by Zoha Kazemi
“We have to figure this out before the rain season starts. Most deaths had happened then. We have to understand the cause and stop it,” Hurmaz continues. He unties his keychain from his purple turban, takes out a key and gives it to Tirad.
“This is the key to the forbidden books library! I suggest you look at the books in there and see if you find anything…remember to give me the key back,” he says. Tirad takes the key.
“One more thing! Solving the mystery of pregnant women deaths takes time. Get back here with Mart after Oxan and if you need to go to the ships for further investigations, do so after your return,” he continues. Tirad accepts and knows it’s time for him to leave. He gets up from his chair. Lealy enters to take the food plates out. She avoids looking at Tirad, cleans the table and goes straight to the door. Hurmaz calls her and stops her in the doorway.
“The day after tomorrow, a group is leaving for Oxan. You need to go with them; apparently sickness and wounded are plenty among the refugees. Oxan is worried of any epidemic disasters and has requested us to send them our best healers and you are the best!” Lealy murmurs thanks. Hurmaz tells her to hand him a list of all things she might need. And if they are not found on Saviour Island, she can buy them in Oxan. Lealy thanks him again and leaves. Tirad gathers the report papers and his blank ones. He waits a little longer, making sure he wouldn’t need to face Lealy in the corridor. Hurmaz has noticed Tirad’s hesitation but doesn’t react to it. He pretends to be busy reading a letter. Finally, Tirad walks towards the door.
“Don’t mention your mission to anyone unless you have to!” Hurmaz says to Tirad, as he approaches the door.
Chapter 6
Tirad’s cabin is located on the highest level of the stranded ship, overlooking the ship deck. When he became a third-tier disciple, he was finally given permission to leave his shared cabin with three other peers and have his own room. The only available cabin at the time was the one in the fourth floor. He complained at first for he had to climb four stories from the outdoor staircase to get to his cabin but as time passed, he got used to it. As far as none of the third and second tier disciples lived in this floor, he feels comfortable. His cabin was also furthest away from the teaching cabins and the students’ resident rooms. The students wouldn’t trespass in his cabin. He had moved his small desk to be away from the cabin window, to avoid being distracted by the deck noises. But he didn’t want to light candles, not until it was completely dark; therefore, he had moved the desk back beneath the window to use the outside light. The windows overlooking the deck are not small and round like the windows of lower stories. They are larger, rectangular windows with round corners that let in enough daylight until sunset.
Tirad spreads the reports of dead pregnant women on his desk. After having read them carefully for a second time, he hasn’t found any useful clues, he gets up from his wooden stool and lies on his bed and stares at the picture of the Saviour Ship on his wall. He had drawn the picture himself, having used up his share of paper for a whole year. He had put together more than hundred sheets of paper and stuck them on the wall and using charcoal, he had sketched the Saviour Ship with as many details as he could. Sometimes the children would come up to his cabin to see the picture. Tirad had asked the Circle to allow him teach drawing to the children. But even though Hurmaz was on his side, the Circle didn’t approve. They had said such courses were never part of the Saviour Ship teachings and there are no pictures or sketches on the documents left from Saviour’s time, and even if it is not forbidden to draw, it would certainly not be encouraged and it is better for the students to focus on their essential studies. Hurmaz had told him then that if any of his students showed interest, Tirad was allowed to teach them privately. But none of them were interested or talented in the matter, sometimes just a little curious. It was enough for them to watch Tirad’s drawing of the Saviour Ship but to trouble themselves to learn the skill was unlikely.
