PAST LIFE DIARY 2 - Story 420 - Exotic artifacts (Mechtel)

EXOTIC ARTIFACTS (Mechtel)

I feel the rather strong movement of a boat. I'm in the room below deck, lying on a wooden bench, trying to fight off the seasickness. There are other people here as well. I hum to keep myself alert.

When the movement finally lessens, I gather that we must be getting close to land. I hear men's voices cheering. I get up, careful not to move too quickly, first sitting up with my legs bent over the sides of the bench. I'm wearing striped, multi-colored hoses. My hair is chin-length, wavy, and rather greasy. I hope to have a beer soon at a tavern. That'll make me feel better! I stand up and touch my pouch of coins, jingling as I do so. The crowd is being ushered out of the room through the door and up a few steps. As I'm waiting my turn, I notice a young woman, perhaps in her late twenties or early thirties, with a baby and a young girl. I imagine she might be the only woman on board, and I feel inclined to monitor her well being. As we're getting closer to the door, she notices me and smiles in a way that gives me the impression she feels intimidated by my size and is therefor inviting me to get ahead of her, but she's closer to the door then me. Holding the baby in her left arm, she then lifts her long green or blue - I can't tell the difference - skirt to go up the steps. I take the opportunity the check her shoes, wishing to make sure she is provided with decent footwear - not that I have an idea of what to do about it if that doesn't appear to be the case. I just wouldn't want her to walk around with worn out shoes. There's murmuring on deck. The weather is nice, and it feels amazing. The harbor looks like a busy place. Most people on the boat speak French, which I don't quite understand - not very well anyway. I understand some of it, but I have to strain to make out the meaning. I collect my two suitcases now. They both have a light brown card with a number attached to them. The corresponding number 13 is stamped on my right hand. I show my hand to the caretaker of the luggage to prove which suitcases are mine. I'm a bit surprised to see the smaller suitcase again since I left it. I don't remember it quite looking the way it does: smooth, black leather with two striped belts around the body. The larger suitcase contains some ivory statues. The smaller one contains some large bottles of liquor, the glass - each bottle is in a different color - sculpted in such a way that it is a piece of art.

As I'm waiting to get off the boat, I suddenly feel lightheaded and like I might pass out any moment, so I start to hum again. I wish there was a pole that I could grab onto, but there isn't. If I fall down, I hope I don't fall on top of anybody. I think the distance between the edge of the boat and the dock is narrow enough for me to step over without the wooden plank. There's a guy extending a hand to help people come off the boat safely. As soon as it's my turn, though, he immediately declines from putting his hand out to me, obviously considering myself more than capable of managing without him. As I get off the boat, I notice the state of my own shoes, the right one ripped at the top. It's good to be on the homeland again! I hope I can find some beer and maybe a meat pie, the kind they serve in taverns. I haven't eaten in quite a while. This is Napoli. I don't know how long I'll need to stay here. I'm to meet someone about the goods I've brought with me from my trip. If it leads to a demand for more, I could go back to bring a larger supply. My military status allows me free travel. I've put the suitcases in custody in a place where you can leave your valuables. That way I don't need to worry about it getting stolen.

It has been four days now, and the man I'm supposed to meet finally arrived. We're sitting at a table in a corner of the tavern. We ordered a large bottle of dark brown ale, the type of beer so rich (13 to 18 %) and filling that it's a meal in and of itself. We clink our wooden cups against each other. The man is already drunk, this apparently being his perpetual state. I know he has been drinking cause of a broken relationship, so I ask him about it. One day when he came back from a long trip, he found his wife pregnant by another man, his brother. I know his brother. They look alike, but his brother is obviously taller and more handsome. Now, the man is torn internally. It's one thing to be angry at a man for sleeping with your wife; it's another when that man is your own brother. After all, he asked his brother to take care of his wife during his absence. 'I left my children in the care of their uncle' he points out. He has connections, though, people to whom he can introduce my goods. There's great appreciation for beautiful artifacts - among those wealthy enough to afford such things - especially when such items are exotic in nature, from places where they might never travel themselves. I bought the ivory statues in Mooritain, a place below the Maghreb. At first I thought they were made of stone. There was an almost translucent luster to it in some parts. It appeared the material, being organic in nature and widely available, was not considered to be that valuable in its place of origin nor to the man that sold it to me. He spoke a language I didn't know. I spoke Latin to him, but both languages were of less use to us than hand gestures. I bought the bottles of liquor in a place further East, in the Sahel, somewhat more to the east of North-Africa than the middle, but more south than Egypt. I looked up the place on the map. It appears to have been somewhere in Chad. This salesman obviously held his goods in higher esteem than the other one. He spoke the highly esteemed Arabic language. The bottles are filled to the brim, raising the question if it's the liquor that is colored or the glass itself. He said it's unbreakable, very thick. Still, I wrapped each bottle in camel's fur with a string tied around it.

Upon concluding our talk, we say goodbye, and the man gets up and leaves the tavern. I'm surprised how well he still walks after drinking this much. I myself feel quite pleasant now. I last saw Julia about six months ago. I don't know if she's pregnant, but when I last spent time with her, I intended to leave her with child.