Part 66

Tonight the star filled sky seemed to hold the weight of all memories of the past, thin clouds drifting slowly, and the stars scattered across the heavens like silent prophecies written in the language of some ancient manuscript. A vast, wide road, like a sorrowful river laid in black stone, with the scent of earth soaked twilight still not completely faded from its sides. The world seemed to breathe, calm, yet restrained.

Breaking through this silence, shaking the stillness of dense earth, a massive body was moving forward. A grey elephant. In the autumn mist its skin looked wrapped in smoke, and upon its back was a seat bound in ancient wooden design, where Usuf sat.

Usuf’s long body, strong like that of royal men, remained steady within the seat. But inside was a storm. A mask of calm upon his face, yet his eyes looked like a soul returned from some hollow of emptiness. He sat as if he were a character from an ancient tale. A lost hero returning to a different world.

The driver seated in front, an old man, carried hardness on his face and silence in his voice.

The name of the city was Joremir. Its towers could be seen from afar through the mist. Minarets, ruined ancient temples, lamps burning upon rooftops, all together forming a dreamlike sight, like a royal mirage standing within a desert. Usuf’s eyes were fixed in that direction, but his mind was elsewhere, in that grassy noon, within that stolen loneliness.

The elephant’s body swayed as it crossed the road. With every step upon the stone path came an echo of history.

Behind them the stars in the sky grew brighter. The lights of the city of Joremir burned with a solemn golden glow. In the air rose the smell of rusted iron, old wood, and the hint of endless mystery.

The boy sitting upon the elephant’s back, whose name was Usuf. His destination might have been uncertain, but in his gaze rested an unbreakable determination.

The city… became only a witness to a return, to a hero whose shadow slowly faded into darkness.

Suddenly, Usuf saw Salih sitting beside a pond.

The pond was silent, still, like a vast mirror. The stars of the sky lay within it, scattered across the surface of the water. Trees leaned around it like shadows, leaves did not move in the air, even the birds were quiet. As if the entire surroundings had paused.

Usuf climbed down from the elephant’s back, royalty in his movement, yet cold tension in his eyes. Stone steps lay beneath his feet, and with each step his weight seemed to echo like some guilt from the past.

Salih sat on a bench, completely still. His eyes were fixed on the pond. A ring rested in his hand.

Salih was startled when he saw Usuf. In surprise he said,

"You here...!"

Usuf quickly said,

"I will tell everything later, do you have some money with you now?"

Salih nodded, "Yes, I do."

Usuf took the money from Salih’s hand and disappeared like the wind. After paying the driver of the massive elephant, he returned within a short time.
Usuf then told Salih the entire incident in one breath.
And hearing it, how Salih laughed! Laughing so hard that he almost rolled onto the ground, his stomach nearly cramping!
Usuf himself smiled faintly.
The incident of that day was truly so unexpected and funny that Usuf could never forget it.
Suddenly, Salih said,

"I am sitting here because of Hamad. That was Hamad’s expensive horse. Hamad will hang you upside down first, then he will take money from you."

Salih burst into laughter. And that laughter tore through the silent evening like thunder. The pond water seemed to tremble, and as that laughter fell upon Usuf’s face, a shadow like poison appeared.

Usuf became somewhat angry."Will you stop laughing?"

"You cannot even take care of a single pouch." said Salih while laughing.

"I fell asleep. How is that my fault?"

"You look like an even bigger fool than me."

This time Usuf truly became angry."I am telling you to stop laughing."

Yet Salih still did not stop.

After that, Usuf suddenly snatched the ring from Salih’s hand. The small object shining in his hand was bright like glass, yet it struggled between his fingers as if trying to say something.

Salih calmed down a little."Keep the ring carefully." saying this, he started laughing again."The thief came and took it away", laughing,"while Usuf was sleeping right beside. Oh! Ar-Rauf, just thinking about it makes me laugh."

Suddenly, Usuf threw the ring away with a sharp motion.

There was no sound. As if the ring did not fall into the pond, but instead vanished into the air.

This time Usuf laughed."Now try laughing."

Then Salih’s eyes grew wide, as if within a blink he had aged a hundred years. He shouted.

Salih stood up and in one leap reached the edge of the pond. He bent his eyes toward the water, searching, but the water gave no answer. His fingers trembled. His hair became disordered. He looked and saw the pond was dark. Nothing could be seen anymore.

Usuf was laughing. That familiar crooked smile at the corner of his lips.