Ahmed began with a warm smile to teach the children some Arabic letters, starting with the easy ones that they didn't find difficult, such as Alif, Baa, and Taa. The small eyes sparkled with concentration, and the voices came out with a slight hesitation, but with every new letter, they grew more enthusiastic.
Then Ahmed moved to the letters that were not present in their Japanese language, such as "ḥāʼ," "khāʼ," "ʻayn," and "ghayn." The children tried to pronounce them for the first time, and the result was very funny. The sounds came out distorted and different from the correct sound, which caused a wave of laughter among them, Ahmed, Misaki, and her parents.
The first little girl said with caution and excitement, trying to pronounce the letters:
"Haaa... Khaaa..."
A small child laughed and imitated her:
"Aaaa... Ghaaa..."
Even Misaki tried to pronounce the letters with difficulty, saying as she repeated carefully:
"Khaa... Aaa... Haaa..."
Then she looked at Ahmed with a playful challenge and said to him:
"It's your turn, can you pronounce some difficult Japanese letters?"
Ahmed smiled confidently and said with a clear and perfect pronunciation of the Japanese letters that were complex for her. At that, Misaki couldn't help herself and lightly hit him on his shoulder with laughter, because she didn't expect him to be so skilled at pronouncing languages.
Everyone laughed at this funny moment, and the children's innocent and sincere laughter spread, resembling the ringing of bells of joy throughout the house.
Ahmed saw in the children's eyes the innocence of discovery and the joy that comes from learning something new, which made these small moments turn into a beautiful memory that strengthened their friendship.