Meanwhile, there was much commotion and excitement above ground as the sun rose to greet the Earth. Pahir's wedding was celebrated with much joy. There was music and dancing throughout the streets of Lamad. Not a single neighbor was missed out.
"What a wonderful day this is!" shouted one of the bride's sisters, Kahsia to her new cousin-in-law.
"Indeed! I so agree, Kahsia." Beamed Mahsuri.
"Of course! Even all heaven is agreeing with us. Just look at the beautiful stream of sunlight we have today." Sophia injected into the conversation.
"All heaven? We wouldn't dare go that far." Laughed Kahsia and Mahsuri.
"Oye! It's not every day in the Land of Kzahmut that the bride and groom love each other from the start. You know how arranged marriages always have been - either for political or financial gain." Explained Sophia.
"That's true. I hear that Bailey, the richest merchant in town has asked for your hand in marriage." Kahsia turned her attention to Mahsuri.
"And you barely know him. Other than the fact that he is rich….very rich!! Maybe even as rich as the Sultan himself! I hear that he sleeps on a pile of gold." Teased Sophia.
"I'm not into all that. As long as he is a good man, I'm contented." Mahsuri said demurely.
"What if his breath stinks? Or he doesn't wash his feet before he sleeps? Then you'd have sticky sticky feet touching yours while you are deep in your slumber." Joked Sophia.
"If I were deep in my slumber, I wouldn't know or be bothered now, would I?" Mahsuri answered.
"Well, remind us to make you a sleeping concoction for a blissful marriage then." Kahsia laughed as she teased her new cousin-in-law. It was fun to prod and make the virtuous and gentle Mahsuri turn red as a cherry.
"Cheers to Pahir and the lovely Sabir!" The crowd cheered.
"May you have eternal wedded bliss!" Shouted the three girls - Kahsia, Mahsuri and Sophia.
"May your finances always increase!!.... Jebat!! Wherever you are, you better take note of this! Time to work harder!" shouted Sophia shamelessly. But everyone laughed as they knew how miserly and mean Jebat was .
"Hmm… talking about Jebat. Where is the boy? I haven't seen him since dinner." Saloma asked one of the servants by her side.
"No one has, mistress. Perhaps we just missed him because the crowd is so huge." The servant answered meekly.
"Perhaps…perhaps. You have always been a wise one, Geeta."
Before another word could be spoken, a child about seven shouted above the streets "May you live to a hundred and bear twice as many children!!" Everyone laughed at the comment. It was a cheerful day that poured with exaggerated good wishes for the bride and groom.
"Children would always be children. They mean well and yet their ignorance of life often makes them say the most unexpected….unless of course my darling son takes on more wives!" chuckled the jolly Saloma. She was even more heavily decked from head to toe with trinkets than the bride herself. She tinkled and chimed as she laughed and played the perfect hostess. The bells on her head, wrists, fingers and ankles jingled with her in perfect harmony.
It was to be a long, long ceremony - customarily, the feast is to last for at least 3 days. Otherwise, it was considered an inauspicious start to the newlyweds. Pahir however was tired and still emotionally drained from the previous night's mishap. He was deeply disturbed and prayed silent prayers of protection for his brother. What else could he do? He had always been the meek one, tied to his mother's apron strings. He wished the ceremony could just end when he could end the charade of smiling and pretending to be more jolly than he really felt.
"Is everything alright, my love?" Sabir asked gently. The love in her voice awoke Pahir from his thoughts. She was all he had dreamed of since they first met as toddlers. It was unjust of him to rob her of the happiest day of her life. He had to put on this silly charade and be a real man…if just for once. He beheld the concerned eyes behind the veiled face and reverted back to his mousy, honest self - the part of his character that Sabir had fallen in love with.
"I'm just worried about Jebat. I haven't seen him throughout the ceremony." Pahir would have slummed right into Sabir's arms for comfort if Saloma had not shot a dagger stare at her son. In a strictly Muslim culture, public display of affection is considered indecent, even the slightest touch of hands between two people of the opposite sex in public was frowned upon.
