R.B.R. Barreto
... she decided not to listen to the voices of the wind anymore.
Almost a day and a half away, another person was fighting their own fight against the desert. An unequal fight that was robbing the young gypsy of her strength and hopes. Aisha never imagined the desert would be so harsh! Her aching body tried to balance herself on the horse that continued to trot valiantly, trying to overcome the shifting sands and irregular dunes. The sun was setting for the second time since she left. She felt like she was wasting time and had been going around in a circle. Now, even if she wanted to return, she no longer had the slightest idea where her masters' tribe was. Fatigue, or the feeling of oppression caused by the lack of light, made her weak for the first time. The wind lifted grains of sand that gradually settled on her face and hair. Aisha pulled the burnoose over her face to just above her nose and leaned over the horse. She tried to cover her ears so she wouldn't hear the night noises. She had already heard about the voices that come with the wind. They was demons, or jhins sent by Iblis and released at night, whisper evil things seeking to corrupt the weakened souls of desert travelers. Since being expelled from the presence of Allah and imprisoned by King Solomon, Iblis had become ruthless towards humanity and did not spare unfaithful souls.
The young woman knew that she was an "infidel" as she did not share the Islamic faith and had learned nothing about the holy book. Thus, she knew that she did not count on Allah's protection. The terrifying legends repeated by all the people who inhabit the sands resurfaced in his tired mind. She heard the voices calling her, sometimes in anger, sometimes in despair. Sometimes making promises, sometimes threats. At one point she thought she heard a male voice, calling her by her real name, the one between the two names that gypsies receive and that is given to them in childhood, when they are born and when they go through the ceremony of presentation to tribe. This mysterious name that records the purposes of the soul connecting it to its destiny is only known by a few people: the mother, the person themselves, their future consort and the priest of the tribe who performs the ceremony. It is a symbolic name, not used in a social or everyday way, but in special situations. The sound awakens the owner to things that only concern the soul
It was the repetition of this name in a loud and clear tone that made the young woman realize that demons were real, so real that they visited her soul bringing out her greatest secrets and hidden memories. Things that she had buried and that belonged to a distant, obscure past, that she had thought were no longer of any importance, but that now came to visit her. A boundless terror seized the young woman. A terror so violent it barely let her breathe. She wanted to encourage the horse to run faster, but the animal didn't have the strength of camels and was at its limit.
– Let's go Taiff!! – She said gently, stroking the mount's neck while leading him forward – Stay strong, boy... don't give up, please!!
Do animals also listen to "jhins"? - She thought. Sometimes she noticed that the bay raised its ears and that its side trembled as if something was bothering it. Was it terror or tiredness? Or was it his own fear being transmitted to the animal?
The animal was strong and resisted as much as she could. He galloped a few hundred meters until finally wheezed, wobbled and rolled onto the sand, throwing Aisha a little further. She still tried to balance herself, support the horse and break free from the fall. But poor Taiff had no strength left and the young woman gathered the last ones she had to approach the animal. She saw that he was alive although very weak. Even the state he was in, the animal's proximity brought her comfort. She huddled close to his side and covered herself with the folds of her Bedouin clothing to protect herself from the sand. Then, hid her face in her arms and succumbed to tiredness.
It will be? – She thought – that if death comes I will be prey to demons?
She had no way of knowing. Fatigue didn't allow him to think straight. The fear of not waking up was enormous and she had no one to pray to. Her religion was now fear itself. And the fear wasn't give her a voice. For now she was defeated, but she wasn't going to give up. Who knows, perhaps the good luck of travelers would come and find her at the last minute? She hadn't come here to die easily. Hugging the animal, she tried to fall asleep and rest. She decided not to listen to the voices of the wind anymore.