SHORT STORY: The Serpent

The Serpent

By: Aadel M Al-Mahdy

“God Gracious, have mercy on him!” the words came out of my mouth in staccato whisper while my fingernails cut through the skin of my palms. A pregnant woman held her distended abdomen in pain. An old man fell to the ground unconscious. A little girl hiding behind her mother shook like a dry leaf in the wind. People stood riveted, stunned by the scene; fear blanching their faces.

It was mid-day. The carded-cotton-like clouds moved slowly to the horizon, and burnt in the sun, the sugar cane leaves twisted into little cork screws. Tops of sparse palm trees looked like unkempt hair of an aged woman. At the top of a palm tree was a man; his eyes glazing and bulging, his dried-date tongue parting his swollen lips and his forehead beaded by glittering sweat. Around him coiled a dreadful serpent; its body massive and its head swinging violently. Its mouth opened to bare its fangs and forked tongue.

“God, look at its tail hitting the tree trunk!” breaking the silence, someone exclaimed. “I bet you, Hollywood cannot produce such a scene!” a man wearing an elegant suit interrupted. “The man is dying. Someone must do something to save him” an old woman begged the crowd.

Screams were heard, and a woman was seen stumbling down the road. “That’s Reem, Abu-Ismael’s wife. Stop her otherwise her screams will kill her husband. The serpent will be irritated” ” someone said. “Ignoramus, snakes have no eardrums” the elegantly dressed man whispered to himself. I glared at him while two men pulled the poor woman away and commanded her to be silent. “What are we going to do now” someone asked. The elegantly dressed man answered immediately, “I know what to do” ─ everybody looked at him, but he continued, looking into the desperate faces “I know someone living on the western bank of the river. He is a good shot. I am sure he will help”

"I would not recommend him. He is a bastard and would not care less unless he is getting a big portion of interest in his favor” a university student interjected. “Mind your language, young man! Haven’t you learned any manners at school” someone snapped angrily. But gripping firmly a history book under his arm, the student answered, “I have, and history as well”

“Calm down folks! There’s another alternative” a saddle-nosed man interrupted; his eyes and mustache looked Mongolian. People looked at him with pleading faces.

“I know of a man living on the eastern bank of the river. He would not claim much in return, and if you tell him that you are thinking of seeking help from the western bank dweller, he may do the job for next to nothing”

“I know him, too, and he is worse than the other one” the university student cried, but his voice was stifled by the sound of hooves clopping down the road.

Astride his beautifully saddled horse, the village mayor rode into view; his chief sentry running in his trail in a cloud of hooves’ stirred dust. A murmur rippled through the crowd.

“When did such a serpent come to the village?” the mayor asked, appraising the desperate situation carelessly. “Once upon a time, mayor” the university student said; his voice was sarcastic. The mayor glared at him, but the student continued, “It was smaller at the time. We fought it bear-handed, but we failed to kill it. We then cried out for help, but you did not respond. You were up to your ears absorbed into your own affairs”

“How dare you talk to the mayor like that?” the chief sentry said pushing the student on the shoulder. The crowd roared, and a huge man held the chief sentry firmly by the shoulder and yelled, “If you ever do that again, I’ll break your nick”

“Let me kill the bastard right now” someone pushed forward wielding his rod, but a white-bearded man intervened, “Calm down, folks! Arguing and fighting with each other never solved a problem. Does it matter now who is responsible? Right now all we have to do is unite, be of one heart, of one mind and think of a way out. Neither east nor west, or north or south is going to help us unless we help ourselves”

Some people moaned and some other shouted, but someone cried happily, “There he is someone from among us coming down the road” ─ All people turned eagerly to see a man heading to the scene. He wore a traditional garment, patched but clean. His nose was straight and sharp like the edge of a sword. Thick eyebrows shaded his grief-stricken eyes. His beard was as white as freshly blossomed cotton flowers. He was definitely old but still as strong and tall as a mast of a ship. “I heard of the incident, so I came to offer my help” he solemnly said.

