The Brave Tale Of Shuli

Shuli woke up with a terrifying gunshot... She looked around for her father but he was gone.

She ran back to her sister's side and found her dead... When she walked over to the window to see what had happened to her parents. A tall man with long black hair that covered half of his face was standing outside with another man. As they were about to leave, she grabbed their arm and asked them who killed her family. They said it was us! Then they threw her out the window. She fell and screamed until she couldn't hear anything. The next thing she knew, she was in a white room where a woman was sitting at a desk reading a book. Shuli tried to run but the woman grabbed her by the neck and snapped her head back. "You can't escape your fate!" the woman shouted in a deep voice.

"Who are you?" Shuli asked.

"I am your mother," the woman said smiling.

"Mother, how could I have been so stupid? My father is not to be seen and my two sisters are dead." Shuli said angrily.

"There was nothing I could do. I told you not to go out today. We didn't know we would be attacked." Her mother said sadly.

"What about my father?" Shuli said looking down.

"He's vanished he did not come back home," the woman said coldly.

Shuli began to cry. "Please don't let him die! He's the only father I've ever known!" Shuli begged.

Her mother sighed and put her hand on Shuli's shoulder. "It seems like your father has been outside of the town for a long time, and now your two sisters were murdered, because of something they did. As for you, maybe you will never get to meet your father or your two sisters again. Because it seems like you were also in danger."

Shuli sat quietly when her mother said these words, she felt so alone in this world. She cried and cried until she fell asleep.

The next morning Shuli went to the door of her room and stood there staring into the dark hallway, waiting to hear someone come through. But no one came. So she walked down to the kitchen, hoping that maybe her father would be there. But he wasn't. She then went to the hall and opened the door. She looked around but didn't see anyone. Her eyes scanned the area but still didn't see anyone. Just then two shadows appeared from behind a tree. "Are you ok?" The men asked.

"Yes, thank you," Shuli replied.

"My name is Ashiq and this is my friend Mizar." He said pointing to the other man.

"Nice to meet you both, my name is Shuli."

They all shook hands and then Ashiq said, "Are you hungry?"

"Not really," Shuli said.

Ashiq laughed and said, "Well if you change your mind let me know. Here have some raisins". Then he left. Shuli sat there watching them walk away until they disappeared into the bustling marketplace full of men. She decided to go inside and eat the only thing she had left., she went upstairs to pack some clothes and supplies. Then she headed to the door, but as she was about to step out onto the road, a man ran in front of her and blocked her way. "I'm sorry, but you can't leave yet," the man said. He was wearing a mask and had a short sword on his waist.

"Why not?" Shuli asked angrily.

"Because it's dangerous right now. There's a huge bounty on the women roaming in the city" The man said.

Shuli took her dagger out and pushed the blade against his throat. "If you try to take me, I'll kill you."

The man smiled and said, "Your father must be very proud of you."

Shuli gasped. "How do you know my father?"

"I'm his bodyguard. And don't worry, he's fine. He's just hiding somewhere safe. But you need to stay here so you won't be taken."

"Where did you come from?" Shuli asked.

"From the Taliban headquarters, I am a double agent. It's our job to protect the women and children who are being kidnapped. We help the women without the Taliban knowing. Now please..." the man pleaded.

Shuli sighed and dropped her dagger. "Ok, I guess I'll stay." The man nodded and smiled.

Shuli turned around to go back into the house, but then she heard a scream coming from the basement. "Oh, my God!" She exclaimed.

She ran down the stairs and saw her mother lying on the floor with many large cuts on her body. She rushed over to her mother and knelt beside her. "Mommy!" She cried loudly.

"Don't worry baby, I'm ok," her mother said weakly.

"No mommy, I heard you screaming."

Shulis' mother closed her eyes for a second and then opened them again. "I'm fine, just rest."

"But where's daddy?" Shuli asked.

"He's gone," her mother said.

Shuli was crushed. She had never thought her dad would leave her. Not after everything he had done for her. She started to cry and then her mother said, "Go to sleep. I promise I'll be here tomorrow."

Shuli looked up at her mother and said, "I love you, mommy."

The next morning Shuli woke up feeling good. She cleaned herself up and ate the raisins that Ashiq had given her. After she finished eating, she packed her things and left the house. But as soon as she stepped outside, her mother yelled stop! "Wait there Shuli." She said

"What is it?" Shuli asked.

"Just wait here. I'll be right back."