Tirad gets up from his bed and takes a piece of blank paper and a charcoal and sits back on the bed again leaning against the wooden wall by his bed. He starts sketching. The only thing that comes to his mind is the picture of the snake that he had crushed that morning in his class. Whenever he draws, his mind becomes eased and he can focus and order his thoughts. He highlights the spiral patterns of the snake’s skin and outlines the cut on its dead body. He has to put the reports in order, find the latest one and see who were involved in the founding of the dead pregnant body. If he is lucky, he might find the latest witnesses in Oxan and ask them some further questions. But Hurmaz wouldn’t give him the key to the forbidden library without any reason. There must be some ancient documents from Saviour’s time that somehow relates to this matter, perhaps a similar case or some sayings by the Saviour about such happenings. Although he knows all the Saviour Narratives and sayings by heart, sometimes some seemingly unimportant parts of the sayings might over time become omitted from the teachings and find their way to the forbidden library. The library is always dark. He should attend to his other chores and go to find the forgotten handwritten documents of the Saviour at night. He goes back to the cracked spine of the snake for now. He has to highlight the pink tissue from the hard and white bone. Trying not to take up the whole paper, he has sketched the snake in the upper half of it and now it is difficult to detail it with the thick charcoal tip.
Farnab knocks on the door and awaits Tirad’s permission to enter the cabin. Tirad gets up hurriedly and gathers the report papers on his desk, piles them up and puts his dissatisfying sketch of the snake on top of them. He lets Farnab in and asks him to sit on the stool. Tirad goes back and sits in front of him on his bed. Farnab glances at Tirad’s sketch on the pile of paper and from his expressions, it is clear that he doesn’t like it. A few years back, Farnab had shown interest in learning to draw and had asked Tirad to teach him. But every time Tirad would call for him, he had some other things to attend and the whole matter was forgotten in time. Tirad remembers him well, with his round, small chin not yet covered with the full beard he has grown now. Farnab says his greetings and tells Tirad that he has been looking for him the whole morning.
“Master Tirad! You do know that I had applied to become a missioner?” Farnab asks and Tirad nods.
“Last night, Master Hurmaz said that my application was turned down… He said that you are going off to Oxan on a mission and I have to teach your classes from now on!” he continues and waits for Tirad’s reaction. Tirad didn’t know of his own mission until this noon, but nevertheless, he knows Hurmaz to be more precise in such matters. Of course, he wouldn’t send off Tirad without planning a replacement for him. He gets up and embraces his student with a smile.
“Congratulations then! You have been appointed as a third tier? That is good news!” Tirad says. Farnab thanks him and smiles.
“Although… I would have preferred to become a missioner rather than a teacher…” Farnab says hesitantly. Tirad stops his sentence:
“There is always time to become a missioner… Teaching is a good experience for you. Wait till I get back and if you are still certain to be sent off as a missioner, I will talk on your behalf with Hurmaz.” Farnab thanks him again and asks Tirad about his mission. He has heard rumours that Tirad and Mart are sent together to solve the refugee crisis. Tirad doesn’t understand how rumours travel faster than the way things unfold. The news of his mission had been going around before that day’s meeting. Lealy must have known too but she didn’t say anything. Apparently, Tirad was the last person who got the news. Tirad wants to explain these to Farnab but a loud clamour from the deck stops their conversation. They are both drawn to the window. At the same time, someone calls him from behind. Tirad turns and gazes at the young boy that breathes hastily and calls him between his short breaths. “Master Tirad!” the boy says and bends to catch his breath again. Tirad and Farnab have one eye to the scene on the deck and one eye to the boy who is finally able to speak.
“There’s a quarrel on the deck… Th
e Great Master sent me to fetch you… Please come quickly!” says the boy and before getting any replies, he runs off.
Tirad sees from his window, a dozen women beating someone on the deck. He can’t say whether it’s a man or a woman being beaten by the angry women of the Saviour Island, since the naked body is covered with blood and the beaters hover over it, but the crying sound that comes out of it is of a woman. A couple of people are trying to separate them. Tirad recognises Lealy who tries to stop the beaters. The children are watching the scene horridly. He doesn’t see any of the disciples amongst them. Of course, they would never give up their afternoon nap for anything, even if someone were beaten to death. He has to go right now. The woman’s cries have turned into slower moans and she might pass out any time or even die. Tirad rushes towards the door cabin, and Farnab follows him.
