PAST LIFE DIARY 2 - Story 406 - The pearls (Daria)

THE PEARLS (Daria)

I see a dark gray teardrop shape, roughly representing the shape of the place I'm in - a kind of cave or crater. It's nighttime. I must stay here for some time and wait till my companion finds me. I have jewels with me, but I don't know if they're valuable enough to sell. It's getting chilly, and I rub my arms, shivering and stomping my feet. I start to hum to keep up my spirits. That way it will be morning soon. I look forward to feeling the warmth of the sun.

I wake up in fetal position, sunlight piercing in my eyes. Apparently, I fell asleep anyway. I look around. No one's here yet. I listen to hear if perhaps he's above the ground. I think I hear him. "Haamen" I say.

She calls him by a shorter version of his name Haamedo. The "d" always sounds like something in between a "d" and an "n" in both Haamedo and Madeedo.

He peers down over the edge, squatting, painfully squinting his eyes because of the low hanging sun. 'Shall I come to bring you out of that?' he asks. I bravely wave his suggestion away and tell him I'm coming up by myself. I'm a big boy, after all. A big boy, but also nimble and lightweight! I crawl across the pinkish rocks, dusting the sand off my hands as I go. Nearly there, I find a small, flat patch where I can stand up. I reach out my hand for him to pull me up. I tumble onto the ground around the cave, and laugh. 'Are you hurt?' he inquires. I smile broadly, considering whether I feel any pain - perhaps a little abrasion. Oh yes, it starts to prick now. Ugh, and it's itchy, but you shouldn't scratch it. 'Will you scratch it for me?' I ask, walking alongside him, or rather, trying to catch up with him. My friend being somewhat taller than what we call "good height", I am myself significantly shorter in comparison. He turns around and gives me a smile, then shakes his head and looks down, smiling broadly as the intentional humor of my question hits him. He doesn't say much. In fact, he doesn't speak at all until he stops and points. 'There!' he says. There it is then, I think to myself. Never argue with old Haamedo when he says it's there; he knows the way. I'm not sure where we're headed, but I hope it's the royal people with the women and pearls. Perhaps I can persuade them into a business deal in exchange for my bracelet. It's pretty. I've worn it for a bit, and relished in observing the pearls and gold as they glistened in the sunlight. But that's it for me. I enjoyed the experience, but I have no desire to keep it. Unlike many women, I don't have the desire to wear something special to make me feel more valuable or attractive to men. I'd rather not impress men in that way, or make them think that I'm trying to appeal to their "inner parts". You have to be careful not to give them the wrong idea. Haamedo knows there is no hope for me, and I respect that. He's a good pal. We often hug like twins in the womb, but he doesn't try to fondle me. We've been walking for some time now, and it's tiring me. My hips hurt. I don't think he understand that it's harder for me to walk such a distance. The flat top hill is farther than it seems. It's as if, the closer we get, the more distance is added between us and the hill. I stop and turn around to see how far we've come. 'Are you giving up?' he asks. I pause before saying: 'No.' I then sigh hard, expressing that I'm feeling very hot and… well, all things unpleasant - the wetness of my menstruation blood is one of them, but I don't want to tell him about that. As if reading my mind, though, he casts a quick glance at my midsection, and back up at my face. The look itself is meant as a question left best unspoken. I shrug, arms swung out to the sides, and continue walking. He stops for a moment and apologizes for the inconvenience, but points out the importance of us reaching the place in time as the sun is growing hotter. 'Yeah, I know' I say, and continue walking. So inconvenient! Annoyed as I am, I wiggle my hips, legs open to release the sticky grip of the wet and heavy rag between my legs, saturated as it is.

After but a short while, I notice that the distance left now really does appear to be shrinking fast. Excited, I start to rush a little, galloping on my toes, having already taken off my heavy, sweaty sandals quite a while ago. Haamedo grins at me as I hobble irregularly over the rocky surface, trying to spare the soles of my feet. Arriving at the foot of the hill, I put up my arms in a gesture of victory. Haamedo may take bigger strides, but in the end, he's heavier and slower than me. A few steps left, and then he suddenly scoops me up and puts me over his shoulder. I'm taken by surprise, but I don't resist. Instead, I'm curious what he's up to. Are we going to meet those people? Will he pretend that he captured me and is holding me captive? Whatever the story, one thing's for sure: I'm to keep silent and only cough. "Haamen!" I say after a while, impatiently tapping on his sweaty, tanned back. 'What?' he asks, annoyed and tired, all too ready to drop the extra weight. 'Put me down' I say. 'But… the man' he says. Ugh, the men! 'Put me down' I whisper. He does. I pull at the lower half of my short, white dress to straighten it, and sigh. It's so hot! 'I love you' I tell him, and kiss him in the face, before continuing in the same direction. 'My man' he says, following me hastily, 'You'll be my man?' I stop and turn, then shrug. Being his man means passing as a young lad, as I often do. That includes me keeping quiet, hence I confirm his question by moving ahead in silence. He starts sharing his plan, and tells me what to do, or rather, what not to do. He wants me to be informed in advance lest I be taken by surprise during the communication with the people and be tempted to speak or show some level of understanding. The story will be that I'm a sea faring kid from a foreign land, too shy to speak the language I only partially understand. It always works, until someone starts to suspect something. The loose folds in the upper part of my dress are enough to cover the shape of my "woman parts" (i.e. breasts) but I have to keep my posture in mind too, slightly hunching when I sit, for example. Carrying something on my back when I walk also helps with that. A tall man appears. He has chin-length, golden-blond hair. 'Ah! You brought the man?' he says, casting a slightly doubtful glance at me in my white dress with colored belt. On the island where they come from - and perhaps other islands as well - women typically (only) wear white, and men wear a variety of bright colors. 'Come here, little man' he says, beckoning me kindly. I stand still, legs spread, and hands on my hips, confident that my heat-induced facial expression - I put out my tongue - won't suggest any hint of femininity. 'He's tired' Haamedo explains. He then tells me to follow him, using both a gesture and "words" in a fake "foreign language" which I supposedly understand, thus emphasizing the idea that I'm Haamedo's foreign "gain" who is now in the service as his "captive helper".

