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 71
The person quickly walked to the front of Retsj's cage and opened it without a sound. In the darkness, I couldn't see who it was, but my blood began to rush in my veins when I saw this person unsheath a dagger and move toward the forest man.
I wanted to turn away, but I didn't, so I saw Rech's ropes being cut instead of his neck. A feeling of hope arose in me, and I also saw something flicker in Numico's eyes.
I stood up at the edge of my cage to get a better view of the situation. With my hands gripped around the wooden posts, I tried to pierce the darkness and the rain curtain with my eyes. I was so focused on what was going on that I apparently didn't hear the arrival of a second person. While my eyes tried to see who our savior was and my brain tried to figure out what to make of what my eyes saw, our cage was also opened.
Numico and I looked at each other for a moment, he nodded as if to say, good people. We followed the shadow, which was rapidly moving away from the camp. We had to run to, I assumed, keep up with him.
What was going on here, was he freeing us? Or was this a sick game, where we were to be hunted as prey as entertainment for drunken soldiers? After what I've seen before, that wouldn't surprise me.
By now we had left the camp and I still hadn't seen a soldier. Behind us, I heard Rech's heavy footsteps.
“Tssst here,” I jerked my head in the direction of the sound. There the shadow stood between five soaked and saddled horses. Retsj had now joined us and his liberator had also reached the edge of the forest where the horses were standing.
When he looked at me, I looked into the face of a very tense, but smiling Cabilah. Without saying a word, we mounted the horses. They had even managed to find a horse that would not collapse under Rech's weight after a few hours.
A gigantic black steed, with a long mane that lies flat on its neck because of the rain, stands half a meter above the rest. I have never seen such a large animal. There is no time to dwell on it for long, as the shadow is already rising and riding ahead of us into the dark forest. Then I recognize his posture and hear Cabilah's soft voice urging me to follow Reiko.
The man knows this area like the back of his hand because the speed at which he chases his steed through the forest is frightening. Yet none of the beasts stumble over protruding roots or the like. There is a good chance that this is a well-maintained bridleway that we follow, but in this weather at this speed, it is a big black hole.
The speed drives the wind through my wet hair, that feeling underlines the feeling of freedom after the days of captivity that seemed to have lasted an eternity. I have no idea where we are being taken, but the triumphant smile on Cabilah's lips gives me enough confidence to know that it is better than where we came from.
After a few hours, we leave the forest and drive through open fields. The rain has stopped, and dawn will break at any moment. We do not stop. I wonder how much longer the horses can keep up this pace, even though none of them show any real signs of fatigue. But the water that soaked their fur last night is now steaming off their hot flanks and necks.
It takes until well into the morning before I get an answer to the question of how long the horses can keep this up. Finally, we stop, far away from the path we had been following. Surrounded by trees and dense shrubs, we are somewhat sheltered here.
There is a very small stream running at the feet of our horses, at least enough to wet my feet and sandals when I dismount. But it is also drinking water for the horses. We go to a spot away from the bushes that have nasty thorns. After stretching our legs, we gather between the trees.
“Friends,” Reiko speaks.
That word sounds strange coming from someone who, until recently, was planning to kill us for the slightest thing, but it also sounds sincere.
“I know what happened has probably raised a lot of questions for you, so let me do my best to clarify the situation. We do not have much time, but that will also be clear to you."
“First of all, thank you for saving my sister,” Reiko looks at Cabilah, and I see a softness in his eyes that has never been there before.
“Secondly, after what I did last night, I am no longer an officer in the Sikh army; in fact, I am probably on the kill list by now. This means that any soldier, regardless of rank, can kill me immediately without asking any questions. Something that will also earn him a considerable amount of money.
This means that, especially in these clothes, I am a danger to your health. You will have to decide right away how this should be dealt with. Over the past few nights, Cabilah has explained everything to me about your intentions and reasons.
Let me say, I fully support you. The bloodshed must stop. As I speak, however, our lead over the troops pursuing us is shrinking. As soon as one of those monkeys discovers that we are gone, my non-commissioned officer will do everything in his power to take over my position and avenge my desertion in the name of the Sikh.”
