Nomads

Chapter 3, Pt 6- Black is a Cold Colour

The night had grown dark and harsh winds blew. There was a snowstorm raging and his horse refused to walk. Alsaqr had made his way on to a mountain and was looking for shelter. He struggled to keep his horse in control, as he walked beside it in the deep snow. The intense snowstorm made it hard for him to see. He was dragging himself and his horse with one hand slightly covering his eyes in order to see better, and the other hand holding the horse’s leash.

His clothes were all wet from the snow and the cold was unbearable for him. As he hiked on the mountain, uncertain of where he was stepping his foot, he saw a very dark, big spot near him, away from the trail. He immediately knew that it was a cave. He dragged his horse to the cave and pulled him in, he looked around to see if there were any animals, but the cave was completely empty.

He dropped onto the ground, tired and exhausted. There was no wind in the cave, but the temperature was freezing. He got up and took the tinderbox out of his bag, it had been wise of him to carry some firewood in his bag as he saw no way that he could find wood in the stormy night.

He lit a fire and took off his wet clothes, he wrapped a thick woolen cloth he had in his bag and sat in front of the fire. His mind wandered off to the past events of the day, never had he seen such a horrific thing from his own eyes. He had the guilt in him that maybe he could have saved both of hem had he realized earlier that she was possessed. He looked at the horse that was sitting at a distance peacefully. He sighed and took out some dried fruit that had been untouched from his bag, he ate some of them and unseeded some dates and gave it to the horse in cupped palms. The horse eagerly ate the dates, tickling Alsaqr’s palm with its lips and teeth, leaving a little saliva there. Alsaqr smiled at the horse and began to feel thirsty all of a sudden. He looked at his waterskin, it had not been filled ever since the bandits’ incident.

He wondered how to get water when suddenly an idea struck him. He got up with his aching legs and walked up to the mouth of the cave. He walked out of the cave, and suddenly felt the chill of the strong wind entering his loose woolen cloth. He quickly bent down and grabbed a fistful of snow and rubbed it with both his palms in order to clean the saliva of the horse. He then dug some snow from both his hands and took it inside, he cupped his palms with the snow on top of it and placed his hands near the fire, the snow slowly melted and the water started dripping out of his fingers. He quickly drank the freezing-cold water with hurt his throat as he swallowed it. He went out again and dug some snow to melt it. He then gave the water to his horse. He laid down his wet clothing beside the fire and tried to go to sleep. He had been exhausted from the day’s events and despite thinking of what had happened, he quickly fell asleep.

In his dreams, he saw himself standing on the top of a mountain, he could see hundreds of mountains in front of him, some lower and some high and far away. It was as if there was a sea of mountains right in front of him. The mountains, surprisingly, were not barren. They were green, filled with trees and life. He heard birds chirp and dogs woofing. He looked beside him to see a boy, probably of his age, standing beside him. He was looking at the mountains with the same peace in his eyes that Alsaqr was looking at them with. He was wearing strange clothes, the kind that Alsaqr had never seen before. He was wearing a brown shiny coat, with a metal strip in the middle. He was wearing pants of a rough material, unknown to him, and shoes with bright colors that were not made of leather. The boy turned towards him and smiled. Alsaqr smiled back.

“Are you in love with the mountains too?” the boy asked.

“Yes”, said Alsaqr.

“You seem like a traveler, tell me something that you have learned about them.” The boy said.

“The mountains are like deserts standing high. Barren lands devoid of much life, yet so lively for a nomad. The snowy grounds, sometimes revealing the harsh rocks they are made of. The loss of breath in the thin air, yet the wind so strong that it could kill your very lungs. The mountains are untouched, just like deserts, unclaimed and wild. The only difference being that you can see half of the world on the horizon from atop.” Alsaqr said.

“To me, the mountains are an escape for the soul”, the boy said, “Where birds can perch to fly higher. It is my escape from the world, and a step towards what the world failed to give me. Love, and a reason to stay.”

Alsaqr looked at him, carefully listening to what he said.

“Love”, Alsaqr repeated and remembered of his family back in Arabia and of Mahha.

“I wish I was in your place right now. Where you are standing, what you are doing, but it is all just an illusion. I hope my journey is successful.”, the boy said. Alsaqr looked at him and saw him becoming transparent, and fading away.

“Your journey…”, Alsaqr paused as a thick fog suddenly appeared in front him, and the boy had disappeared when it was gone.

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It was a bright morning; the sky was blue with clouds scattered across it. The snow on the ground was thick, and Alsaqr kept checking his compass regularly as he rode on the horseback. He needed to make sure that they were heading east, but the compass was going crazy, the needle was making circles due to the magnetic rocks of the mountain.

He suddenly a rush of adrenaline and he realized that he was falling, the horse was falling with him, he quickly tried to jump off the saddle but his legs got entangled in the stirrups. The horse had lost its footing in the snow and stepped onto an unstable rock on the edge. They fell on a rock with a loud thud, and he heard a loud crack and screamed in pain. The horse neighed continuously. Alsaqr tried to sit up but felt an excruciating pain in his leg, the bone of his right leg that had been tangled in the stirrups was broken into half by the weight of the horse. He laid down, looking at the sky, wondering what he would do. The horse had broken its ribs. There was no way that he could survive the bitter mountains without being able to move or find shelter. He was left to die.

The night was approaching and he had been feeding on the little dates that were left in his bag. The temperature had dropped drastically. The horse had grown quiet, Alsaqr dragged his body closer to the horse. He was dragging at intervals, biting his fist the leg gave excruciating jolts of pain when he dragged. He cuddled near the horse’s belly to feel it’s warmth, and protect himself from the cold winds.

“Safia?”, he said, “I name you Safia.” And caressed the horse’s warm belly. The horse nickered softly.

It was a long night for Alsaqr. He kept looking at the star-filled sky, wondering about all that had happened in the past year. He suddenly missed his family, and the good times they had. He wept softly thinking of them. After hours, he was able to sleep.

When he woke up, he found that Safia had placed one of her legs on top of him, in order to warm him. He smiled softly and tried to take the leg off with his hands, but the leg was rigid and cold when he tried to push it.

“Safia?”, he called out with concern, but the horse made no sound.

His eyes filled with tears, he dragged himself to her face, without caring for the pain that his broken leg caused him. He looked at her face, her eyes were closed peacefully and tongue was sticking out of her mouth.

Alsaqr sobbed in despair. “Safia, no!” he cried, as he caressed the poor horse’s snout. She had died while keeping Alsaqr warm. He hit the rick with his fists in despair and cried out loud in pain of the horse’s death. He laid there helpless, Safia’s death had taken away his only companion, and hope for survival.