At night, in our private sleeping accommodation, I whisper in order to not be heard by anyone outside. Haamedo literally can't whisper, so instead, he just talks quietly. I guess, for a big man like him, that qualifies as a whisper. The man we met seemed glad that Haamedo had come back, apparently more interested in his company than any type of business prospect. 'Shall I show him my bracelet?' I ask. He shrugs. He's not sure the man would understand its value. Moreover, he argues, he's a man and thus doesn't really care for jewelry. I wonder how. Doesn't he see how shiny and mesmerizing it is in the sun? Surely, he must have daughters that would beg him to buy it! We could tell him we have more of them on our island. Business deal! 'And then bring corn?' he says, meaning that, instead of more pearls, we would bring corn. 'Beads are beads' I say. Haamedo doesn't agree, but has nothing to say. 'Are you both alright, both my lords?' a man asks from outside of the room. 'Excellent!' Haamedo replies. 'Goodnight' the man says. We stay quiet for a bit. Then, I suggest we sleep.

In the morning, we're hauled out of the room. First, I think they will chase us away, but it turns out they're trying to protect us. Several small groups of men lead us away, supposedly towards safety. They're standing around us as a shield. Haamedo, tall as he is, ducks so as not to stick out above the other heads.

We're led into another house through a low, arched doorway. A woman is here, evidently an older "wise woman" who "sees" things. I sit down by her, fanning myself with one hand. 'Madam…' Haamedo starts, 'we are strangers.' She says nothing, not even with her face. A man comes in and, in a panic, tells Haamedo that we must move again. Well, this will be interesting, I think to myself as I get up. The man sternly but gently puts his hand out to stop me, then gestures in the direction of Haamedo, telling his men to take him. 'Stay here' another man says to me, reassuringly. What on Earth is all this fuss about? Don't they know that I'm the one that has the pearl bracelet? Hahah, I have it in my… Oh, I left it in the other room. The woman starts to talk to me, speaking my native language. I have to pretend that I barely speak it, intentionally dropping words that should be there as if my vocabulary is very limited. She adjusts her own speech to a level of basics and emphasizes things to make sure I can follow. This is going to be fun! I can't wait for Haamedo to come back.

A man comes to the door. 'The boy!' he says to the woman. She half turns in my direction, and puts out a hand as if to say: There he is. The man pauses, apparently either contemplating or feeling uncomfortable. Then, another man comes in. They both approach me in just two or three strides, and grab me quite roughly. I keep the vocal resistance down to a minimum, keeping in mind that any sounds that come from my throat should not suggest that I'm anything but "the boy".

Once outside, I see Haamedo who, like me, is held by his arms by two men. Will they punish us by tying us to a pole to dry out in the sun? Haamedo is made to bend over and place his hands on a stone block, his left hand held onto the surface with a knife threatening to cut off his hand, unless… he swears what he's asked to say: that he did not come with malevolent intentions and that he did not wish to dishonor the king. He's trembling as he utters the phrases, stumbling over the words in a stress-induced stutter. 'I… I didn't do it!' he adds. The king comes forward and says a few words. 'No!' my friend replies to his question. The king, calmness itself, walks around a bit before uttering his next words, then puts out an arm at the guards and says something which I don't understand. Still held by two men myself, I look at Haamedo, hoping he understands what was said. 'We didn't do it, we didn't do it' he says as he's taken away again by the two men. He's pushed to his knees on the sandy ground. The king stands in front of him and demands him to utter another phrase, this time a declaration of loyalty and honesty to the king so that he may trust him. I hope they (only) do the same to me when it's my turn. I love when people trust me and see me as no threat. I just hope that doesn't mean that I won't be allowed off this island. I expect they will let us work here for a certain amount of time, enough to make us a legal member of their society, something which can be achieved by working for the good of a society for two to three years - seven if you want to achieve a higher rank. I suppose three years will be over soon enough. Who knows, maybe I'll find myself a beautiful young woman here! The thought of the (at this point still imaginary) lady, makes me worried that Haamedo will snatch her away despite my efforts to court her. Those big muscles and that heavy voice of his… Argh! I wish I were taller! I snap out of my daydream, realizing that it's way too soon for such idle concerns. We'll probably best negotiate our leave off the island!

Q: What happened?

Daria: They chased us off ceremoniously with an equally ceremonious, but genuine, promise not to return until some unrealistic time in the future. Behind all the protocol, the truth of it was that we would stay in contact with our new "friends" cause we can join forces against a common enemy. They saw the pearl bracelet and were more interested than we thought they would be. They had it examined by an expert of "heavenly matters" - i.e. astrology and such. He said they (the pearls) are rare but that he could see nothing malicious about them - i.e. that they were not bewitched.

Q: What did they suspect you of?

Daria: It was a huge misunderstanding. Two beasts of cattle had died during the night, both in the same barn. The owner claimed he saw two men run away, laughing. He later confessed that it might have been a dream. His wife testified that he never left the bed that night. We got off with a scare. The king profusely apologized but thought that, for the sake of people's satisfaction, they should ceremoniously "chase" us off the island, this in order to leave an impression of their ruler being just and firm against foreigners. That way, they could feel safe and protected against possible invaders. One of the guards even escorted us back home by boat - not to our own island but to a close enough busy port. What an adventure that was!