The Dark Mountain: And Other Stories

By Mona Salem Bakhashwain

Safi is just forty-two when she dies, leaving her husband, Raj, devastated. Unable to return to normal life, he departs for Dark Mountain where he plans to dig a tunnel. As months and years pass, Raj is boosted by his knowledge that Safi is with him in spirit. But will he ever complete his lofty project?

In a collection of short stories inspired by the Arabian culture and Hijaz folklore, author Mona Bakhashwain shares a glimpse into the lives of diverse characters, each battling unique challenges. When a prince instructs his loyal assistant to help a poor family in his kingdom, he learns valuable lessons about life, death, and everything in between. Ahmad is a poor fisherman’s son—and his good luck charm. When his father catches a whale, the boy is shocked when the whale begs to be released so he can feed his calves. Although he promises to return, Ahmad still flees in fear of retribution from his father without any idea that the whale will return in a way he never imagined.

The Dark Mountain is a collection of short tales inspired by Hijaz folklore that leads others into a fascinating world where characters must overcome obstacles to realize happiness and learn life-changing lessons.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Mar 3, 2020
• ISBN: 9781728399164

Mona Salem Bakhashwain

Mona Salem Bakhashwain was raised in the western part of the Arabian Peninsula, where she resides today. She taught language in high schools as well as at a university in Taif, a quiet summer resort city in the Hijaz region, where she worked in the Faculty of Education and English Language Center. Bakhashwain also spent several years as an opinion writer for the Makkah Newspaper.

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© 2020 Mona Salem Bakhashwain. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 03/02/2020

ISBN: 978-1-7283-9915-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-9916-4 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Radi and the Young Prince

The Gardener’s Smart Daughter

The Fisherman’s Son

The City of Sorrow

The Dark Mountain

The Greedy Merchant

The Two Friends’ Wives

Jabira and the Cats

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Radi and the Young Prince

O nce upon a time, there was a prince of a rich county. He was a ruler of a big region of his father’s kingdom. The people in that county knew that the prince was a kind man. He used to go out at night when people were asleep to check on them. To do that, he used to take his wazeer , his loyal assistant, on late-night rounds to various parts of the county.

One night, they heard the voice of an old woman saying that food would be ready soon. There were also some children telling her that they were very hungry. The old woman was trying to persuade them to wait for the food to be ready. The children started to cry because it took her a long time to cook the food. The prince told his wazeer to enquire about that house and the family in it.

The next day, the wazeer told the prince that four orphans lived in that house with their grandmother and grandfather. They were a very poor family. The grandfather searched for jobs, but he could not find any.

The prince told his wazeer to help them, but not in a direct way. The wazeer suggested that he could send them a turkey stuffed with gold coins. People at that time used to accept food as gifts from each other, but it was very rare for them to accept money. The prince liked the idea. The turkey was sent the next morning with all the gold coins inside.

A few days later, the prince and his wazeer went on their late-night rounds. They went to where they had been before to discover whether that family now had enough food and money. They heard the children crying and the grandmother trying to pretend she was cooking some food. The prince asked his wazeer, Are you sure that they received the turkey and the gold? The wazeer replied that he was sure. The prince wondered what could have happened. Then he asked his wazeer to send the family a sheep stuffed with gold coins next time.

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