Written by: Abdo Ali Al-Fahd

A fierce battle broke out between them, and the struggle intensified, with sparks flying inside the cave until they turned into a blazing flame. Once upon a time, in the distant past, there lived an elderly man in the final days of his life. He resided in a cave in a valley full of trees and herbs, where a stream would flow during the rains and remain in the streambed until the next rainy season. The streams of water were scarce, continuing only until the coming of the next rainfall. He owned a fair number of sheep and goats, living off their meat, drinking their milk, and using their hides for clothing and footwear. He also used their wool for bedding and warmth. He would light his way with their fat and tallow, and even the hides of their young ones were filled with their milk. The cave of the sheep extended beside his own, and he would gather firewood from its valleys and hills, and from the rocks of the stream to light his fire. He would offer food to any guest who arrived, providing the best of his herds, and when it was time to depart, he would send them away with similar kindness. His life followed this pattern, night and day. Even the wild beasts, during his time, trusted their lives with him. They would come to take their share of bones and skins, grazing with the shepherds' flocks, and at night, they would guard the cave’s entrance. His wife had passed away, and only his son and daughter remained by his side in the cave. As his health deteriorated and he was bedridden, one evening, he felt his life nearing its end. He called his son to sit beside him and said, "My son, the days are over, and the end is near. Life, after today, is impossible. Listen to my will: Do not break traditions, do not shelter a renegade, do not harbor a thief, never let your fire go out, nor your door remain closed. Help those in distress, and be generous. Never sheathe your sword until your enemy sheaths his, and never draw your sword before your enemy draws his. Be diligent in your generosity, and give more than what you take. Let your sword be sharp and capable of cutting through veins, and your spear sharp enough to pierce bodies and fortifications. Prepare before you are prepared, and assemble before you are assembled. Pursue those who follow, and wait for those who wait. Never harm the fallen, nor squander your wealth. Do not settle in narrow places, nor block roads. Do not trust camel drivers or dwell near astrologers. Do not thank a maker, nor feed the already full. Do not belittle a scholar, and never disturb someone who sleeps. The final part of my will is to be good to your sister, to be a visitor and not a stranger, to help without humiliating. And if someone comes seeking her hand, extend your hand in support without hesitation. Do not ask about his father, his grandfather, his home, or his name. Do not be concerned with his appearance or shape. Do not demand a dowry for her or a loan. My only condition is that he must not wear a belt." At that moment, his breathing became labored, his life passed away, and his soul returned to its Creator. His eyes were closed. Above his head in the cave, a mischievous jinn had been listening to the will. The son and daughter prepared their father's body and buried him near the cave where they lived. After a while, on one dark evening, while they were both asleep, a voice called out from outside the cave: "Oh Madour, Oh Madour! I am the one from the will. Give me your wife, Safsaf." Madour was startled by the voice and thought to himself, "How does he know my name, my sister’s name, and the will? No one was present when the will was spoken." He hesitated and did not answer. His sister awoke and urged him not to respond. The voice repeated the call several times, and Madour, unable to resist any longer, said, "I am coming As he approached the cave entrance where the voice was coming from, Madour recalled his father’s will—not to ask about his name, father, grandfather, or house, nor to care about his appearance or color, but only to ensure there was no belt. The night was dark, and as he drew closer, he could not make out the details of the figure’s shape. Instead, he saw it like a shadow. He extended his hand to feel around the man’s ears to check for a belt. After feeling, he found the entire head to be bald. He said, "Please, come in," and the figure entered. After lighting the lamp with great difficulty, Madour and his sister were stunned by the figure’s frightening appearance. He was pitch black, with flattened eyes and wide nostrils, two large fangs like those of a tiger, a smooth skull with no hair, and no neck, as if his head was embedded between his shoulders. His body was covered in black fur reaching down to his waist, and beneath it, he wore a tiger’s hide. His feet were bare, and his long nails resembled eagle talons. On his forehead, between his brows, was a raven's beak. They were horrified by what they saw. The figure then repeated his request, directing his words to Safsaf, saying, "Come, move, my wife," and reached out toward her. Madour tried to stop him from approaching, but the creature swelled with anger and roared, threatening to burn the cave down if his father’s will was not followed immediately. Madour was confused, but the will of his father was the only path to take. He signaled to his sister that they must follow their father’s instructions; disobeying the will would bring disaster, as they had no power to confront this creature. So, they asked him to stay until morning. He roared, "Now, now!" Madour reluctantly agreed, and the creature moved toward Safsaf, grabbed her by the waist, and carried her under his arm as he left the cave. Madour followed quickly, but in the blink of an eye, the creature and Safsaf had disappeared. Madour returned, feeling sorrowful for a long time, remembering his father’s will to always be kind to his sister and visit her. He felt lost, not knowing where she had been taken, and the situation continued for some time. The creature carried Safsaf under his arm and flew with her to the plateau of Haid, entering a small triangular opening that led into a house-like interior. Inside, there were tunnels filled with bones, skulls, and animal droppings. He placed her there and said, "This is our home." He offered her some fresh bones, stained with blood, and a child’s skull, saying, "Eat the brain and the skull." She refused and said, "I eat something else." He left for a moment and returned with food from human flesh, which she ate. Over time, the creature would turn into a hawk at dusk, flying out and returning before dawn with bones, skulls, animal droppings, and food for Safsaf. One day, after