The Centauress

Maggie Ventura eased into the queue at the cashier holding a pack of dental floss. When she saw me standing ahead of her she smiled and nodded a greeting. She had been my father’s physician ever since I had rushed him to the Emergency Room with an intestinal hemorrhage and we had become friends. I paid for my merchandise and lingered until she had paid for hers to exchange pleasantries about the weather, the new sales tax, my father’s health…1

I walked her to her car which just happened to be parked next to mine, but when she turned the key in the ignition the engine refused to start. It was almost 11:30 PM, so she decided she would leave the car, take a taxi, and send someone to deal with the problem the next day. She had to get to the hospital by midnight, the latest, to check on some intensive care patients, so I offered to drive her and wait for her to take her back home and off we went.2

Following her directions, she led me into progressively poorer and more downtrodden parts of town, until we reached the hospital. I had never been there before. The place looked like it was in the middle of a war zone. Trash and graffiti everywhere; drug addicts and alcoholics in various poses occupied every available corner. Terribly depressing. We entered the building through the rear and passed through several rooms that, even though they were well lit, looked as if they were part of an abandoned area. 3

I had never seen such disarray and filth in a hospital. Weren’t hospitals supposed to be kept clean in order to prevent the spread of disease? I was so dismayed I told Maggie to go take care of whatever she had to do and I would wait here. She tried to talk me out of it, but I insisted. 4

I heard her footsteps echo down the empty hall as she walked towards the elevator while I turned around to look at the mess. I saw a sign on a door leading to a unisex lavatory and decided to take a look. It was no better in there. In fact it was much worse. The two available toilets had been repeatedly used but left unflushed and there were black plastic bags filled with trash on the floor. There was even one stuffed inside a toilet. The smell was atrocious. I stepped over to one of the toilets and pushed down on the handle. Lo and behold it worked fine! Then I stepped over to the other toilet wanting to pull out the black plastic bag that was stuffed inside so that I could flush it, too. As I tried to get a good hold on it something inside the bag grabbed my right forearm. I tried to pry myself loose, but what ever was in the bag was very strong and did not let go!5

My heart began to beat frantically as I struggled to free myself. I tried to scream for help but no sound issued from my throat. With all my twisting and turning the bag came loose from the toilet and had plopped onto the floor. In the scuffle the bag tore and I saw, to my horror, that it was a human hand that had grabbed onto my arm. It was a massive, strong arm and the hand was covered with horrible writhing maggots that migrated onto my own shivering limb!6

By now the bag had torn some more and I was able to see a naked human torso inside with a wide, bloody gash above the right pectoral muscle. I heard a raspy male voice say: “Lady, don’t go. Please help me. I’m hurt.” 7

I stopped struggling and the hand let go. I quickly brushed the offending maggots off me and tore the bag fully open. There were rotting food residues swarming with maggots inside the bag. Thank God! These were not the maggots that eat the flesh of the dead! Out crawled the owner of the hand and the gashed torso: A man of short stature, of a stocky, quite muscular build, with a receding hairline, wearing a pair of jeans but no shoes. I guessed he must have been in his forties. He had other bleeding wounds and contusions, including one above his left eyebrow. He dropped to the dirty floor exhausted from the effort. 8

It dawned on me that his was just an ordinary black garbage bag; not a body bag. I reasoned that someone had attacked this man and perhaps believing him dead, put him in the bag and stuffed it into this toilet.9

His breathing was shallow. He must have lost a lot of blood. I had to do something, fast! I didn’t want to leave him alone and I didn’t know my way around this dump called a hospital, so I retrieved my cell phone from my purse which I had propped up next to the door and searched for Maggie’s number. I hoped and prayed she had her phone turned on. After 8 rings I was ready to give up, but at last she answered. I hastily explained the situation and she said she’d be down immediately.10

Maggie arrived with two attendants rolling a gurney. She noted his vital signs. Very low blood pressure from blood loss and the attendants lifted the man onto the rolling cot rushing him to the elevator to the Emergency Room. I was not a family member but was allowed in on Maggie’s orders. The man was admitted and stabilized, so I took Maggie home and retired for the night. 11

The following day I went to the hospital to see how the man was doing. He had been admitted on Maggie’s insistence, but I was particularly concerned that he might be turned out for lack of medical insurance. Such is the sign of the times: Health follows wealth. 12

Room 555 of the men’s wing the receptionist said. I knocked on the door and the same raspy male voice said: “Come in”. So I did. The bed closest to the door was empty. My ward had been given the bed next to the window. However, there was not much of a view. Just an eye level cross-section of the freeway. I went over to stand next to the window in front of the bed.13

“Hello there! Remember me?”14

“Hi. Yes, you were the lady who pulled me out of the toilet.”15

“That’s me! How are you feeling today? I see they’ve stitched you up pretty well.”16

