Welcome to my seemingly endless journey.
A trip that will take you to places I might have visited many moons ago.
It´s a tale that came back to me when I meditated on one of my past lives. A life I told you about in my unbelievable true story.
As promised in that story I will now share this story with you.
Chapter 68
I look at Numico and whisper: "All in all, we're in a very difficult position, and the only thing that offers me security at the moment is my confidence."
Numico nods, “Let's stick to that and see how the future develops. We'll have to place our fate in the hands of the gods, without knowing where they will lead."
“An awkward situation, but I'm afraid you're right, young friend.”
We leave early in the morning, and I still haven't caught a glimpse of our friends. My hope is that Reiko has informed them, even though I know there's a good chance he hasn't. Simply to sow confusion and possibly pit us against each other.
Our captivity does have one advantage, we're transported on horses, which move considerably faster than our feet.
The third day of our captivity is coming to an end. It's already dark when one of the soldiers comes to deliver us the evening rations. After dinner, I stare in the direction of the campfire around which the soldiers are stationed.
Numico and I still haven't gotten in touch with our friends. As I stare, I hear a woman's voice. The wind comes from the wrong direction for me to hear the words, but it's definitely a woman's voice. Numico nudges me and taps his ear to indicate that he hears it too.
At the time of our capture, I didn't notice any women in the ranks. Since we've passed no villages, not even houses, there's little chance that she has been picked up along the way.
A breeze of wind passes us by. No, my ears must be tricking me as this sounds like Cabilah. But the tones I hear are frivolous and cheerful, a state of being I don't quickly associate with her and not at all with her current captivity.
“Master, that's Cabilah, I'm sure. She sounds like she's at the campfire having a good time.”
Numico is right, she doesn't sound scared or in danger.
Would they have gotten her drunk so they could abuse her?
No, Reiko is a man of his word and wouldn't hurt the woman as long as he doesn't get an answer from Rash. Something he couldn't possibly have already.
Would she deal with that little thing of her own free will, what could drive her to converse with her oppressors?
The word snaps an elastic band in my head.
Oppressors, Cabilah has been oppressed almost all her life. Until we freed her, would it be possible? No, would she allow herself to be used in exchange for partial freedom? Would her fear of being powerless again be so great that she would have flattered herself to the side of Reiko or another leading figure?
It doesn't seem to me, but a cornered cat makes strange jumps. This is narrow and Cabilah's possible traumas would make her easy prey for strange jumps.
"What do you think?" I ask Numico.
He shakes his head; “I don't know, but I'm not feeling well. She's allying with the enemy and I have no idea what her motives are. Of the four of us, she is the most closed off, and the one I know the least. But didn't Master Oniko say that we should trust our friends? Well, I trust you and your faith in the future. Isn't it true that we should also trust her until she proves otherwise?"
The boy is right, and I hate to think about what would happen if Cabilah had actually defected. But this doesn't sit well with me either, the uncertainty that has just overcome my confidence is reignited. Like a forest fire that has gone underground for a while until a gust of wind flares it up again in full glory.
We leave early the next morning, and when the caravan rounds a bend, I shudder. There's a woman sitting at the front on a beautiful dark horse, she rides next to Reiko and her posture and movements leave nothing to guess.
It's Cabilah. Is this good news or is this confirmation of my worst suspicions? I can't keep an eye on them for long before I disappear around the bend and am once again looking into the backs of the soldiers in front of me.
But one thing is clear. Cabilah's body language is not that of an oppressed one. She even looks a bit cheerful. It's a strange situation that I can't make sense of, but apparently fate is taking its course and that means all I can do is wait and have faith in where she's taking us.
Once again at dusk, Cabilah's voice is regularly present in the conversations taking place around the campfire. This time the wind is favorable to us, and I occasionally catch snippets of conversations. Much is not clear to me, but she openly praises Reiko's masculinity. I can't make out much more than that.
Until I hear the word 'suckers', my feeling tells me that this refers to us. The word could never have been in a positive context for us.
This means problems and not small ones either. Cabilah can reveal everything and thus put a bag over our heads and lead us to the scaffold. Dark images emerge before my mind's eye, I look at Numico, who sits motionless and listens attentively. He gestures for me to be quiet for a moment. My thoughts roll over each other like waves, and doubt is the undercurrent of my thoughts.
“I know what you are thinking master. But if this has been going on for at least two days, have you wondered why we are still alive? I listened to her voice, not her words. Her words didn't sound like her voice."
"Her voice is tense but also filled with joy. A joy I have never heard in her voice before. Could it be possible that she established a relationship with Reiko in order to free us? We would already be among our ancestors if she had told the truth. So I highly doubt that she actually defected. It also seems impossible to me that she is doing this against her will. What could she achieve or have achieved in the heart of that man master?”