a while, he returned to find Safsaf crying. He asked her why. She said, "I miss visiting my brother." He promised her that she could visit him. At dawn, he took her to the cave’s entrance and left. Safsaf had noticed the plateau and the height of the opening, and as she rode on the creature’s back, she recognized the place. When she entered the cave, she found Madour sleeping beside a woman, and immediately realized her brother had married. She called out, "Madour!" He woke up in alarm, shouting, "Safsaf!" and was overjoyed by her arrival. He asked, "Where is your home, Safsaf? Where is your husband?" She did not answer him and remained silent. He asked, "Who is this woman?" She replied, "She is my wife. He woke her up and introduced her to his sister. As the sun set, Safsaf informed Madour that her visit would end after midnight and that her husband would come to take her. Madour was surprised and insisted she tell him where her husband lived and why he came to take her only after midnight. She then told him the story—her husband was a jinn living in the Eagles' Plateau, and at the time of their father’s will, he had been listening from the ceiling of the cave. Madour resolved to free his sister from the jinn and asked for her help. Safsaf objected, saying, “You can’t handle the jinn.” Madour insisted on saving his sister, even if it cost him his life. Safsaf told him the exact location of the opening in the plateau and the times when the jinn would leave and return. She asked him to give her a rope so she could lower it to him, allowing him to climb up to the opening. Madour gave her the rope, and she also hid some food. She told him, “Before nightfall, be at the base of the plateau, watch for the opening the jinn will emerge from, and stay beneath it. I will throw the rope down to you.” After midnight, the jinn arrived, stood at the cave entrance, and called for Safsaf. She went out to him, and he carried her away to the plateau, bringing the hidden food and rope with him. The next evening, Madour went to the plateau and waited under it until darkness fell. He heard the sound of the opening, and when he saw the hawk emerge and fly, he whistled. Safsaf threw the rope down, and Madour climbed it until he reached her. He hid inside a tunnel among the bones. When the jinn returned before dawn, he entered the cave and began to search, shaking and growling. He said, “I smell the scent of a human. Whoever it is will not survive this night!” He searched around the cave, and terror filled Safsaf as she feared for her brother. She said, “Sniff away, Master of the Jinn, for the scent is from the food you brought from my brother’s house.” The jinn believed her and ate a donkey’s skull while she pretended to arrange the bones, trying to appease him. She conversed with him and said, “Oh, Master of the Jinn, your kind has extraordinary qualities that humans do not possess. You can shapeshift into birds, cats, snakes, and animals, and even turn into fire, water, or smoke. But I am curious—how did the Prophet Solomon manage to imprison you in small bottles and jars and cast you into the sea? How could he have done that?” “This small bottle in my hand—does it fit large jinn like you? This is impossible!” The jinn swelled with anger and said, “We can transform into smoke and enter the bottle easily.” She replied, “I don’t believe you.” He said, “Open the bottle in your hand, and I will show you.” Safsaf quickly opened the bottle and held the lid in the other hand. The jinn transformed into smoke and swirled, descending into the bottle until it was fully inside. She quickly closed the bottle and sealed it tightly, placing it on the ground of the cave. Then, she took Madour out from under the bones, and they spent the night there, extending the rope and descending from the plateau, leaving the jinn trapped inside the bottle in the cave. Madour and Safsaf returned to the cave, keeping the events to themselves and not telling Madour's wife what had happened. They thought they had freed themselves from the jinn. After some time, however, Safsaf realized she was pregnant with the jinn’s child. She told her brother Madour, and they both agreed they must get rid of the pregnancy. They tried every trick to miscarry, but it was all in vain. Finally, they decided to tell Madour's wife that Safsaf was pregnant by her husband and that Madour had gone away to a distant land. Madour's wife believed them. The pregnancy continued to grow, and a year passed without Safsaf giving birth. She continued her attempts to miscarry, but to no avail. By the end of the second year, she still hadn’t given birth. Then, at the end of the third year, Safsaf gave birth to a strange child—a beautiful, well-formed boy. His hair was white like the color of old age, and one of his legs was like that of a hawk, with sharp talons. He grew at an astonishing speed. By the time he was two months old, he could walk, eat solid food, and speak. He possessed extraordinary strength, and when he gathered firewood, he could uproot giant trees with one hand and carry them to the cave as if they were walking trees in the air. As he grew, the boy often asked his mother about his father. She would tell him, “Your father went to a faraway land and never returned.” One day, he asked her to build him a house from stones, and he immediately obeyed. In just a few days, he had built her a magnificent palace from giant stones. However, he still couldn’t believe his father’s absence. He insisted on his mother telling him the truth about his father and where he was. He grabbed her by the waist with his powerful grip, lifted her, and said, “If you don’t tell me, I will squeeze you until you speak.” She screamed, “Let me go, and I will tell you! Your father is a jinn trapped in a cave in the plateau, locked inside a bottle.” He placed her on the ground, then headed toward the plateau. They climbed and entered the cave, where they found the bottle in its original place, with smoke still inside. The boy approached, took the bottle, and opened it. The jinn erupted in fury, shouting, “Who are you, and why did you enter my home?” The boy tried to explain that he was his son, but the jinn was enraged. “How can you be my son? This woman never gave birth to a child!” A fierce battle broke out between them, and the struggle intensified. Sparks flew inside the cave as they became a blazing flame, until they both turned into a heap of ash. The jinn and his son were destroyed, and the matter ended there. Safsaf remained, and eventually, Madour came, took her down from the plateau, and took her to her palace. She lived the rest of her life peacefully, never marrying again after the jinn.
The End..