by Zoha Kazemi
The gate guards stop them from entering the gate booth. They look at their papers and their tattoos: a square with two parallel lines inside. One of them inquires about Asin and Dalia who don’t have any tattoos saying that he can’t let them through. Mart sneers but Tirad takes out another paper and shows it to the guard, a signed permission from Hurmaz allowing the two women to enter Oxan accompanied by Tirad. The guards stamp the papers and let them enter the booth. Another guard in the booth, looks inside the bags and writes down some things in his notebook. Surnat and Soushia wait for them behind the booth. The greetings are warm and friendly. Tirad explains to the two missioners about Dalia and her mother. Surnat listens but doesn’t seem to care, he continues talking to Lealy remembering the old times. Everyone seems happy of this union. Surnat’s servants take the bags from Lealy and the women and leave in a hurry.
Soushia points to Tirad’s bruises and asks how did that happen? They all become quiet for a short moment. Tirad pauses a little and says he had slipped in the boat and fell down. But he knows too well no one would have a black eye like this from falling down on the floor. He just threw out the first thing that came to his mind. And if Soushia is smart enough, he will know Tirad didn’t want to tell the truth about it, at least not in front of this small crowd. Soushia doesn’t continue the conversation. Tirad looks at them both under the light of the gate booth. Surnat hasn’t changed much but part of Soushia’s hair and beard has turned grey. Although he is younger than him, he looks older than his age. He must be one of those men who will have full, grey hair before the age of forty. It must be something he inherited from a father he had never known. It may serve him better, especially if he ever intends to enter the Circle. People always trust grey hair as a sign of maturity and wisdom. This turning of thoughts from worrying about Hurmaz to Soushia’s grey hair brings a smile on Tirad’s lips. Soushia smiles back.
Surnat leads the way and Soushia starts explaining. They have prepared a full house for them with three rooms that one of them is for the ladies. Tirad looks back to see Lealy’s reaction. She frowns, obviously not happy to be in the same room with Dalia and her mother, not even for another night. They walk slowly through the crowds that give way to them. The roofed alleys of Oxan are filled with people. Tirad didn’t expect to see so many people roaming around the long labyrinthal alleys of the island. Dalia is looking around in wonder; she seems disappointed for not being able to see the night sky through the roof of the lighted and crowded alleys. Tirad wants to explain to her that the sloped polystyrene roofs have been covering the island alleys for many years, collecting the rainwater and pouring them into the reservoirs, used for drinking water. The roofs also stop the island from being flooded by rain in the rain season, and to protect the residents from the hot, burning sun of the dry season. But he prefers not to talk to Dalia in front of the two old friends who have already started their manly jokes with Mart and Yuma. The Saviour Island has not yet built reservoirs and water collecting systems. It has not been permitted by the Circle who believe the island should remain close to the way it was in the Saviour’s time. They still import drinking water from Oxan and most of their water is produced through water generators that evaporate seawater and distil it again to produce drinking water, residing salt and other minerals. For Tirad, the sloped house roofs and the roofed alleys that turn into water streams above the island is one the attractions of Oxan. The only problem is the deafening hum that resonates throughout the island, even at night-time.
Surnat takes them to an eating-house where the Oxan Chiefs have invited them for dinner. It is not a large restaurant but it is clean and neat. A large table is placed in the middle of the room. The restaurant is seemingly reserved just for them. Tirad looks at the decorations, ancient objects from the pre-rain times: large intact mirrors, glass crocks and glazed earthenware as high as Tirad’s waist. Surnat send Dalia and her mother to the kitchen, obviously they are not allowed to dine with them. Tirad wants to intervene, but it would only make Dalia more uncomfortable, having to eat dinner with so many strangers. Dalia doesn’t complain and follows the kitchen maid out of the room. Tirad hasn’t seated on his chair yet when seven men enter the room. They are all wearing exquisite clothes made from shiny fabrics of all kinds of colours: red, yellow, green and black! The only colourful fabric found in the Saviour Ship is the purple turban of the Circle members. They all sit by the table and introduce themselves. Lealy asks Tirad to allow her to leave and go to the kitchen with Asin and Dalia. She is probably uncomfortable to dine with these men.