The children scatter as he approaches the scene and others make way for Tirad and Farnab to get through. Tirad shouts and orders the women to stop the beating. The women each give their victim one last kick in the face and stand above her. A young girl runs towards the beaten woman and takes her head into her arms. Tirad doesn’t say anything to the girl since it is obvious that she is related to the woman. But frowns at the others and sends them away; he only keeps Lealy and the eldest of the women who must be their leader in this violent act. The old woman has tied her grey, braided hair above her head and her cheeks glow from the blood rush of beating the woman. She wants to explain but Lealy interferes.
“This woman and her daughter arrived at the Saviour Island last night… Apparently, the woman had a baby with her. She had buried her dead baby in the sands… The woman got hold of the news and were punishing her…” Lealy explains and takes a deep breath afterward. The old woman takes this chance and starts talking:
“Look! She has shaved her hair! Her daughter as well! They don’t look like Saviour Followers. Why have they come here? Doesn’t she know what disasters she is bringing us by burying her dead baby? She won’t say a word either!” she says excitedly with a raised voice. Tirad turns towards the girl who is trying to pour some water in her mother’s mouth. She doesn’t seem to care that they are talking about them; her hairless head reflects the crimson light of the sunset. Tirad is unable to guess her age. Fifteen? Less or more? Something is strange in this girl. He had seen shaved haired diver women before; the beaten mother looks like one of them but not the girl. A shaved head usually has tiny hairs that darken the skin. But the girl is hairless; she has never had a single hair on her head. She is completely bald. The girl takes the flask to her mother’s mouth again and Tirad notices something in her hands, small, metal plates fastened to her fingertips. He stops Lealy and the old woman who are trying to complete their explanations and moves towards the mother and the daughter. Farnab follows him like a shadow.
As Tirad approaches the girl, she nervously lies down her half-awake mother on the deck floor. Tirad orders the girl to show him her hand. She doesn’t have the Saviour tattoo on her arm. Tirad points to the metal plates of her fingers and asks her to take them off. The girl carefully unties the leather bands of the plates and gives them to Lealy one by one. Tirad takes her hands and looks closely at her fingers. Farnab also stares at the girl’s hands with awe. Tirad also orders her to take off the leather footwear that she has on her feet. He looks at the girl’s face again. Now he knows what is so different about her. Her toes and fingers have no nails. She doesn’t have any hair, eye lashes or eye brows. Tirad tries not to show his shock but both Lealy and Farnab have noticed these peculiarities.
Tirad tells Lealy to bring a bucket and wash the woman’s wounds and orders the old woman to leave the deck, although she resists and still wants to explain herself. Tirad yells at her and says he will take care of the matter himself. He bends and closely examines the mother’s toes and fingers. She does have nails and facial hair, but there are incision marks by her right hand fingers and her left feet toes. Lealy comes back with a bucket and starts cleaning the woman with the help of the girl. The woman’s naked body shivers as the cool water touches her skin and wounds. She opens her eyes for an instance and passes out. Tirad squats next to the woman pretending that he is looking for her Saviour tattoo. The foul smell of blood and the woman’s sweat sickens him. He pulls up the woman’s hand and looks at the incision marks. He knows he is being impolite and rude but his curiosity takes the better of him. She doesn’t have a tattoo either. Tirad moves his fingertips along the excess tissues of one of her finger’s scars. The girl’s voice catches him by surprise.
“Her fingers were conjoined when she was born. They had separated them with a knife… These are cutting marks…” she says. Tirad stands up and moves towards the girl. She is tall, with broad shoulders and sunburnt skin. Her breasts, unlike Lealy’s are small, almost flat and she has long stretched legs. She doesn’t seem beautiful but there is something in her frail body that makes her desirable. Perhaps it’s the wet loincloth she has on, a dirty cloth that covers her body from under her arms down to her thighs and is tied around her neck with a leather band. The wet cloth reveals all details of her body’s shape and colour, most of all the little brown spots on her breasts and the round, dark point of her belly button. Tirad has looked more than he should; he lowers his face not to become eye to eye with the girl. But she insists on talking straight to his face. Her eyes are like two cuts, made by a professional cutter that has created two symmetrical fine lines both sides of her slick nose. Tirad feels a bright spark behind her eyes that seems to be blinding him; he puts his hands on his forehead in the form of a shade to protect his eyes.
