R.B.R. BARRETO
... there are boundaries that should not be crossed when one does not know where to put the first step.
It was only when everyone had dismounted after almost an hour of galloping that the blindfold was finally removed from the friends' eyes and they could see that they were in the vicinity of a beautiful palace like in "A Thousand and One Nights". Around it was a set of beautiful flower gardens with leafy trees, statues and marble-lined wells. Small bridges connected these gardens to each other and to the main courtyard of the palace. Completely surprised, the three were speechless as they were led by the horsemen along the small, leafy road that took them to one of these bridges. While some men tried to accommodate the animals, the leader and a the others continued towards the palace carrying the stretcher with Vladmir as fast as they could.
Kadir followed the procession with an ecstatic look. Never, even in his dreams and daydreams about Paradise, had he seen anything like it. If they were in an oasis, it was the richest and most lush oasis he had ever dreamed of. He was afraid of touching something and everything disappear like a mirage. There was a scent of jasmine in the air. Birds of different plumages and colorful butterflies completed what could, in his vision, be compared to Jannah itself.
In complete ecstasy, they arrived at the palace portal through which they were led to a kind of atrium, where there was some rustic wooden furniture, a banquet table covered with fruit, bread, and jugs of wine and water. They were received by a middle-aged man dressed in a white tunic who greeted them with a kind smile and led them into the hall. The leader of the knights exchanged a few words with the man and then addressed his friends.
— Gentlemen, make yourself at home! I will leave you here with Yusuf who will guide you from now on. In the meantime, I will provide immediate care for the injured man. Please be patient. I will give you news as soon as I can.
Júlio Meirinho made a move to follow his friend, looking quite worried. But the knight restrained him:
— I ask you to stay here, sir!! Don't insist! I promise that your friend will be helped in everything he needs. There are situations that simple medicine cannot solve. You can't help at all now and your presence would only get in the way. I ask you to trust and give Allah your prayers for your friend's recovery. We will see each other again soon.
He then quickly walked away before any of his friends could argue once more.
— Let's trust, Mr. Meirinho – said Kadir, patting the Portuguese man on the shoulder in a friendly gesture – your friend will get better and soon he will be writing down another adventure in his notebook. We were very lucky to find help. By Allah!! Very lucky.
— The prince is right, Mr. Meirinho! – agreed Hamad – We were very lucky to find these knights. Let's trust.
Still worried, but overcome by hunger and fatigue, they allowed themselves to be led by the guardian Yusuf to a kind of washroom where they could wash off the dusty marks and small scars of that frightening adventure. The water that ran in a cascade over a stone carved in the shape of a gourd served to refresh their minds and restore some lucidity. When they were led to the table for a quick meal, their nerves were reasonably under control and they were able to assess what had happened to them, although they still could not find any plausible explanation.
— Good God!! – said Meirinho, grabbing the glass of wine in front of him as if it were an elixir capable of revealing the truth – what did we escape from after all? Can you tell us, Hamad?
Hamad just shook his head. He also had no idea what they had faced. The tuareg warrior had seen many strange things in the desert, but those creatures surpassed any expectation of terror that his greatest nightmares had conceived.
— I have heard stories of predators that can be confused with vampires and other legendary monsters – continued the Portuguese – but those creatures? They were real. Bats? A prehistoric species preserved somehow in those caves? Is that possible?
Kadir didn't want to say what he was thinking. He was distressed. The scream of terror uttered by the geographer when he was attacked wouldn't leave his mind. He seemed to be taken by a strange trance to the point of mistaking those horrendous creatures for a beautiful woman. Bats don't cause that, even if they were prehistoric.
— I still think we touched something we shouldn't have — Hamad said thoughtfully — maybe those symbols were really a seal. They were there for a reason.
— You're right, brave warrior!! — a voice said behind them — There are things that, out of caution, care and respect, we shouldn't touch...
