Sheikh Surgeon
KAL watched the bird spiral upwards, riding the desert thermals higher and higher until it was a black speck against the impossibly blue sky. The bird's flight lifted his spirit until it seemed his soul soared with it, released from the imprisonment of his body. Only here, alone in an endless sea of sand, did he experience the lightness of spirit that was close to happiness.
As close as he would ever come...
Suddenly, the black speck dropped like a stone, down and down and down, wings tucked back to add destructive power to the speeding descent. It disappeared from sight behind a sand dune, and Kal whistled then held out his arm for the bird's return.
It had missed its kill and he wasn't sorry--he had food enough for himself and the bird. But the falcon's failure reminded him how long it had been since he'd spent time with his birds--flying them and training them. His men exercised them regularly, but they didn't have the same touch and the birds knew it.
But what was more important? Training falcons the way his ancestors had for thousands of years, or bringing modern medicine to his country--providing the best medical services for his people?
... read full excerpt from Sheikh Surgeon ebook
