20
Escape
When Abida heard the sounds of pursuit, she had only gone a few hundred feet from where she and Zalika parted ways. Without hesitation, she ran along the path away from the noise until she couldn't run any farther. Exhausted, she collapsed onto the ground. Her ragged breathing was so loud to her that she was sure the slavers would soon hear it and come for her.
When pursuit never came and her breathing settled, she began to hear the desert night. Every sound sparked her imagination with frightening images, and that fear drove her to get up and move. Moving meant she was doing something, and that was better than waiting for a large cat to come for her.
By dawn, she was tired, cold, alone, and wondering whether she was better off with the slavers. Shortly after the sun cleared the horizon, Abida reached what she hoped was the right river, where she could hide in the reeds and try to sleep.
“Why is it that when I pray to Allah, it is you who appear in my dreams?” Salahudin missed his dead wife but wished Allah could send a more impressive messenger. “I need his help, not the nagging of an old woman.”
“Why do you think Allah has nothing better to do than talk to an old fool?" Kaddyjutu sat beside his fire, warming her hands.
“Because the wise men do not need him, it is his fools who need him most!”
“Fools would do well to listen to their wives. Our child is safe for now. She is miserable, but do not forget that she cannot be killed. You did that, and it is a thing for which I will not forgive you. She would be here with me if not for that, and I miss her terribly. There is another woman’s child who will surely die without your help, and you don’t need Allah’s guidance to know what you should do about that, you old fool.”
“Where am I to find this child, and why must I help her now?”
“You will find her where she is, and you must help her because you are the one who can.” Kaddy sighed, “You are the one who will. Salahudin, most men would not. Go, she is along the path you are following. More than that, I cannot say.” Kaddy couldn’t stay angry with him for long, if for no other reason than that he would always do what she told him he must do, but only when she stopped yelling at him.
“What, is there some rule about giving a man the answers he needs?” But it was no use. She was gone, and his dream was coming to an end.
Salahudin woke with first light as was his habit. He washed and ate a small breakfast. While preparing his horse for the day’s ride, he spoke to his horse. “I listen to her now more than I ever did when she was alive. Does that make me a crazy man or just a lonely one?" Then, just as he mounted his horse, “Ah, if you could talk, you would probably tell me to be quiet and do what Kaddy tells me to do.”
He had been following stories and rumors for over a month, but still had nothing solid. Once out of the forest, rumors of a striped jinni faded away with the trees. He hadn't heard a thing in over a week. “Perhaps this town will have heard something,” he was talking to his horse again. “Not even you listen to me. You have your ears pointed side to side.” Salahudin sighed. “At least you don't complain. Well, not in any language I understand.”
Unless he had badly lost track of the days, this was not a holy day, but the mosque looked crowded, and many of the horses nearby appeared prepared for war. “This is not a good sign, my horse. Many go to war, but not so many return.” As he spoke, Salahudin dismounted, tied his horse to a nearby rail, and patted its shoulder. Removing his shoes at the door, he entered a sermon already in progress. What he heard sounded all too familiar, a peaceful man crying from the heart and ready to leave on a fool’s errand.
After the service, Salahudin approached the holy man to ask what was troubling him. “My name is Anwar. My child has disappeared. We have searched but found no sign of her, and I fear she is being taken to Meroe as a slave. If you want to come, then come. If not, stay. I thank you for your concern.” Anwar reached his horse as he finished speaking and was about to mount.
“Do you have a plan, and may I help?" Salahudin asked, hoping that this man was wiser than he had been and that Anwar actually had a plan, but fearing that he did not.
We will pursue them, catch up with them, and take back my child and the guest who was taken from my house.
Stepping on the cuff of Anwar’s pants, Salahudin said, “Let me tell you a story that may save both our children. It is short, I too am trying to rescue my child...” Anwar’s momentum was halted when he almost tripped while trying to mount his horse. Stepping off Anwar’s pants, Salahudin begged forgiveness for being so clumsy, then briefly explained the attack on his home and the deception that drew many men out of town. “Go to Meroe because you must, but leave enough men to protect the town, because if you do not, you may spend the rest of your life wishing that you had.”