The friends turned towards the voice of the man who entered. Hamad and Kadir immediately recognized the old Sheikh who had found them in the ruins of the Mosque in the desert and had helped Aisha before she fled.
— Sheikh Sayad!! — Kadir exclaimed, standing up instantly
— Salam Aleikum, my friends! May the peace of Allah be with you!! Happy to see you again, even though the circumstances are not the best.
— Aleikum Salam – the others replied
— I came to bring news of your friend and to calm your hearts – he said as he took off the cloak that was over his shoulders and handed it, along with a staff, to Yusuf, who was always ready like a caring guardian.
He then sat down at the table with his friends and helped himself to wine and bread. Almost immediately afterwards, the Knight who had brought them to the palace joined them, already stripped of his armor and without the covering on his face. Seeing everyone gathered at the table, Yusuf, with a gesture, called in some servants bringing other dishes and drinks.
— Make yourself at home, gentlemen. This palace, as well as all of us, are at your disposal for as long as you stay – said Sheikh Sayad, resuming the conversation – I fear that you will stay no less than ten days, until your friend is fully recovered and can continue his journey. I assume that you already know the noble Zaruh, prior of the knights who brought you here. He, like me, serves this Palace.
Meirinho, although he did not know the Sheikh, was relieved to learn that both Hamad and Kadir had met him before and witnessed his skills in the healing arts.
— Sir… I know I may seem very distressed, but I cannot swallow a single bite of food or enjoy your kind and welcome hospitality until I hear from my friend. I need to see him. How is he?
— Please calm down, Sir…?
— Meirinho, Júlio Meirinho.
— Calm down, Mr. Meirinho! Your friend is in good hands. He needs to get rid of the poison that was put in his blood and is already going through the first phase of purification. It is not a good situation to see right now.
— What do you mean? — said the portuguese man almost shouting.
— What do you mean?? Well... he received a poisonous bite, as you must have seen. The poison penetrated his blood and affected his brain, producing hallucinations. He is now being treated. It will take some time, but he will be fine.
Seeing that the Portuguese man was sweating and fidgeting in his chair, seemingly very nervous, the old Sheikh continued in a firm voice, holding the other man by the wrist.
— Don't give us any trouble, Mr. Meirinho! Drink this infusion and stay calm. I promise that after we have dinner and talk a few things, I will take you to him. He won't recognize them now, but with time and detoxification, his mind will return and he will be able to banish the hallucinations.
— In the meantime, — he continued, — tell us more about yourselves. How did you end up here, anyway? I had the pleasure of meeting the young prince and the brave Tuareg on return from my pilgrimage. But what about Mr. Meirinho and his friend? How did they end up in this story?
Calmer and more comforted by the food and the kind welcome that surrounded them, the three began to narrate their adventures from when they got together until they arrived here. When they narrated the attack suffered by Vladmir and the persecution they suffered in the cave, they felt uneasiness and amazement once again.
— What monsters were those?— the Portuguese man muttered in a low voice, as if asking himself.
— Creatures forgotten by God, probably!! I have no idea what sparked your curiosity in that cave... – the old Sheikh conjectured – but I know that there is a cure for every evil.
— Those creatures certainly hold worse things than what you saw... – said the Prior of the Knights – You other shouldn't have been there. You were reckless.
— But... – continued Meirinho – those trails weren't used for the first time. There are recent marks. We weren't the only ones. We just followed the tracks.
— You were curious, – interrupted the knight in a firmer tone – there are borders that one shouldn't cross when one doesn't know for sure where to take the next step. There are places on the planet that the angels have sealed. One shouldn't break these seals without due knowledge and at the risk of disturbing what is asleep. Something much worse could have happened.
As he spoke he looked especially at Hamad, as if holding him more responsible than the others.
— How did a guardian of the desert get himself into such a trap?
Hamad returned the gaze with the same firmness.
— I am not a keeper of secrets, sir. My commitment, beyond my tribe, is to those who place themselves under my guard. I do not interfere in what they decide to do. I follow my instincts. The cave appeared on our path. It attracted us with its mysterious sounds. At that moment, it seemed like the best choice to make.
