought. He found a solid box to stand on to give him the height he needed. Success!

He pulled the book toward him and confirmed his suspicions. A Bible. Abdullah had become a secret Christian.

Said replaced the book and mused about his next move. Abdullah had always been Father’s favorite. Wherever he went Said heard, “Abdullah this” or Abdullah that.” Praise inevitably followed him, and Said hated it. He hated Abdullah, and now he had the means to do something about it.

The easy path would be to tell Father, but another plan quickly formed. At dinner that night Mother asked why he looked like the cat that had eaten the canary, but he kept his peace. When Father praised Abdullah for his faithfulness to the teachings of Muhammad, Said almost lost it. Instead he turned his gaze downward and schemed.

When Said finished telling the imam the following day he felt the rage exuding from the man. His eyes flashed; his face tightened. “You have done well, Said. Here is what you must do.”

The plan executed perfectly. Walking home from school with Abdullah Said carried a bag of fruit in one hand and his Qur’an in the other. In a crowded area Said tripped and dropped his Qur’an. Abdullah bent over to pick it up and Abdullah cried out as instructed. “This boy is a Christian! He stepped on the Qur’an and spit on it!”

Abdullah straightened with horror upon his face, still holding the holy book. Immediately a crowd gathered and voices rose around them. “Blasphemy!” “How dare he?”

A hand ripped the Qur’an from Abdullah and pushed him to the sidewalk. He tried to protest but the crowd had become a mob. Said slipped toward the back and watched in satisfaction. His brother curled into a fetal ball as kicks pummeled him. He’d protect his head and three feet punched his kidneys and stomach. He’d grab for his groin and a two-by-four appeared that crashed upon his head. His blood ran until the rabble had its fill. One-by-one they disappeared.

Said left his brother lying damaged and alone. He ran home and told Father his version of the story. Father reacted as the faithful Muslim he was. “We should leave him there to die, but I will give him one chance.”

Mother nursed Abdullah, weeping over him the entire time. Said sat with Father and enjoyed his approbation for the first time in his life. “To think, you have been the good son, the true follower of our Prophet, while Abdullah made a fool of me with his deceptions. I am deeply sorry. I will not make that mistake again.”

When Abdullah gained enough strength to sit up, Father went to him. “You have a choice. Renounce this Jesus you follow, or you are no longer my son.”

Tears ran down Abdullah’s cheeks. “Do not do this, Father. I love you. I love this family.”

“You will choose.”

Said stood beside his father in solidarity. Abdullah shook his head. “Jesus is my Savior. He would not forsake me. I cannot forsake Him.”

Both Said and Father recoiled in shock. Father’s voice hardened. “You will leave this house today. I have no part in you.”

Father stomped from the room.

Said watched his brother ease from the bed, wincing in pain. Abdullah gathered a few possessions and paused. “Brother, I harbor no ill will toward you. I forgive you for all that has happened.” Without a backward glance, Abdullah limped away. He hugged Mother and disappeared down the street.

A profound satisfaction came over Said at that moment, but in the watches of the night he began wondering if he’d done the right thing. How could his brother forgive him? The Prophet wouldn’t. If that was so, who was the better man, Muhammad or Jesus? Said resolved right then to find the answer.

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