“Yup. My name’s Jack; Jack Stratton.”17

“Pleased to meet you Mr. Stratton. My name is Anaya Roma.”18

“Jus’ call me Jack.”19

“Ok. Would you like to tell me what happened? How did you end up where I found you last night?”20

“Well, I can understand your curiosity, but if I tell you, you ain’t gonna believe me.”21

“I consider myself an open-minded person. Please give it a try.”22

“It’s gonna be a long story, so take a seat.”23

I sat on the only available chair and he proceeded:24

“Like I said, my name’s Jack. I got a younger brother called Tom. We belong to a family of little people. Yeah, once in while a freak tall one is born, (OOPS! No offense to you, ok?) but we’re mostly little people, goin’ way back. For the last five years, we two brothers had been working for two doctors, a man an’ a woman who got a research lab in this house in the country. I did the hauling an’ taking care of the farm an' experimental animals. My brother was the handyman, taking care of anything having to do with electricity, plumbing, carpentry; all that stuff. So what happens is that these docs are fooling around with genetic engineering, you see. An’ so they do this experiment mixing up human genes an' horse genes; don’t ask me how!; an’ they gets it so that a mare delivers something that is half-human an’ half-horse; only it was a girl. They called her a centauress. So there you got it, this little thing that looks like a baby girl from the waist up an’ the rest of her is a foal. An’ they jus’ went on an’ on about how this would prove that centaurs had really existed in the past an’ that aliens or sumpthin’ had been here to create them an’ us. Let them keep to their kooky theories!25

Anyway, it was my job to take care of her. Being half-horse, or rather half-filly, she stood up a couple of hours after she was born, but being half-human she had to have milk, an’ it was my job to give her the bottle, the same way I hauled hay for her ‘mother’, Wind Song. I had to give her a name. The docs really didn’t want to ‘cause she was jus’ an experiment. But you see, I was with her since birth so I kinda felt sorry for her. I called her Sunset, an’ she was my little girl. Very intelligent. So I treated her like a little girl an’ fed, bathed an’ dressed the human part of her, an’ took care of the filly part the way it’s supposed to be done. Now, she grew as fast as horses do, not slow like human babies, an’ she learned to talk in no time. In about two years time her human part had become a young lady. Her face was so pretty! Jus’ imagine. Her filly part had a red chestnut coat, so the hair on her head was red; she had milky white skin with real cute little red freckles an’ big gorgeous green eyes. She was a real looker! The time came when I even had to go buy her her first bra. Now I don’t know nuthin’ about bras, so I jus’ told the saleslady that she had these jugs the size of regular grapefruits, an’ she got the picture. Ok, so to make a long story short, things began to go downhill when she came into her first heat. 26

I’d been around horses enough to recognize the signs, only that things were far worse ‘cause you had the woman part an’ the filly part. What I mean is, she got all fussy jus’ like mares do but she also got real emotional, you know… cryin’ an’ getting’ angry at me over nuthin’. She was different than a filly ‘cause they’re only on an’ off during spring an’ summer. Instead, she was jus’ like a woman; an’ went through this every month! But even women are a little bit reasonable sometimes! But she was in heat every month an’ behaved like a filly, peein’ all over the place an’ liftin’ her tail up in the air! Do you get the picture? Sometimes she would get so desperate that she would kick against the stable boards an’ raise a real ruckus.27

One day I went to the lab to talk to the docs about this. The lab is somewhat far from the house an’ the stables. When I got there the docs were busy, so I had to sit an’ wait. Then I walked over to the security monitor an’ I almost passed out! There was my Sunset, with no blouse an’ no bra, an’ my brother, that son of a bitch, humpin’ her! He had piled up three wooden crates an’ was standin’ on top so he could reach her genitals! An’ he was goin’ at it like a pro, an’ she was enjoyin’ it immensely! I got so mad, I ran out of the lab building an’ all the way to the stables, but it was a long way, an’ when I got there, he had jus’ finished washin’ his prick an’ was stickin’ it back in his pants! Now we started arguin’ real bad. Sunset was my little girl an’ I felt like a dad who catches some worthless punk pussyfyin’ his beautiful young daughter! He said she’d been the one to come on to him an’ he jus’ obliged. Things got bad an’ we went from words to fists in no time flat. I got the better of him, pinned him to the ground an’ almost choked him to death! But when I threatened to tell the docs what he’d done an’ get him fired, I finally got him to swear he wouldn’t do it agin.28

For a couple of weeks I was worried sick he might’ve settled her, an’ if so, what kind of a strange creature would she foal? Thank God she didn’t take!29

But that wasn’t the end of things. After this incident Sunset started actin’ like she’d really calmed down. She told me she couldn’t bear to see us brothers fightin’, an’ so on an’ so on. So I thought everythin’ was back to ‘normal’, an’ I decided not to mention this business to the docs.30