He was visibly irritated, took a deep breath and continued:
— There are indeed many secrets in our lands, knight. But perhaps it is time for some of them to be revealed? In any case,— he interrupted himself again, — in any case, we are very grateful for your intervention. We would not have dealt with those creatures if you had not appeared. We owe our lives to you.
The knight Zaruh made a gesture that released them from any obligation to thank them and raised his wine glass as if making a toast, sealing the peace between them.
— I'm glad we arrived on time, you don't owe us anything!
As soon as they finished their meal, the servants brought glass bowls of water and clean towels for them to clean their hands. Then a woman in a black burka appeared at the door and Sheikh Sayad motioned for her to come closer. With a soft and almost imperceptible bow, the woman approached the Sheikh and whispered something in his ear. The man immediately stood up with an excited look and said to the others:
— Look at this good news!! Your friend is calmer. He's sleeping soundly at the moment. If you want, we can see him now.
The three then followed the Sheikh and the woman, passing through long corridors of the palace until they reached an anteroom that looked like an infirmary. Laboratory tubes, a lit crucible, shelves and shelves with substances and objects from the infirmary made up the environment. There was a passage covered by a curtain, next to which sat a woman in a high-backed chair, as if she were watching over the entrance. She was also wrapped in a dark burka and stood up as soon as she saw the Sheikh. Drew aside the curtains so they could enter the other room.
The room where the sick man lay was much larger than they had imagined and was lit by a floor lamp behind the bed. Some incense was burning, filling the environmentwith a subtle smoke and the sweet smell of frankincense. At the back of the room, almost in the darkness, a group of about five dervishes were sitting on the floor playing their percussion and wind instruments in a low, soft, rhythmic tone. Their bodies, even while seated, swayed to the rhythm of the instruments. Next to the bed, two other women were standing, observing the patient's signs. He lay asleep and his face, although calm, was beaded with sweat and marked by expression lines, probably caused by the pressure of moving on the bed. His breathing was heavy and the wound on his neck was covered with a compress changed at that moment by one of the women. As soon as she touched the wound he became a little agitated. The other woman tried to calm him down by passing a damp cloth over his forehead. Hamad recognized the three women who had accompanied the Sheikh in helping Aisha during her brief illness in the desert mosque. He noticed that there was another among them. It was precisely the woman who was passing the cloth over Vladmir's forehead. She seemed smaller and thinner than the others. Her movements were also more uncertain and her hand seemed to be shaking a little. The young woman did not move or turn to face them, but her posture brought a pang to his heart, reminding him of Aisha. Meirinho tried to approach the bed, but was stopped by the Sheikh. At that very moment, the sick man began to stir again, shaking his head, trying to raise his body, groaning and shouting nonsense. The two women who were outside ran to join the others. One of them brought a bowl of boiling water from which dark smoke and a strong smell of the mixture of herbs and salts were coming out. At the same time, the dervishes who were seated stood up, intensifying the sound of their drumming. One of them began a whirling following the rhythm
— Come, friends! Let's let our brothers work,— insisted the old Sheikh, leading the three out of the hall. — As I said, these first few hours are essential for the total purification of your friend. The poison needs to leave his body at the same time that the healing substances and elements enter. Be confident. The Hakim women know how to use herbs and essences like no one else. The aroma of Frankincense mixed with other essences has the power to transmute the poisons that affect the soul. Prayers, words and sounds also help. Do you know how to pray, friends?
Meirinho, with an air of great discouragement and concern, nodded:
— Although I dedicate myself to science, I am a Christian of Jewish origin, and I do know how to pray.
— Well, pray, my friend! With the faith that comes from your heart. The prophet Jesus was a great healer. Do not doubt, not for a second, that He can hear you.
