by K. D. Lamb
The condominium at Lake Union was ready. Since Fields had purchased the building’s model home that was fully furnished—including two flat screen televisions—he and Mickey decided it would be prudent to buy all the furnishings too. That made the housing details very easy. The deal was closed within days, and Mickey had the keys the day before Maysah Siddra was released from the Seattle ICE office. He took a couple of his security staff and went grocery shopping to stock her refrigerator and purchase cleaning supplies, including a vacuum cleaner. He had her utilities and cable connected. In the process, he learned a lot about international foods, and was pleased with himself for discovering Trader Joe’s. He thought Maysah would be relieved to see a few food items she recognized, like fresh hummus, naan, and organic dried fruits.
He was finally given the go-ahead to pick up Maysah from Immigration one afternoon. He took one of his female admins with him, so the Afghan doctor would not feel uneasy alone in his presence. As they walked into the sparse, dingy office of Immigration, Mickey looked around and couldn’t help but compare these offices with the incredible condo that was being provided to Dr. Siddra for her stay in Seattle. She might live there for a month, or she might be there for years; it all depended on her and how she adapted to her new life. He fervently hoped she would like living in Seattle and becoming comfortable with her new mentors. Everything hung in the balance. She could choose to make the transition difficult by refusing to work with them or try to go off on her own and sabotage their efforts. Worry lines were etched on Mickey’s forehead when the inside door opened and she walked out. She raised her eyes and looked directly into his. He swallowed hard.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
IT ALL HAPPENED IN A flash. Babar raced past Rashid, who called after him. Then the loud sound of the discharge of a weapon rang out. Rashid knew it was Kendall, and momentarily thought she had shot herself. But that didn’t make sense, since Babar had been on the run before the shot. Rashid ran back to the midday camp spot, and to his amazement and horror there lay Kendall flat on her back with a dead spotted snow leopard atop her. The magnificent creature’s paw was casually draped across Kendall’s face. Neither one was moving.
As Rashid ran over to her, he could see a trail of blood flowing down Kendall’s neck. Suddenly her eyes flew open and she looked into his eyes. “Am I alive?”
He laughed out of sheer relief and began examining her for injuries. He quickly realized the blood trail down her neck was from the animal. She had shot it in the neck.
She stated matter-of-factly, “Would you please get this stinky thing off me?”
Rashid grabbed hold of the two front legs and swung the leopard off her. He then knelt down and ran his hands deftly over her limbs, checking for broken bones, puncture wounds, or deep scratches. She sat up and brushed his hands aside. “I’m fine!” And then she looked over at the dead animal at their feet. “But this guy isn’t! Wow! He’s beautiful.”
Babar was still bellowing a hundred yards away. Rashid went to retrieve him. As they approached the camp site, Babar shied away and threatened to run again. Rashid finally tied him to a tree just out of sight of the camp.
Rashid expertly skinned the animal and laid out the pelt to dry. Kendall watched with interest when he pulled out a sack of rock salt and began pressing it onto the flesh side of the hide. “So that’s why you were carrying all that salt.”
Rashid nodded. “When you go up into the mountains around here, you have to be prepared. This is a beautiful hide. If we don’t dry it correctly, it’ll spoil and rot.” He hung the hide at an angle in the hot sun and then set about to cut the meat into long strips. Just as he had done with the carp from the Band-e-Amir Lake, he followed the same process and within two hours had strips of meat hanging on every available string he had.
“Are we going to make camp here?”
Rashid frowned, looked up at the sun, and shook his head. “We can’t. We need to move away from the gut pile. It’s going to bring every jackal around. We’re probably already surrounded.”
Kendall looked around nervously. “Do you think the leopard was stalking us?”
“I’m afraid so. And that was my mistake. I saw the telltale signs of fresh scat. I just assumed it was tracking another animal. Snow leopards are stealthy and usually hide. That this one came out in the open for us to see, is a little unusual. Maybe its den is close by, or it had a kill it was working on and saw us as a threat. Anyway, you see that Babar is still going nuts. He can smell the gut pile. We need to travel another hour to get away from the fresh blood here.”
They had a quick drink of tea and ate some fresh meat. It didn’t taste too bad, Kendall thought. But the idea of eating any raw meat had her stomach roiling in protest. Finally, they packed up their things. Babar was very unhappy and skittish as they loaded the strings of meat over his back.
They climbed higher up the mountain and came to a clearing that broke into a wide meadow. They made camp on the edge of the trees, and this time had to set up the tent. Rashid showed Kendall how to collect fresh, wild vegetables and herbs. He cooked up some of the meat and added the vegetables. The evening meal was fresh and delicious. Kendall thought the leopard meat tasted like pork loin.
When they climbed into the tent at the end of the day, they realized they could hear the rush of a waterfall not too far away. Rashid promised her they would search it out in the morning and she could bathe. She had only flung some water on her arms and neck to get the leopard blood off her. She was sure she was beginning to smell rank.
