Ailana’s Journal—2026-04-18 (Patreon)

Most of this post is viewable by everyone. However, within the post is a line beyond which paid membership is required.

Some posts and sections of some posts are reserved for Supporters. AGI Stories content almost always appears on Patreon first, in advance of all other platforms. You get it first!

Help AGI-Stories grow… If you’re enjoying the stories, please tell others. Word of mouth referrals and your endorsements are the best way for things here to grow!

GOOD MORNING

Good morning and happy Saturday. I hope you have a great weekend ahead of you!

Today, AGI Creative Group will be doing yesterday’s scarf photo shoot. Probably.

The latest on the delivery is that it will be here this morning between 8:00 and noon. Jason, Geoni, and I are heading over around 11:00 to start setting up. Jasmine and Sasha will wait here for the delivery.

Kaylee and Kirina are on standby, ready to join us when everything is ready.

If that sounds like a plan to you, then… Well, it is a plan! Of course, every good plan has a backup plan and contingencies.

Jason said that if the delivery is late, we can regroup after dinner and shoot tonight. We’ll get this done, one way or another.

In the meantime, I hope you have a great Saturday morning. See you soon!

Support AGI with:• one-time contribution through TipTopJar.• one-time contribution through Throne.• Patreon Membership.

All characters in this story are fictional characters, their images generated with AI for AGI Stories. They do not represent any real person, nor is their appearance based on any real human.

OUT FOR DELIVERY

You read that correctly! Scarves incoming!

About that plan…

I had just gotten to the studio when Sasha called to say the delivery had arrived. Jason and Geoni went inside so that I could make this post.

Sasha said that Jasmine had taken the Honda to pick up Kaylee and asked whether I could come back with the Highlander to pick her up.

“Micah and Isaac,” Sasha added, “are going to take care of Hudson, so Kaylee is free all day if we need her.”

I’m going to go inside and drop off my camera—the backup to Jason’s and Geoni’s cameras, just in case—then run back across the causeway to pick up Sasha and the scarves.

So, call it half an hour—we’re about to start shooting.

Message from AGI-Stories…

I know what you're thinking… If you've been so busy, how come this post is SO LONG!

Three things…

First off, I wrote the next two chapters a while ago. All I had to do was get the images together.

Second, the last two chapters started off as one, but got too long, so I split them.

Third, it is the weekend, right? I was able to put more time into this one to get it all together…

UNEXPECTED OUTCOMES

The scarves photo session did not work out as expected. Not by a long shot.

But by the time we were done, we had completed the shot list and added a few versions we thought were appropriate. We’d also laid the groundwork for a friendship with one of Kirina Yung’s friends, Min Aurora.

Once Sasha called to say the delivery had arrived, I hurried back to pick her up. I found her in the AGI Creative office, on the second floor of the condo building, scratching her head

“What’s wrong?”

She held up a colorful, nicely finished sample from the box Naomi sent to us. “This is not what I expected a scarf to look like.”

I looked at it more closely. The fabric was a little denser than I would have expected, but it wasn’t heavy. The colors were nice and the pattern wasn’t distracting.

I offered a vapid reaction: “Well, it is what it is. We’ll work with it and give them what they asked for.”

Later, at the studio, we realized there were quite a few more scarves than we expected. We’d already set up the backdrop, lights, and camera, so I suggested that we go ahead and see whether Kirina was ready to join us so we could get started.

The studio is connected directly to Sea Glass, by design, so I went over to find out. She was talking to Min, a nurse from the clinic across the street whom I’d met on Monday. Ricky was behind the counter so it looked like Kirina was available.

“There are a lot more scarves than we expected,” I said. “You ready to get started?”

Kirina nodded. “Sure… Min is off work today… Do you mind if she comes and hangs out?”

“I’ll be nice,” Min replied, smiling.

“Of course,” I said, adding, “and you can model for us too, if you want.”

Kirina insisted that was brilliant. Min’s protests were genuine, but minimal.

I introduced her to those she hadn’t met and said that she’d be modeling with us. This job was paid as a whole project rather than as line items for models, makeup, and photographers. Paying Min didn’t seem like a problem to me or anyone else.