Each one, in their own way, retreated into their faith, understanding that there was not much to do at that moment. Kadir wanted to isolate himself to pray and began to wander the palace corridors aimlessly until he found the exit to one of the gardens. It was getting late, but there was still enough light to see the way. He walked for some time along a path dotted with pebbles until he reached a flowery square, near a leafy tree and a stone bench. He turned towards the sun, knelt on the ground and began to pray, trying to release all the anguish that was in his chest.
The prayer did nothing to calm him down. He sat on the bench with his head down, aware of all the beauty and tranquility around him, although none of it brought him peace. He knew he was in a privileged place, that never in his life had he seen a garden like this one that could match his visions of Paradise. However, his soul found no peace. It was overwhelmed with confused feelings. He had never imagined that the search for Paradise would bring him so much misfortune. He had been selfish. He had involved so many people in his madness without thinking about the consequences. First the young Aisha and now the kind stranger, so lively and full of plans. At that moment, it never occurred to him that each one had their own free will. That they made choices that were independent of his. His troubled mind thought he had dragged everyone into his daydreams. So, all that exuberance and complexity of the garden around him meant nothing to him. He missed the simplicity of the desert with its harmonious and constant landscape. The beauty of the sands was simple and easy to contemplate. He had walked so much among them to get nowhere. If Paradise was so close, why couldn't he find peace?
The young man closed his eyes, feeling sadness flood his soul when he heard a rustle of wings above his head, causing an abrupt displacement of air that spread behind him. At the same time, the sharp song of a bird sent a strange shiver through his entire body. He came out of his torpor almost immediately, jumping up and looking back in search of the origin of those events.
To his amazement, he saw a woman standing a few steps away from him, as if she had come out of nowhere. She, on the other hand, looked at him without any surprise, as if she had been contemplating him for some time. She carried a staff and had her face uncovered. A white cloth, the same color and fabric as her clothes, completely covered her hair. She didn't look ragged, but she was probably a wanderer, as she was barefoot, her feet dirty with dark dust and her nails long and thin like a bird's claws. Kadir looked at her in detail, completely surprised, not knowing what to say.
The woman approached slowly and he, in a stronger instinct, took a step back and exclaimed in surprise:
— Ma'am?
The woman stopped with a smile on her face and raised her hand in a gesture of peace.
— Calm down, my boy! Salam Aleikum!!
The boy made an apologetic gesture and responded to the woman's greeting, then tried to explain himself:
— Aleikum Salam!! – Sorry, ma'am. I didn't see you coming!! I was completely distracted.
— Don't worry, my boy! I see I scared you.
— No, no. It's just that I thought I heard... – he stopped, not knowing how to explain and then continued in one breath.
— Didn't you hear a bird singing? I just felt it passing over my head as if it had enormous wings... didn't you see it?
The woman just smiled and looked around as if she were looking for something in a careless way.
—Yeah, I see there are a lot of birds around here!! Which one did you think you heard?
Kadir shrugged his shoulders in a discouraged gesture and shook his head with a deep sigh:
— Never mind, ma'am! It was just an impression! Forgive me again! I'm very tired. We've been through some scares and difficult times. I must still be impressed, hearing things!
— So you're not alone, my boy?
— No — he continued — I'm with friends. We were brought here because one of them was seriously injured.
— Hmm! — murmured the woman as she sat down on the stone bench
— Sit here, boy! To talk a little will do you good and keep the nightmares away.
Kadir obeyed automatically, with a slight feeling of gratitude. Solitude had not brought him the peace he had hoped for. The woman observed the signs of discouragement on his face.
— How did you end up here, my boy?
— Oh, ma'am!! A very long story. I came after my Master Balam. I thought I was heading you way but now I don't know. I've made so many mistakes. I don't even know where I am anymore.
— Sitting here, I suppose!! – the woman finished with a smile.
