As Ahmed finished his information assimilation, the sunlight filtered through the cabin's small window and fell on the face of Mariyah who was still sleeping soundly where her gentle breathing a reassuring presence in the dimness. But Mariyah soon woke up.
Ahmed: (softly, to Mariyah) "Good morning, my dear. How did you sleep?"
Mariyah: (stretching and yawning) "Better now that you're awake. Everyone's been worried about you."
With a nod, Ahmed rose from his makeshift table where he was working & writing just now after tidying up the pages. Although the language he wrote the information is a mix of modern English and Bengali using encryption morse code which he learned in his previous life, he doesn't want others to find out.
The events of the previous night were still fresh in his mind. He needed more accurate information and the morning meeting with the rest of the family would provide an opportunity to gather information and assess their situation.
As he made his way to the central area of the ship deck where a temporary place for eating was, Ahmed was greeted by the sight of his remaining family members, their faces drawn with exhaustion and worry.
But as soon as they saw him, they instantly became happy. Almost like a child would behave when finding their parents after a long time. Ahmed or now, Sayfullah could understand their behavior as he already has memory of his predecessor and now that he is the pillar of all things of these few people, he decided to properly do his duty. So he greeted them with a smile.
Ahmed: "Good morning, everyone. I apologize for causing concern. I assure you, I'm feeling much better now."
Elder Sister (Ruqayyah): (with relief) "Thank the heavens. We were all so worried when you collapsed. But let's not dwell on that now. We have much to discuss."
The conversation flowed easily as they exchanged updates and shared their hopes and fears for the journey ahead. Amidst the serious discussion, there were moments of fun as they reminisced about happier times and shared fond memories.
Ahmed: (smiling) "It's important to hold onto these moments of joy, especially in times of hardship. We must remain united if we are to overcome the challenges ahead just like 3rd grandpa would want."
After that, Ahmed turned his attention to his nephew and niece, as they were eager to spend some time with him and lighten the mood with playful antics. He also talks separately with his elder brother-in-law Ubaidah, who is a scholar and polymath.
This was an interesting discovery as he needed capable people to help him and most of his family members were not in the perfect age. And as a polymath, Ubaidah is proficient in Mathematics, Medicine & Science. Although his knowledge is shallow compared to Ahmed's, but it is already good for the 8th century.
As the first guinea pig who could help him, Ahmed also enthusiastically converses with Ubaidah and also slightly tries to direct the knowledge to the right path, which would require many set back unless. Time passed quite fast and thus their morning breakfast time ended.
.........….
After the morning meeting and breakfast, his sisters, cousin sisters and wife all went back to the ship's cabin as a long time stay in the salty sea water already made them ill and now, they are just spending their time by sheer mental power.
But other than Ubaidah, the rest of the boys are restless as all are younger than Ahmed, Who himself is just 15 years old. So they started to practice on the ship's deck which seemed like swordsmanship. From the predecessor's memory, Ahmed knows the boys – Yasin, Zakariah and Hossain.
They are his cousin brothers and Yasin is also his younger brother-in-law as he also was arranged to marry Ahmed's younger sister Zubaidah on the same date Ahmed got married to Mariyah, 10th April of 750 CE. Yasin is also the only brother of his wife & 1st cousin sister -Mariyah. They are his 2nd paternal uncle's children along with their younger sister – Samiyyah.
The other two – Zakariah and Hossain are his 3rd paternal uncle's children. Zakariah is engaged to Samiyyah and Hossain is engaged to Umme Hamdun, who is the cousin sister of Ubaidah, my elder brother-in-law. So it seems that all are related to each other now and as a person from the modern era, it was quite uncomfortable for him. But nothing can be done as the family is on the brink of destruction and he does have good mental & cultural adaptability due to his long-time service as a top spy in previous life.
So although they were not of age even by the standard of the 8th century, but especially as they all belonged to wealthy and influential families, they had to take the burden of revitalizing the family as wished by their deceased elders.
From his predecessor's memory. Ahmed knows that all 3 are also trainee warriors and just like his predecessor doesn't have any modern knowledge, just muscle in the brain. So they are of the right age and right group to convert loyal and hardworking.
And for a seasoned spy like him, it is almost like breathing oxygen to convert these boys' minds and make them loyal to him. But before that, he wanted to know them in more detail to figure out his exact plan and thus, he started training with them and guiding them.