“We come from the northern ship of Avij. My name is Dalia and this is my mother Asin… She doesn’t speak our language,” she says in a soft voice. But Lealy and Tirad are not satisfied with the explanation.
“My mother is not from Oxan. My father is a diver. He went on a diving trip six months ago and hasn’t returned… We were told to look for him here…” Dalia continues.
“Are you followers of the Saviour?” Farnab asks.
“We are… I am… My mother doesn’t know much about Saviour Rules,” she replies after a short pause.
“You don’t have Saviour tattoos?” Lealy points to Dalia’s hand.
“Saviour Missioners haven’t been to our ship for a long time… Some people say that after the war with pre-rain religion believers, the Saviour Missioners are not keen to be sent to the northern ships on the border. Anything is possible at the sea… That’s why we don’t have a tattoo…” she answers. Hurmaz approaches them and everyone stops talking, as he gets closer. Lealy explains the situation to Hurmaz; the only things she leaves out are the nail-less fingers of Dalia and the incision marks of Asin’s hands. Hurmaz looks at the naked woman and turns to Tirad.
“You are in command here. What should be done?” he asks from Tirad. He doesn’t know what to say. He is searching his mind for a right verdict, a smart answer from a third-tier disciple who is on the verge of becoming a second tier and join the Circle. He feels Farnab’s stare at himself. He needs to come up with a righteous ruling desirable both to his student and his master. Hurmaz is anxious as if he needs to be somewhere. He looks at Tirad like old times when he knew the answer to a question and impatiently waits for him to say it loud. Dalia is begging him for mercy. He avoids Farnab’s glance. He is surely more eager than others to hear Tirad’s ruling, perhaps to learn from him and also to excitedly spread the afternoon’s happenings throughout the Saviour Ship, word by word. Dalia turns to Hurmaz with fear.
“My mother did not want to offend or insult you; neither did she want to disobey the Saviour Rules. She had no idea what she did was wrong… Forgive her please… Forgive us…” Dalia begs. Hurmaz says it’s all in the hands of Tirad now. He seems bored and waves his hands anxiously in the air. Tirad starts to speak with a shaky voice. He orders that the two women should be taken inside until the mother awakes and tells them where her baby is buried. The baby is to be dug out and burnt. He g
ives his command and takes a deep breath, waiting for Hurmaz’s reaction. He finally looks at Farnab and sees him smile with praise. Hurmaz shakes his head agreeing with Tirad.
“What is to be done with the women?” Lealy asks. Tirad says he will investigate them further to see how they got in the Island. And that he will take them with him to Oxan and send them off to Avij Ship from there. Hurmaz doesn’t say anything or reply to Dalia who is gratefully thanking him. He walks quickly to the other side of the deck and enters the ship. Tirad orders Lealy to take the women inside, this time with a solid voice. He tells her to take them to her own cabin and take care of them for now. Dalia wants to thank Tirad, but he refuses to reply – like a child imitating his father – he turns his head and walks towards the outer staircase. Farnab follows him again like a shadow.
Chapter 7
Healy and Dalia drag the unconscious body of Asin to Lealy’s cabin and lay her down on the floor beneath the window. Dalia puts her mother’s arms closer to her body and her legs together and places a stained cloth that Lealy hands to her, under her neck. She then turns her head around the cabin. A narrow bed is placed in one side and the other walls are covered with metal shelves, except for where the cabin window and door are. The shelves are filled with jars, folded cloth and other things that Dalia does not recognise. There is a barrel of water, a broom and a basket full of unfolded cloth by the door.
Healy picks up a glass jar from a shelf and pours some fish oil in a copper bowl. Dalia leaps over the water barrel.
“Is this water clean?” she asks. Lealy takes out a few dried leaves from a tin box, powders them with the palm of her hand and adds it to the bowl.