“Alsaqr! Alsaqr! Don’t Jump!” A voice in his head, as if coming from far behind. Alsaqr felt rebellious, he had heard enough of the word, he needed to jump. He looked at the same scenery in front of his eyes, the Sindh river below, the hills ahead, and the eagles above. He felt anxious, his legs trembled in anxiety, his emotions about to burst.
“Don’t jump!” he heard again. He took a few steps back and ran to the edge from where he took a big leap. He was falling to his oblivion, with nothing to hold on to. He had taken the jump and there was no going back. He closed his eyes as he saw the rocky banks of the river getting closer. Suddenly he felt a strong gush of wind from below, and before he could know, he was thrown up back into the sky. His eyes had been closed the whole time, out of fear of what was happening. He opened his eyes when he suddenly started to feel motionless, he saw himself quietly floating above the valley, in the thin air. With the eagles above. He looked down at the river, astonished, which was now far below. He looked at his hands and legs, everything was okay. He wondered if he had died. He was lost in his thoughts, contemplating what had happened when he heard the screech of an eagle from above. He looked up to the eagles and all his fears and doubts immediately vanished. He stretched his legs and arms as he aimed for the eagles, suddenly he somehow knew what he was doing. As he stretched his arms down to his waist, head pointing in the direction of the eagles, his body shot up. Tearing through the wind, racing against it, to reach the top. He felt one with them, one with the eagles. When he had reached their height, they flew off ahead and as he gazed towards them, he saw the sight of huge, fog covered, snow-capped mountains. He immediately aimed in the direction of the mountains but before he could take off, his eyes suddenly opened.
He woke up with a start, looking at a decorated red ceiling, he felt himself laying on soft silk, he looked around to find himself in a big room decorated in Persian and Arab style, he found it hard to remember what had happened, all he remembered was hearing a gunshot before his eyes had closed.
He tried to get up from the bed, but a sharp pain ran through his stomach, he held it in pain and laid back down.
“Hello?” he said in a raised voice, “Is there anybody there?”
He heard footsteps approaching the room, a young bearded man wearing a bright yellow silk robe entered the room, he looked at Alsaqr with a calm smile.
“Where am I?” Alsaqr asked in Arabic.
“Kabul, my friend.” The man smiled as he replied back in Arabic.
Alsaqr’s eyes grew wide in disbelief, he found it hard to swallow the fact that he had averted so far from his path.
“How did I reach here?” he asked, tensed.
“The night when you were attacked, our caravan had heard the commotion. We were camping just a few yards away. We heard a lot of movement and when I and another man came to check, we saw you lying down bloodied, and two corpses, one headless. We hid in the bushes and we saw two men walking towards you, meanwhile, Abdul, the other man from our caravan was loading his musket that he had brought with him. He took a shot and one of the men fell to the ground, I rushed to the other man and slashed his chest open. We took you, with us to our camp. You had lost a lot of blood, we thought you had no hope left and you were about to die.”
Alsaqr listened to him with intent, confusion, and curiosity.
“You showed no signs of recovery until morning, but you were still breathing.”, the man continued, “We decided to take you with us, until you either gave in or recovered. But within a few days of proper care, you showed signs of recovery. The blood stopped flowing from some of your wounds and your pulse became stable.”
“How long have I been here?” Alsaqr asked.
“Even I do not remember, it’s been weeks since we have been traveling! We reached Kabul just two days ago. The city’s one of the best Hakims has been taking care of you.”, said the man.
“Thank you, sir. I am Alsaqr, a traveler from Arab. Your name, if I might?” asked Alsaqr out of gratitude and respect.
“Call me Nader”, he said.
“Do you know of my belongings, and my sword?” Alsaqr asked, suddenly remembering.
“Ah yes, about your sword. That is the only reason we saved you that night. At first, we thought that it was a bandit group killing among themselves, then we saw the sword in your hands. Damascus steel, a golden handle, we thought you must be a great warrior, or a prince. We could not have let a good person die. We hadn’t seen a Damascus steel sword in years! Just the beauty of it is amazing. What is its name, Alsaqr?”
“Assad”, Alsaqr said slightly disappointed of the fact that people could still trace his royal heritage.
“Are you a warrior.” Nader asked.
“A prince… I… I used to be a prince.” Alsaqr said, reluctantly.
“Oh, Prince of?” Nader asked intently.
“Arabia”, said Alsaqr and Nader gave him a shocked look.
“Listen, Alsaqr. There are many Persians here, do not reveal your identity to them.” Nader said concerned as he walked up to him.
“I understand, Nader. Thank you.” Alsaqr said.
“Your belongings are safe, untouched, stored away in a cupboard. I must get you something to eat, you must be really hungry.” Nader said as he turned back and called out, “Ruqayyah! Our guest is awake. Bring him some Sheer Korma.”
A few moments later, a beautiful young woman entered the room with a porcelain bowl in her hand. She wore a black afghan frock with brilliant glittering designs on the neck part, and loose black pants. She lightly covered her head with a translucent black chador. She had fair skin, a lean face with high cheekbones; long, wavy, ash-black hair and dull-green eyes. The only beautiful characteristic her face didn’t bear, was a smile. Her lips just parted slightly, as if she was in a trance.
