R.B.R. BARRETO
... when we forget our stories and legends, they cease to belong to us and move on.
—Are you hearing that? – Kadir asked at a certain point on the path – They sound like whispers.
They had been walking for some time in search of the caves that the pilgrims claimed existed in that region of gorges and canyons. They passed by grottos, narrow paths, precipices and some dark caves with blocked passages. They walked so much that they lost track of time and also of direction.
—My compass is completely crazy – said Júlio Meirinho, trying to position the instrument so as to identify the direction they had taken.
Vladmir, in turn, was more concerned with examining his maps, marking some points and making notes in his Field Diary. After examining them for a while, he stroked his beard, sighed and said dejectedly:
— Ahhh... it's useless! These maps are useless. They only mark the gorge. If there are large caves around here, they have been ignored.
The Portuguese man approached and, looking at the map over his friend's shoulder, commented:
— Unless they were hidden on purpose. Who knows? This territory is very strange. But – he concluded, paraphrasing a passage from Luke in the Christian Bible – "nothing is so hidden that it cannot be revealed."
Then he looked for a rock to sit on and threw his weight on it, visibly tired.
—Oh, I'm so tired – he complained – We slept so little last night. Have you thought about where we are going to take shelter? This place is not very suitable for setting up camp. Why don't we look for a habitable cave while there is still light?
Hamad, who was a little behind taking care of the animals so that they would not get hurt or fall into a hole or abyss, immediately agreed.
—Yes, I think it is past time to find shelter. We are all tired and there is no way to go back now. Even if we wanted to.
It was true, everyone had to agree. They were really lost. Without a compass and with little visibility because of the large rocky peaks, they couldn't see the sun's path clearly. The most sensible thing to do was to find shelter, rest for the night and continue in the morning until they found a path that could be identified and would take them back to the trail they had planned.
— I keep hearing whispers,— Kadir insisted. — Can't you hear anything?
The group fell silent, trying to listen carefully. There was indeed a slight murmur in the air, like a song with a closed mouth that was carried by the wind.
—It's true!!,— Meirinho exclaimed, laughing. — There's a whisper in the air. Could it still be the singing sands we passed through?
—It will be a great relief!— exclaimed the Russian, standing up suddenly. —It's better to go back to where we were and retrace our steps than to get lost in this unknown territory.— Sorry, friends, for putting you into this situation. I promise not involved you into my private research any longer.
The Portuguese man patted his companion on the shoulder and said as he stood up:
— Well, none of us are children. We all know the risks we run. If we stick to the normal route, we won't find anything new. If we stray from the route, we run risks. It's all a matter of choice.
—That's true, — Kadir agreed. — We all know the risk of getting lost or going in circles. Old Balam wasn't going to leave the easy path behind him. — He concluded, as if pondering to himself.
— But now we really need to rest and be safe,— Hamad said. —I suggest we follow the direction of the whispers.
They quickened their pace because daylight was fading faster than they expected. The whispers were intermittent, but in any case, there was no other direction to follow. At one point, they walked down a long, winding slope that forced them to walk in line, one by one, including the animals. The bulky backs of the camels and horses got stuck on the slopes, making it difficult and slow to move.
It was almost night when the path widened and they noticed the opening of a huge cave. The whispers had increased and seemed to reverberate from inside. Hot gusts of wind came to their direction, making them feel as if they were exposed to the breath of a giant animal.
— Well! — exclaimed Vladmir in a surprised tone. — We have a cave after all.
Hamad looked around and realized that they had no way back. The only path he could see was through the cave, and there was no way to confirm, at that point, if it would lead anywhere.
— That's true. It's a cave and we're trapped,— said Júlio Meirinho.
Hamad shook his head in a gesture of uncertainty and said:
—Strange... this wind must be coming from somewhere. Maybe this cave ends up further ahead, where the sands sing. For now, we can't tell. The best thing to do is to light a fire and rest here until daylight returns and we can move on.
The entrance to the cave was quite wide. A few minutes later they had already erected their tents and lit a fire in one of the corners most protected from the wind.
— It's going to be hard to sleep with this noise,— said Meirinho, referring to the whispers.
—Yes,— agreed Ladslav. —There are things around here that I can't explain. It's actually easier to believe that the sands sing.
