The land of the half-dead.(Part II)
When the three crossed the rivers, the mountains, many steep terrains, and the wild jungles, they came to an unknown place with high peaks around, and a road to go.
It was getting dark, and the three of them hesitantly left their horses at the beginning of this unknown place. There was a way forward for a single step, a single step was only possible at a time. But the elder of the two brothers, Nadir insisted on carrying his horse ahead. At first, the horse didn’t move forward, but Nadir started beating it with a strip. Then the worst happened, the horse started frowning and moved haphazardly along the single-step way. Soon Nadir lost control over the horse and suddenly the horse fell and started bouncing down the steep into the precipice.
Nadir was horrified and angered, He shouted at his stepbrother Najum for not helping him.
Nadir’s younger brother Alf was cursing Najum from the beginning of this journey. He considers Najum a bad omen.
Nadir blamed Najum for the death of his horse, and the two brothers taunted Najum for a long way ahead.
‘You dark horse, you killed my brother’s horse.
“Why did you accompany us, you fool pig,’ said Alf in one breath.
Najum was very upset with the death of the horse, but he kept treating his stepbrothers with kindness and never said one word along the way.
The moon was half shining, the stars were dim, and the winds were carrying unbearably cold winds. The three were shivering when Najum saw a dog in the moonlight, it was a dog. The dog was peeled off, there was no skin on it, and blood was dripping from the monstrous mouth of the dog.
‘It is a monster, it isn’t a dog,’ with a shivering voice said Nadir.
‘Run for your life,’ cried Najum.
They were running towards the mountains into some bushes, their breaths were heavy.
They all hide behind the bushes, and when they turn around to a flapping sound of wings. ‘Look at the vulture, it is one winged’, said Alf pointing into the faint shadows of a boulder.
They were stunned and horrified; there were vultures. Some with rotten wings, some with half-decayed beaks.
Nadir jumped shouting ‘The headless snake,’ it was coming towards them.
They were all on their feet. They ran forward and entered a den near the bottom of the peak.
‘It was as if the dead of the land were awakened because of someone who put a wandering soul into them,’ exclaimed Najum.
They were all exhausted and terrified.
‘This land belonged to all half-dead creatures,’ said Alf. We must move forward as quickly as possible, otherwise, we’re all dead here, they all agreed.
A creeping sound made them all attentive when Najum drew his sword and swirled it into the dark with all his might. Alf moved backward and shouted to his elder brother, ‘Save me brother, this half-dead spider is going to devour me.’ The spider’s head fell on the ground, but its body was still moving towards them. Najum again drew his sword and shouted ‘Run, it can’t be killed, it is already dead.’ They all ran forward to the precipice. There was a way to reach the bank of the narrow river between the peaks.
Soon they arrived at the banks and saw something creeping up on the bank. It was an alligator, long and fierce. There were dozens of them along the bank.
‘We’re dead,’ said Nadir. But Najum was still holding himself up when he saw a wooden log big enough for the three of them to cross the river to the other side.
The sound of a dog barking was getting louder with time, it was as if the dogs were getting nearer to them.
Najum jumped onto the log and grabbed it firmly, he then shouted to his stepbrothers to follow suit. They were all drifting towards the other side of the bank by rowing with their hands. The dogs were numerous, and the alligators were all swimming towards the three, but lady luck favors the brave. The three of them reached the other side of the river safely.
In the moonlight, they walked away from the banks following a narrow path through the terrains of the peaks.
Juwani Mulkh: The ailing King and the Magical Apples.