When spring came ‘round I decided to let her out on the pasture with the other horses; not to feed ‘cause she only ate human food, but for exercise. Keepin’ her cooped up all the time in that stable pen was a terrible thing, even if it was winter. 31

So I let her out, an’ off she went, faster than the wind! She galloped, an’ trotted, an’ went down to the river. I saw her walk into a copse of trees down there, an’ I thought everythin’ would be fine. So I went about my business. Every day for weeks durin’ spring an’ summer, I let her out into the pasture, an’ then took care of my chores. When it was time to come home I whistled for her, an’ in she came. She seemed very happy, so fine with me.32

Now, one day, when I was walkin’ with her back into the stable she swished her tail an’ I noticed some white goop around you know where… I suspected Tom had broken his promise, but I was too embarrased to ask… So I decided I would check in on her when she thought she was out of sight. I let her out, an’ then pretended to go off to do my chores as usual but I really sneaked around to the end of the pasture passin’ through the neighbor’s corn field. I slipped into the copse of trees, an’ I almost had a heart attack when I saw Bashir, one of our three stallions, shootin’ his load into her; an’ no sooner had that stallion backed off, up comes the next one, an’ she was havin’ a literal ball! She was jus’ an outright nympho, with the looks of a bombshell, an’ as lusty as only a female animal in heat can be! I jus’ sat down on the ground with my head in my hands, an’ started cryin’! I jus’ didn’t know what to do! Here I was thinkin’ everythin’ was ‘normal’, an’ all the while she’s been out gavillantin’, an’ cavortin’ with the stallions! No wonder they were lookin’ all worn out lately, an’ I thought there was sumpthin’ wrong with the feed! 33

An’ then the other thing came to me. What if one of these stallions settles her? What horror then? So, back to square one. I whistled for Sunset, she came into the barn. I didn’t say nuthin’. I jus’ put her in her pen, an’ made believe everythin’ was just fine. It was still early, so I decided to go see the docs right away, an’ I took off for the lab.34

This time I didn’t have to wait, an’ so I told them about what had been goin’ on in the glade but not about Tom. I didn’t want him to lose his job. In fact, they might fire us both! An’ so the male doc an’ the female doc get into an argument right there. He suggested endin’ the experiment, an’ puttin’ her down, while the female doc said he was a male chauvinist pig, jus’ because she was a female enjoying her sexuality! 35

Imagine that! This doc’s talkin’ about murderin’ my little girl! An’ then sumpthin’ else occurred to me. Tom an’ I knew too much about what was goin’ on there. Our lives might be in danger! Now, all the while the female doc is rantin’, an’ ravin’ about lettin’ Sunset be who she is, the male doc is lookin’ through his cabinets, gets a syringe, an’ a bottle of some liquid with a skull an’ bones in red on the front, passes right in front of me an’ stomps out the lab door towards the barn!36

My little girl! I gotta save her! So I go runnin’ after him, an’ I jump on his back, an’ we get into a real serious scuffle. Now this doc’s not a little person like me. He’s a great, big strong fellow, an’ he punched me in the nose real hard, an’ I passed out for a moment. When I came to, I started runnin’ toward the barn. The doc was about to give Sunset the injecshun to murder her, but once agin I jumped onto him. He dropped the syringe, we fought, an’ he grabbed a crowbar that was there, an’ started beatin’ me over the head with it. He tried to shove it into my chest but it just made this gash. I finally passed out, an’ that’s the last I know about, until I heard you puttin’ around in the bathroom, an’ when I felt you near I grabbed your hand. So now you know. I got no idea what happened to my little girl. I don’t know anything ‘bout Tom, either. An’ I ain’t never been in this place before. Don’t even know what town this is!”37

A long silence ensued. I was speechless. I just didn’t know what to say. The story was fantastic, but not entirely implausible given the current state of genetic research. Should I just say “very interesting story; see you tomorrow”? Or should I get involved in trying to help this man find out what happened to his brother and the centauress? 38

What would you do?39

SEQUEL #140

A TIME FOR US
Anaya Roma41

Now, now, young people, calm down! Pass the refreshments around while I start the first part of our story.42

It was your Grandpa’s eyes! The first time we saw each other it was market day in my village. He was assisting his father who was selling Persian carpets. His eyes snagged mine as I was passing by and the sand in the hourglass stood still. An unexplainable energy surged up from his body and slammed into mine squeezing my heart powerfully. At that very moment I knew we had been together for eons. It just took us 17 years to find each other again this time. 43

But ours was a very difficult situation, you see, because our families belonged to different religions. About his family, the elders of my village said they were the corruptors of the true faith, but their clerics said the same thing about mine! 44

---“But that’s really stupid!”45

Yes, I agree, but please, Daliyah, don’t interrupt me. Let's finish the story first and you can ask questions afterwards. Ok?46

---“I'm sorry, Grandma.”47

We couldn't ever marry, we couldn't be seen together, we couldn't talk to each other! Even our brief eye encounter had lasted too long. There was a nearby cedar tree with an open knothole. I looked up at the tree. No words were necessary. We just renewed our ancient mind meld.48