Shuli waited patiently for her mother to return. Soon enough she came back limping with a small bundle in her hand. "Here," Shuli's mother said handing it to her daughter.

"What is this?" Shuli asked curiously.

"This is your father's knife that he wanted to give you." Shuli took the knife and examined it closely. The handle was made out of ivory and wrapped with gold thread. The blade itself was sharp and long. It reminded her of her dad. She wondered why her mother hid it from her.

"I'm glad you kept it," she told her mother.

Shuli pulled her mother into a hug and said, "Thank you for being such a great mother."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth, but I wanted you to keep it. So you wouldn't get hurt."

"I understand mom."

"And don't forget, when you're in trouble just use the knife."

"I won't," Shuli promised.

"Bye Shuli," her mother said.

"See you later mom," Shuli said and smiled. She put on an extra Taqiyya her dad kept on the table and Shuli walked off and headed towards the market. As she was walking, she passed by a group of men, who were in the middle of a fight. "Hey, you!" One of the men yelled. Shuli froze and slowly turned around.

"You're a girl! Why are you walking in the street?" Another man asked.

"I'm not a girl," Shuli answered defiantly.

Then a third man said, "Yeah, you look more like a boy than a girl."

Shuli sighed and crossed her arms. "Maybe I am a boy."

One of the men laughed loudly and said, "Look, I think you should go home now. You shouldn't be walking about."

"And what business is it of yours?" Shuli asked angrily.

The three men laughed. Then one of them pointed at Shuli and said, "That's right. If you wanna stay alive then go back to your mother and get married."

Suddenly one of the other men picked up a rock and threw it at Shuli. She ducked and then ran to avoid getting hit. She quickly hid behind an old [ ] tree and watched them run away. She sighed and then got up and continued walking. As she was walking, she noticed a woman running towards her. Shuli looked up and saw that it was her mother. "Mommy, I'm sorry about what those guys said. I didn't mean to get you involved."

"It's ok sweetie, they weren't worth worrying about."

Shuli smiled. "Now will you teach me how to fight?"

"Of course!" Her mother said happily.

***

Shuli and her mother spent the day training. They practiced using knives and sticks against each other. At first, Shuli was scared that her mom would beat her up but she was surprised that she was pretty good. Her mother taught her how to defend herself. She used her elbows and knees and even grabbed the knife from Shuli's hand. The best part was that Shuli realized that her mother was a lot stronger than she looked. She was strong enough to throw a grown man across the room. After practice, Shuli and her mother went back to their house. They ate dinner together and then went to bed. 

The next morning Shuli woke up early and went outside to watch the sunrise. She was looking up at the sky when suddenly she smelled something. She smelled blood. She ran to wake her mother up but she was lying on the floor not able to breathe. She was dead. Shuli screamed until she lost consciousness. When she woke up she was in a room. She took off the bandage from her forehead and looked at it closely. While she was lying down she noticed that the room smelled fresh, she had noticed she was in the local hospital. Shuli had been brought there after she was stabbed by those men. 

Taliban men had broke into her house twice the first they killed her mom and the second they wounded Shuli faultily. Even though Shuli was a brave girl she could not fight back while the men lit fire to her forever home.

"Why am I here?" Shuli asked talking softly

"I don't know, I found you unconscious on the porch of a burnt-down house. So I thought your house was burnt." a doctor said.

"Who are you?" Shuli asked.

"My name is Doctor Zahira," the woman said.

"When I found you, your body was covered in bruises and huge cuts. You have been stabbed multiple times by men". "You can barely walk, so make sure you rest."

"My mommy died, and now I'm all alone," Shuli said sadly.

Doctor Amira sighed and said, "I'm so sorry, we tried to save her but it was too late." 

"Is my father ok?" Shuli asked.

"Yes, he's fine. He's sitting in another room." 

"We found a way to call him."

Shuli followed the doctor to the waiting room. She knocked on the door, and then a man answered. "Come in."

Shuli entered the room and saw her dad sitting in a chair reading a book. He looked tired. "Hi Abu," Shuli said.

"Hello Shuli," he replied.

"Can I talk to you?"

"Yes, Yes Of course," he said.

"Did mommy die?" Shuli asked.

"Yes, she died last night in the hospital."

"I'm so sorry dad," Shuli said.

"It's ok. We have to be strong."

"I want to go back to my home," Shuli said. She wanted too but it was too late. the way she was stabbed she could barely walk and she had lost a lot of blood. she was in condition of death. Death was taking her life away... and she fell to the ground, Death had taken her life away... Shuli was dead