In the early morning, they searched out the source of the running water, and Kendall was delighted to see a gentle waterfall cascading away from a rock cliff and into a perfect-sized pool. The area was surrounded by trees, and it offered as much privacy as she wanted. Before Rashid could change his mind, she grabbed up her things and promised him she would be back within thirty minutes. He smiled and decided they would take their time this morning.
The ideal setting for the waterfall had not escaped his notice. He fully intended to wash a few layers of grime off as well.
She was just finishing her third cup of green tea for the morning when Rashid strolled up looking clean and smelling of pomegranates. He surveyed the campsite, deciding what to do first.
They were soon on their way north and made good time, staying at the tree line or taking breaks in various caves they ran across. The search helicopters continued running from the Band-e-Amir Lakes up north to Mazar-e-Sharif. They stayed well to the east of where Rashid and Kendall were traveling. The two were surprised to see additional helicopters to the west of them as well on this day. Obviously, Omar was concerned the duo were possibly headed west for Iran or Turkmenistan.
Just after leaving the Band-e-Amir Lakes, Rashid had toyed with the idea of heading west or stopping at some of the small cities on the way north, like Sar-e Pol. But with the concentration of helicopters roaming the mountainside on both east and west of the route that would lead them to Mazar-e-Sharif, he decided to go the entire way without stopping at any of the little cities and towns along the route. They had done fairly well so far on their own, except for the unfortunate incident with the soldiers the day before. If they just remained on alert and stayed on course through the back trails and maybe even off the beaten path, they should make it to Mazar-e-Sharif without any further interruptions.
The sky was particularly blue this summer day, and it had been quiet as they trudged along on the last leg of their journey before they made camp for the night. They came upon a beautiful meadow dotted with funny-looking round huts. There were a hundred goats and sheep grazing on the pasture land.
Kendall was amazed at the huts. “What are those houses?”
“It’s called a kherga in Afghanistan. I think you know them as yurts.”
“Oh, I’ve heard of those. How did they get them so round?”
“They use steam to bend the wood into sort of a crown, and then put up ribs of bent wood around the structure.”
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“But how does the roof stay up?”
“There is a tension band stretched from the roof to the walls. That keeps the walls in place. The last step is a cover around the structure, providing insulation and keeping the elements out.”
“Are they mobile?”
“Yes. They can easily be taken down and moved to a new location.”
“Are these people more Kuchi nomads?”
“Nope. It looks like they are Kyrgyz nomads.”
“Wow! How can you tell the difference between this group and the Kuchi nomads?”
“I know that Kyrgyz nomads live in the northern regions up high, and they live in yurts. This tribe is a little different, though.”
“How?”
“Most of the Kyrgyz tribes live and move around in the far north of Afghanistan in the Pamir mountain range. I think there’s snow there most of the year. This tribe must be here because they’re looking for better pasture and meadows. When you find them this far west, they were usually forced to seek better living grounds. It could be their stock did not do so well during the last winter.”
“How long will they stay here?”
“They move three to four times a year.”
“How do they make money? They must need wheat or some sort of flour for baking.”
“They make their living from trading their livestock with various traveling merchants. All the basic things like salt, sugar, flour, and medicines are bought with the money they bring in from their animals.”
Kendall was impressed with the active life teeming all around the meadow. Children were helping the men with the animals, the women with the cooking and sewing. But the scene before her was noticeably out of touch with time. She shook her head. “They don’t have electricity, do they?”
“No, they don’t.”
“I can’t imagine living like this. How do the children survive to adulthood?”
Rashid looked grim. “Most don’t. Half of them die at birth. And while most of the adults look weathered and old, almost all of them are barely forty. Most don’t live past the age of forty. It’s a difficult life, Kendall.”
“I don’t see why they’d want to live up here when they could move to the lowlands like Bamiyan, and live like Jangi? They could have both livestock and a crop or two.”
“They are living a traditional life mostly untouched by time. They are a proud people and choose to live that way. I heard a story about a doctor who came across a Kyrgyz tribe. The doctor offered to vaccinate the children, but the adults were wary. Finally, they agreed that if the doctor paid each family, they would comply. The doctor went away without inoculating the children.”
“That’s very sad. It seems so lonely and isolated up here.”
“It is! This place is pretty much at the top of the world. In fact, we couldn’t travel this route if it was any other time of the year. One month either way, and we’d see snow. We are so fortunate that it’s summer.”
“Maybe, but this hasn’t exactly been a vacation. I feel like it’s been one long trauma for months. Geez! I’m living under constant stress.”
“Calm down! Just be glad you don’t have to live like these people. We are only a day out of Mazar-e-Sharif. We’ll be there and will make our connections and escape to safety.”
“Hey, I’m entitled to be angry at being forcibly taken to Afghanistan where I watched people murdered or could hear them being tortured every night!” And then dripping with sarcasm, she added, “Though the past few months has done wonders to enrich my cultural experience!”