To not arouse suspicion, I did nothing for three days. Then I wrote my name on a slip of paper and passing the tree on my way to the village well, I inserted the note into the knothole. Two days later, again on my way to the well, I retrieved the reply. This is how we learned each other's names!49

We continued to use the knothole to communicate for 6 months, but of course, we were found out. It happened in the most innocent way. "Out of the mouths of babes", they say. It was little Adiba who noticed me slip the note into the tree. After I had gone down to the well, she took the note out to play. Her mother, Zubaidah, saw the note and asked where she had found it. The bird was out of the cage... Zubaidah called on my mother privately. She did not want to raise a scandal. She knew the penalty for the crime.50

The next day my mother waited until everyone had left the house. It was she and I, alone now. You kids never heard such a scolding! She even beat me! Then she got down on her knees and begged me to forget your Grandpa and she warned me of the penalty. I couldn't believe such things were still going on. Not a single woman had suffered the penalty in our village during my lifetime.51

Nevertheless, she instilled enough fear in me that I held back for two weeks. I didn't have to explain anything to Grandpa Sayyid. Through our mind meld he knew my silence was due to circumstances beyond my control, but after those two weeks, I was completely heartbroken. I decided to risk leaving a note in the tree once again. We had never really met and I just wanted to say goodbye. 52

It didn't work. To my dismay, the village headman himself saw me slip the note in the tree! He ran towards me, grabbed me by the wrist, and shouted out loud that I was a slut who had disgraced my family...
************53

Ok, now it’s my turn, Grandma. "O, ye of little faith!"54

What Grandma Amah didn't know was that during those two weeks while she lay low, I was already looking for a solution to our dilemma. I went to see the Sufi wise man, Jalal al Din. He was a very strange person, you know… I hadn’t even opened my mouth to begin to describe the problem when he started to rant about the incredible stupidity of the villagers' petty religious taboos, while in the rear of his mountain cave he rummaged through the most unimaginable odds and ends until he found a tiny, delicately carved sandalwood box.55

"Come, Sayyid, I need to see how things stand," he said.56

He began intoning an ancient chant and I felt a presence in the cave with us; a whoosh of wind, and my hair stood on end! Jalal went into a trance and spoke prophetically: "Your beloved Amah will not be able to resist any longer. Tomorrow will be the day. You must be prepared! You must arrive on time to rescue her from the stupid wrath of the men of the village who will attempt to punish her for loving you!"57

The trance wound down. Jalal again went to the back of the cave to rummage among his things and brought me a leather bag filled with coins. 58

"Take this gold, go to the city, and buy the fastest running horse you can find," he told me. "Now let me show you what is in this box. You must pay attention very carefully to learn how this works because it will be your only way out. This is a… well... let’s call it a talisman, for want of a better word, with very special powers. It can remove you from this here and now to any then and there, whether in the past or in the future. A nice young couple from the future came to visit me long ago and gave it to me as a gift. It’s a long story…but never mind… I’ve been to such strange times and places you couldn’t even imagine! Anyway, I knew you were coming and I was saving it for just this day. My advice is: go to the future, son. Hopefully you will find a time where you and your Amah can love each other without fear."59

He opened the box and took out a cylindrical object attached to a cord. Placing the cord around my neck he bade me hold it with both hands, saying, "Notice that it has a wheel within a wheel. If you turn the outer wheel to the right of the center point, you and everything and anybody physically attached to you will be removed into the future. If you turn it to the left, you go to the past. Go ahead; try it."60

"But if I go into another time right now, how will I get back to save Amah?” I queried.61

He replied, “Don’t worry. I haven’t told you the magic words yet!”62

So I tried moving the wheel to the right of the center and then to the left to get the feel of it. “Seems easy enough,” I thought.63

Jalal continued, “Ok, now for the magic words. Listen carefully! If you forget, you’ll be stuck in whatever time you are in and that could be very inconvenient… Ready? Ok. The magic words are: ACTIVATE TIME TRAVEL PROGRAM.”64

“Strange words indeed”, I thought. “Time travel is simple enough, but what is a ‘program’?” I repeated the magic words over and over in my mind for about thirty grains of sand and Jalal woke me from my musing, “Now, get going! First the horse. Hurry! As soon as you have the animal, ride to the village at full speed. May the Universe favor you!”
*******************65

Now my Beloved, let me continue…66

At the headman’s shouting, the entire village stopped all activity and ran towards the tree. He still had me by the wrist. Try as I could I was unable to escape his powerful grip! The women gathered in a group across the dusty street. There was my mother, weeping and wailing hysterically, while my aunts, cousins, sisters, and the ladies from next door tried in vain to calm her and comfort her. 67