“That’s Abdul-Aleem, a killer, blood-feud people use to hire” my friend whom I came to visit whispered into my ear. “But I heard he quit since cancer killed his only son” I whispered back. “That’s right” My friend said. “Save the man and I’ll give you any amount of money you ask, Abdul-Aleem” a rich man said. But Abdul-Aleem said, “I am not interested in your money. My bullet may miss and kill Abu-Ismael. Would you then claim for my blood?” The rich man said, “On behalf of everybody, I know you’ll do your maximum best. If you miss, we will then accept it as God’s will and God be my witness, no one will blame you”

Abdul-Aleem then asked for a rope which he wrapped around himself and the palm tree’s trunk that stood opposite to Abu-Ismael palm tree. Carrying his rifle on his shoulder, Abdul-Aleem climbed the tree until he reached a parallel point. He then took his gone off his shoulder and aimed.

The serpent hung its head in the air in front of Abu-Ismael’s face; its tongue frightfully appearing and disappearing, and then retreated with its mouth widely opened and its fangs totally erected. The serpent then swooped forward, but at that exact moment, Abdul-Aleem fired his gun. The headless reptilian body uncoiled and hit the ground. Someone climbed the tree and helped Abu-Ismael climb down the tree.

“Water, water” Abu-Ismael whispered as soon as he reached the ground. But soon after he had a few sips of water, his head dropped on his shoulder. Cries rippled through the crowd and Reem throw herself on her husband wailing.

Firmly squeezing my friend’s hand, I whispered to him, “God may have mercy on all of us! It is as if I haven’t come to visit you, but to walk in Abu-Ismael’s funeral”.

The End

SHORT STORY: The Shaytaan and Abdullah

The Shaytaan and Abdullah

By: Aadel M Al-Mahdy

         

Omar El-Sufi is a pious man in his mid-seventies; always neatly dressed and meticulously clean. Age may have snow-dusted his hair, but it has not debilitated his hulky corps or his mental abilities. He is a man loved by his students for his piety and his truthfulness that sometimes bluntly comes out.

“And you really want to see him”, El-Sufi asked Abdullah, one of his students, while combing his grey beard with his fingers.  “Yes, Master. I want to see him. I want to talk and reason with him” Abdullah answered. “But he is so ugly and monstrous. Won’t you be scared?” El-Sufi said, “No, I won’t” Abdullah answered, “But his mere sight will make your legs shake like a dry leaf in the wind, your body trembles like quacking land, your head spins like a ship in a mill-storm and your stomach throws up its contents like an erupting volcano. Do you still insist on seeing him?” El-Sufi asked.  “Yes, sir, I do, and the sooner the better” Abdullah answered. El-Sufi said, “By Him, the creator of him, you and I, once your eyes catch a glimpse of his terrible sight and your nose a whiff of his horrible stink, your soul will strongly wish for instant departure from your corps and your corps will shrivel and rot like an apple that has been stored away for months”. Abdullah then said,“Master, your exaggeration is not working. Take me to him, please! If I know where he lives...”  El-Sufi laughed and then said, “Oh that is not a secret. He lives so close to you. He always lives closer than one’s own jugglers are to his nick”. Abdullah pleaded, “Enough talking, Master and please, take me to him!” El-Sufi said, “I just do not want to bear the consequences of introducing you to each other and bear witness your flight” - “By God, I shall gallantly face him. Temptation is the animal I wish to slaughter and offer to the beasts of the wilderness” Abdullah confirmed. “Well, but when the test is conducted and reckoning established, you will either be a winner or a looser” El-Sufi said, but Abdullah said “Believe me master, I will be a winner, If the Almighty, God, will” - “And if you will, too. God will not change what has befallen people unless they themselves change” El-Sufi emphasized. “I am totally and absolutely willing to meet him and I will be totally responsible for whatever happen to me” Abdullah said. “It is he who is saying that, my son. It is he who desires your conference” El-Sufi said, but perplexed, Abdullah uttered no word. El-Sufi then put his sneakers on, dragged Abdullah by the hand and said, “Let us go! We have one Satan waiting”

