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 89
That night, there is a somewhat cheerful atmosphere, very different from the previous nights. Even Dadrie, who has been somewhat withdrawn in recent days, is conversing lively with Numico. Cabilah prepares the food and sings softly as she goes about her business. I walk out of the forest with the wood I have gathered and see the stars above our heads. They seem brighter than normal tonight. They sparkle, and then one falls, with a long tail disappearing behind the mountain wall.
Signs of prosperity that please me. "Tomorrow we leave, that is known, and I think everyone can agree with that. The only question is where are we going? My meditation this afternoon brings me to the conclusion that the time has not yet come to enter the city. If we were to consider Dadrie's stories, we would not be able to do that either.”
“We can do what we have done before, look for work in the surrounding villages and save a grant that gives us access,” says Numico excitedly.
"I had thought of that too, but the wages that are used will keep us busy for a very long time before the four of us have a bag that meets the city's requirements. Unfortunately, I could not come up with a better alternative, or we will have to resort to theft and violence, but then I'd rather leave this company. Still, I have faith that answers will come when time is running out, and apparently, it does not do so yet," I am struck by how confident I sound.
"I have a friend, a day or two's journey from town. He has an estate, I'm not entirely sure if he can be trusted, but it's worth the gamble. If I find out and he turns out to be trustworthy, He'll be more than happy to hire us. Since he lives quite remotely, he has difficulty finding sufficient staff. Here we could start to raise the necessary capital. And from there, we can make plans to raise more money."
"But believe me, it is difficult for dust people, as the rich call us, to work their way up. Still, if we are smart and spend nothing, it is possible. Even though it will take a lot of time and effort."
"I don't know if we have that time; the armies are advancing every day, and with them the murderous maniacs. Unfortunately, I have no other alternative either."
Cabilah and Numico nod and look at me: "It seems to me the best solution to our preliminary problem; let's take a chance. If you are willing to bear the risks of betrayal alone, we will do our utmost to help you in such a case from their clutches."
Since no one has a better plan and Dadrie is the only one who knows the area, everyone agrees. The evening is filled with extensive talk and delicious food. The impending departure offers space for all kinds of ideas and stories.
Leaving the beach behind me I can´t suppress a smile, also because traveling on horseback is a relief from the hike we started so long ago.
It is difficult to calculate how many days we save this way, but it must be many. Yet our hike has brought us an important bond; this group of people, and I accidentally included Retsj in my mind, has acquired a special place in my life. It's strange that, so isolated from everything I know, I get such a good feeling from the people I'm with.
I am happy that we finally started the next step of our quest. Even though it means that the visit to the city has to wait a little longer. Unseen, we will get one step closer to our goal every day, which will require more patience from me again.
That worries me a little, will we be too slow to protect the villages in the mountains from the ever-expanding Sikh empire?
My confidence tells me we are on the right track. That we wouldn't have been sent if we were late. Yet my reason retains some skepticism and fear that I will never find my village again as I left it.
We trek through the emerald hell again; Cabilah's oil from the white flowers protects us exceptionally well. It is even visible how swarms of immense mosquitoes flee as soon as we pass by. I thank the old man for his stories and am satisfied that my curiosity has saved me instead of getting me into trouble.
The days go well, and at the end of the second day, we are back at the place where we rested a few minutes on the outward journey. This time we will spend the night here. There is water, and the area is completely hidden from view.
Dadrie hopes to reach his friend Kreytu's country house the next evening.
That house is situated in a valley, which should allow us to keep a pretty good eye on the entire estate from the western slope.
We decide that we will use light signals to communicate. At night, when Kreytu is sleeping, Dadrie leaves a candle burning in his window; this means that there is no news.
We will light a torch to confirm no news. Two torches would mean 'good' news, as would two candles. And in that case, and if the coast is clear, we could pay Dadrie an overnight visit.
No candle would mean he is unable to light a candle. Which means that in all likelihood, he has been captured. No torch would mean that none of us is at the agreed location anymore, no need to say that means there are major problems.
It all seems simple and effective.
As we prepare for the night, I ask Dadrie about his friend, not that it will help much, but I hope it will give me some insight into our situation.