The maids put the dishes on the table. Hardas is the oldest of the chiefs and asks the guests to start eating.
“Tonight, we will feast only and tomorrow night, we shall discuss the serious matter of the refugees, in my house,” he says. The men start putting food in their plates. The relishing smell of food combines with the sound of the men talking. Tirad peeks at a dish filled with chicken kebab. The chiefs have done their best to treat them perfectly. But Tirad could never eat chicken. The Oxan Chiefs usually bring two live chickens to the Saviour Ship for the end of the rain season festivities. It is considered the most delicious and luxurious dish that is served only for the third tier and higher disciples. Tirad had seen the chickens slaughtered and plucked, when he was a boy. But it is not only the spilled blood and the sad memory he has from his childhood that makes him reluctant to the expensive food, he doesn’t like the taste and the stiff texture of the meat that is so hard for him to digest. He stretches his hand towards the roasted fish. It’s good that Dalia isn’t here, for they would never serve raw fish at such feasts. She has more chances of finding her own kind of food in the kitchen, and eat it without being embarrassed.
Mart is too busy talking to the chiefs, that he totally ignores Tirad. He seems too close to them as if he has known them from before, while Tirad has seen a few of them in some of the Saviour Ship festivities and has never spoken to them. The chiefs also ignore Tirad, even though Mart and he are both of the same ranking and on the same mission together. Tirad feels air pressure in his ears probably from the pressure difference of sea and the land or maybe the hum in the room. He can hardly swallow his food. He wants to get back to the port and return to the Saviour Island with the first boat. Surnat is sitting next to him. Kicks his arm with his elbow and makes jokes trying to bring Tirad out of his thoughts. He points to Tirad’s empty plate and puts a piece of chicken in it. Tirad thanks him and to avoid having to eat it, he starts a conversation with a lowered voice, asking Surnat about the suspicious death of the pregnant women. Surnat’s smile vanishes and after a short pause, he says he had sent all the reports to Hurmaz. But Tirad wants to know whether or not Surnat knows the boatman who had found the last body. Surnat believes the boatman had left the Island the day after and strokes his brown beard as if he is trying to take out some useful information from there.
“You won’t get much from the boatmen and other witnesses who found the bodies. I think you should start from the ships that their pregnant women were found dead. I can give you a list if you want… the closest I think was Darvan,” Surnat says after a pause. Tirad already has the list. He wants to get more detailed information about the bodies. He insists to know more about the boatman. Surnat only knows that the boat had come from Mahouk Ship. It could be a start for Tirad. He will go back to the harbour tonight and ask around for the boatman. He feels lonelier than ever before and wishes for this nonsense feast to end soon so that he could get back to the port. Surnat points again at Tirad’s plate and again to avoid eating, he keeps talking. He asks him about the port schedules to know when the next boat sails for the Saviour Island. Surnat is not sure, but he believes there are two boats per week and the next one won’t sail until two days from now. Tirad is not happy to hear that. He has to go now before it is too late. He gets up from his chair. The humming sound stops instantly and all eyes become fixed on him, staring at Tirad’s thin, shaky body as if they hadn’t known he was present until now. His
voice trembles, as do his hands. He apologises and goes straight to the door. Surnat goes after him.
The alley by the restaurant has become vacant. People have probably gone to their homes and shelters to rest. Tirad hurries to the end of the alley. Surnat calls him from behind.
“Where are you going?” he asks.
“To the harbour! I have to get back…something has happened!” Tirad replies and breaks, bursting into tears. Surnat goes to him and puts his hands on his shoulder inviting him to sit on a stone bench before a house. Tirad sits and tries to take deep breaths and stop his tears from falling further.