They walked until they reached the western desert. Deep in the desert they reached a mound whereby its feet, a shepherd lad sat in the shadow drawing lines in the sand while his herd grazed close by under the watchful eyes of his black dog. Not afar from the shepherd, El-Sufi sat in the mound’s shadow and asked Abdullah to sit beside him. Exhausted, Abdullah, sat down, closed his eyes and tried not to think of the forthcoming events. El-Sufi asked Abdullah to keep his eyes closed but mentally roam the desert, its folds, its caves, its rocky nooks and crannies. 

At the mouth of a certain cave in Abdullah’s mind, El-Sufi  asked Abdullah to halt and then said to him, “Son, There is where you will go. That is Satan’s Abode. God knows what is best for you”.

 Abdullah entered the cave. 

Inside the cave, he found himself in a bare hall. He looked deeper, but the hall soon filled up with whirling winds loaded with dust that turned into an array of different colors heaving like water in the ocean. Suddenly a nasty smell joined all the colors,and slime was born. Smeared in slippery condensed and stinky dripping moisture, the most monstrous image of a creature appeared; a pear-like head, on top of which a ram-like curly horns sprouted on each side, a saddled-nose that ended in wide nose trills separated from an ugly rotten teeth-baring mouth by an upper split broad lip, blood-shot almond-like eyes with feline pupils that glowed like pieces of fire, and floppy ears like those of a jackass; all walked out of the gooey slime. His arms and legs were definitely strong. His split hooves were black like the rest of his hairy body and his tail looked like a slave driver’s. Abdullah heard El-Sufi’s voice coming from behind him, “Here is he whom you wanted to see. But beware of temptation as he is the master of illusion!”. Abdullah looked behind but saw nobody. When he looked forward again, he saw Satan standing in front of him with a cunning smile on his ugly face.

“So you wanted to see me. Are you not scared?” Satan’s words came out of his mouth like the slamming of steel against each other. Abdullah answered, “Why would I? You can’t hurt me. You are nothing but a filthy whisperer”. Satan said, “And whispering is where my power lies. I haven’t yet made you drink from its cup. It tastes sweeter than honey”. Smiling. Abdullah said, “No, I haven’t and I have no taste for your temptation. You are filth and filth begets nothing but filth” - “You are absolutely right, but somebody’s filth is somebody else’s treasure. It is only a matter of desire” said Satan. “I desire nothing from you” Abdullah said. Satan quickly asked, “Wasn’t it you who desired to see me? Ah, and you think you have known it all. Am I not the one who tempted humanity since the beginning?”. Abdullah answered, “You tempted but those who were sick at their hearts, not those who were pure” Satan said, mocking, “Pure like your grandparents, Adam and Eve, hah, who is pure in this materialistic world where therein lie its seeds of corruption? Do you consider yourself a pure man whose piety can move a mountain?”. .Said Abdullah, “In God, I seek refuge from you. In God, I pity those who have fallen into your snares. What did they see in you? In my eyes, you are abomination”. Satan laughed and then confirmed, “You are not far from the truth, Abdullah. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and in me, they behold the immediate fulfillment of their desires in this life, not in a life promised to come”. Abdullah spat on the floor, but Satan said, “Hold your horses! If you let your horse run wildly, you won’t reach your destination. We still have a lot to discuss. Tell me, Abdullah, what is your destination?”. Abdullah said emphasizing every word, ”Your destruction, your annihilation is my ultimate destination”. Satan then said, “But I am not destructible. I am your God’s nemesis” .-  “You are my God’s enemy” said Abdullah. Satan laughed and then said, “I am the opposite of the opposite. I am the night to the day and the dark to the light. I am the enlightened. I am Lucifer. I am the North Star. Without me, you will not be able to discern evil from good, hence, I am good since I make you discern. I am the guidance torch”

