Post by Zaim al-Daleel on Jul 21, 2008 21:31:54 GMT -7
Jamilia sat on her uncle's lap and watched the bearers pass in front of her home, their muscles straining from the weight of the baskets perched on their shoulders.
"Uncle," she asked, "what is in the baskets that makes them so hard to carry?"
Husar smoothed a wrinkle in the sleeve of his aba. "Opals," he said. "Many hundreds of them, I suspect."
"Opals? I do not think I have ever seen an opal".
"Opals are rare here in Tajar. Fahad al-Zakir had them brought from Hilm, a city across the sea."
"For what purpose did Fahad import the opals?"
"He intends to use them to decorate the roof of his summer home. Surely you have seen it. The walls are inlaid with flecks of gold. The pillars are polished mahogany. An impressive place, indeed."
Jamilia watched the bearers until they disappeared over a hill. "Fahad is lucky. He has everything."
"Not everything," corrected the elder. "Only that which money can buy. All his wealth, for instance, has been unable to compensate for the loss of his true love."
"Is it true that Fahad was unable to marry because of a bad meal?"
Husar smiled. "In a sense. Listen: Many years ago, when I was no older than you, Fahad fell deeply in love with a maiden named Situ.
The daughter of a fisherman, Sita was a fragile beauty with the grace of a dancer and skin as soft as a wild dove. Though Sita had many suitors, she was smitten by Fahad's commanding manner and agreed to marry him a month after they met. Fahad arranged an elegant dinner where he would present his bride-to-be to his parents for their approval.
"Fahad's parents already knew of Sita. They were less than enthusiastic about having her for a daughter-in-law. Essafah and Zobeida believed a fisherman's daughter would make an unsuitable mate for their son, who already had distinguished himself as a trader.
Still, Fahad's parents decided to reserve final judgment until after the dinner.
"Initially, the dinner went well. Sita proved quite charming, listening with rapt attention to Essafah's rumbling stories of his son's adolescence and laughing politely at his labored jokes. Zobeida, however, was unmoved. She embarrassed Sita with rude questions about her father. Had he not squandered his inheritance on foolish schemes to communicate with his dead grandfather? Yes, Sita admitted, but only because he loved his grandfather and could not bear his passing. Were not his efforts futile? asked Zobeida. Sita admitted they were.
Zobeida turned to her husband. "Foolish parent, foolish offspring."
"At the conclusion of the meal, Zobeida produced a box of honey-glazed walnuts that she had imported at great expense from distant Huzuz. She placed the box before Sita and invited her to sample them.
Tentatively, Sita removed a nut from the box, nibbled it, then spat the pieces into her hand, knowing at that instant that upon spitting she had committed a severe breach of etiquette. She looked helplessly at Fahad.
"Perhaps that nut was rotten," Fahad said to his mother.
"No," said Zobeida, her eyes locked on Sita. "They are fresh, every one. Try another."
"Her hand shaking, Sita did as she was told. She began to bite the nut, then dropped it. She sprang from the table and fled from the room, tears flooding her eyes.
"Fahad rose to go after her, but Zobeida held his arm.
"The girl has insulted your mother," she said. "She is not worthy to join this family."
"Fearing that Fahad would run off with Sita, Zobeida insisted that Essafad arrange for the girl to be arrested on a fabricated charge of disloyalty to the sultan. A quick trial followed, and Sita was banished from Tajar. Eventually, she settled in Vahtov, a dismal community on the far side of the High Desert. Fahad promised his parents that as long as they lived, he would not attempt to contact her.
"More than fifty years have passed since Fahad made that vow. He has kept his word."
"Why did not Sita eat the walnut?" asked Jamilia.
"No one knows for sure," replied the elder. "But I have heard that she suffered from a bad tooth and was too shy to speak up. However, it was the reaction, not the reason, that offended Zobeida."
"But Fahad did marry," Jamilia said, "did he not?"
"Yes," said Husar. "But it was a marriage of convenience. Fahad needed heirs."
"I had always thought Fahad wise and practical. He doesn't seem that way to me now."
"Oh? And why is that, my child?"
"To pine for a lost love for half a century? That is hardly the conduct of a practical man."