Rashid was patient with her fit of temper and quietly responded, “And on behalf of my country, I apologize. But please don’t blame me. I’m doing all I can to keep you alive. We’re almost there. We could be free in three days.” He paused and then continued in a grave tone, “One more thing, Kendall. You may have lost your freedom for a few months, but I’ve lost my country. I lost my family when I was young, and now my way of life has been completely altered. I’m being blamed for things I didn’t do, and people want me dead. If I actually survive, I’ll be forced to assume a new identity and live in a foreign country. These are not things I would have wished for.”
He let her stew a few minutes longer and then got out his binoculars to give the tribe a once-over from afar to gauge its temperament. After a few minutes, Kendall visibly relaxed and was mortified at her outburst. She knew that Rashid hadn’t deserved her anger. She was just projecting her frustration onto him, because he was the closest target … hell, the only target. She asked to use the binoculars too. Peering intently at the busy activity in the meadow, she said, “Are we going to pass them by or stop?”
“Well, they look friendly enough. We could use some bread or flour. We have lots of leopard meat and the hide. We can trade a lot for that hide.”
They made their way across the meadow and encountered a very surprised tribe of people who could not fathom why a young couple and a camel would be traveling across the high mountain range. It looked like it was going to be awkward at first, as the men of the tribe gathered around them. But one of them spied the leopard pelt drying on Babar’s right side and exclaimed at how beautiful it was and rare to even see a snow leopard let alone get close enough to kill it. Rashid decided it would be prudent to share the meat. But first, one of the young boys who was comfortable around camels unloaded Babar and led him over to the other camels.
Rashid offered dried meat and fish to the elders. That broke the ice. The Kyrgyz people were about to start their evening meal. With the unexpected guests, the evening was turned into a festivity of sorts. Many dishes suddenly appeared before the weary travelers, including the leopard and carp. The entire camp sat on the floor inside the largest yurt, with the elders sitting closest to the fire. Kendall was able to stay near Rashid.
The tribe’s people wanted to know where they came from. Rashid detested telling lies. He spoke of his long-deceased family as if they had recently passed. He talked about having lived on a farm. Kendall then noticed he incorporated some of Jangi’s farm details into his story.
She would be glad when they were no longer the object of curiosity and she would have the comfort of knowing she was in a safe environment. Even now, as she looked around her, she caught the eye of a wizened old woman. The elder practically gave her the “evil eye.” Her piercing look felt like daggers in Kendall’s heart. She wanted to run away. At the very least, she didn’t want to stay. She actually felt like her life might be in danger from this old, frail woman if she stayed the night.
The children wanted to hear the story of how they acquired the leopard. Rashid was a natural with children. He made the unusual encounter into a thrilling story. While their little eyes were round with amazement at what Kendall had done, they giggled and laughed at the image of Babar running past him when he was otherwise disposed.
Everyone exclaimed at how delicious the leopard meat was and beamed at Rashid. The two travelers could not get enough of the fresh warm flat bread. They immediately made a trade for enough naan to last them the rest of the way to Mazar-e-Sharif in exchange for their dried fish and some salt.
When Rashid suggested that he needed to set up his tent, there was a murmur among the tribe. The elders confabbed, and Rashid thought they were discussing the best place for his tent. After some time, the elders nodded in agreement, and one went to Rashid and motioned for him to follow.
The yurts were laid out in a pattern at fairly close proximity to the next. There was a yurt a little further away from the rest, almost as if the residents were being shunned. The placement was by design. The elder explained that the young couple who had lived in that yurt were recently deceased. The yurt was being cleansed of all evil before another tribesman took possession of it. Because Rashid and Kendall were not part of their tribe, they were assured that any existing evil would not be extended to them. Kendall demanded to know what the story was behind the deceased couple.
Rashid politely asked for the facts about th
e young couple and then relayed it to Kendall. The young wife had given birth to a daughter. The husband was headstrong and insisted all the way through the pregnancy that she would have a son. He apparently believed that by proclaiming the baby to be a son, it would, in fact, be one. When the daughter was born, the husband was so angry, that he killed his wife and newborn daughter. The tribal elders met and realized that if their tribe were to survive, this behavior would not be allowed. The husband, now a widower, was told he would either be banned and must immediately leave the tribe, or he should restore honor to his household by ending his own life. He chose the latter, and slit his own throat.
Rashid asked Kendall if she was concerned at sleeping in the abandoned yurt, given the circumstances. “Not at all,” she said. If it meant they didn’t have to set up the tent and basically had protection from the elements, she was fine with it. But she did express concern about the old woman with the piercing eyes.
Rashid laughed and told her the woman was telling everyone that this young traveling couple hadn’t borne children because they were living a carefree existence and hadn’t cemented any roots yet. She had several suggestions of various tribal remedies, and Kendall just rolled her eyes at Rashid. He didn’t dare tell her the old woman laid the entire blame for not having any children directly at Kendall’s feet. Her spirit was apparently too independent.
In the morning they said their goodbyes and once again headed north. There were several well-worn trails leading to the nearest city on the way to Mazar-e-Sharif. Rashid was thankful the elders had pointed them out, as he intended to avoid them. There was one trail in particular that they were advised at the last minute to avoid. It was treacherous and rocky, but almost entirely within the tree line. Naturally, that was the trail Rashid chose.