The men gathered around the headman who began the formal accusation. “This woman is a disgrace to our village! She has been consorting with a disgusting, God-forsaken corruptor of the faith! I have been watching her closely. I have the damning evidence in my hand! Just this morning she slipped a note into the tree for him to find!” he said as I continued to struggle to try to free my wrist to no avail. “Come here, Abdul Malik! Read what the note says for everyone to hear!”68

Abdul opened the crumpled piece of paper and solemnly proclaimed, “The garbage heap!” 69

There were a few titters…70

“Be quiet, you fools!” said the headman angrily. “The intent is quite clear. It’s ‘meet me by the garbage heap outside the village!’” 71

At this there were murmurs of ascent that got louder and louder. I continued to struggle and my veil fell down! I quickly tried to replace it with my free hand; two different struggles at the same time… The women continued to moan and wail. I could hear my mother’s usually sweet voice floating above their chorus in a desperate, dissonant descant.72

“Look at her!” said the headman mockingly. “She’s compounding her dishonor by showing her face! What shame! We must blot out this evil from our midst! Ali! Abu! Come here and help me subdue this wanton woman!”73

Ali and Abu were the two most disgusting thugs in the village and true to type they proceeded to pummel and punch me, and slap my face. I doubled over and was dazed and left off struggling for a dram of sand. My ears were ringing but I knew the headman had ordered the men to start gathering the stones…74

After a while, the headman shouted, “You! Aminah! You gave birth to this whore! Stop your wailing lest I conclude that it was you who taught her and you get stoned today, too!” Then, with a sneer he called out, “Alright, Hamal; you and your sons, come here! You must be the first to cast for she has dishonored you most basely!”75

My father and two brothers walked slowly to the rock heap. They had no choice. If they did not cast the first stones, they would suffer death by the sword for treason. They all grabbed stones. With tears running down his sun-baked face, my father cried out to God, the Merciful, the Compassionate, and suddenly there were murmurs and then screams from the ladies’ side.76

Your turn, Grandpa.77

*****************
Yes! It was I, arriving upon my stallion Bashir! The men were momentarily stunned. I rode right into the crowd, grabbed your Grandma by the waist, heaved her up behind me, and took off like a bolt of lighting toward the hill nearby! But of course the headman urged the men to pursue us and as soon as we reached the top they were already a fourth of the way up! I reined Bashir in, slipped my hand into my tunic and pulled out the talisman that had been hanging from my neck since Jalal put it on me. 78

In my haste I didn’t remember right from left! I just turned it and said: “Operate time travel program.” Nothing happened! What was I doing wrong? Meanwhile the men were coming closer; they were already half way up the hill by then!79

“Sayyid, let´s keep going! Grandma cried. “Wait, my sweet, I need to think a minute”, I replied. 80

Hmmm. Maybe it’s the words. I said operate. That’s it! Not operate! Activate! 81

“Hold on tight and move with me, little one”, and then I uttered the correct magic words: “Activate time travel program!”82

There was a rushing wind and our last view was a glimpse of the open-mouthed, incredulous, astonished faces of the men as they came over the brow of the hill and witnessed our disappearance into thin air!83

Now, if you've been on a ship in stormy seas, then you know a little about what it felt like to be whirled through the tunnels of time, where our entire surroundings and all the sounds were blurred into a blinding and deafening jumble and then, wham! Our substance, steed and all, coalesced into a very different landscape! We were no longer atop a hill, but I knew it was the same place because the river was still where it had always been. The area where we landed, so to speak, was now a tiny clearing surrounded by a thick jungle of weirdly shaped plants and trees that I had never seen before! We began hearing strange, frightening animal sounds, terrible loud roars and rumbles, really, and suddenly two infernal looking lizard-like creatures running on two feet came bounding into the clearing, the larger one chasing the smaller one! 84

In a split second I realized we had gone far away into the distant past, when dragon lizards ruled the Earth and I grabbed hold of the talisman, hastily turned it to the right and said the magic words once again. Ugh! Another stomach wrenching journey to some other time!85

***************
My Lord Sayyid, allow me to continue, please.86

He hasn’t described the half of it. If it was stomach wrenching for him, imagine me! I was fighting down the nausea and was terrified to the bone when those monsters came out of the trees! I squeezed Grandpa so tight, I heard him choke and cough while he uttered the magic formula. Oh, dear! Poor man! But he acted just in the nick of time! He wasn’t fully familiarized with the procedure, but he saved us from peril once again!87

On this occasion we came into another strange time in the same place where what looked to me like metal boxes were running on wheels back and forth by themselves, playing very loud trumpets at us as we solidified into the middle of it all. Of course, the horse spooked and started running down the street with us holding on for dear life while Grandpa did his best to gain control! Oh, my! If there ever was a good horseman it was your Grandpa Sayyid! Bashir rode on and on, but after about 200 grains of sand he was no longer out of control. At last we reached a more peaceful place, where there were trees with benches under them and people walking with dogs attached to chains! We thought that most remarkable, since in our village and everywhere as far as I could remember, dogs were considered unclean! We stopped here and the people looked at us strangely; just as strangely as we looked at them I suppose… The women’s legs, arms, heads, and faces were uncovered and the men walked by without blinking an eye! And there we were, wrapped in dusty, homespun clothes from head to foot, but through it all my veil was very properly covering my face!
**************
My turn, Amah, honey!88

