Princess Sultana's Circle (31 page)

Words failed the men. They
were struck dumb at Faten’s outrageous gesture of contempt. My
blood ran cold at her curse, but I was dignified and silent as I
leaned forward and brushed the sand from my head and veil. Let
Faten appear the villain.

With great satisfaction,
one of the older Bedouin women explained to Sheik Fahd that his new
bride had physically assaulted his guests.

“
Sultana!” Kareem rushed
toward me. “Were you harmed?”

The Sheik sprinted after
Faten, who was now running away. We heard him shouting, “You stupid
woman! You dishonor my tent!”

Faten was sure to get a
good thrashing by her husband, but here was a woman who deserved a
beating, I reasoned.

Nura urged our men to take
us away from what was, for us, a primitive and frightening place,
and they quickly complied.

When everyone heard the
full story, I was praised as a heroine. Sara is the most beloved
member of our entire family, and even Kareem understood that I had
no option but to defend her. Asad was so shaken at the thought that
a crazed Bedouin woman would have attacked his beloved, that he
told Sara he was going to buy me the most expensive piece of
jewelry available in Riyadh, as a gift of thanks. Even Ali looked
upon my act with great pride, and told everyone that would listen
that he was the one who had taught me my fighting skills, which I
had to agree was true. For the next few days, talk of my victorious
fight with Faten kept our camp in a high state of
excitement.

When Sheik Fahd offered an
apology in the form of ten female Batiniyah camels, we knew that
Faten’s behavior was indeed a source of great shame to that proud
Bedouin chief. Batiniyah camels are from Oman, and are considered
one of the best species of camels. The ten camels were of high
quality, for they all had small heads, wide foreheads, large eyes,
small nostrils, and long ears.

A Bedouin tribe’s wealth is
measured by the size and quality of its camel herd, and ten
Batiniyah camels are extremely costly. Suspecting that they
represented the best of Sheik Fahd’s herd, Kareem did not wish to
accept this expensive gift. Still, he could not decline, for his
refusal would have offended Sheik Fahd deeply. So, the Batiniyah
beauties joined our own herd.

After such a melodrama, we
attempted to enjoy the remaining days of our desert trip with more
quiet pursuits.

Chapter
Seventeen

Buried While Still
Alive

Several mornings before we
were to return to Riyadh, I was rudely awakened by Maha.

“
Mother,”
she screamed, “come
quickly. Uncle Ali is dying.”

Groggy from sleep, I
questioned, “What are you saying, child?”

“
Uncle Ali has been bitten
by a poisonous snake! By now, he has drawn his last
breath!”

“
Allah! No!”

My maid stood by with one
of my full cotton dresses, which she flung over my nightgown. I
slipped into a spare pair of Kareem’s sandals that were at the
doorway of the tent, and I ran with Maha to Ali’s tent.

A large crowd of our
servants and employees had gathered outside the tent. As Maha and I
worked our way through the crowd, I overheard their excited talk.
One of the Filipinos was saying, “He was walking only a few steps
from the camp, when out of nowhere, a huge snake appeared and bit
him on the hand!”

“
Those snakes can fly like
a bird,” one of our Egyptian employees claimed
excitedly.

Another Sudanese man
reported, “Even a big man cannot survive the bite of the
yaym!”

With those words I groaned.
The yaym! If not already dead, Ali was sure to die! I knew that the
venom of that snake was more deadly than the strongest poison! The
yaym, of the cobra family, is one of three venomous species in
Arabia, and the rarest. Since it is seldom seen, there are few
accounts of its causing a death.

Although my brother has
made it easy for me to dislike and, at times, even hate him, I have
never wished him dead. But I have always had strong desire for Ali
to change his evil ways. Should Ali die on this day, he would die a
wicked sinner. Such a thought was disturbing to my mind, for I knew
that this would greatly sadden my Mother’s spirit.

When I tore through the
opening in the tent, my body sagged at the sight that greeted me.
Ali was lying motionless on a mattress on the floor, surrounded by
his wives, who seemed to be already in mourning. He is dead, I
thought, as I gave a tortured scream.

Kareem rushed to my side.
“Sultana!”

I leaned against Kareem’s
broad chest and began to weep.

“
Sultana, Ali has been
asking for you,” Kareem told me.

“
He is still with the
living?” I asked in amazement.

“
He is—but you must be
brave. It seems his time has come.”

I looked around the room
and saw that the crisis had spurred our family into a frenzy of
activity. Nura, Sara, and Haifa were busy chopping the leaves of
the ramram plant. Once ground, this substance would be made into a
tea, which Bedouins routinely use as an antidote for the poison of
venomous snakes. Yet, I knew that if Allah had determined this
particular day for Ali’s passing, nothing my sisters could do would
change his fate. All Muslims believe that each person’s fate is
determined at the beginning of time, and that no mortal man has the
capability to change or interfere with God’s plan.

Ali cried out, “Oh Allah,
save me, I beg you!”

Kareem led me to my
brother’s side. My heart seemed to plunge when I saw that Ali was
sweating profusely, and that his lips had turned blue. Indeed, it
appeared that my brother had only moments left to live.

Ali’s wives moved aside,
and so I knelt down by Ali’s side.

“
Ali,” I whispered. “It is
your sister, Sultana.”

At first, there was no
response. Instead, Ali struggled to breathe.

I squeezed his cold
hands.

My brother turned his head
and opened his eyes, looking directly into my face. His own
expression was one of great sorrow. “Sultana?”

“
Yes?” I braced myself for
an emotional moment. Surely, Ali was now going to apologize for his
life’s unsavory deeds. How could he die without first
acknowledging, and then expressing regret for the enormous pain he
had caused me, and other women?