Looking Abdullah deeply in the face, Satan then continued, “Follow me! Be one of the multitudes who followed me since the beginning!”. Abdullah said, “That is utter nonsense! You are temptation. You are destructive but I also know you are destructible and I have the means just to end you” - “Ah, and what is that? I am frightened. I am shaking in my satanic skin” Satan said, mocking.  Abdullah shouted, “Faith is my weapon. Satan burst out laughing and then said, “Faith is the object for my temptation. Temptation is designed but for the faithful for as much as a doctor will not visit a healthy man, temptation is sickness that befalls the healthy since the sick is already ailing”. Abdullah said, “Those faithful you tempted were not faithful enough” but Satan asked him, “Are you faithful enough, Abdullah? You asked to see me, to reason with me. It takes strong faith to reason with Satan. You also seek for my destruction. Your faith must be very strong. I have to admit it. I do admire you”. Abdullah said, “Thank you NOT!”  Satan burst out laughing again and asked, “How old are you Abdullah? Forty? And you haven’t yet married! Am I right?” – “I am forty one, though it is none of your concern” said Abdullah. Satan then quickly said “Ha, what is none of my concern I make it my concern. But so young you are, Abdullah”. Abdullah asked, “What is your point?” Satan explained, “You are eligible, but you have not yet met your match. But again, who would match your piety. Tell me! If there is one who does, will you marry her?”  Abdullah answered, “Of course I’ll marry her”- “Yes why not! How stupid I am!" Satan said then added "Of course, a young woman who has not been touched by a mortal and willing to embark with her spouse on a journey of discovery of all sexual pleasures...” 

Biting on his lower lip and looking Abdullah in the eyes Satan went on describing and shape shifting into his description, “A woman whose face is like full moon so mysteriously radiant, her waist-length pitch black and thick hair is softer than Chinese silk; her beautifully wide emerald-like eyes are greener than meadow grass and pleasant like the sight of oases in the desert to a tired traveler; her eyebrows are sleeker than the sun’s brow when being born at daybreak; her nose is mightily strait like a sabre; her cherry-like lips are seductively kissable; and her mouth is sweet like honey dripping from a comb yearning to be squeezed; her breasts are soft to the touch, round and firm to the grip and her perking nipples atop them sweet grapes to eat”

Satan's voice became sweet, worm and hypnotic whispers. Abdullah’s eyes slightly closed and his legs shook. He felt as if the floor was slowly heaving underneath his feet. But Satan who never stopped his descriptive whispering, “Shyly looking outward, her perky nipples are; her waist is so thin, a contrast emphasizing the size and cemetery of her breasts and her hips; her bellybutton is round and deep and looks like a magical lake in her abdominal valley yearning to be navigated and the valley grazed; her round and firm hips wiggle when she walks; her rear-end hunches and protrudes seductively when she bends over; her full thighs are round like sand dunes; her neatly mowed luscious triangle between her thighs is bulging out and her gate underneath the gleaming triangle is a road to heavens, its door’s leaves that look like curled petals of unfolding rose are readily agape for the sultan to enter…and oh…”

A weird sensation ran through all Abdullah’s body, but before he could gather his thoughts and strength, he heard El-Sufi’s cynical voice, echoing, "You have already sinned Abdullah. Haven’t you?”A complete silence then followed. Abdullah opened his eyes and looked around. He saw nothing but the shepherd bending over him and nudging him on the shoulder, “Sir, wake up! The sun is already gone. Your friend asked me before he left to wake you up as soon as the sun was gone”. Abdullah said,“Thank you: and then asked, "When did he leave?”. The shepherd said, “Shortly after you both sat down in the shadow by the feet of the mound. It seemed that you were so tired and fell asleep”