“The harbour gate is closed. They won’t open the gate until tomorrow morning and there are no boats leaving at this time of night. Wait and I will go with you tomorrow,” Surnat explains trying to calm down Tirad. But Tirad already knew the port was closed. He has to find a way to find a boat. Surnat is asking him questions, he wants to know what has happened and why is Tirad so restless, wanting to go back shortly after his arrival. Something is obviously wrong. Surnat senses that but Tirad doesn’t know what to say or how to say it to Surnat. He doesn’t know for certain that Hurmaz’s life is in danger and he has no idea what Mart’s agenda is. They could all be a prank played upon him by the nail-less girl. But if there is a probable chance that Hurmaz’s life could be in danger, Tirad cannot risk and push it aside. Even if he becomes sure now that all he has heard had only been illusions made up by Dalia, he still needs to go home and make sure Hurmaz is safe and sound. Surnat is still waiting for him to explain what is bothering him. But he can’t move his lips, as soon as he opens them, his tears roll down again. It’s better not to say anything to him. Or lie about it. But he can’t think of anything to say, no good reasons for returning immediately. Surnat would probably think he is tired and homesick; he leads him to the restaurant door. The Oxan Chiefs are standing by the door saying goodnight to Mart, Yuma and Soushia. The women come out of the kitchen and they all set off going to their guesthouse, in silence.
Soushia shows them their own residence which is only a few houses away from their guesthouse. Surnat says goodbye and goes in, but Soushia comes with them to the door. He explains to them where the water trunks are and shows them the toilets behind the house. Someone comes in every three days and collects the toilet buckets that are used for fertilisers. He insists that if they needed anything, they should call him. He says goodnight and leaves. Mart goes into the house first. They are all used to the dark and no one bothers to turn on the electrical light. Mart peeks into the rooms and selects the biggest one for himself. Yuma takes one of the rooms and the women drag the bags into the third room. Tirad sits in the middle of the hall that three doors open to it. The Oxan hum has stopped and the night silence of the dry season has taken hold of the island. When he becomes sure that Mart and Yuma are not going to invite him as their roommate, he lies down on the floor, covered with leather. It’s too dark to say whether its shark or flounder. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that it is not at all comfortable. It has many holes and cuts in it and passes through the coldness of the Island’s soft, cool sand.
He turns from one side to another. He sits up. Lies down again and rolls over many times. It is no use. He can’t sleep and his stomach is soaring again. He hears a sound from the women’s room. He can’t see clearly in the dark whether their room door has opened or not. No one comes out anyway. The more he tries to silence his thoughts and go to sleep, the clearer Hurmaz’s picture appears before his eyes. Who would want to kill Hurmaz? He keeps thinking to himself. How will they do it? Kill him with a knife? Throw him into the sea? His own life is also in danger. Mart had not bothered him as much as he usually does, since they had arrived at Oxan and he had ignored him in the feast and now sleeping in his room, like his old ignorant self. These are not good signs. Maybe it’s all just the calm before the storm. What if he falls asleep and Mart and Yuma suffocate him? Or kill him with a knife and frame Dalia for it? Whatever Mart says here as a third Disciple would hold, whatever they both say is considered as facts and what they order will be carried out. What if he goes back to save Hurmaz’s life? He would fail at his mission and forever lose the chance of getting into the Circle. Mart will win either way. He will finish his mission and come back victoriously taking his seat at the Circle. Maybe that’s what Mart’s agenda is all about: to send him back to the Saviour Ship and show everyone what a coward Tirad is. This would mean that Dalia is on his side, playing for Mart. But if Dalia is telling the truth, then Mart is not just planning to win alone, he wants to kill his way in to the Circle. Even if he goes back, how can he save Hurmaz? What should he tell him? From which reliable source had he heard such a thing? A diver girl? Hurmaz would probably laugh in his face and feel sorry for him for abandoning his mission and failing at it. Or maybe not…before he gets there…Hurmaz is already gone.
Rolling over on the coarse floor has made his bare arms and legs itchy. He can’t lie down anymore or even pretend to sleep. He has to go back and warn Hurmaz of whatever danger beholds him, even if it would cost him his mission. Let Mart win the game and laugh at Tirad’s cowardice. Let him do whatever he wants. All that matters to Tirad is to see Hurmaz alive and well. He gets up and takes his bag. He ties his leather sandals around his ankles and sets off. It is not hard to find his way back to the port. All the sloped alleys of Oxan go downwards to the sea and the harbour is at its lowest point. He just has to follow the slope down. The alleys are lit by dim lights. Tirad is too engaged to find his way through the twisted alleys that he doesn’t see Dalia’s shadow on the walls of the houses, walking behind him.
