Timelock

by R. G. Knighton

  Mino, having no other family, still held a strong motherly bond for Hajer and she fussed excitedly over the couple before being called away to oversee preparations for a hastily prepared dinner in their honour.

  The layout of the house was a copy of Roman design that Domrem had seen on his many travels. The main central doorway was located between two shops, both owned by Domrem. One acted as his surgery where he assessed his patients and the other his apothecary which sold pre-made potions and tinctures that could be purchased ‘off the shelf’. The entrance alleyway between these shops leads directly into the atrium where guests are welcomed. Around the perimeter of this area, doorways lead into assorted bedrooms and a study. Down a short corridor to the rear and on the right; the main body of the house opens up into a large peristyle colonnade courtyard complete with fragrant garden and a lotus pool in the centre. Completing the rear of the house are guest bedrooms and a dining cum garden room where guests can mingle. A central rear exit leads out to the servant’s quarters and Domrem’s impressive storerooms.

  As Hajer wandered around the inner courtyard, his fingers stroked familiar objects releasing many memories of his childhood until he suddenly found himself next to the ornate lotus pond cited in the centre of the heavily patterned mosaic tiled floor. Peering into the inky depths Hajer recalled many happy times as a small boy when he launched flotillas of balsa wood toy ships onto the water. His smile quickly disappeared when his memory flashed to the time when he believed that he was going to drown. Leaning out too far to retrieve his favourite ship, Hajer fell headlong into the water. It was only shallow but in his panic he managed to entangle his legs in the roots of the pond lilies leaving him unable to stand up. Believing water demons were trying to pull him under, his screams and floundering brought a flour covered Mino running from the kitchen; she stepped into the pool and lifted a sobbing Hajer into the safety of her strong arms. Since that day, he has held trepidation of journey by water, fearful of what lies beneath.

  Mino joined Hajer and Psyom for supper, eagerly bringing them up to date with all the latest news and in turn wanted to hear all about events in Hajer’s new life. After the meal and feeling very tired, Psyom retired for the night leaving Mino still eating and talking animatedly with Hajer. A few hours later, when Hajer finally entered their quarters he found Psyom in bed, curled up, and sound asleep. Joining his wife on the bed, Hajer curled his body around her foetal pose, holding her tenderly in his arms. Tired out from all the excitement of the day he drifted away in a heartbeat. During the night both of them had nightmares. Hajer relived his time as a small boy falling into the lotus pool and Psyom tossed and turned, dreaming of evil spirits spewing forth from between her open legs accompanied with the unimaginable pain of labour and giving birth to a hideous demon.

  The house awoke early the next morning to the sound of Psyom screaming at the top of her lungs when her true labour began. Mino was first on the scene even before Hajer had reached the bedroom door and she pushed him out of the way, banishing him from the area until it was all over. He knew that Psyom had one more cycle of the moon before she was due and this greatly added to his worry. For the rest of the day and into the night Hajer paced the courtyard, wincing every time Psyom screamed, his mind, running riot with terrible imagined images of what his beloved wife was enduring. Hajer watched with envy as the twin servant girls went about their daily business without a care in the world. When one of them brought him a plate of food he refused and angrily knocked the tray from her hands, sending it crashing to the floor. The girl ran tearfully away, adding guilt to his turmoil of emotions.

  Across the valley on the outskirts of town, another woman was also in labour. The comforts of domesticity were denied to her, as her husband had no family left with which to stay and due to the massive influx of visitors to the area, every conceivable abode was in use. Every trader, whore and innkeeper in the land was probably toasting the health of Caesar Augustus for the massive increase in revenue but that was no help to the poor couple's plight, until one innkeeper suggested that they could sleep in the barn along with his other resident’s pack animals. This was reluctantly accepted as no other alternative could be sought and rest was sorely needed.

  That night the poor woman went into labour and within four hours she gave birth to a son. The news of this unusual place of birth spread quickly and with each recount of the event becoming more embellished than the last, news spread far and wide. Guided by the fiery glow in the sky, many people came to offer tokens and gifts, hoping good fortune would be bestowed on them in return from the boy named Yeshua.

