Zaki was small for his twelve years, and he was angry being treated as a child. Farid, his older brother, had been looked upon as a man long before he was Zaki's age. Every day Farid and the other young Bahraini men went out in their wooden boats to dive for oysters (牡蛎). Many times Zaki begged to go along, but Farid always refused to let him.
So every day Zaki would go to the shallow water to practice. His grandfather, a former diver, would watch him and advise him. All morning, Zaki would practice diving beneath the waves. Every afternoon, again and again he would go underwater and hold his breath. With each day's practice, his diving improved and he could hold his breath a little while longer. Soon Zaki felt as much at home in the water as he did out of it.
Zaki rose early one day. He wanted to compete with his brother. They dived beneath the waves. Zaki opened his eyes and found himself looking into his brother's face. Farid was smiling with confidence. Slowly, the smile was disappearing from Farid's face. As more seconds passed, a worried look appeared on Farid's face. Farid was realizing that Zaki could possibly beat him. Looking into Farid's eyes, Zaki suddenly understood what losing could mean to his brother. Never would the villagers allow him to live it down. He would be laughed at by losing to a little child. Almost without thinking, Zaki kicked his feet and rose to the surface of the water a second before Farid's head appeared beside him.
The men around them cheered and patted Farid on the back. Farid, however, put his arm around Zaki's shoulders. "Today," Farid announced, "we shall have a new diver among us." Then quietly, for Zaki's ears alone, he said "Thank you, my brother." And Zaki knew that they both had learned that it takes more than strength to make a man.
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