Rahma's Revenge: A Tale of Betrayal and Justice

This story took place in Lebanon, specifically in the south in 2007. There was a woman in the village she lived in, nicknamed "The Angelic Voice." Her name was Rahma. She was married and had four children, but God had blessed her with an otherworldly voice. Her singing wasn’t vulgar or inappropriate—no, no, no. It was singing of poems and chants without musical instruments or anything. Her voice could transport you to another realm. Whenever she sang, people begged her to perform at weddings and other celebrations, but she always refused, saying she didn’t sing in such places. However, when she gathered with her friends in private settings, she would sing, and her voice was powerful, soft, and beautiful.

Rahma was married to a man named Fadi. Fadi adored Rahma’s voice. Of course, I don’t need to tell you about her beauty—her height, long hair, fair skin, and eyes. No, let’s just talk about her voice. Her voice alone made Fadi adore her. Fadi would wake up and sleep to the sound of Rahma’s singing. She was cheerful and had a pleasant disposition. She would wake her husband and children with a song. Her words were always sweet, and with her beautiful voice, anything she said sounded like a song. This family lived in a musical harmony and was very content. Fadi would wake up to find breakfast ready, his wife smiling at him, and everything in order. He would then drive his taxi to Beirut for work since business was better there. He would leave early in the morning and return late at night, while Rahma took care of the children and managed the household.

One year, Fadi met a man named Amjad from their village. They met several times in Beirut for business, and since they were from the same village, they developed a strong friendship. They would travel back to the village together every night. Fadi and Amjad’s relationship grew very close, almost like brothers. Amjad was 62 years old, married, with children and grandchildren. One day, Amjad decided to run for the position of village chief. Fadi’s relative was also a candidate. Fadi, valuing Amjad’s wisdom and respect for him, urged his relative to step down in favor of Amjad. This caused a rift between Fadi and his family, but Fadi was adamant that the best candidate for the position should win. However, Amjad didn’t win the election; the votes went to Fadi’s relative. Despite this, Fadi and Amjad’s friendship continued.

They spent every evening together, but there was a significant age difference—Fadi and Rahma were 28-29 years old, while Amjad was 62. This age difference didn’t matter to Fadi, as he valued Amjad’s experience and wisdom.

One day, while Amjad was visiting Fadi, he asked him to prepare the hookah (shisha). While Fadi was preparing it, he noticed Amjad intentionally dropping a piece of paper behind him. Fadi picked it up and found a love letter addressed to Rahma from Amjad, expressing his desire for her and urging her to leave Fadi. Fadi was furious and confronted Amjad, who denied writing the letter. Fadi then confronted Rahma, accusing her of infidelity and physically assaulting her. Rahma, innocent of the accusations, was heartbroken and bewildered.

Feeling remorseful, Fadi later realized he might have wrongfully accused Rahma. He sought her out and apologized, and she explained how Amjad had been making advances towards her, which she had been too afraid to mention. She assured Fadi that she had no feelings for Amjad and that her loyalty was to her husband and family.

Determined to take matters into her own hands, Rahma devised a plan to eliminate Amjad. She obtained a hand grenade from her brother Yasser and attempted to place it under Amjad’s car, but the plan failed when the grenade fell off without detonating. Undeterred, Rahma decided to learn how to use a Kalashnikov rifle. With Fadi’s help, she trained rigorously.

On the planned day, Rahma, dressed in military attire, waited for Amjad to return home. As he entered his garage, Rahma ambushed him, shooting him multiple times, ensuring his death. She then fled the scene and disposed of the evidence.

The investigation led to the arrest of Fadi, Rahma, and Yasser. Despite Rahma’s confession and the clear motive of revenge for the assault, they couldn’t prove the assault had occurred. Consequently, Fadi and Yasser were sentenced to prison for their roles in the crime, and Rahma received a reduced sentence for her actions.