This time was much better than the time of the dragon lizards, so we decided to stay here. However, we had a horse, no food, and no place to stay. Perhaps we could find people of our own country here... We took Bashir further into what we later learned was a park and when no one was looking we let him loose to graze while we tried to find our way. We walked and walked until we saw what looked like a minaret behind some smaller buildings. We hurried in that direction.89

The door was ajar! We went up the steps and entered. The young man inside was very surprised when he saw us. I greeted him, but he held up his hand as if to say wait and then signaled us to follow him. We went to a room way to the back. He knocked and a musty, old voice said "Come in!" The young man went inside and we heard him tell the Mullah: "There is a very odd, dusty couple here, sir, and they seem to speak an ancient form of our language." The Mullah answered, "Ah, yes! Don't just stand there with your mouth agape! Bring them in! I've been expecting them!"90

So in we went, your Grandma and I, and to our utter surprise, there was Jalal al Din! A lot older and greyer to be sure, but nevertheless, it was he!91

"What took you so long, Sayyid?" he said. "I was afraid you hadn't made it in time, but I see my fears were completely unfounded, for here you are with your lovely bride to be! Yes, you two have a lot of catching up to do so that you will be able to live in this time. Things are so modern these days! But let's not waste any more time! I will marry you forthwith and you can take it from there! Let's see...since both sets of parents are long dead, there's no need for negotiations or for asking anybody's consent. I'll be your protecting wali, Amah, and I am also a qadi, so I am qualified to draw up the contract. In fact, I already have it here. And since you, Sayyid, don't have a dinar to your name I'll take care of the mahr and you can pay me back, if you insist, when you get a job."92

Jalal handed me a sheaf of papers which I later found to be the currency of date, and I handed them tenderly to your Grandma, who looked at them strangely, but nevertheless proceeded to stuff them into her top underwear...93

"Now to the marriage ceremony", Jalal continued. "We need two witnesses. Omar, go get Jamal. And while they return, let me get the sacred book."94

Omar and Jamal returned quite quickly. Obviously they knew better than to dally when Jalal was in a hurry! They had barely entered the room when Jalal continued. "Praise be to God, by whatever name "He" may be called! But to satisfy human frailty I will stick to the traditional forms. The Quran says, 'It is Allah Who has created man from water: then has He established relationships of lineage and marriage: for your Lord has power over all things.' And He reminds us of His great favors: 'And among His signs is that He created for you of yourselves spouses that you may live in joy with them, and He has set between you love and mercy. Surely in that are signs for those who reflect.'"
Now your Grandma and I needed no prompting with the wedding vows. We had wanted this so strongly for so long, we both knew them from memory!
"I, Amah, offer you myself in marriage in accordance with the instructions of the Holy Qur'an and the Holy Prophet, peace and blessing be upon Him. I pledge, in honesty and with sincerity, to be for you an obedient and faithful wife."
"I, Sayyid, pledge, in honesty and sincerity, to be for you a loyal and helpful husband."
I'll never forget Jamal's final words of blessing: "You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore. You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days. Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of the Supreme Being".
At last we had found a time for us!
And the rest is history: I started working in a shoe factory, we learned how to live in our new environment, your parents were born, grew up, found mates of their own, and here you are!
----"But, Grandpa!" queried Daliyah's older brother, Firas. "What happened to Bashir?" 95

Oh... Jalal sent Omar to the park to bring him back and we found him a good home at a stud farm where there was a genetic engineering program going on, but that's a different story...96

SEQUEL #397

SUNSET GOES HOME
Anaya Roma98

Omar was walking down the road towards the Jayhill Stud Farm on his monthly visit to check on Bashir. He had taken quite a liking to the stallion ever since Master Jalal Al Din had told him to go fetch him from the park where Sayyid and Amah had left him grazing. Everything was bright and beautiful as he strolled along with the birds singing and the fresh spring flowers smiling at the sun... 99

Suddenly Omar heard a noise and saw a black van down the road coming from the opposite direction. He knew it was the stud farm's genetic engineering program vehicle which he had often seen before and wondered why it was being driven so fast and furiously early that spring morning. Despite its speed, he was able to see that it was Doctor Jeffrey Marks, the program director at the wheel. Just as the van went racing by, Omar turned around to look and noticed there was a piece of black plastic bag hanging out, caught between the closed rear doors.100

Not knowing what was going on, he continued walking towards the stables, and as he was getting nearer he heard a woman's voice shouting orders. He recognized that voice. It was Doctor Cheryl Stevenson, Dr. Marks' direct assistant.101

