Aliya of Bahariya

Tamineh

We are back on our way when a girl rides up to me on her camel. Musa decided to let me steer Jairo for a while, and is walking by Fathima up ahead. I'm entirely engrossed in my thoughts, thinking about what Musa and I spoke of.

"Hello." She dips her head a little, breaking me from my mind. I'm more than a little relieved.

"Ahh..." She speaks Arabic! "Hi!"

"I'm Tamineh." She looks me right in the eye, smiling. She has lovely orange-y brown skin, and a wide smile, showing all her teeth. Her clothing is beautiful, the colors red, brown, yellow and orange, with lots of patterns. Her head is covered with a plain beige cloth, like all the women.

"Hi!" I repeat. "I'm-"

"Aliya." She finishes for me. "I know who you are. Everyone is talking about you."

"Oh." I sit up a little straighter, suddenly feeling uncomfortable, like she's come by to witness the spectacle up close. "I guess they would be."

She nods. "This definitely doesn't happen often. Or at all." She smiles big at me.

I don't know what to say, so I nod. A few moments pass.

"So Musa has adopted you?" She asks an question, inviting me to conversation.

"I suppose, however..." I look ahead to where he is. "He didn't really have a choice."

"How are things going between the two of you?"

"He's very..." I struggle for the right word. "...Paternal."

Tamineh laughs. "He yells at you then, does he?"

I smile. "No. I don't think Musa yells."

"I know, I'm only joking."

"I meant that he lectures me a lot, and he hit me this one time. He acts like I'm his responsibility; I don't mean that to be a bad thing. He's very nice to me."

Tamineh is chuckling, putting one hand over her mouth. She mutters something to herself then speaks to me. "Oh, that probably won't be the last time he hits you."

"Mm, yeah, that's really funny." I say with no humor.

She composes herself. "My apologies," she grins. "So, he lectures you? What about?" She switches topics.

"Yeah..." I trail off, suddenly distracted by something I see, and hear. "What is that?" I ask, shocked.

Tamineh looks around for what I'm talking about, and when she sees it she quickly looks away. "Oh." She says a little gravely. "That's Othman. He was bitten by a snake five days after he left his tribe for Makkah."

"Goodness." I say, taken aback. "But... Wha..." I stutter. "Aren't we far from Makkah?"

She nods, whispering something quietly. Then she looks back at me. "However we're not too far from the Fulani."

"The who?"

Her eyes widen at me. "You don't know the Ful-" She shakes her head. "Never mind. The Fulani tribe, they're famous for their cures and medicines for all kinds of diseases, even ones that people don't know their names! They're very isolated, and they don't like visitors."

"So the plan is to take... him-"

"Othman."

"Othman there? How can you take him if they are isolated and don't like visitors?"

"Musa knows them."

"How?" I frown.

"Hmm, let me remember." Her face scrunches as she thinks. "Yes. So, when he was young, his tribe's well wasn't far from the Fulani's well, where they lived for a few years. Because they move around all the time, you see. However, that well they stayed for a few years. Anyways, Musa became friends with a lot of the kids from the Fula tribe, and I believe he learned their language that way."

"That's... so..."

"So interesting!" She says. "Indeed. The Fulani are so mysterious and knowledgeable, and Musa knows them and their language. Mashallah."

"What does that mean?" I ask, remembering Musa saying that.

"Mashallah?" She clarifies. I nod. "It means that Allah has willed it. You say it for something that you really like, or you think it's very interesting or maybe something that you would want for yourself. You say mashallah as a reminder that Allah has given you what Allah has willed for you, and the same goes for others. So you should not wish for what someone else has, because it was not meant for you."

"Ah." I nod slightly.

We're both quiet after this.

__

"There's a snake bite victim." I say to Musa.

It's later, around sunset.

"I'm well aware." He has taken up Jairo's lead again.

I look to the horizon, a little surprised by his nonchalance. "Don't you think I should know about situations like this?"

"Why, do you have some medical schooling I haven't been informed of?"

"How funny. We both know that even if I do, I can't remember!"

"You seem distressed."

"Well, I'm a little concerned that Othman might die." I feel hysterical high up on my camel.

"Othman? How do you know his name?"

"Tamineh told me."

"Oh, how wonderful that you've spoken with Tamineh! When was that?" He looks up at me.

"Well, not long ago. When you left me with my incapability to steer."

He frowns at me. "Keeping Jairo in a straight line isn't difficult, Aliya. Children do it, and the camel will follow the crowd."

"So, Othman?" I try to get back to the point.

"What about Othman? As I said, do you have some medical schooling we don't know about? If not, then what do you want out of the situation? It's not my job to inform you of every person traveling in this caravan." He responds.

"I only felt a little surprised by the information." I explain. "Is there a camel accident victim I don't know about? Or perhaps a..." I struggle to think of another problem. "A disease riddled man?"

"Aliya, you're acting ridiculous. I promise, Allah forbid, if there is another snake bite victim you will be the first to know about it! Now here," he drapes Jairo's lead around her neck. "You steer. Try to make sure Jairo is going that way," he points straight ahead. "And not that way." He points behind us. "If you begin to see the faces of people and not their backs then you're heading in the wrong direction. I am going to have some tea." Then he strides off to accompany some of the other men.

I've bothered him. I simply ask too many questions, make too many demands. I should probably try to relax a bit more and not be such a handful. I can certainly steer my own camel, so I don't know why I made a problem of it. I wonder idly if camels can run very fast with a person on their backs. I don't see why not. That might be fun.

I move to catch up with Tamineh.