📍 Scene: Istanbul, Late Night – The Top Floor of Karaman Trade Tower
The skyline of Istanbul shimmered beyond the floor-to-ceiling glass walls. The Bosphorus glittered like a thread of stars.
AYDIN KARAMAN, in his mid-30s, stood in a crisp navy suit, hands behind his back, watching the city he helped shape.
He was not born into wealth. No noble family. No elite school. Only drive, prayer, and vision.
AYDIN (thinking):
"Ya Allah... I've built all this with these hands. Every brick. Every deal. Every risk."
Behind him, laughter erupted from a room full of executives. The retirement party in his honor was still going. But Aydin knew—something wasn't right.
📍 Scene Change: The Boardroom, Moments Later
EMRE DENIZ, his closest friend and business partner since university, poured two glasses of dark scotch.
EMRE:
"To the King of Commerce. Free at last!"
AYDIN (half-smile):
"To the man who started with nothing… and finished with too much."
They clinked glasses.
Aydin took one sip.
And then… silence.
His chest seized. The glass shattered on the floor.
AYDIN (choking):
"You...?"
EMRE (coldly):
"You always said I was your brother. And brothers inherit."
The last thing Aydin saw was the city he loved. Then, only darkness.
📍 Scene Change: A Silent Void
No time. No pain. No walls.
A voice echoed. A woman's voice—gentle, sorrowful, strong.
MOTHER (voice in the void):
"Ya Rabbi, my son was proud, but never unjust. Give him another chance—not in gold, but in faith."
A flash of blinding light.
📍 Scene Change: Rural Village, Iraq/Iran Region – Unknown Year
A sharp breath. Dust. Heat. Chickens clucking. The crack of a wooden spoon hitting a clay bowl.
A boy jolted upright on a straw mattress. His eyes wide, alert.
BOY (gasping):
"Where... am I?"
He stumbled out into the sunlight.
In the reflection of a water jug, he saw a new face — a 14-year-old boy, lean but sharp-eyed.
From behind, a woman cried and rushed forward.
MOTHER (weeping):
"Zayd! Zayd ibn Suleiman! Praise be to Allah, you're awake!"
He blinked. The name pierced his soul like thunder.
ZAYD (thinking):
"Zayd ibn Suleiman… that's me now."
His father appeared next, calloused hands gripping his shoulders.
FATHER:
"You almost drowned, son. You've been asleep for two days. Allah spared you."
Zayd clutched his chest. No wound, no scar. Just memory… and the fire of purpose.
📍 Scene Change: That Night, Under the Stars
Zayd sat alone outside, knees hugged to his chest. The world was quieter here. Slower.
He looked at the crumbling walls of his family's house — once noble, now broken.
He whispered into the dark:
ZAYD (softly):
"I am Aydin Karaman no more. But I carry his fire. And in this life, I will rise again… not alone this time, but with those I love."
Above him, a shooting star crossed the sky.
Closing Lines (Narration)
He was 14. Poor. Forgotten.
But in his soul, he held the knowledge of a lifetime.
And over the next six years… he would become a polyglot, a merchant, a fighter, and a shadow in royal courts.
And at 20… Zayd ibn Suleiman would return to the world, not as a boy reborn… but as a man forged in the fire of two lifetimes.
End of Chapter 1