"Tom! Fred! Go get the others and search the grounds thoroughly! She must not get away! She's the only evidence I have to tell the world what's happened here! I'm calling CNN right now! It's the only way to have that bastard, Marks, brought to justice!"102

Omar wondered who "she" might be, but since it was none of his business, he continued walking toward the regular stables to bring his good friend Bashir a little sugar cube for a treat. But as he neared the stallion's stall he heard violent stomping and snorting. The horse was clearly quite upset. Omar opened the door to the stall and in spite of his initial calming words, Bashir bounded out past him heading for the nearby patch of forest! Omar followed, gasping and panting, to the tree line where sobbing and whinnying sounds reached his ears. Following the sounds, he slipped forward through the trees and stumbled upon a most remarkable sight! Before him stood an impossible creature! With a chestnut coat, milky white skin, strikingly beautiful fiery red, long hair, and a matching tail; it was half-woman/half-mare! The stallion was nuzzling her, nickering gently, as if to comfort her in her distress. 103

"So this is the 'she' Dr. Stevenson was talking about!" Omar unconsciously blurted aloud. At his words the creature squealed and turned around, with ears laid back and bared teeth, ready to attack the intruder, but the stallion prevented her from harming his friend. Evidently he communicated with her in equine language that this human could be trusted. "Hmmm," he thought, "How come I've been to the farm to see Bashir so many times and never saw her before? This must be a top secret project!"104

The creature addressed Omar between sobs: "Oh, please, help me! Dr. Marks killed my father Jack, and wanted to kill me too, but I reared and kicked him and got away! You've got to hide me somewhere, please! They're going to kill me!105

Omar's mind raced. He had grown up around here and what did he know about the surrounding area? Ah! He remembered a place at the opposite side of the forest where he would go when he needed to be alone when he was a boy. "I know the perfect place! Hurry! Come with me!" 106

And so they hastened, yet carefully, all the while listening for sounds of pursuit, but the search seemed to be going on in another area for the time being. In a short while they reached a place where the forest ended at the base of a mountain, and hidden behind a pile of fallen rocks covered by vines and weeds they came to the mouth of a cave. 107

"Quick! Get in and hide until I return!" said Omar. "I'm going back to cover our tracks. Please, what is your name?" 108

"Sunset", she gently sobbed.109

"Ok, Sunset," he said urgently, "tell Bashir that he must go back to the stables immediately, as if nothing is going on, just minding his horse business as usual. After I cover our tracks, I'm going to get help from a very wise man."110

Sunset blinked her large, green, sad eyes at Omar and sighed. "Please hurry! I am afraid!"111

Bashir left, Omar covered their tracks as best he could, and gained the road. Fortunately, he was able to hitch a ride from a farmer going into town. As soon as they arrived he thanked him, ran full speed to the madrassah, and burst into Master Jalal's study.112

"Master! It's Sunset! They killed her father Jack and they're going to kill her, too! We've got to help! She's hiding in a cave at the base of the mountain across the forest next to the stud farm! We've got to hurry!"113

"Whoa, young man!! There's still about 7 hours left until sunset!" quipped Jalal. Then, more seriously, "Jack is not dead. I'll take care of him later. Anyway, I knew it would eventually come to this. I heard your thoughts while you were on the way here, so I got dressed and packed. Let's go!"114

Omar marveled at his teacher's unflappability. He always anticipated things, was always prepared, always knew what had to be done, and didn't hesitate to do it. And as Master Jalal was a man of many other talents besides clairvoyance, (Omar wondered many a time why he never seemed to get any older...), they climbed into his car and drove off towards the stud farm. On the way a CNN truck overtook and passed them on the road. Omar was dismayed.115

"Don't worry. They haven't found her yet, but lest we lead them to her, we must go the roundabout way and approach the cave from the other side of the mountain," said Master Jalal, bearing to the right at the fork in the road. When the Master reached the other side of the mountain, he drove the car into the brush to hide it. They got out and began circling around the mountain's base to reach the cave, remaining hidden by the thick vegetation.
They soon arrived at the mouth of the cave and Omar called softly so as to not startle Sunset. As soon as she heard the young man's soothing tone she turned. Her lovely green eyes were cherry red from crying. Master Jalal followed Omar into the cave.116

"Hello, Sunset. I am Jalal and you've already met my assistant Omar," he began. "Your father is not dead." At this news Sunset was overjoyed! 117

The Master went on, "He's in the hospital recovering and you will be reunited later. But let us deal with your immediate and very urgent predicament." As he said these words he pulled out a carved sandalwood box from his tunic, opened it, and took out a cylindrical, golden object covered with numbers and symbols, attached to a cord that he hung around his neck. 118