"Perhaps," said Husar. "But in matters of the heart, it is not always possible to be practical."
"Uncle," she asked, "what is in the baskets that makes them so hard to carry?"
Husar smoothed a wrinkle in the sleeve of his aba. "Opals," he said. "Many hundreds of them, I suspect."
"Opals? I do not think I have ever seen an opal".
"Opals are rare here in Tajar. Fahad al-Zakir had them brought from Hilm, a city across the sea."
"For what purpose did Fahad import the opals?"
"He intends to use them to decorate the roof of his summer home. Surely you have seen it. The walls are inlaid with flecks of gold. The pillars are polished mahogany. An impressive place, indeed."
Jamilia watched the bearers until they disappeared over a hill. "Fahad is lucky. He has everything."
"Not everything," corrected the elder. "Only that which money can buy. All his wealth, for instance, has been unable to compensate for the loss of his true love."
"Is it true that Fahad was unable to marry because of a bad meal?"
Husar smiled. "In a sense. Listen: Many years ago, when I was no older than you, Fahad fell deeply in love with a maiden named Situ.
The daughter of a fisherman, Sita was a fragile beauty with the grace of a dancer and skin as soft as a wild dove. Though Sita had many suitors, she was smitten by Fahad's commanding manner and agreed to marry him a month after they met. Fahad arranged an elegant dinner where he would present his bride-to-be to his parents for their approval.
"Fahad's parents already knew of Sita. They were less than enthusiastic about having her for a daughter-in-law. Essafah and Zobeida believed a fisherman's daughter would make an unsuitable mate for their son, who already had distinguished himself as a trader.
Still, Fahad's parents decided to reserve final judgment until after the dinner.
"Initially, the dinner went well. Sita proved quite charming, listening with rapt attention to Essafah's rumbling stories of his son's adolescence and laughing politely at his labored jokes. Zobeida, however, was unmoved. She embarrassed Sita with rude questions about her father. Had he not squandered his inheritance on foolish schemes to communicate with his dead grandfather? Yes, Sita admitted, but only because he loved his grandfather and could not bear his passing. Were not his efforts futile? asked Zobeida. Sita admitted they were.
Zobeida turned to her husband. "Foolish parent, foolish offspring."
"At the conclusion of the meal, Zobeida produced a box of honey-glazed walnuts that she had imported at great expense from distant Huzuz. She placed the box before Sita and invited her to sample them.
Tentatively, Sita removed a nut from the box, nibbled it, then spat the pieces into her hand, knowing at that instant that upon spitting she had committed a severe breach of etiquette. She looked helplessly at Fahad.
"Perhaps that nut was rotten," Fahad said to his mother.
"No," said Zobeida, her eyes locked on Sita. "They are fresh, every one. Try another."
"Her hand shaking, Sita did as she was told. She began to bite the nut, then dropped it. She sprang from the table and fled from the room, tears flooding her eyes.
"Fahad rose to go after her, but Zobeida held his arm.
"The girl has insulted your mother," she said. "She is not worthy to join this family."
"Fearing that Fahad would run off with Sita, Zobeida insisted that Essafad arrange for the girl to be arrested on a fabricated charge of disloyalty to the sultan. A quick trial followed, and Sita was banished from Tajar. Eventually, she settled in Vahtov, a dismal community on the far side of the High Desert. Fahad promised his parents that as long as they lived, he would not attempt to contact her.
"More than fifty years have passed since Fahad made that vow. He has kept his word."
"Why did not Sita eat the walnut?" asked Jamilia.
"No one knows for sure," replied the elder. "But I have heard that she suffered from a bad tooth and was too shy to speak up. However, it was the reaction, not the reason, that offended Zobeida."
"But Fahad did marry," Jamilia said, "did he not?"
"Yes," said Husar. "But it was a marriage of convenience. Fahad needed heirs."
"I had always thought Fahad wise and practical. He doesn't seem that way to me now."
"Oh? And why is that, my child?"
"To pine for a lost love for half a century? That is hardly the conduct of a practical man."
"Perhaps," said Husar. "But in matters of the heart, it is not always possible to be practical."