Just then, Nura came
rushing to Ali’s side. “Here,” she said in an urgent tone, “Ali,
open your mouth and swallow this.” Nura was holding a cup of the
tea made from the ramram plant. She held the cup to Ali’s
lips.

As Ali drank the tea, Nura
whispered to him consolingly, telling him that he must try very
hard to live.

“
Yes, I will try, Nura.”
Ali said determinedly. “I will try.”

I, too, hoped that Ali
would not die. Possibly such a fright would make him become a
better father and husband, I reasoned.

I waited at Ali’s side.
After a short time, he looked directly at me. He whispered,
“Sultana, is it you?”

“
Yes, Ali.”

“
Sultana, for sure, I will
be dead within moments.”

I sighed deeply, not
wanting to argue with his words, should Ali’s death on this day be
God’s will. But when I looked closely at him, I saw that his lips
were not quite as blue as before. Perhaps the antidote was
working.

Ali waited to see if I had
anything else to say. When I remained silent, he spoke once more.
“Sultana. Since I am on the way to the grave, I thought perhaps you
might have something important to say to me.”

Confused, I sputtered,
“Well, Ali, I wish Allah’s kindness and blessings on
you.”

“
Oh?” Ali’s face fell in
disappointment.

What did my brother want
from me?

Haltingly, Ali spoke once
more. “Sultana, I thought perhaps you would wish to apologize to
me.”

In my surprise, my voice
rose higher than I intended. “Apologize?”

Ali looked positively
stricken at my response, yet by the sound of his voice, I could
tell that he was gaining strength. “Yes,” he said, “Sultana, you
should apologize for your wicked behavior. You have tormented me
for all of my life.”

So! Ali’s renewed strength
had brought back his arrogance! I was so shocked at this unexpected
turn that I began to stammer once again, “I have nothing to
apologize about, Ali! In truth, I was waiting to hear your
apology!”

Ali gave me a long, stony
look. Finally, he whispered, “I have done no harm. I have been an
excellent father to my children, a good husband to my wives, an
obedient son to my father, and a supportive brother to my sisters.
What is there to apologize for?”

I could only stare at my
brother in despair. Did he truly believe the words he spoke? I
quickly decided that my brother was actually helpless when it came
to recognizing his own evil! Quite simply, Ali did not have the
capacity to think like a normal human being. Ali truly believed
that it was I who was the wicked sinner!

At that moment, I had to
curb my tongue or I would curse Ali. Although driven by a fierce
passion, I did not wish to be haunted by deep regrets. And, regret
it I would, if my brother died with my curses ringing in his
ears.

Still, it was difficult to
hold back every word. I released my hand from Ali’s hand and then
patted his face. “May Allah give you the two greatest blessings,
Ali.”

Ali smiled, “Thank you,
Sultana.” He then frowned slightly, “What two blessings do you wish
me?”

I smiled back, “I pray for
Allah to crown you with good health, but most importantly, Ali, I
pray for Allah to provide you with self aware- ness of your
wickedness.”

Ali’s jaw slackened in
surprise.

I then left his side
without waiting for his response. For the first time in my life, my
brother’s thoughts and behavior no longer held sway over me. The
strong chain of hate linking us had been forever severed. I no
longer hated Ali, indeed, I felt a rush of sympathy for
him.

With other members of my
family, I waited in Ali’s tent to see what the day might bring. We
watched as Ali thrashed and moaned, calling out for a quick
delivery from his pain. There were moments we believed that he
would die any minute, and other times when it appeared that he
would live to see another sunrise.

The snake that had bitten
Ali was cornered and captured by several of our employees. The
happy discovery was made that the snake was not after all a yaym,
as feared, but a hayyah, or sand viper. The hayyah is poisonous,
too, but its venom is not nearly as deadly as that of the yaym.
Most who are bitten by the hayyah do survive, although the
experience is frightening and painful.

Everyone rejoiced in the
knowledge that Ali, once given up as dead, would survive. Asad
comforted Ali with the news, then said, “Thanks be to God, Ali, for
your sisters who prepared the antidote.”

That was true, the antidote
had obviously diminished Ali’s pain and quickened his recovery. But
with cool indifference, Ali dismissed his sisters’
efforts.

“
No, Asad,” he said, “it
was just not my time. Remember the wise saying that until my day
comes, no one can harm me, when my day comes, no one can save me.”
Ali smiled. “My sisters had nothing to do with the ending of this
day.”

Even Ali’s wives exchanged
incredulous looks at these words. Still, in view of his near death,
his family was in a charitable mood, and no one reprimanded
him.

Before leaving his tent,
each of us filed by Ali’s bedside and wished him a speedy recovery.
When it was my turn, he looked at me and sneered. “Ah, Sultana, I
knew that God would not take such a man as me from this beautiful
world while leaving such a sinner as you to enjoy his
blessings.”

I smiled sadly at Ali. And,
although he and I embraced, I understood that in my brother’s eye,
he and I remained enemies.

With Kareem by my side, I
returned exhausted to our own tent. Kareem slept easily all through
the night, but my sleep was not so peaceful. Mother returned to me
in the night, in the form of endless dreams. She kept repeating the
same message: that my earthly life was not bringing me the
happiness and fulfillment that was attainable. I did not awaken
until the sound of the early morning prayers drifted into our
tent.

My dreams had been so real
that the years in between Mother’s death and the present time had
vanished. And so, I looked expectantly around the room, fully
believing that my Mother would be there, in the flesh, waiting with
soft words to ease her youngest child into another day.

Then I remembered that
Mother had been dead for more years that I had even known her. I
was only sixteen years old when she died, and I had now lived
twenty-four long years without a mother’s embrace. That thought so
depressed me that I rose from bed, dressed quickly, and left the
tent without telling anyone where I was going.