Then he said, 'This is a 'talisman' that can take us to another time and place. I know you are lonely and you can't possibly feel otherwise, as you are the only member of your kind alive on this planet at present. But it won't do to have you captured and turned into a public spectacle! Your people were more numerous many centuries ago in a land called Thessaly. I can take you there if you are willing to go... And if you want to stay, I can return with Jack."119

"But, Master!" Omar interrupted. "What about the Centauromachy?"120

"To paraphrase a timeless adage, don't believe everything you read, and only half of what you see!" was the Master's reply. "Sure Ovid gave the centaurs bad press! He was writing history according to the victors and was just demonizing 'the enemy'. Now, it is true that particular herd was quite rowdy, but I was referring to my illustrious colleague Kheiron." Omar gave thought to that for a few minutes while Master Jalal kindly addressed Sunset in his deep baritone voice, "My dear...you do have to make a decision right now...Your pursuers are liable to stumble upon this place any minute..."121

"I will go! I have no other choice!" sobbed Sunset. 122

As they exited the cave in preparation for the journey, the approaching search party got a glimpse of them through the trees. "There she is!" shouted Tom, and they all began to move forward in rapid pursuit. First among them was the CNN camerawoman who, despite all the mayhem, managed to get a clear shot of the strange trio: an old man in flowing Middle Eastern style robes, a young man in Western clothes, and a half-woman/half-mare creature! The news reporter followed closely behind frantically giving a play-by-play description of the scene.123

Without further delay Master Jalal requested permission of Sunset for him and Omar to mount her. Everyone and everything that was to embark on this journey through time must be physically touching, so as to not be left behind. Then he turned the talisman's wheel to the left and said the magic words: "ACTIVATE TIME TRAVEL PROGRAM TELEPORTING TO LONGITUDE 39º30'0" LATITUDE 22º0'0"!" There was a rushing wind, a stomach wrenching sensation for the time travelers, and just then the entire search party, CNN crew, and all the viewers nationwide witnessed them disappear into thin air before their very eyes!124

A disgruntled Dr. Stevenson was the first to shatter their astonished silence, "There goes my evidence!" 125

Master Jalal had selected Thessaly, 1500 BCE, where the travelers materialized a couple of stadia from Mt. Pelion. Having no experience with time travel, Omar and Sunset required a moment of rest to quiet their nauseous stomachs and then they began their ascent towards the forested hills. 126

Along the way, Jalal told Sunset a little about Kheiron and his family: "Master Kheiron is a skilled hunter, a healer, and an accomplished musician, among other things. He is renowned for his wisdom; so much so, that great heroes like Hercules and Achilles have been his students and friends. He and his dam Khariclo have three fillies and a stallion. I am sure he will be able to help you." 127

They finally came to the entrance of Kheiron's cave. There were sentinels, and being somewhat wary of humans after the fracas with the Lapithae, they immediately surrounded the party and sent for their Master. 128

Master Kheiron the centaur arrived shortly with his dam and their three centaur fillies: Melanhippe, Endeis, and Ocyrhoe. Melanhippe was a beautiful palomino with blonde hair. Endeis had a black coat and jet black hair, and Ocyrhoe was a gorgeous, lightly dappled grey. Sunset was thrilled to see others like herself! She was also astounded at the natural beauty of the place. The cave was very large; enough to accommodate Kheiron's entire clan. The ceiling was very high and at the far end, an underground stream gently debouched from the heights into a breathtaking waterfall that formed an "indoor" lake. The cave walls were decorated with tapestries and niches holding exquisite urns, all in what would be later called the Late Helladic style. Even the everyday pots and utensils were gracefully made and tastefully decorated! Sunset's smile wordlessly proclaimed her delight.129

As soon as Kheiron saw his colleague Jalal they greeted each other effusively. It had been such a long time! When Master Jalal introduced Sunset and Omar there was no language barrier. Having visited this place and time before, Jalal was well acquainted with the Ancient Greek language, and of course, Sunset communicated in "equinese". Jalal had schooled Omar in the Classics, but he had to retune his ear to the centaurs' pronunciation. However, he did have enough horse sense to understand the general gist of things! Just then Kheiron's son Karystos and his hunting party arrived with a number of large deer. That evening Master Kheiron and his people proceeded to show their guests true centaur hospitality with a full-fledged banquet! 130

While the celebration was taking place the two masters retired to a spot under a large chestnut tree and Jalal explained about Sunset. Centaurs had disappeared from the face of the Earth thousands of centuries before she was born and there was no place for her in the time in which she had been living. At this, Kheiron interrupted the banquet and called a town meeting to propose that Sunset be received into the clan as a new member. The vote was unanimous in her favor, the meeting was adjourned, and the banquet went on. But that was not all... Sunset and Karystos fell in love at first sight!
That same week Master Jalal returned to the madrassah, located Jack at the hospital, and brought him to Kheiron's cave. The marriage ceremony was held two days later with Jack's whole-hearted approval.131

Sunset was home at last!132