Alsaqr immediately sensed something unnervingly queer about her. He looked at her eyes, they did not tell him anything, although she had beautiful eyes, but they conveyed not a single emotion, she looked lost, not in her senses.
“This is my beautiful wife, Prince.” Nader said proudly, with a smile.
“Please, do not call me Prince. I gave up that title in order to travel.” Alsaqr said.
Ruqayyah looked at Alsaqr and frowned, Alsaqr looked at her shocked at what happening.
“Say Salaam, my love.” Nader nudged her with his elbows as she stood beside him.
Ruqayyah’s smile suddenly disappeared and she said, “Salaam” in a soft, whimpering voice.
“Walekumassalaam” Alsaqr said, still highly concerned about how she was behaving.
Ruqayyah placed the Sheer Korma on the bedside table and walked out of the room quickly.
“Ah. What a delicious cuisine!” Alsaqr said after he had devoured the whole bowl of Sheer Korma. He had been really hungry and the sweet flavored vermicelli- milk dish with all kinds of dry fruits had just satisfied his hunger.
He let out a deep hot sigh as his breath turned into mist in front of him. Alsaqr looked at it, surprised. Suddenly a jolt of chill ran down his spine and his whole body shivered. He suddenly started feeling colder than he had ever felt. He felt chills in his arms and legs despite wearing heavy robes. He quickly wrapped the blanket around him.
“Why am I feeling so cold, Nader?” Alsaqr asked, shivering.
Nader laughed, “you are in Kabul, my friend. In the heart of the valley of Hindu Kush mountains. Of course, it is cold here!”
“Mountains?” Alsaqr said in disbelief as another mist formed as he spoke.
He suddenly had a glitter in his eyes, they shone with hope, excitement, madness, and passion.
“Take me outside,” Alsaqr said to Nader.
“But you are not in a condition to…”
“Take me outside!” Alsaqr said loud and firm.
Nader saw the zeal in his eyes and bent to his will. He brought him a staff to help him walk and lent him his shoulder.
Alsaqr walked through decorated hallways in the pain of the wounds on his stomach and back, but he would not let that moment go.
“You have a beautiful house”, Alsaqr said as a servant ran to open the doors for them.
“Thank you, I am a diamond merchant”, Nader said.
“Makes sense.” Alsaqr said with a smile.
As he struggled to walk, the doors opened, blinding him with light for a moment. Alsaqr instinctively closed his eyes, when he opened them, he was dumbfounded. Before him, was a thick blanket of pure white snow covering the ground. A sharp, cold breeze blew into the house, piercing his robes and making him shiver. His eyes welled up with tears, he did not have any thoughts. Just the fact that he was seeing snow made his eyes wet with emotions. As they drew closer to the door, Alsaqr saw huge mountains on the horizon. Large snowy cones standing high, right in front of him. Maybe a few miles away. Gigantic mountains, higher than the clouds, standing with majesty as if commanding respect and fear. Alsaqr got out of the door, his boots that were given to him by Nader before heading out, felt wet and cold. He looked up to see a clear blue sky. The sun did not warm him anymore, he was cold.
He bent down, hurting his back and stomach in order to touch the snow. When his bare hands touched the snow on the ground, a shiver ran through his spine. It was so soft, cold and soft, slightly wetting his palm. He did not know why but he instinctively put the snow in his mouth. It melted quickly as he chewed on it, still in tears. He had never tasted anything that soft, it was like his soul had cleansed itself, he felt pure.
---
It was night time, the temperature had dropped drastically. Alsaqr was finding it hard to sleep. He was fidgeting in his bed in the dark, oil lantern-lit room when he heard a movement in the direction of the door. He quickly turned towards the door and saw a dark figure standing there.
“Who is there?”, Alsaqr asked alerted.
The figure came inside the door, closing it behind, it had long wavy hair and the same green eyes.
“Ruqayyah?” Alsaqr said.
Ruqayyah looked at him with a menacing smile, and walked up to him, standing beside him. She said nothing, just looked at him with void eyes and an evil smile.
She brought her hands to the ends of her Afghan frock and started to lift it up slowly.
“Wait! What are you doing?” Alsaqr exclaimed trying to close his eyes, but he could not move his eyelids the slightest bit, he could not move his head the other way. He was paralyzed.
Ruqayyah lifted her frock completely and exposed her breasts as Alsaqr looked in horror.
She bent down on him, her lips close to his, “Go away.” She whispered and kissed his lips. She smiled the same menacing smile at him.
“I will give you all this.” She whispered rubbing her breasts against his body, “Go away soon in return.”
She firmly grabbed his chin and lifted it up, revealing his scarred throat and placed a sharp, long fingernail on it. “Else I am going to cut you,” she whispered softly in his ear and bit it softly.
Alsaqr looked at her in horror, as she dressed back and walked out of the room without looking at him.