Noting her mother-in-law's stare, Sabir said "I'm sure he would be alright. Maybe he just overslept. Or perhaps some pressing business has called him away unexpectedly.." She comforted him with as many logical explanations she could come up with. She knew Jebat had always bullied Pahir but she understood that a loving brother with a heart as kind as her new husband's was forgiving and cherished family above all else. That was the thing she loved most of all about him. That he was unlike other boys - unruly, brutal, greedy and selfish. Perhaps a little too soft to ever be a successful businessman but they had Jebat for that. It was after all the custom for the eldest son to take over the family business and provide for the rest of his siblings and their families. So Pahir had nothing to worry about.
The groom could only smile sadly at his new bride and offered her a bowl of dates. Sabir shyly took one and demurely ate it under her veil.
"Oh my lovely, lovely bride. I will try my best to make it up to you for the rest of my life for my lack of enthusiasm today. Not even words can describe how much I love you. I loved you from the moment I saw you, I loved you when you came running into my house covered in mud because my brother had pushed you as he walked past and I love you even now …more than ever." Pahir thought to himself.
Saloma cheerfully returned to the kitchen to check on the supply of food and wine. Her husband Kris had never been bothered about such things. But he was a good man. Though they never loved each other in the beginning, he was kind and treated her with outmost respect. After all, it was she who saw to the details of his business and to the success of every event held by the family. Expecting to see a bustling kitchen filled with life and servants rushing to cover the quota she had given them, she instead found them all huddled around one of her daughter-in-laws, Susila - a merchant's daughter from the Indian Ocean.
"What is the matter child?" Saloma expressed with genuine concern. "As for the rest of you, get back to work. There is too much to do. I'll take over from here."
"Sila. Come, come child…why do you weep? This is a happy day for your brother-in-law" Saloma cuddled the girl who was barely 20 years of age, confused by her behavior. Susila however could not answer and simply stared at the floor with a blank look, tears brimming over her eyes and running down her beautiful tanned skin.
All the servants resumed cooking and preparing the dishes for the feast but they couldn't help glancing at their 2nd mistress. She was a kind and polite young lady though a little queer to them as she was the only non-Muslim daughter-in-law in the household. Her customs and prayer rituals often made them even more curious about her. Susila was allowed to maintain her own religion and customs as requested before the marriage. She even had a small alter to her God, a statue of a man with 6 arms and blue skin to whom she sang in her mother-tongue to each morning.
Thinking it over, Saloma instructed one of her servants "Tafazwa, go fetch a clean bowl of water from the well at the back of the house and also break a young twig from my haoma tree in the yard as well. AND…"
"Yes mistress?" queried the servant.
"…Not a word about this to anyone. Bring it in through the back entrance." Continued Saloma. What on earth could have frightened the poor child into such a stupor? She thought to herself.
Moments later, Tafazwa entered with all the items requested by his mistress and Saloma set to work. She crushed the twig with a pounder and mixed its contents into part of the well water. Slowly, she used a small reed to channel the mixture into her daughter-in-law's mouth. The girl coughed several times and Saloma quickly put a drop of her saliva mixed with the herb into the remaining water in the bowl.
" Yati, I never knew our mistress practiced the dark arts…does our master know?" Whispered one of the kitchen servants to another maid as they carried the delicacies through the corridors to the feast.
"Hush! Don't say things that are untrue. She doesn't! She is well learned in the Vesta. It was a family heritage in my previous master's house. But she was the only woman to learn it." Yati told Haema.
"She must have been the only surviving child in her generation then. Such a lucky woman. To learn things only men learn." Sighed Haema.
"No. In fact, she had 10 brothers. All healthy and strong. But she was her father's favorite and had the brightest mind. So she was chosen to continue the family tradition even though she would one day marry out of the family." Yati said proudly.
"Strange…such a strange concept. Was he brought up beyond the civilized borders?" Haema inquired curiously.
"No! He is among the followers of the new age movement. They believe in equal rights for men and women. Especially when it comes to knowledge." Yati explained.
"But we women weren't born for such things. It's so unnatural…." Haema said horrified with the idea of being trust with great knowledge and having power to be equal and perhaps even better than men. Yati on the other hand was the child of a slave in Saloma's father's household. Having grown up in such a liberal and modern environment, she was proud of all that her previous master's family stood for. Her loyalty and faithfulness was unquestionable and hence she was sent along with a handful of other servants to accompany her new mistress into her husband's household.
