CHAPTER FIVE

Early Morning Scare

“Zayn! Wake up,” whispered Ibrahim. “It’s fajr, get up!”

“Huh? How do you know?” asked Zayn, groggily. “It’s so dark.”

“I have all the salah times set on my watch,” said Ibrahim. “Now hurry up and do wudu before you miss it!”

As Zayn shuffled to the bathroom, their classmates Ali and Yusuf plopped down beside Ibrahim.

“How are we going to figure out what direction to pray?” asked Yusuf.

“I have just the thing,” said Ibrahim, rummaging through his bag.

“You brought your brown sack with you?” asked Ali. “I thought you guys only used that when you’re on a case.”

“Well, you never know when you might need it,” said Ibrahim, pulling out a small compass.

Once they were done praying, the boys decided to sit on the small front porch of their cabin. The sky was still dark grey, and the morning fog hung thickly in the air. Suddenly the boys heard a soft moaning coming from the trees.

“What animal is that?” asked Ali. “I don’t think I’ve heard it before.”

“That’s not an animal,” said Ibrahim, getting up. “Zayn, grab some binoculars from the sack. There’s something out there.”

Before Zayn had a chance to go in, the moaning became even louder. Then, from behind a group of low bushes, rose a white billowing figure. It floated in the air for what seemed like several long minutes before disappearing.

The frightened boys stood for a moment, staring at the spot they had seen the figure before they all ran back into the cabin.

“It’s the ghost of that boy Mr. Jones told us about!” shouted Ali.

“Except it didn’t look like a boy anymore!” yelled Yusuf.

“That moaning was so creepy, I still have goose bumps!” said Zayn.

“What boy? What moaning?” asked Mr. Barnell, who had just woken up and had no idea what was going on. “Would you boys please keep it down? Ibrahim, can you please tell me what’s going on?”

“Well, sir,” said Ibrahim, trying to gather his thoughts. “As Muslims, we know there’s no such thing as ghosts, but there is something strange going on.”

All four boys took turns recounting the story they’d heard the night before, and what they saw and heard this morning. The more they talked about it, the less frightened they felt.

“Let’s just keep this between us for now,” advised Mr. Barnell. “I don’t want the other children getting scared. If you see anything else, let me know.”

The boys agreed to keep their eyes open and their mouths closed, but before the end of the day, somehow almost everyone had heard of the incident.

***

“So, does this mean that Ali and I are detectives too?” asked Yusuf at breakfast that morning.

“Sure, you guys can be our assistants,” said Ibrahim, carefully eyeing Ali, who was sitting at the next table with George. “I just hope this isn’t one of George’s practical jokes. Ali and George are good friends.”

The table fell silent as the promised breakfast of ‘hot oatmeal and wild berry surprise’ was passed around.

“This actually wouldn’t be that bad if the burnt smell wasn’t so strong,” said Zayn, licking his spoon.

“Alhamdulillah, it’s good to see you eating something other than those sugary snacks you brought,” said Ibrahim.

“Yeah, but I hope Mr. Jones learns his way around the kitchen soon,” said Zayn, looking worried. “I’m already running low!”

Banging a ladle to a pot, Mr. Parker got the attention of all the diners.

“Today’s activities include canoeing, fishing and swimming, but I would suggest you get started on your scavenger hunt if you hope to win.”

“I’m sure the Khan boys will get right to work,” laughed George. “We wouldn’t want to have any fun, would we?”

Zayn just scowled at George, but Ibrahim was smiling.

“That’s not a bad idea,” said Ibrahim to his group. “We could be done with our list before anyone else gets started.”

“Oh, come on!” groaned Zayn. “Canoeing looks like so much fun.”

“It’ll be even more fun when our work is done,” said Ibrahim.

“What do you guys think?” Zayn asked the other team members, who were sitting at the table with them. To his dismay, everyone agreed with Ibrahim.