Sky

The horse softly whickered and slammed a heavy hoof to the ground. He whisked his tail back and forth, stinging me on the face like a hard whip. My fingers fumbled in the night, searching through the darkness as I tried to attach an old Arabian rein on the harness. 1

It sparkled red and gold even in the darkness. 2

The desert air was still and choky and I gasped for breaths of air as I prepared Myth for the long ride ahead of us.3

"Take a horse with you." The old man, Rahim, had said. "Camels are traitors. They run for long periods and make no signal of tiring. Then, when you are in the middle of the desert, they drop dead to the ground. A horse shows when it tires. Trust Myth. He is a good horse."4

I finished tying the rein to the hard leather of the halter. The bells jingled and I held my breath as I looked around. Nobody came in response. I sighed in relief, and checked everything; the saddle, the girth, the halter, Myth's hooves. Then, I swung on and slammed my heels into the horses' side. 5

Myth reared, the bells jingling and a shrill, loud neigh escaping from his open mouth. I held on, rubbing his soft, black neck, murmuring words of reassurance into his twitching black ear. 6

I pulled on the reins. I probably looked calm, but my heart was pounding, and I wasn't breathing from fear. But Myth was a good horse. He came down on his feet again and took off, as if he felt my urgency in leaving that place.7

My breath was sucked back into my stomach, and the hot wind roared into my ears like millions of caged lions. 8

But I felt free. Free for the first time in many years.9

I flew. The pounding of Myth's feet and the rushing air disappeared, and I was flying, slowly swinging up and down with the rhythm of his thighs. My heart slowed, my head throbbed.10

I was free. 11

Part 212

We had been traveling for hours. Myth was tired, panting and foaming at the mouth and sides. I walked him for an hour or so, then slapped a blanket on him and gave him some water. The sun was peeking from behind the yellow mountains in front me, beaming pink and orange. Purplish lights and red flashes oozed out as well. It was beautiful, and it kept me occupied as I lay on the cool sand, head on my arms, a tall cactus looming beside me. 13

Myth was lying beside me as well, resting his tired legs and preparing for the next long run. He had stopped panting long ago, and now lay with his beautiful long muzzle up in the air, sniffing and glancing at me every now and then with his gentle black eyes. He seemed to be asking me. Asking me why I wanted to escape. 14

I leaned up, squinting my eyes from the gathering sun. I reached out and pat softly at his dark flank. It quivered under my touch, as though my fingers were flies. He stared at me. I sighed. The memories rushed into me, and I closed my eyes, clenching my teeth from the pain. 15

Myth whickered and nudged me with his nose, and I opened my eyes and looked at him. And then, I talked. I told everything... 16

Part 317

I was thirteen when Saheem Muhammed came to my family's little camel farm. I had been teaching my little camel Banthoo how to carry a person, listening to the melodic tinkling of his rainbow leg bracelets. His mother, Agaba, cried out a hollow roar as Sahim entered the garden, clenching the rusty brown of the gate. I stood up, swishing my long black braid to my back and fixed my sari. I smiled at him. If only I hadn't done that.18

"Aslaam- o- Aliekam." I said the formal greeting as I welcomed him to the house. He nodded in response. I cast my eyes down, remembering what my older sister had told me to do when I see a man from the town. I could still see him staring at me from the corner of my eye.19

My father greeted him, taking him into the house. I heard the soft clinking of glass as my mother made sweet tea and milk. I heard the men talking in the other room and the quiet gurgling of their hookahs as they were smoking. 20

I herded the camels to the toba, where they could drink and chatter in their language with each other. Then, smoothing my hair down, loped to the house with Grata, the dog, following me.21

As soon as I walked into the house, my mother's smile greeted me. She pulled me into my room and sat me down, scattering all of my sisters and brothers with a delicate wave of her brown hand. 22

"What is it, Mami?" I searched her with my eyes. She smiled wider.23

"You're going to be married!" She said, pointing to the men in the other room.24

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It took us three months to prepare for the wedding. Saheem was very rich, and every day, he would send me beautiful jewelry that I refused to wear all the time. I could not believe it. A little smile and some manners had gotten the attention of a rich landowner who already had two other wives! It killed me that I had to leave Banthoo and Agaba and Grata, and all my little siblings and my parents, even though they betrayed me.26

On the day of the marriage, when my mother was rubbing oils and perfume onto my skin, I cried for the first time in those months.27

But she did not comfort me. 28

Part 429

The sun was high up in the mountains now. Myth glanced at me and nibbled my face, making me smile through my tears. I rubbed at his back and wiped my tears with the sleeve of my sari. I fingered the braid from under the silk hood as Myth slowly got up from the ground, the sand falling in clumps from his limbs and the tiny bells tinkling the same way Banthoo's little bracelets did. I sniffed as I struggled to the ground and wiped my sweaty forehead with my long brown arm. I looked at the bracelets on my other arm, the last present Saheem gave me before I ran away. Did he know it would happen? He probably understood that he had to let me go. 30

I slipped the saddle on Myth and climbed on. I felt dizzy, but I still held on tightly to the reins and urged the horse forward. Where would I go? I didn't have plenty of food or water left, and I had to get somewhere. 31

Myth didn't rear this time. He just took off. 32

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The sun was very high now, and hot. I squinted my eyes and combed Myths wiry mane with my fingers absent- mindedly. I had slowed him down to a walk a few minutes before. I thought I saw a village.34

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Myth was trotting and the straw roofs of the village domes became more visible with each second. A few people had crowded out of their homes, probably confused as to why a young girl like me would suddenly want to trot over to them on such a beautiful horse as Myth. 36

I called out, "Open the gates!" And they did open them. As Myth walked in, I closed my eyes and smiled. 37

The people seemed to accept me already as their own. They waited until I weakly slid off of Myth and began to crowd around me asking me questions. As I reached for Myth, another man took the reins and nodded. He was going to take care of the horse until I felt better. The women inserted me into their circle, letting me sniff at the wonderful smells of camel milk, tea and animals. I actually did miss those smells.