MY BROTHER

For several seconds, I couldn't move.

My brother stood at the top of the staircase, looking down at us.

Malik.

There was no mistaking him.

The shape of his face, the small scar above his eyebrow, the way he stood with his shoulders slightly tilted—everything was familiar.

Yet something about seeing him there made my stomach turn.

I hadn't spoken to Malik that morning.

He wasn't supposed to be anywhere near Lumi Mountain.

"Malik?"

My voice came out weaker than I intended.

He smiled.

"Aliyah."

I took one step toward the stairs.

Lateefah immediately held my arm.

"Wait."

I looked at her.

"That's my brother."

"I know."

"Then why are you stopping me?"

"Because of what his father said."

I remembered the phone call.

Don't let Malik find you.

My heart began beating harder.

Malik slowly descended the stairs.

Nobody spoke.

When he reached the bottom, he looked around at everyone.

His eyes moved from face to face.

Then they stopped on me.

"You came."

I frowned.

"What do you mean?"

He smiled again.

"I knew you would."

"How did you get here?"

He didn't answer.

I moved closer.

"Malik, seriously. What are you doing here?"

He looked past me toward the staircase.

"Did you open the apartment?"

"No."

His expression relaxed.

"Good."

That frightened me more than anything else.

"What apartment?"

Malik looked at me.

"The one without a number."

The room became silent.

"How do you know about it?" I asked.

He shrugged.

"I've been here."

"When?"

"Before you."

"How long?"

He didn't answer.

I stepped closer.

"Malik, Dad thinks you're at home."

"I know."

"Then why are you here?"

His expression suddenly became serious.

"I came because I had to."

"Had to do what?"

He looked toward the ceiling.

"See the mountain."

Charles gave a nervous laugh.

"Okay, this is getting ridiculous."

Malik turned toward him.

"You're Charles."

Charles stopped smiling.

"How do you know my name?"

Malik didn't respond.

He turned toward Emmanuel.

"Emmanuel."

Then Amos.

"Amos."

Fatimah.

"Fatimah."

Sarah.

"Sarah."

Patience.

"Patience."

Keji.

"Keji."

Anabella.

"Anabella."

Lateef.

"Lateef."

Then his eyes rested on Lateefah.

"Lateefah."

She took a step backward.

Finally, he looked at Adeife.

"Adeife."

I stared at him.

"How do you know everyone's names?"

Malik looked at me as if the answer was obvious.

"Because the mountain told me."

Nobody laughed.

Adeife moved closer to me.

"What does that even mean?"

Malik didn't answer her.

Instead, he walked toward the kitchen.

I followed.

"Malik."

He stopped.

"What?"

"You're coming with me."

He turned.

"Where?"

"Home."

"No."

My temper rose.

"Excuse me?"

"I can't leave."

"Why?"

He stared at me.

"Because I haven't finished."

"Finished what?"

His eyes moved toward the staircase.

"The work."

I felt anger replacing fear.

"What work?"

He sighed.

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

He looked at me for a long moment.

Then he said something that I would remember for the rest of my life.

"The people living inside this mountain aren't what you think."

I crossed my arms.

"People?"

He nodded.

"They're not ordinary residents."

"Who are they?"

"Explorers."

I frowned.

"What?"

"People who came here before us."

I remembered the young man from the apartment.

The scratches on his face.

His words.

The mountain doesn't usually take that many at once.

I looked at Malik.

"How many people are inside this mountain?"

He hesitated.

"Too many."

"How many?"

"Nobody knows."

The room seemed to grow colder.

Malik continued.

"They come here looking for something. Some come for adventure. Some come for research. Some come because they've heard stories."

"And then?"

"They don't leave."

I swallowed.

"What happens to them?"

Malik looked at me.

"Some join."

"Join what?"

He didn't answer immediately.

Then he said:

"Illumism."

The word sounded strange.

I had never heard it before.

"What is Illumism?"

Malik looked toward the dark windows.

"A religion."

I stared at him.

"What?"

"The people here believe in a different revelation. They call it Illumism."

Adeife stepped forward.

"Different from what?"

Malik looked at her.

"Everything you know."

I shook my head.

"Malik, stop speaking in riddles."

"I'm not."

"Then explain."

He took a deep breath.

"They believe that the mountain is sacred. They believe there's a force inside it they call the First Light. They think the mountain chooses people."

"Chooses them for what?"

"To receive the truth."

I laughed.

It was a nervous laugh.

"You're telling me you came all the way here to join some mountain religion?"

Malik's face hardened.

"I'm studying it."

"Studying?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to understand it."

"You're not a religious studies student."

"I don't need to be."

I couldn't believe this conversation.

I thought about our father.

A man from a long lineage of Muslim scholars.

A man who had spent his entire life teaching us about faith, knowledge and discipline.

If he knew Malik was standing on a mountain talking about a mysterious religion called Illumism, he would lose his mind.

"What exactly do these people believe?" I asked.

Malik hesitated.

"That every person who enters Lumi eventually has to make a choice."

"What choice?"

His eyes met mine.

"Accept the light."

"And if someone doesn't?"

Malik's voice became quieter.

"They die."

A chill moved through the room.

Nobody laughed.

Nobody even moved.

Then Mosun suddenly stepped forward.

"How did you get into the apartment?"

Malik looked at her.

"The door was open."

"No, it wasn't."

"It was for me."

Mosun's face changed.

"Why?"

Malik didn't answer.

I grabbed his arm.

"We're leaving."

He pulled away.

"No."

"Malik!"

"You need to leave."

"Then come with us."

"I can't."

"Why?"

He looked toward the staircase.

"Because they know you're here."

"Who?"

He didn't answer.

Then something moved behind him.

I looked past his shoulder.

The corridor was empty.

But I heard whispering.

Hundreds of voices.

Soft.

Almost inaudible.

They seemed to be coming from behind the walls.

Malik's expression changed immediately.

"Everyone get away from the staircase."

"What?"

"Now!"

We moved.

Malik grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the sitting room.

Then the whispering stopped.

Silence.

We stared at each other.

A few seconds passed.

Then there was a knock.

Not on the front door.

On the wall.

Three slow knocks.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

Lateefah whispered my name.

I looked at her.

Her eyes were fixed on the staircase.

"Aliyah..."

"What?"

"Look at the wall."

I turned.

The words carved beside the entrance were no longer the same.

Earlier, they had read:

THE MOUNTAIN REMEMBERS EVERYONE.

Now there was another line beneath them.

Freshly carved.

I stared.

The words were simple.

But they made my blood run cold.

THE MOUNTAIN HAS REMEMBERED YOU.

Malik looked at the inscription.

For the first time since he appeared, genuine fear crossed his face.

Then he whispered:

"Too soon."

I turned toward him.

"What?"

He didn't answer.

Instead, he looked at every person in the room.

Then he said:

"We need to leave before Mosun comes back."

Mosun frowned.

"Before I come back?"

Malik stared at her.

"You're not supposed to be here when they arrive."

"Who?"

He looked toward the mountain outside.

"The people of Illumism."

And before anyone could ask another question, a sound came from far down the mountain.

A horn.

Deep.

Long.

Ancient.

Malik's face went pale.

"That's the signal."

"What signal?" I asked.

He looked at me.

"The one they use when they've found new people."

His eyes moved across the room.

Then he said:

"They're coming for us."

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