The Military Boy - At War

Chapter 4 | Beneath The Weight

~Flashback~ (After the truckstop but before they reached  the city of Dammam)

Smoke wafted up, burning my eyes, making them water and blur. I blinked profusely but was thankful that I couldn't see a damn thing. The bakhoor was burning right in front of me. I had been told that bakhoor is like incense consisting of wood chips soaked in fragrant oils and natural ingredients such as sandalwood, ambergris and other musks. The ornate bakhoor holder was placed before me. I was their guest, after all. Both Josephine and I had managed to seek shelter with the Al-Awlaki tribe as we stopped on our way to the city of Dammam.

It was their tradition to offer up their virgins in hopes of marrying them off to wealthy suitors. It didn't matter if these so-called suitors were married since marrying up to four partners was permissible around here, for men at least. Women were only allowed to have one (living) spouse at a time.

Six maidens of the Al-Awlaki tribe were sent to perform a rather provocative belly dance sequence for the other men present in the tent and myself. We were only staying one night before heading the rest of the way into Damman in hopes of meeting Alex.

We'd escaped the bedouin nomads earlier and refreshed at the truck stop. A travelling family we'd met at the truck stop told us the Al-Awlaki was a friendly tribe. The head of that family was sitting next to me, ogling the various jiggling body parts of these vibrantly dressed dancing virgins. He seemed to be interested in one particular girl, and I had an uneasy feeling settle into me at the thought of his wife struggling to put three little boys to sleep while her husband shopped around.

We were told all first wives would perform a dance for us as well. The custom was to ensure all first wives were comfortable with the second or subsequent wives before any other proceedings took place. Each first wife would perform alongside the virgins for her husband and the rest of the women with no other male present.

Thank fuck for small mercies! I wasn't sure where Josephine was taken to change, but I realized I was ready to kill any man expecting her to perform a provocative dance half-naked in front of them. She was for my eyes only. It was ridiculous to think this way, I had no actual claim on her, but I felt like she was made for me.

'Ta'all ya akhi' (come oh brother) I was being asked to move into a separate tent reserved for Josephine and me, but it wasn't empty when I entered. Several women of various ages native to this tribe were sitting all along the walls of the tent. The six dancing women weren't here yet. Apparently, the family man was choosing his virgin first.

I needed to figure out a way to decline their hospitality politely. No fucken way I wanted any of them. I wanted Josephine, but she wasn't even mine to want. What were her thoughts on this matter, I wondered? Did she find it amusing when they explained this scenario to her? My fake first wife, Josephine, would need to approve of my possible second wife! I suppose she wouldn't care since she also had no actual claim on me. This entire situation was just absurd! She probably didn't even know how to do this dance.

The tent walls were dark and lined with lanterns illuminating the entire space creating a soft ambiance. There was an ornate-looking hand-carved wooden partition blocking my view to the back corner of the tent. In front of the partition was a chair with several brightly coloured cushions, and I was guided to sit there. A large shisha was placed next to me, and I was offered the pipe. It had been ages since I smoked anything, but I wasn't sure what I was being offered now. My leg ached in its makeshift splint, and I was praying for something to take the edge off this pain.

After some back and forth questioning, I learned it was apple-flavoured tobacco and hashish. Thanking whatever gods took mercy on my wretched soul, I took the pipe from the shisha and inhaled, allowing the flavorful vapour to engulf me. Mentally, I noted that my leg would need some medical attention once we reached the city.