The young man also smiled awkwardly and sadly. He sighed, lowered his head and remained silent. The woman began to draw the ground with her staff as if she were drawing a long path. Then she spoke:
— Allah has drawn many paths that lead to Him, my young man. Many religions, many beliefs. He is everywhere and in all of them at the same time. You may think that you turned away from Allah and His ways. But He has not lost you, boy. Sometimes we can get confused, make difficult choices, go back to the beginning and start all over again, but that is part of it. It is part of learning. Learning is making better choices in the following steps. So, young prince, feel fear, feel sadness, feel regret. All of that is part of it. But do not lose your faith.
Kadir listened to her attentively, wondering how the woman had guessed his anguish and knew him so well.
— Madam, what is your name?
— Ahh!! A name! – she said as if to herself – A name again. Whatever ! – she continued – Zahira!! You can call me Zahira. I've already introduced myself to a princess with that name and she liked it. You should like it too, young prince.
— A princess? – the young boy asked with forced curiosity – are there any princesses around here?
— Yes, a princess!! Maybe not the way you imagine that a princess can be, but a real princess.
The young Sheikh smiled and shook his head in a gesture of doubt:
— I don't imagine princesses. I have no idea what they might be like.
— The princess I met had no idea she was one either. She was lost, abandoned. She was small, very frail, but with great courage. A true warrior soul born in the desert.
The woman stopped talking for a moment while she examined him carefully.
— Curious! – she exclaimed - when I found her, she was also dreaming of a bird.
Kadir seemed to pay no attention to this last comment. He continued with his eyes fixed on the ground.
— And where is she now? – he asked after some time
— Probably choosing her next path. When I found her, she seemed to be more lost and sad than you. She had taken a very difficult path and almost succumbed. Do you want to hear it?
The young man turned his interested gaze to the woman. It was good to hear another story besides his own.
— Yes. What happened to her? How did she escape?
— Ahh... she was just a poor child who got lost in the illusion of having found a great love. Because of this illusion, she had to make difficult choices.
— Wasn't she reciprocated? — he asked with growing interest.
— You know, my dear boy. True love is an arrow that doesn't stray. It can take a long way, but it doesn't stray. In the end, this path only makes sense when it leads us to ourselves. Do you understand?
The young man made a vague gesture with his head, signaling that he didn't understand at all.
— One day you will understand — she continued — There is many kind of love but and there is the love, the only one. She wasn't completely wrong. In a way, love guided her and she found different kinds of love along the way. If she had known that, she wouldn't have felt abandoned and wouldn't need to run away like she did. That choice almost led to her death. Luckily, all of this made her find her own faith. So, because of faith, she was able to be saved. And the story took another path.
Kadir listened to everything as if he were listening to his own saga between old certainties and current doubts. Suddenly he began to cry. Without any ceremony he let the sobs burst from his chest and the tears flow from his eyes, like an endless waterfall. The woman followed the young man's drama, with a compassionate and at the same time calm look.
— It's your turn to speak, my young man. What is it that afflicts you so much? Do you know that when we talk about pain it loses power over us?
The young man shook his head, still in deep tears, as if he resisted expressing what was in his soul.
—It's just that your story...— he moaned, — the story of that poor young woman reminded me so much...— he stopped again.
The young man remained silent for a long time, following the scribbles that the woman traced on the ground again. Then, a little calmer, he continued:
— I was so certain! So convinced! I believed that I could reach Paradise itself. That Allah would show me the way and that I would know how to find the signs. Now I am here, in this beautiful garden that could be Paradise. But I don't feel the slightest bit of peace. Nor joy. Nor even faith in any sign. I only feel disappointment, confusion and sadness.
The woman listened to him attentively:
— So that's all you want? All you dream of? Finding Paradise?
For the first time, when asked about this, the young man didn't know what to say. Suddenly, that desire that had always guided his steps seemed like a great absurdity.
— What madness, my Great Allah! — he exclaimed. — How crazy and pretentious I was! How could I have thought myself worthy of finding Paradise? How proud! How presumptuous! How much harm I have caused because of this.
The woman stopped scribbling on the ground and placed her hand on Kadir's shoulder, trying to calm him down.