— I'm worried about the animals,— said Hamad. — If we don't find water, food, and adequate space, they'll end up getting lost along the way.
After they settled in, they began to tell stories and recite poems to pass the time. At one point, Kadir asked the two foreigners to tell him more about their adventure. How had they ended up here, equipped as they were with so many location-finding tools?
— It's true – said Hamad, who joined his companions as soon as he had settled the animals – if they came from the great desert on the other side of the Red Sea to go to Petra and Jerusalem, how did they manage to go so far back, in the Rub al Khali, to the point where we met?
The two foreigners looked at each other, but it was Meirinho who began to speak. The Portuguese journalist and historian was more outgoing and articulate than the Russian. He was better at words and narratives.
— Well, you won't believe it. Our intention was to cross the Strait of Aden and follow the coastal lands up to Mecca. But something unexpected happened. We were tricked and thrown into another destination. Abandoned on the coast of the Sea of Oman.
Noticing Hamad's incredulous and suspicious eyes, Júlio Meirinho continued:
— I'll tell you from the beginning.
He then began to narrate the long journey they had embarked on from Morocco, on a peculiar route that combined a mission of historical and geographical reconnaissance with research and personal interests. He, Júlio Meirinho, was clearly interested in the stories and legends about the Queen of Sheba and the incense route for a project he was developing. That was why he had agreed to join the Russian geographer and archaeologist. Vladmir's work was more specific, full of details and technical artifacts. He not only used maps as his guide, but also created them, in a meticulous and almost artistic work. At the beginning of the journey, to help them with the heavier tasks, they were accompanied by two interns hired by the magazine. However, these interns were more useful for carrying weight, taking measurements and small records than anything else. Halfway through the journey, one of them was struck by an unspecified fever, and so, as soon as they arrived in Egypt, they were both sent back home. Thus, the geographer and the historian traveled alone for months, passing through Sudan to Ethiopia. With the funds sent by the magazine, they acquired their own caravan with porters, scouts and local guides. These guides were well paid to resolve any problems regarding borders and hard-to-reach areas.
In Ethiopia, before crossing the Red Sea, they arrived at a village that claimed to be heirs of the people of King Solomon. They were black, tall and imposing, like most Ethiopians, but they retained traces of Hebrew culture, easily recognized by the Portuguese man, who in addition to being a historian was also of Jewish origin. They intended to obtain more information about the incense route, the country of Sheba and Queen Belkss, or Makeda, as she is known in the region. From there they would set off for the strait, near Djibouti, where the French authorities would already be aware of their journey. They would then cross over to the fertile lands of Yemen, where the frankincense flowers bloomed, whose aroma had bewitched Solomon and attracted merchants and explorers from all over the world.
There were rumors that Queen Belkss had transported the Ark of the Covenant to those corners of Ethiopia at the request of King Solomon. They wanted to know the origin and basis of these legends that they had been hearing since Sudan. That was when things got complicated. No one was authorized to give information about the history of Queen "Makeda" and her passage through those lands. With great difficulty, they managed to be taken to the local elders and explain their intentions. They were received with cordiality and kindness, but they received nothing but truncated, repetitive and incoherent information. They were convinced that they would find the answers they were looking for beyond the great lake.
Since they had to move on, they accepted the suggestion. Following a local recommendation, they hired a boat to make the short crossing. However, the crossing that was supposed to last a few hours ended up taking days. As soon as they got on the boat, the captain invited them for dinner and an informal chat. Shortly after supper, they fell into a deep sleep from which they only woke up many hours later to discover that they were in the middle of a great storm and completely off course. The storm lasted for hours, tossing the ship from side to side and causing the two travelers to vomit. They slept for several nights in a bad state, locked in the cabin, cold and hungry, and without any information about what was happening. Finally, when they least expected it, they were abandoned with their luggage and work equipment on a deserted beach, without any explanation and with a vast desert ahead of them. The captain did not even show up to say goodbye and wish them good luck.
— The commander's plague certainly drugged us – concluded Meirinho. They wanted to divert us from the path and they succeeded.
— That's right, that's how we got to Rub' al Khali, coming from the far end of Oman, completely opposite to where we wanted to be – added Vladmir – and you know the rest of the story.