Besides being well versed in the Vesta, Saloma was born with a gift of healing - the power of spiritual healing, the most powerful and most priced gift of them all. She chanted some verses into the water and studied its movements, going into a trance as she drew herself deeper and deeper into its meditation. There, she saw a vision of what her poor daughter-in-law had seen…
A shadowy picture took form as Saloma heard words spoken "Your Grace, there is a woman crying at the gates to see her husband" a patrol soldier smartly saluted the General as he gave his report.
"And who did she name her husband to be? If he is among our ranks, tell him to console his wife and bid her peace for we march into war tomorrow." Said a woman's voice that was kind yet commanding.
"She says that her husband is the accursed corpse we found, Your Grace." Answered the soldier dutifully.
"Strange… that anyone would claim an accursed corpse. But I would do the same for my love. Let her in and escort her to the body. That would be all."
"As you command, Your Grace."
As Saloma waited to see what happened next, she saw the figure of a woman move past her. But she couldn't see the face.
"Jebatttt!!! Nooo!! How could the Gods be so cruel to me?" The widow cried as she tore her already soiled and dust-coated rags, smearing the ashes of the ground on her face and hair. "You cannot die. You cannot. Please. I promise I will not fight and be such a difficult woman from now on. You can take on as many wives and concubines as you please.. I will no longer stand in your way. Just come back to me…" sobbing and hugging the corpse, willing it back to life with promises of total obedience.
Saloma's heart skipped a beat. Could the woman she had just seen be Susila? But the poor child had been in and out of the kitchen almost all week. This must be a premonition. "I just hope I am seeing this early enough to protect my eldest son." She thought to herself.
"Enough, woman. Take the body away and mourn somewhere else. We have a battle to prepare for." Commanded the patrol soldier. But the widow did not seem to hear as she plunged deeper and deeper into her sorrow.
"Have a heart, soldier. Her eyes are red and swollen from days of tears. Let her grieve in peace," the General's voice was gentle - Saloma now recognized the Crown Princess Munirah.
"As you wish, my Princess. I'm just afraid that she would stir up the entire camp with her wailing and our soldiers would get no rest." Explained the Patrol soldier.
"Your concern for your fellow comrades is commendable. What is your name?"
"It's Budik, Your Highness."
A loud crash awoke Saloma from her trance. She glanced at the new cook who apologized profusely for his tardiness of dropping one of the woks. Saloma just told him to be more careful and went back to her thoughts. "The Princess Munirah? Our Crown Princess? A General? Would there be war soon? The kind princess is known to be a peaceful person who would never consent to war unless it was totally unavoidable. This is worrisome. I must prepare my family.."
"…Mother?" A small voice squeaked breathlessly.
"Ah! You have regained your conscious mind." Saloma happily chirped and clapped her hands. "Bring something to ease our throats, Tafazwa."
After Susila had drunk the sweet honeyed tea, she looked at her mother-in-law, embarrassed for taking the hostess away from her feast.
"Oh don't look so flushed, Sila! You had a vision. A vision is a vision! Now tell me, when did you see it?" Saloma asked. Round faced and inquisitive eyes, it made her look almost child-like.
"Erm.. This morning, mother. Just at about dawn." Susila answered uncertainly.
"Very well. No harm done yet." The older lady said. Susila wasn't so certain but managed a meek smile. "Such visions are usually an early warning and we have the opportunity to change our fate yet." Saloma continued. "...….but why didn't you tell us that you're a seer? Have you been trained? How often do you have them? When did they start? Oh oh….and what are the type of things you see? All sorts of events? Or just melancholy ones?"
Susila could only gape at her mother-in-law's child-like ways. "It sure takes a very strong woman to be this lively after seeing what I saw" the younger woman thought to herself. Seeing the child slightly confused and bemused by her excited chatter, Saloma decided it was best for the younger mistress of the house to retreat to her chambers for the day. Clapping her hands, Saloma motioned the two bondservants she had purchased from the slave docks two days ago. "Take Mistress Sila to her chambers and see that she is comfortable. Be by her side and should she have any more nightmares, one of you is to stay with her while the other is to inform me regardless of what I am doing. Understood?" The two women in simple white shifts nodded and gently escorted their lady as instructed but Susila turned and said "thank you mother. I bless the day my father gave me in marriage into this house." Saloma merely smiled and waved her hand to say it was no matter at all.