  Back in the Domrem household thing were going very badly. The pain of childbirth was fast becoming unbearable for Psyom and her strength faded by the hour.

  “Don’t you dare give up. I’ve delivered hundreds babies all of my working life and never lost one yet, and you are not going to be the first.”

  Mino ordered Psyom as she gave her a small extracted dose of the opium poppy, one of Domrem’s pain killing remedies. She hoped that it would not be too much as Domrem was not around to offer advice and Psyom needed to feel the contractions in order to push the baby out. Within minutes Psyom passed out and fearing the worst Mino held a chicken feather in the flame of one of the oil lamps, blew it out, then wafted the acrid smoke under Psyom’s nose, instantly waking the fatigued woman.

  Mino knew that Psyom’s strength was fading fast so she prepared her for one last push. Scooping her off the bed and into her arms as easy as picking up a child, Mino gently lowered Psyom down onto her haunches in a squatting stance and using her own considerable strength hugged Psyom to her ample bosom as she knelt facing her, taking all of Psyom’s weight allowing all her remaining energy to be used to push.

  Eventually the tiny baby crowned and with the aid of gravity and considerable effort from both parties, a baby girl slipped out onto the birthing rug below.

  Once again Psyom passed out from the considerable exertion and as the afterbirth had quickly followed, Mino picked her up then carried her over to the bed and laid her gently down before turning to aid the unnervingly silent infant. Mino’s concern turned to alarm as she spotted the umbilical cord coiled tightly around the baby’s neck, starving her of life. Unable to prise it free with her chubby fingers, Mino ordered one of the twins to retrieve a paring knife that was kept next to the fruit bowl on a table in the corner, and armed with this razor sharp tool she quickly sliced through the tourniquet from around the infant’s throat.

  “Breathe damn you.”

  She whispered as she massaged the baby’s chest, trying to encourage some fresh air into her tiny lungs. When this failed she held the child up by its feet, smacking its backside hoping to jolt the infant into life. Rapidly running out of ideas she splashed some cold water onto its face but whatever midwifery trick she used it was to no avail and the child lay lifeless.

  Hajer suddenly appeared in the doorway, aware that his wife had stopped screaming and defying Mino’s orders entered the room to see what was happening. He instantly read the situation and without a word, ran forwards and snatched the dead infant from Mino’s grasp, wrapped it in a blanket then turned and quickly left the room, leaving Mino to care for his wife. Tears of grief ran down Hajer’s face, soaking his beard as he sat by the lotus pool, cradling his child and rocking back and forth for comfort, replaying a similar scene of his father during his own birth. This time the child dies instead of the mother. Hajer opened the folds of the blanket and stared despairingly at his daughter’s perfect form, praying to any God listening to alleviate his pain. He knew that he should go and comfort Psyom but he did not have the courage, so he just sat and rocked.

  A fulminant chill descended onto the courtyard, bringing with it a shroud of mist pouring over the tiled walls and swirling silently around the pool. Hajer felt the coolness and instinctively pulled his tiny bundle closer as he tried to massage the infant back to life, unaware the mist separated him from everyone else in the house that still
lay asleep or tended to Psyom.

  “Your child is dead.”

  Croaked a voice from somewhere out in the darkness. Startled, Hajer jumped to his feet and holding tight to his precious bundle peered all around through the mist to find the source of the voice.

  “Where are you? I demand that you reveal yourself.”

  Snarled Hajer angrily through gritted teeth as he frantically turned to the left and then right, expecting an attack from a lunatic or thief.

  Movement caught Hajer’s eye as the curtain of mist silently parted, revealing the inky black surface of the lotus pool. Ripples began to radiate outwards from the pool’s centre as if a stone had plopped into the water, bobbing the lilies up and down. Reflected light cast from a wall mounted oil lamp onto the water’s surface fragmented into shimmering stars as the tiny waves grew larger eventually splashing over the pool’s raised edge onto the red ochre tiles as something emerged from within.