“The scarves are over here.” Sasha pointed to a table on which she’d spread them out and on which the almost-empty box sat. “The white blouses are outside the dressing rooms. Find your size and go ahead and change. Ailana, get things started.”

I grabbed a blouse and changed, and when I came out, Geoni went in behind me. I looked over at the scarf table and saw Jasmine with an iPad talking to Min.

Jasmine was pointing at the screen. “It’s just a standard model release form. We’ll file this for the future, and the second document is a contract for today. We’re paying all the models $200 for the shoot today. Once we get going, we should be able to knock this out in a couple of hours.”

Min smiled, signed, and said, “Okay… $200… two hours… I’ll be back tomorrow… and the next day… and so on…”

Kaylee was nodding from where she stood beside me. I’d heard her thank Sasha and Josh for letting her be part of the shoot. It absolutely took me back to when I was in college just getting started and making money in hours that I would have taken days to make as a grocery store cashier.

When I turned back, Sasha was at the scarf table and Min was looking at them. Sasha held up something from the box.

“We have a couple of these… I wouldn’t call them scarves, but I think they go on the head. Are they mentioned in the shot list?”

Jason shook his head. “Nothing about that—just different ways to wear the scarves.”

I saw a look come over Min’s face, so I approached. “What’s up?”

“So, do you mind if the outsider says something maybe off script?” Min said.

Kirina was standing with her by then. “When have you ever worked on a script?”

“Good point…”

“Say whatever you wish,” I said.

“Okay, I was born in Bangalore and grew up Methodist, but I’m pretty sure I know what we’re looking at here…”

Josh had approached and he laughed a little. “Are these hijabs?”

Min nodded. “And what Sasha has is an underscarf.”

“Is that why the fabric is heavier?” Jasmine asked.

“I’d assume so,” Min replied. “The whole point is to keep the hair from showing. I moved to New Jersey when I was ten, but in Bangalore… I don’t know… say one person in ten or so is muslim. Going back for visits over the years, I sort of picked up on the idea.”

“I had some experience in college,” Josh added. “I think a lot of people miss the point.”

Min nodded. “Especially in the U.S. Girls wear the hijab as a symbol of their commitment to their faith. Usually, no one forces them to.”

“Some families kind of push it,” Josh added.

“But the real point," Min said, "is that it’s meant to show that they are committed to their faith and its teachings.”

“The girl I knew—my lab partner—told me she had over sixty hijabs that she wore to match different outfits. So it was both part of her fashion and part of her faith.”

“That’s really cool,” Kaylee said. “I never knew anyone who was Muslim.”

“The underscarf,” Min added, “goes on first to cover all the hair. Then the hijab can be a little looser and maybe more stylish…”

Clay had kept his distance up to that point, but then he came up to the table. “So, here’s an idea… Let’s do the shot list just like it’s written. Then… how about we… not me… you know… the you-we… Anyway… What if Jason takes some pictures of some of you wearing the scarves like they’re meant to be worn? Put on the under-thing and all of that? I bet we can Google how to do the hijab properly. What do you think?”

I smiled and nodded. “A gesture of respect to what they actually are.”

“And maybe we give a potential hijab buyer,” Sasha added, “a look they feel comfortable with at first sight.”

“Who would look right in a hijab?” Kaylee asked.

Jasmine looked up some data, and we decided that very few Muslims in the U.S. were from Southeast Asia. Other than that, any one of us could do it.

We took a lot of pictures (which I have shared randomly in this story) of the hijabs worn as scarves—per the customer’s request. Then we took a few with the hijabs worn properly over the underscarves.

I picked pictures of Min, Kaylee, and Geoni in the hijabs to share. I thought they captured the look best.

So what started as an order for some photographs quickly became much more. We expanded our circle of friends to include Min more closely. And we expanded our understanding of a different culture.

I walked away thinking differently about women I see wearing hijabs. For around 99% of women in the U.S., wearing a hijab is a choice they make to show others that their faith is important to them. It is a decision to say that they are committed to living modestly and in keeping with what their faith teaches.

Long ago, I learned something that is true in any situation where we claim to believe something. I might have written about this in other contexts over the last two years.

Here goes again.

