Men, Djinn & Angels

Lilith & Agaliarept

Lilith ran as fast as her thin glistening ebony legs could take her. She ran as if her life depended on the speed, leg turnover and stride as she lifted her knees high above her hips and swung her arms in perfect synchronization to the leg extensions. The balls of her bare feet touched against the smooth black soil for just a fraction of time before ligting and kicking dust behind her. She had powerful legs and arms. Her muscular back was well developed from the hours she spent climbing trees in her extravagant spouts of adventure and discovery in the company of her bonobo companions.

Recently, they had accepted her into their family as an honorary member. She had proven that she could climb the highest tree and leap from one branch to another as well as any of them. They appreciated her as if she was their equal. This is far more than what she could dare say about Adamu, her would be husband, lover and tyrant. It was he whom she raced to escape. She hoped to put an end to the insanity of his demands. She did not know what to expect from her present and impulsive flight, but the decision to do so was at least hers. It was her very own choice – free from his input or forbearance. He was, for the first time powerless to a reality that was beyond his ability and control. She was free, running with an anticipation and hope that was foreign to her.

She was not so foolish to expect a world, beyond the approaching boundaries of the garden to be as nourishing or sedative as what she had committed to leave behind. She did not know what to expect; what she would eat or if there was indeed nothing beyond the garden than the void emptiness that Adamu explained. She did not care. Despite the poverty she would suffer and the obstacles that lay before her, she knew that she had made the right choice and when Adamu realized that she had found solace in her new life – the life she anticipated – he would too know that she had made the right choice.

Ahead of her was a row of trees, their trunks so close that she doubted she would pass through them. She hesitated, her breath heavy as she looked left and then right. The line of trees stood like fortified walls as far as she could see in either direction and she knew that if she was to make her escape complete, she would need to find an opening or squeeze her naked body between the rough bark. She expected pain, cuts and scrapes, all of which she was willing to pay for absolute freedom, if she had to do so.

She heard a voice – something or someone called for her. She didn't know if it was Adamu; it did not sound like his voice. Perhaps it was an angel; or maybe a djinni that Adamu warned her against. He forbade her to speak to them as he assumed that her mind was not capable of enduring their wily ways. Although he engaged them – those who tempted him and those who would be his friends, she could not stomach his double standards. She would endure such patriarchy no longer. Hearing the voice inspired her to search no longer for an opening. She squeezed between the trees; a leg, a shoulder, the hip, the head – and she was free. One step to the side and then a sudden drop – she fell from a cliff and tumbled to a gentle slop that was preceded with crumbled rocks, sand and gravel.

She was dusty, and the scrapes were red with fresh blood that burned like fire across her back, knees, and arms. The air was dry; the sun sweatheirng. The heat fell on her shoulders from the sky above and rise from the sand beneath her feet. This is what freedom looked like.

She had no need or desire to run now. She wanted little more than shelter from the unrelenting sun. Ahead of her was blinding light, rugged soil and an ocean of plants. Flowered and spiked. She was certain that Adamu had not seen such sights and as such had not given names to anything that captured her eyes. She thought to name the plants yucca. She felt proud and happy with the word. It was a unique word, something that Adamu would not have thought. With this realization, she felt empowered and the adrenaline rushed though her body as she understood that she was centered in a reality far different from any that Adamu had experienced. She would have taken more time to relish in the thought, but she needed rest. She spied a rocky mountain range to the west. In them were dark hands of shadows that appealed to her. The shadows were her salvation, calling to her with a delightful promise of tranquility. She walked to the mountains, the sun slowly moved behind it with each step and the shadow reached out to her with a determinatioin to console her as if it was her friend and understood her pain. The shadow was refreshing to her skin when it finally blanketed her in its darkness. She felt its coolness; its promise of revitalization. The air seemed lighter as she walked deeper into the mountains where she found the mouth of a cave – offering its gentle floor to rest her tired and sore legs. There was just enough light to allow her to see the depth of the cave – it was seven steps deep. The walls were cool to the touch and she placed her face against it to cool her brow