  Hajer stared wide-eyed and dumb struck as a human figure dressed in a floor length hooded black robe, rose slowly up from the inky depths, and levitated a fingers width above the surface of the water. Its sleeve-covered hands were clasped together across its chest, and its face lay hidden in shadow of the hoods depth. Not a single drop of water adhered to the fabric of the robe, or dripped back into the pool which suddenly lay as calm as it did before.

  Hajer gasped, stepping quickly backwards as the figure raised its head and floated towards him. Within a few hastily back trodden strides, Hajer’s shoulders thumped into the courtyard wall, winding him as he stood frozen in terror while the creature moved ever closer before stopping and hovering less than an arm’s length before the terrified man. All Hajer could see in the shadow of the hood were two glowing amber coloured eyes with black vertical slits in the centre of each instead of normal round pupils. As the creature spoke again, Hajer’s terror made him lose control of his bladder and a dark urine stain grew down the front of his smock. When the fabric could hold no more the yellow liquid poured down and dripped from the hem splashing his sandaled feet and the floor. Steam rose from the warm liquid as it mixed with the cold night air and outlying spatter collected into tiny dust covered bubbles before being overwhelmed by the oncoming deluge that puddled around his feet before running off to soak between the cracks in the tiles. The creature ignored the accident and continued.

  “Your child is dead but I can give it life”

  Hajer gagged from the reek of decaying flesh from the creature’s breath as it spoke. It assaulted his senses so bad that his eyes streamed and bile rose to the back of his throat making him swallow hard to force it back down. The creature repeated its sentence and as he overcame his confusion, Hajer looked down at the tiny bundle he held tightly to his chest. His mind exploding at the possibility of what the creature offered and before he could say a word, it spoke yet again.

  “Before sunrise your wife too will die, she bleeds heavily from the birth and it cannot be stopped. I can save her also if you allow your child to carry the soul of another. She will grow up as any other normal child and you will treat her the same as any other you sire. When your daughter reaches her maturity she must leave you to fulfil her given destiny. Only when this has been achieved she will be free to return to the bosom of her family and live out the rest of her life without any further consequence. This information you must keep to yourself, if you tell another the deal will break and your wife and child will die instantly."

  Hajer’s mind exploded with the intensity of the information proffered. The fear of the creature standing before him, mixed with personal grief and the added possibility of life for his wife and daughter seemed incredible. All he found himself doing was nod silently, but that was all that was needed. From beneath the folds of the cloak, a skeletal hand produced a palm sized amulet adorned with an emerald in the centre. As the creature held it out, the chain attached to it rattled as it slipped through the bony fingers while its voice rasped once again in the cold night air.

  “This is for the child, it must be kept near her at all times, and you must give her the name of my choosing, that is all I ask.”

  As Hajer reached out cautiously to take the amulet, the creature released its grip and Hajer instinctively dipped forwards and snatched it before it hit the ground. As he did so, the creature’s bony hand shot out and grabbed Hajer by the arm, pulling him in close as he whispered the child’s name. Out of a clear night sky, a sudden flash of lightening lit the entire courtyard followed by a mighty crash of thunder bringing a huge gust of wind scooping up the fog in its wake. Hajer watched bewildered as the creature released its grip, glided backwards across the courtyard, stopped for a second over the lotus pool, then descend silently into the water.

  The violent gust of wind swirled around, extinguishing all the oil lights, plunging the dwelling into darkness causing consternation throughout the tired household. This was soon rectified by the nimbleness of the twin girls who in no time skittered about re-lighting the flames, bringing calm once more. Hajer gazed all around, then tentatively walked over to the lotus pool and peered into its oily depths wondering if the creature would return, but all he saw was his own tired reflection.