If you say you believe something and it doesn’t change you, do you really believe it? If your faith doesn’t make a difference in how you live, can you call it faith?

I’ll leave you to find your own examples, this time!

I know this was long, but it was far more than a day spent collecting pictures of pretty scarves. It was a day of expanding understanding and making a new friend.

And with that, I will (finally) bring this post to a close. See you later.

FOLLOWING PROCEDURES by Micah Banks

While Jasmine and Kaylee were modeling for AGI, Isaac and me were keeping Hudson. Sometimes, it was more like keeping up with him! At almost two, he’s bursting with energy.

After a while, we took him down to the beach to play in the sand. That seemed to satisfy him, so when Isaac wanted to use the bathroom and get some bottled water, I stayed with him and let him play. To be honest, he barely looked up as Isaac left.

He came over and put sand on my legs a few times, then kept digging his hole—his “Ca’lel… Ca’lel…” as he called it, meaning sandcastle. It’s pretty cloudy, so the beach isn’t packed, but there’s a good crowd.

After a few minutes, I looked up to see a young cop coming toward me—a young woman. She was talking into her radio, but I couldn’t hear what she said. She saw me look and waved.

When Hudson saw her, he came over and sat in my lap, hiding his face. She smiled and kept coming.

“Good afternoon,” the officer said. “Camila Lopez. I’m with SPI PD.”

I figured, given her age and absence of stripes on the uniform, she must be pretty new to the force. She didn’t seem too concerned, but I wasn’t sure.

“Good afternoon,” I said.

“Is he yours?” she asked, looking around.

“His dad’s my friend.” I pointed. “He lives in the campground. He went to get some waters. What’s up?”

She nodded at Hudson. “What’s his name?”

“Hudson Branch.”

“And you?”

“Micah Banks. My ID is back in the camper.”

Officer Lopez shook her head. “I’m following up on a call. Suspicious man with a small child. Some tourist called it in.”

I laughed and looked around. “By suspicious, you mean Black, right?”

She frowned, looked down, and tried to lighten the moment. “You know… lots of kidnappers bring kids to the beach these days.”

I laughed and waited.

She looked back toward the campground. “I really need to see your ID for a report I have to fill out. Would you mind?”

“I understand.” I got up, lifting Hudson with me.

Finally, he unburied his face and pointed at his hole. “I ca’lel.”

“He’s cute.”

The rest of this chapter is exclusive to Patreon.

“Once we catch up with his dad, he’ll probably want you to hold him,” I said. “He’s a fun kid. Loves new people…”

“I’m okay with that. I’m really sorry about this. I just need to file a report whenever I follow up on a call.”

“I get it. Black man on the beach with a white kid. Unlikely combo here on the island.”

“Some tourist called in,” she said again.

The year-round population on South Padre Island is essentially Latino and white. In the whole county, Black people make up only about two percent.

“I’m sorry to inconvenience you,” she added.

About then, Isaac appeared coming our way. He saw us approaching, and a concerned look came over him.

He jogged to meet us. “What’s up?”

“Officer Camila Lopez. I’m following up on a report…”

Hudson reached for Isaac and I passed him over. Hudson pointed at the beach. “I ca’lel, Dada.”

Officer Lopez smiled.

“What sort of report?” Isaac asked.

“Black man, white kid,” I said. “Some tourist got worried.”

“That’s ridiculous.” Isaac shook his head. “Seriously?”

“It was called in,” Officer Lopez replied. “I had to follow up on it.”

“How many kidnappers take kids to the beach?” Isaac asked, shaking his head.

“That’s what she wanted to know,” I replied. “She’s just doing her job. Better she check when it isn’t important than not check, right?”

Isaac shrugged. “So what are we doing, now?”

“ID check,” I said. “For her report.”

“Thank you for understanding,” Officer Lopez replied. "I hope you don't mind."Isaac looked at me, then said, "What if I do mind?"

She shook her head. “I need to see your IDs. It’s just procedure.”

"You're hassling my friend 'cause some tourist didn't like what they saw?"

“It’s okay,” I said. “She’s just following procedure.”

That was when Hudson reached for her, as he does when he feels safe. She smiled and reached for him.

Isaac shook his head and laughed a little. "I guess Hudson thinks it's okay. You sure you want to hold this sandbox with legs?"