— Aren't you exaggerating a bit, my boy? Paradise was conceived by Allah as a reward for all souls. So, in principle, you can desire Paradise as much as anyone else. Just don't imagine that it was made for you, according to your desire. Then you would be very wrong.
Kadir shook his head in agony, as if analyzing his actions, desires and choices. He had certainly imagined a private paradise, according to his dreams, and this vision was crumbling.
—I thought I was above others. I disappointed those who believed in me. My father, my grandfather, my master Balam, my friend Randú, or rather...— he paused for a moment with an expression of pain and desolation and then continued — Aisha... a real princess that I didn't know how to recognize and who didn't have the same luck as the princess in your story.
The woman continued to look at him, seemingly curiously.
— Well! So now you at least know how to recognize a princess. We're already on another path,— she said in a mocking and patient tone.
He looked at her as if he didn't understand anything and she continued smiling:
— From what you told me, all this time you only paid attention to yourself and your desire to reach Paradise. Now you've come to your senses and realized that other people were by your side. That's a good sign, my boy. Tell us what happened with this girl.
He shook his head in dismay:
— We lost her on the way. She ran away, feeling guilty and persecuted.
— Persecuted by whom? Did you look for her?
— Yes. As far as we could. We went as far as we could.
— And as far as you could? Have you ever wondered about that?
The young man looked at her once more, not understanding, and insisted:
— We searched everywhere. She disappeared before our eyes. It seems she was swallowed by the sands...
He shooked his head, with a disconsolate and tragic expression as he relived the entire scene of that fateful afternoon.
— We went as far as we could, – he repeated – but she disappeared before our eyes.
The woman watched him in silence and then looked ahead vaguely, shrugging her shoulders.
— Yes! Who kows what happened to her? Maybe she wasn't as lost as you think, young prince. Maybe she was just discovering her own destiny.
— I can't imagine any other destination for someone who sinks into the sands of this great desert. Where could they go?
— To Paradise, perhaps?? — The woman asked the question vaguely, but she looked at the boy with immense curiosity. He, however, did not answer. He remained silent with his eyes fixed on the ground.
After some time the woman stood up, arranged her clothes around her and said:
— Well... night is coming. I must leave, my young man. I hope you know how to find the answers you seek.
Kadir looked at her in amazement and asked:
— Don't you live here, in this beautiful Palace?
— In the Palace of Nine Doors? — She replied laughing. — No, no. But I "land" here, from time to time.
Kadir looked at the palace in front of him with an intrigued look:
— Nine doors?
— Yes. Didn't you notice? Ask your master to tell you about it. Now I don't have any more time, I really must leave.
Kadir could barely process everything he had heard, but he turned to her with a worried look:
— I wouldn't leave at night if I were you. The paths here are very dangerous. They hide unimaginable terrors, things that are difficult to explain.
— It's true – she agreed, looking at him fixedly – But don't worry about me, my prince. I'll be safe. And as for you, take care of yourself! And take care of those you love. Don't forget that Paradise has many doors, but only one key opens them all.
Kadir made a gesture as if he were going to ask a question, but she interrupted him.
— If I were you – she continued – I would push this sadness away and go see how your friends are doing. They are also afraid and need you, the strength of your faith and trust.
"Faith and trust!" – he thought – was all he thought he had lost. Once again he looked towards the Palace that was on a level just above the garden. He saw that he had moved away much further than he had imagined. As dusk fell, some torches began to be lit, illuminating some areas. Inside the palace, he could also see that chandeliers were already shining in some rooms. Indeed, it was time to go back. He went back to say goodbye, but the woman had left without leaving any sign. He looked around, trying to situate oneself in the darkness that was growing behind him.
—Madam?
But the answer was only silence, broken only by the sound of birds flying away in search of their nests when night falls. Kadir stopped, afraid of once again going down dark paths, and then returned to the palace with hurried steps, almost running, imagining a thousand shadows behind him.