Anwar had been ready to ride off with whoever would follow him, leaving his home and son to whoever might take them. He relaxed, looked at Salahudin, and took a deep breath before saying, “What a terrible lesson for you, and what a blessing it is that Allah has sent you to me. You must be His messenger. I will listen to what you have to say.” Looking at a group of men, Anwar gestures to two of them, “Abduljama, Azzees, come.”
Two men approached, one much younger than the other, but soon most of the others followed. The younger one, clearly impatient to be about his mission, complains, “We must be on our way. While we delay, they only get further away.”
“Be patient, Abduljama. This man has told me of a great mistake he once made. One we were about to make ourselves. He and most of the men from his village rode out to protect their neighbors, only to return and see their homes burning. We would do well to heed the warnings Allah sends to us.”
“Impressive messengers must be in very short supply right now. He sends my wife to me and me to you, but Allah must have a plan.”
Salahudin briefly told the group about the aftermath of the attack and how he had accidentally changed his child while trying to bring back his wife. “So, you see, I have much to answer for, and if I can help, I must.”
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In the discussion that followed, it was decided that Anwar, Abduljama, and Azzees would travel to Meroe as quickly as possible to try to catch the slavers before they could leave. Salahudin would track the slavers in case any slaves had escaped. They would need help or someone to know what happened to them. The plan was not for him to travel alone, but none of the other men wanted to travel with a man who could call forth a jinni. Within an hour, arrangements were made. Those who were to leave departed, while those who were to stay went home.
Anwar pulled Salahudin aside to tell him that his child and son-in-law had been welcomed guests in his home, and how they found Jamaani. “Please take this, it was a gift to your son-in-law. He said it would remind him always of the people who did not drive him away.” He handed Salahudin a silk scarf with a black-and-white chevron pattern. Anwar mounted his horse and rode north, hoping to catch the men who took his child.
Salahudin rode west from where Anwar said they had found Jamaani. He followed a well-worn path used by many feet and a few horses. Soon, the path merged with a small river. The trail was several days old, but it was still easy to follow. Traveling alone, he could go faster than a group, mostly on foot. If he pushed, he might catch them before they reached Meroe. He found where they stopped to eat and where they rested each night. What he would do if he caught up was still unclear to him. But he still had time to worry about that later.
As he rode west and north, the trail grew fresher, and the desert edged closer to the river. The farther he traveled, the more he believed this was a smuggler's trail. Tonight, Salahudin would remove his horse’s saddle, brush him down, and put it back on, just in case he had to leave quickly. He planned to stay ready for a quick departure over the next few nights.
Just before sunset, Salahudin came across a large campsite that had been used recently. As convenient as it was, he thought it wise to move a bit further before setting up camp for the night. An hour later, in a secluded spot away from both the river and the path, he established a cold camp and settled in for the night. Without a fire, it would be difficult for anyone to find him, and his horse would alert him if anyone approached.
Almost as soon as the moon rose, his horse grew restless and started looking toward the river. “What do you hear?” whispered Salahudin. Placing his finger on the horse’s lips, he said, “Do not give us away while I take a look.” Quietly creeping out of his hiding spot to where he could see the path without being easily seen himself. What he saw hit him hard in the chest. A young woman traveling alone in the desert at night was never a good sign. Could this be the ‘other woman’s child’ Kaddy had told him about?
“If I ride up behind her, she will run,” he whispered to his horse as he returned to his hiding spot. “You can easily catch her, but why should you work so hard tonight after working all day?” As he spoke, Salahudin led his horse around a fold in the earth that would lead him back to the river about half a mile ahead of the girl. He unbridled his horse. Then he took the bridle and sat next to the reads, where he was unlikely to be easily noticed but, once seen, could not be said to have been hiding, and waited. His horse would graze and come when called, so he did not feel the need to tie him.
The wait wasn’t long. Salahudin had just realized how hard the ground was beneath him when his horse stopped grazing and looked up at the approaching girl. He momentarily doubted himself. ‘What if the horse saw a big cat? Then what would I do?’ But his fears eased when he heard the girl talking to his horse.