Chapter 17
The scarlet light of the dawn reflects from Tirad’s paper. He puts his drawing and charcoal back in his bag. He is not satisfied of his sketch from the Oxan gate and wall. He wishes he had brought a forbidden fiction book to keep him occupied during the long night. Nothing like a good story could take his mind off the never-ending turbulence of thoughts. But he had hid the blue covered ‘Brothers Karamazov’ in his cabin before he left for Oxan to avoid any trouble. It doesn’t matter anymore. The sun is up and the guards are opening the gates to the port. The Island is waking up with the sound of seagulls skirling above the roofed alleys and the harbour. The boatmen and passengers are arriving at the gate from both sides of the gate, some wanting to enter and others on their ways back to their ships. The island residents set off about their businesses and the children rush towards the harbour to swim and throw rocks into the water. Tirad had waited the whole night by the closed gate thinking and rethinking. He gets up and stretches his arms and bends his neck back and forth. But it’s no use; he is too tired from the sleepless night. He can’t rest yet, not until he gets away from Mart and sail to the Saviour Island. He can sleep on the boat as soon as he sets off. He walks towards the entrance booth were people have already lined up.
The Oxan entrance booth is larger than that of the Saviour Island, built with stonewalls with two doors to both sides of the wall. There is also a line behind the booth on the harbour formed by the passengers who had arrived during the night and had waited for the gate to open and get inside the island. Boatmen, divers and fishers stand in the line with their heavy bags filled with dived out goods, fish and other sea creatures. They enter one by one, showing their papers and their tattoos, declaring the number of days they intend to stay in Oxan and paying their entrance tax. They have to give two coins for every night they intend to stay. The guards take the coins and interview them one by one, making sure they have come to the island for the reason they say. Everything is recorded in the special notebooks, the names, duration and taxes paid. Two other guards search the bags to make sure the traders are not bringing in anything else than they have declared and all the goods, whether brought in or taken out of the Island, is recorded. At last, they will get their papers stamped and set foot on the crowded roofed alleys. Tirad holds his arm up so that everyone can see his Saviour Ship tattoo and don’t object to his cutting o
ff the line. He passes through easily and gets into the booth.
The head-guard is sitting on a stool monitoring all the activities. Tirad introduces himself and the head-guard gets up from his stool with respect. Tirad asks him about the boat schedules. The head-guard tells him that the person in charge will come in an hour after the morning arrivals, when the lines shorten a bit. Tirad asks him again about any boat that might leave for the Saviour Island that morning. The head-guard peeks into a little notebook that lies on a desk in the booth corner. He doesn’t find anything and shows the ledger to Tirad. It’s today’s schedule with the name of every boat, their destination and time of departure. None of them goes to the Saviour Island. He checks the schedule for tomorrow and the day after and he still doesn’t find any boats leaving for his home. But there is a boat sailing to the Avij Ship tomorrow at noon. He gets anxious all of a sudden. What if a boat arrives tomorrow from the Saviour Island with a bad news? He has to wait for the port officer, pay for Asin and Dalia’s trip to Avij and find an emergency boat for himself. Sending off the two women means he has at least carried out one of his tasks.
Tirad asks the head-guard about how he can find an emergency boat. But he doesn’t know. He has to wait until the port officer comes. A fisher’s sack has torn apart in the booth and lots of dead slippery bodies flow on the booth floor. The head-guard pulls up his legs in disgust so that his feet won’t touch the cold, slithery skin of the dead fish. The unlucky fisherman ties the bottom of his sack and start gathering the fish that lie all over the booth floor. The guards are just looking at him and people in the lined up crowd shout, swearing at the clumsy fisherman who has taken more time than he should. Tirad bends down and helps the poor man gather his fish. The head-guard exits the booth to audit the harbour. Tirad didn’t get a chance to talk to the head-guard about the dead pregnant women case. He needs to wait for the lines to end and then ask the guards one by one. They are too busy right now and won’t answer him properly.