As the narration unfolded, the foreigners showed some drawings and scribbles that recorded parts and characters of the adventure.
— We had a camera, but it was stolen in Cairo – said Vladmir. – I had to adapt – he continued showing the hand-drawn brochures with hurried, disproportionate lines and full of errors – They're terrible!! – he lamented – but the magazine's graphic designers will fix them. And we still have some films left that we'll develop later.
— What an interesting story!! – said Kadir – I don't know what treasures Queen Makeda brought from King Sulayman..., but they say her entourage came packed with many trunks and servants of Jewish origin.
— Queen Makeda had more riches than King Sulayman and other kingdoms combined – Hamad intervened – She certainly brought objects of value to the king to preserve them, since he was facing revolts and wars at that time.
The informal conversation continued after the story until, overcome by sleep, they settled down to sleep, maintaining the same level of vigilance that they had agreed on the night before. Apart from the whispers, nothing else disturbed the travelers' sleep.
The next morning they noticed that although the sun was already on the horizon, the entire part of the cave where they were, including the outside, was still in darkness. They had to decide which way to go and, after eating something to warm their stomachs, they decided to continue forward, through the interior of the extensive cave. They would explore a little further and try to reach some point further along the planned route. The gusts of wind and the continued whispering suggested that there might be an exit to somewhere else in the desert. Hamad lit two torches and handed one of them to Júlio Meirinho. The two of them went ahead, as if they were paving the way, while their companions and the animals followed closely behind. Kadir encouraged them by speaking softly into their ears. He explained the route to them as if they were capable of understanding him. As for the Russian, he continued with his equipment, collecting samples and making notes in his field diary and also on the map on which he recorded the new geographical features encountered along the way. As they entered, they realized that the cave looked much more like a tunnel. The passage was quite wide and the walls gigantic. Although there were curves and windings, there was enough space for a battalion equipped with weapons, mounts and artillery to pass through.
—I can swear that this extension of the cave is not accidental. It looks like a huge tunnel. Human hands have been digging through here,— Vladmir said after some time.
— Or the breath of the jhins!— Kadir observed. — I've heard that when the jhins want to open a passage inside the earth, they blow in the direction they want with the force of the monsoons.
—This is not the work of the jhins or any other supernatural force! Meirinho assured, bringing his torch closer to one of the side walls. — Look!! There are symbols written on the walls. Human symbols.
It was true. In a certain wider corner, as if it were a kind of recess to serve as a resting place, it was drawings on the wall. Some were quite damaged.
—And they are not prehistoric scribbles or cave paintings,— said the Russian, approaching the area illuminated by the torch. "They look like… yes!! Look at this, Bailiff! Aren't they Templar symbols?
The Portuguese adjusted his glasses and took a closer look.
— Well, it really does look like it, here is the Templar cross!! – he exclaimed in ecstasy, examining one of the drawings, which was already quite faded but still recognizable – There are phrases in Latin too...
— Look, it is very likely that this is indeed an indication that Templars were around here. There is an unofficial story about members of the Cross of Christ and other Christians remaining from the war of the crusades who would have built underground shelters and even cities to protect themselves. – he continued – These cities would have roads, tunnels, markets. Everything underground. That is how they would have survived the battles for the Holy Land since the first crusade.
— Balam said that in the lands of Turkey, where he was born, there are enormous cities underground – said Kadir
— These constructions would be well before the holy wars. They date back to very remote periods. – pondered Ladslav – they are part of a completely unknown geography. A network of tunnels and underground cities capable of hiding large groups during wars, allowing migration and survival. These stories have been around since the great Himalayas, at the top of the world. I think it is likely that the Templars discovered some of these tunnels and arrived here during their escapes.
While the two foreigners analyzed the symbols and images written on the wall and made their considerations about them, Hamad looked around a little further ahead. He noticed that there were small niches built in the corners of the enormous hall that could have served as sleeping or resting rooms. There were also other openings of different sizes, through which the wind blew, emitting sounds with different tones.
—Look at this,— he said. — Here is the mystery of the whispers. It seems that we are inside a large wind instrument.