Abida spoke to the horse as she approached, “What are you doing out here? Did Allah send you to take me home?” When she reached for the bridle, it was gone, and the horse walked off, staying just out of reach, and went back to grazing.
Salahudin watched the game of tag between this young woman and his horse for a few minutes before asking, “Are you going to chase my horse all night, or are you going to invite an old man to your husband’s camp?”
Abida ran into the reeds lining the river, only to discover the bank was steeper here than in most spots. With a quick squawk and a splash, she ended up in knee-deep water. “Do not hurt me. I will not run again. I swear it. It was that terrible jinn that made me run. It was all her fault.”
Salahudin stood up and walked to the river’s edge, where he saw the young woman standing in the water. “I don’t think there are any crocodiles in this place, but I’ve heard that there are some very large ones north of here.” The young woman then gasped and quickly climbed out of the water.
“I will not run again, I swear it.”
“I am called Salahudin, and I am searching for my child. I was told in a dream that another child would need my help. So I travel north in search of one child and end up finding another. Whose child might you be?”
“I am Abida Bent Anwar.” She stood as tall as she could and spoke her name with pride. “My father is the holy man in his village. I have disgraced and dishonored him. My fate now is to return home so that he may regain his honor by killing me. I am prepared to meet my fate.” Abida was now on the verge of tears as she said this, with no trace of the pride she showed only a moment ago.
“How do you know this? Did he kill your sister? You speak of a thing that is very hard for a father to do. Besides, I have spoken to him and Abduljama—that young man is very much in love with you, and he has your father's blessing. But if he won't have you, I will take you. Maybe then Kaddy will leave me alone, if she knows a new wife will properly nag me.”
“Come, we should not camp this close to the river when we are only two.” Salahudin began walking back to his first camp. “Ride the horse, he will follow. Tomorrow we will take turns on him. We should make better time that way, and I am eager to return to the search for my daughter.”
During the return to his camp, Abida tells Salahudin, “...these slavers are so frightening, they hold a jinni with them. This is not a very useful jinni because it will do no magic, but it is still a jinni. Only the most terrible of men could do such a thing. If your child is with them, she will surely need your help, and you will surely need the help of Allah…”
Abida kept chatting until Salahudin interrupted her. “Please, child, be quiet, sound travels a long way, and I don’t think it's a good thing to tell such men where we are. Your father goes to Meroe to try to stop these men and bring you home. We’ll meet him there, but for now, we will sleep here.”
“You’ve done well for an old fool.”
“I was afraid you would not have anything to say to me for a while.” Salahudin knew he would never be so lucky, at least not until his child was safely home, but he could hope.
“Her father is a good man—well, as good as men get. She acted out of fear as a child, but she will learn from this and become a good mother.”
“Kaddy, tell me no more. She was taken by men who have no honor. Whether they did it with fear or force, what does it matter?”
“You are wiser than any fool has a right to be, and I love you for it. I needn’t have worried, return to your sleep.” Kaddy kissed him and was gone.
Salahudin knew Abida had a hand in Zalika’s capture. He also knew that if it weren't Abida, the slavers would have found another way. These men always seemed to find a way.
In the morning, Abida woke to find Salahudin brushing his horse where the saddle had rested all night. “I will make some breakfast if you tell me where there is food.”
Relax, child. Zalika is my child, as you may have guessed, and you are just as much a victim as she is. You did not dishonor your father or me. The men who took you did.
Abida gasped and threw herself on the ground, terrified and ashamed. She was certain this would be her last day on earth. The slavers were intimidating, but this man had summoned a jinni and bound it to this plane. Surely he had to know everything she had done.
Salahudin reached down and took Abida’s hands. “Get up. What do you think I am going to do? We are going to meet your father and your future husband in Meroe. You will never speak of the night you were taken, and they will never ask about it. The men who took you will answer for their actions before Allah in his time, and that will be enough. As for breakfast, I have some nuts and dates in the pack, and that will have to be enough. I have already eaten, and you will ride first.”