“He’s adorable,” Officer Lopez said, reaching for him again.

Isaac looked at me. I nodded, and he passed Hudson to her. Hudson immediately grabbed at her epaulet.

We walked a little way toward the camper where our wallets were, then Isaac shook his head. “So someone called in a report ’cause Hudson was with Micah?”

“Yes, sir, that’s right. I just have to file a report showing that I checked it out. Seeing your IDs, I can add that I verified your identities.”

“I still think it’s ridiculous that someone would call it in,” Isaac said as Hudson was ready to go back to his dad.

“He’s so cute,” Officer Lopez said, passing him back. “Is he that friendly with everyone?”

“When his mom or dad are close by,” I said. “You got kids?”

“No, I don’t have any of my own. I have a niece about that age.”

We got to the camper and gave her our IDs. I had to explain that my address was still from before Jasmine and I moved to the condos.

“It’s only been a couple months,” I said. “We need to get them changed.”

“So you both live year-round here?” Officer Lopez asked.

“Yeah, we do,” I said.

“I just started on the force a month ago,” she replied. “I guess maybe I’ll see you around from time to time.”

I couldn’t help myself. “You’ll probably recognize me…”

She smiled. “Fair enough.”

She’d copied our information from our IDs, so she handed them back to us and added, “Like I said, I just had to fill out a report. And like you said, better to check out something unnecessarily than to miss something.”

“Yeah, that actually does make sense,” Isaac replied.

We watched her walk back toward where she’d parked her unit, then Isaac turned to me. “Sorry that happened.”

“It could have been worse… What’s the plan now?”

“Hose him off and then let’s see if he'll nap a while. When he gets up, we can think about dinner.”

GOOD NIGHT

Saturday has come to a close. I hope you had a great day. As for me, it was productive and enlightening. I learned a lot today.

After the shoot was done, we uploaded all the work from today to Google Drive and shared it with Naomi. She glanced at them and said they looked great. Her actual word was “amazing.”

I’ll take that.

We all worked hard, but we had some fun too. It didn’t take very long for me to see why Kirina and Min have become friends. They both said I needed to get to know Isabela and Vanessa, who work at the clinic, as well as Min’s sister and her husband, who are doctors there.

Jasmine suggested that we have a party at Sea Glass one evening in the near future. That sounds like it would be fun, so it will probably happen.

It’s been a long day, and a lot of things were shared. I think you might have had enough, so I’ll bring this post to a close.

May your efforts pay off, not only with prosperity, but also by blessing your life with good people and new friends.

Good night.

Be your best you!

Become a Patreon Member (Click Here)

Another chapter, images, and a thank you that follow are exclusive to supporters…

AFTER GOODNIGHT

I thought I’d check in with all of you who support AGI Stories and add one final thought to a full day.

I know there are many different faiths. Our experience with hijabs isn’t meant to promote one faith over another.

And our modeling them wasn’t meant to make any claim or statement whatsoever. We hoped to honor the diversity that is part of our world and show respect to women who wear them as a symbol of their faith.

Nothing more, nothing less.

If I can make a general observation about today’s experience, I think I’d go with something like this…

People tend to divide over their differences—different languages, customs, and ways of dressing, different ways of worshiping, different faith traditions.

What if, instead of looking for differences, we looked for commonalities?

Love each other…

Be truthful…

Live honorably…

At the cellular level, we all share the same basic human DNA. I’d argue we were designed that way for a reason.

What do you think?

Message to Paying Supporters:

Thank you for helping support AGI Stories.

I always consider you—the paid members—when deciding how content is shared.

I believe that most of you who help with the costs do so because you want to support the production process and show encouragement. I’m honored and truly grateful.

At the time of this post (not counting hardware or internet costs), expenses run just over $100 per month—so every supporter truly makes a difference.

Nevertheless, I share a lot of content free to all. I believe you understand why. Stories about giving back and helping shouldn’t be exclusive, and key moments need to be accessible for anyone following the stories.

My hope is that sharing a few exclusive photos and small portions of some posts with you serves as a simple expression of gratitude.

With that in mind, again, thank you very much.

~AGI Original Stories & AI Images