By the time they finished training, it was almost early noon and was time for their lunch. So all the boys went to clean themselves. Ahmed also went back to his cabin and found that Mariyah was not there. So after freshening up, he decided to write the information he collected about his family members just like he did in the morning about himself.
So he started writing information about them –
Elder Sister – Ruqayyah Al-Adnan Binte Abdul Hadi [19 years old (Born in 731 CE)]
*She is a Housewife and Islamic Scholar (Hafiza of Al-Quran).
*In her free time she likes to draw calligraphy and seam clothes. (Calligraphist & Seamstress)
Elder Brother-in-law – Abu Ubaidah Al Amin Ibne Al Haroon [22 years old (Born in 728 CE)]
*He is an Islamic Scholar (Hafiz of Al-Quran) & Trainee Polymath (Mathematics, Physician & Scientist).
*He is also the 5th Chief of Banu Amin (House of Amin) [Banu Amin (House of Amin) was a renowned Scholar & Business family of Mintaqah Al-Jazira, Umayyad Empire before their destruction.]
1st niece – Azizah Al Amin Binte Abu Ubaidah [2 years old (Born in 748 CE)]
1st nephew – Abu Qasim Al Amin Ibne Abu Ubaidah [ 2.5 months old (Born in 750 CE)]
Younger Sister – Zubaidah Al-Adnan Binte Abdul Hadi [12 years old (Born in 738 CE)]
*She is an Islamic Scholar (Hafiza of Al-Quran).
*She had the hobby of gardening before we left Bilad Al-Basrah. (Gardener & Botanist)
1st Cousin Sister - Mariyah Al-Adnan Ibne Abdul Sa'ad [14 year old (Born in 736 CE)]
*She is an Islamic Scholar (Hafiza of Al-Quran).
*She has the hobby of writing poems in her free time. (Literature & Poetess)
*She is my wife. [Married on 10th April, 750 CE (Gregorian Calendar wise)]
1st Cousin Brother – Abu Yasin Al-Adnan Ibne Abdul Sa'ad [12 year old; (Born in 738 CE)]
*He is an Islamic Scholar (Hafiz of Al-Quran) & Trainee Warrior (Archery & Swordsmanship).
*He had no hobby other than Training and Brawling.
*He is my Younger Brother-in-law as he is married to my younger sister Zubaidah.
2nd Cousin Brother - Zakariah Al-Adnan Ibne Abu Musa [11 year old (Born in 739 CE)]
*He is an Islamic Scholar (Hafiz of Al-Quran) & Trainee Warrior (Archery & Cavalry).
*Although he is a training maniac like my 2 other cousin brothers, he does have good situational awareness and intelligence.
*Engaged to 2nd cousin sister Samiyyah.
2nd Cousin Sister – Samiyyah Al-Adnan Binte Abdul Sa'ad [9 year old (Born in 741 CE)]
*She is an Islamic Scholar (Hafiza of Al-Quran).
*She has a hobby for storytelling and poem writing & reciting. (Writer & Poetess)
*She is also my Sister-in-law as she is the younger sister of my wife.
*She is engaged to 2nd cousin brother Zakariah.
3rd Cousin Brother – Hossain Al-Adnan Ibne Abu Musa [8 year old (Born in 742 CE)]]
*He is an Islamic Scholar (Hafiz of Al-Quran) & Trainee Warrior (Cavalry & Swordsmanship).
*Unlike my other cousin brother, he is not a training maniac and is interested in Islamic & other scholarly and spends quite a lot of time reading, comprehending and understanding. (Islamic Scholar & Polymath)
*He is engaged to Umme Hamdun.
Future 3rd Cousin-in-law- Umme Hamdun Al Amin Ibne Abu Musa [7 years old (Born in 743 CE)]
*She is a Trainee Islamic Scholar and also likes gardening and pets (Botanist & Zoologist).
*She is also the paternal cousin sister of my Elder brother-in-law and belongs to Banu Amin.
*She is engaged to 3rd cousin brother Hossain.
#Including me, there are 12 family members (6 male & 6 female).
#Also find out that, all the remaining married and engaged couples will be officially betrothed when the bride will turn 15 years old, as per the local custom where our family was originated from and ordered by 3rd grandfather before his death.
When Ahmed saw the information he had just written, he found that there is so much to tap into and gather benefits from this group of people and it will be easier for him to do so as he is their leader and pillar now. So he was happy and began to tidy up the pages from his makeshift workplace.