Abdullah stood up, thanked the shepherd again and turned his face towards home, but before taking one single stride, he heard Al-Sufi’s voice echoing again, “Have I not told you, my son, you won’t win? And you have not yet met the real Satan, but the one that lies within”. Abdullah curiously asked the shepherd, “Did you hear that?”The shepherd wondered, “Hear what?". Abdullah said, “The voice, my friend’s voice”. The shepherd replied with a smile on his face and said, “No, I did not hear anything. Sir, the desert sometimes plays tricks on us”

Abdullahshrugged and walked away, but after a few steps he failed to resist a feeling to steal a last look at the mound. When he did, he saw nothing but the plain desert stretching for ever before his eyes; no mound, no shepherd, no herd and no dog. “Where did they go. Did the ground open up and swallow them all?” whispered Abdullah and then resumed his walking in a faster and frightened pace. 

By the time Abdullah was home, he was all sweaty and panting like a dog. A feeling of shame overwhelmed him.

The End

SHORT STORY: Anansi, the Slave-Driver

Anansi, the Slave-Driver/ Based on African mythology

By: Aadel M Al-Mahdy

Thu’banu, the celestial python, who is known for his wisdom and diligence in the discharge of his duties; the most important of which is holding the two halves of the celestial calabash together, has been given the title of God’s Chief Official.

On the other hand, Anansi, the celestial spider who is known for being intelligent, deceptive and a trickster has not been given any title although he was the one who had spun the web over the spatial gap for God to reach the Great Below. So being aware of his self-importance and worthiness, Anansi became very upset, and as he always did in perilous times, he left for the Milky Way’s holy river, where he sat on the divine contemplation rock by the sacred beach and after a long time of thinking, he realized that he had to come up with something that would impress God, and at the same time, dwarfs Thu’banu in God’s eye.

Next time when Anansi was in God’s presence, he started spinning his plan, “Almighty God, if you give me a corncob, I’ll give you in return as many slaves as is the number of corns on the cob you have given me” Anansi said. “How do you think you will be able to do that, Anansi” Thu’banu asked Anansi while mockingly laughing at the idea. “None of your concern wise one. The matter is between me and my maker” Anansi said. “Ok Anansi, I am sorry. Knock your self out. Just when you are done, don’t forget to report your success to me. Your glory must be mentioned in the Treasury of Wisdom’s records” Thu’banu said. “I bet you I will” Anansi challenged. Thu’banu said mocking him again, “Bet me, you have nothing to bet, Anansi”, but Anansi insisted, “I do have everything, Thu’banu. I have my honor and my word. Tell me, what do you have, long one, other than your title and your twice-talking split tongue?” - “I have more than that” said Thu’banu who failed to conceal his anger, but Anansi cunningly said, “Ok, let us keep it simple. I am betting my honor, my word and my success against your title”, and then calmly, but in a challenging tone of voice added, “What do you say, long one?” Thu’banu, totally unaware of falling into Anansi’s lair, said, “You got yourself a deal, Anansi”. 

Hearing their argument, God laughed and then said after giving Anansi a corncob, “Count the grains before you go, Anansi. I already know how many they are”.

Anansi set off immediately from heavens to earth where he stopped at the first village he encountered and requested a night’s lodging. The village chief immediately recognized him, as Anansi’s image, along with images of other celestial divinities depicted all over the walls of the village’s temple.

“It is a great honor to have God’s spider as a guest” the village chief said and offered Anansithe best room in his house and bid him good night. “Wait! This corncob belongs to God and must not be lost” Anansi commanded the chief, holding the corncob in his hand. The chief proudly said, pointing to a hiding place in the ceiling of the room, “I always had a hiding place for divinities. There it is, Anansi, Sir”. Given the corncob, the chief hid it in the ceiling.