  Still dazed from the events of the last few minutes, Hajer walked over to a nearby bench seat to contemplate his decision. Wiping his eyes and runny nose on his sleeve as he wearily sat down, he heard the amulet strike the bench as it swung from its chain. This prompted a twitch and a snuffle from inside the tiny cloth bundle. Opening the blanket, Hajer could see his precious baby girl squirming about inside, turning her head left and right as she rooted for her mother’s teat. Jumping to his feet while carefully cradling the infant, he ran across the courtyard and into his wife’s bedroom with tears of joy instead of sorrow streaming down his face. Mino stepped away from carefully tending to what she thought was his dying wife then whooped with joy as Psyom opened her eyes to the sound of her baby girls cry. Hajer gently laid the child at her mother’s side and joyously watched the infant eagerly latch on to her mother’s nipple. Amid tears and congratulations from everyone in the house, Hajer rose to his feet to make an announcement.

  “I cannot thank you all enough for the care and attention given to Psyom and our little miracle but there is one more thing I wish you to do. Today I want you all to witness the naming of our child.”

  Hajer turned to face his wife and child as his speech continued.

  “In front of God and all that is holy, I give to you my little girl the name of Toomak.”

  Hajer trembled as he announced the child’s name, half expecting another flash of lightening or a thunderclap when her name left his lips but there was nothing, only the smiles and congratulations befitting such a happy gathering. Psyom looked puzzled at Hajer and as he sat down beside her, she whispered in his ear,

  “I thought that if we had a girl, you were going to name her after your mother?”

  Hajer was ready for this and replied,

  “Toomak was the name of the wife of an associate of mine who died recently and I decided to honour her by giving our child the same name.”

  Psyom knew better not to push the matter any further and the name was pretty enough, so she decided to let sleeping dogs lie and enjoy the day.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  Terrible nightmares haunted Hajer for many months, with horned demons bearing his daughters face punishing him for what he had done. Night after night, he woke up sweating and terrified. Unable to share his secret this soon took a severe toll on his health making him unfit to travel so the new family had to live with Domrem who had since been released from prison when the strange glow in the sky finally disappeared.

  Eventually Hajer’s health began to improve as the nightmares became less frequent but it was almost two years before he considered himself completely recovered. By this time, Domrem had taken to his new granddaughter so much it had given him a new lease of life and as he had plenty of room, he asked them to stay.

  Hajer kept the amule
t safely hidden in Toomak’s nursery and on her second birthday, he gave it to her, passing it off as an old family heirloom. Toomak became immediately attached to the shiny object, never allowing it out of her sight. Unable to wear it properly around her neck she attempted to nevertheless, and undeterred by the heavy metal disc bruising her shins she tottered around, refusing to cry even when the chain brought her down. Hajer showed her how to loop it around her tiny waist, keeping it close at all times, fulfilling his promise made on the night she was born. The sight of his beautiful daughter playing happily in the sunshine, made the events surrounding her birth all seem like a distant horrible dream.

  The settling in of the family coincided with the steady decline in Domrem’s mobility due to his advancing years. Fatherhood had come to Domrem quite late on in life, making him an old man when Toomak arrived so Hajer became Domrem’s junior partner, doing most of the heavy work, and helping to maintain the successful business. Part of Hajer’s duties, as his own health improved, consisted of journeying to many of the surrounding towns, delivering medicines, and buying fresh supplies. This in time kept Hajer away for many days and weeks at a time, but his hard work paid off and the business grew steadily in prosperity.

  As soon as she could walk, Toomak could almost invariably be found in the company of her grandfather in his workshop. Fascinated by myriad coloured bottles and jars that lined the shelves, and the piles of scrolls and huge books on which she would sit while watching Domrem mixing powders and liquids into strange sometimes, evil smelling concoctions. Over the years, Toomak learned from her grandfather hundreds of remedies for nearly every illness or malady that challenged him. The truth was that was at the core of most of the prescriptions they produced, consisted of little more than an opiate for the pain, a diuretic, or laxative to purge the body and cleanse the system or minerals and supplements to build the recipient’s strength. Sometimes he used a combination of all three, with powdered willow tree bark to reduce a fever. These were produced in incremental potency depending on the patient’s age and degree of illness. His success rate was excellent but this was probably also down to nursing care and the placebo effect, which helps much more than the medicines on their own.