Ladslav, who knew a little about music, moved away from the drawings and went to examine the openings. He picked up a reasonably sized camel hair rug and began to test the intensity of the sounds, sometimes covering part of an opening, sometimes covering the entire opening.
— Interesting!!,— he exclaimed after a few tests. — It seems that it is possible to reproduce a scale of tones. What could this mean? Who created it and why?
— Maybe it is a way of sending messages from a distance,— the Portuguese man speculated. — Maybe they used it to warn, to show the way... I don't know.
—It is true that we have been hearing these sounds for a long time,—Kadir commented. —They also serve to scare people,— he continued. —Because if I had been alone, I would have strayed from the path, thinking it was a trap set by the jhins.
— I don't think it is anything out of the ordinary, — Hamad pondered. — If they are jhin art, they did them under someone's command. The ancients knew secrets and codes that were handed down to us from Father Adam and Mother Eve. These secrets were passed on to the prophets, our ancestors, but were forgotten by us, by the tribes and peoples of the sands.
— You sound like Balam speaking, — Kadir continued, looking at the Tuareg curiously. —I never knew anything about these things.
— But now you know, — Julio Meirinho concluded with an ironic smile. — I imagine that the saints of the desert, like your master Balam, are bearers of many secrets. But, as a wise man from the East whose name I don't remember says, "there are many buried secrets, but most of them are within us." Something like that...
However, Hamad remained serious, frowning, as if he were pondering something important:
—The worst thing is that,—he said after a while, — when we forget our stories and legends, they no longer belong to us and they move on. It sounds as if we were handing over our treasures, memories, and roots to the first person who passes by. Take these Templars, for example. They certainly weren't the ones who built this place. Much less created this system of sounds to communicates over distances. But they ended up discovering it and using it all, probably against our own people.
— Right now,— he continued, turning to the foreigners, — you are marking everything on your maps and notebooks. You will distribute this information to the world. You are certainly also looking for the "black gold" that they say is abundant here."
— Calm down, my friend,— the Portuguese man said. — It's not quite like that. We are not paid to hand over your riches and secrets to the world. There are many things we will not be able to report. I am as surprised as you are to find references to the Templars here. Historical records indicate that they occupied regions much more abover.
— That's really curious,— Ladslav commented, trying to escape the uncomfortable mood that had arisen due to the Tuareg's accusatory words. — They must have arrived here fleeing persecution. They discovered the tunnel. Or…
— Or?—asked Meirinho.
— Or they knew about the existence of a network of tunnels and cut a path underground…
Of everything he had heard from his companions, only one thing caught Kadir's attention. The Russian geographer had spoken of a secret network of interconnected tunnels and that this network probably extended to the "top of the world."
— Can you tell me more about the top of the world, Mr. Ladslav? — he asked abruptly, interrupting his companions' conversation. The Russian turned to him with a smile and explained:
— Well, the "top of the world" is what we call the largest mountain range on the planet, the Himalayan mountain range, which also boasts the largest mountain in the world, Mount Everest. They say that if we could see it from above it would look like the open flower of a white lotus, because of its snow-capped peaks.
— And what is a mountain range? — Kadir asked naively.
— A network of mountains. The ones in the Himalayas look like a circle...
— Like the mountains of Káf?
— Yes, — agreed the Russian, — in a way. Although there is no geographical record that confirms the existence of Káf.
Ignoring Ladslav's last comment, Kadir continued as if speaking to himself:
— I would like to see these mountains up close. How many days are they from here?
— Days?? – exclaimed the Russian, laughing – months, you mean – depending on the situation, many months, maybe more than a year. That territory up there is not easy. We would have to cross inhospitable deserts. The Taklamakan is a frozen desert that reaches temperatures that are difficult to bear. It is also a region of many disputes and wars. We might not even get there alive.
— But what if we found the network of tunnels?
— That is just a legend, prince.
— A legend of which we have already found some traces... — Meirinho added.
— We need to keep going, friends – Hamad reminded us – we need to get somewhere, find water to give the animals. If we stay still, we run a serious risk of spending another day and night with limited water. The animals will not be able to handle it.
— Neither will we – agreed Júlio Meirinho, who jumped to his feet – Let's keep going and see where these paths will take us.