In the middle of the night, while everybody was fast asleep, Anansi awoke and gave the entire cob’s corn to the fowls. The next day, in the morning, Anansi demanded his cob, but of course it was gone. “I am holding you responsible for the loss of the divine cob. Now, you have got to do something to appease God and atone for your sin” said Anansi angrily. The chief apologized, “I am sorry, Anansi, Sir. This never happened before. It must be the baboons. They have been causing us troubles lately” - “Say that to God next time you go to the temple. But right now I can not return to heavens empty-handed” said Anansi firmly. The chief said, “We will definitely not let you do that, Sir”. The chief gave Anansi a whole basket of corn to pacify the situation.

Anansi continued his journey, and after a while, he became tired, so he sat down by the roadside. Along came a man with a chicken in his hand. Anansi asked the man how he was. The man answered that he was fine but then asked if he knew him. “You must know me. I am Anansi” answered Anansi. The man wondered, “Anansi!”, and then after a pause shouted, “Aaah, Anansi, God’s spider. How are you, Sir?” Anansi then asked him, “What do you intend to do with this chicken?” The man answered, “Kill it and eat it with my family, Sir” Anansi thought for a while and then said, “By the looks of it, I believe it is good for one meal only”. The man answered affirmatively. Back and forth the conversation went on until Anansi persuaded the man to give him the chicken in exchange of the corn basket. The man accepted saying, “Thank you, Sir! This corn is enough to feed us until the end of the month. My wife will be happy”, and then wished Anansi a safe journey after advising him to look out for the hyenas ahead of him.

When Anansi reached the next village, he introduced himself as God’s spider and that he was on a sacred mission and asked for a night’s lodging. The chief immediately accommodated him. Anansi, then asked him for a safe place to keep the fowl since it belonged to God and must not be lost or harmed. The chief put the fowl in the fowl-house.

In the middle of the night when everybody was fast asleep, Anansi awoke, killed the fowl and daubed its blood and feather on the chief’s door, and at dawn made a big cry, “The bird is gone. It is gone, and I am going to lose my position as God’s captain”. Everybody started looking and suddenly Anansi said, pointing to the blood and feather on the chief’s door, “Look at that!” and then added with a hint of threatening, “That feather looks familiar”. The chief, who knew that he drank a little too much yesterday, begged Anansi for forgiveness and gave him ten sheep to calm his anger.

While Anansi was resting on the way grazing the sheep, there came along some people carrying a corps. Anansi asked them whose corps that was. The people replied that it belonged to a young man who died far away from his village and that they were taking the body back to the boy’s family. “You’re a very lucky bunch. I am going into that direction, too, and I know the village. I am God’s spider, by the way” Anansi said. The people shouted in one voice, “Are you Anansi?” ─ “Yes, yes” Anansi answered affirmatively and offered to take the dead body, if they would free him from the sheep. The people were glad to take the sheep and spare themselves the peril of walking all the way to the village carrying the dead body on their shoulders. After all, they said to themselves that they have given the body to God’s spider.

In the next village, Anansi said to its chief, “This is the favorite son of God. He is asleep and needs a place to rest in”. The chief prepared the best room in the house for the son of God, and after they ate, drank and sang, they all went to bed. In the morning, Anansi saw some of the chief’s children, so he asked them, “Children, could you do me a favor?” - “Anything for God’s spider” the children said. Anansi said, “Thanks! Can you awake God’s son. And remember he is a heavy sleeper. You can flog him if you have to. Just wake him up”. The children did but the son of God did not awake. So the children told Anansi who immediately went to the room and uncovered the body, but then cried that the children have killed God’s son.  There was a great wailing among the people as they were terrified of God’s wrath and revenge.

At night, Anansi called for a conference and told the chief and the temple chief priest that he would have to report the matter to God and that he had already designed a plan to appease God, but they would have to give him one hundred twenty young man to witness that they, the people of the village, not him, Anansi, were responsible for the death of God’s son. The chief, the priest and the people were pleased and gladly agreed to Anansi’s suggestion.

In God’s presence, Anansi announced proudly in front of Thu’banu, “Here they are, Almighty One. The slaves I promised you in lieu of the number of the corns on the cob you have given me”. Disbelieving his eyes, Thu’banu started counting the young men, but God said while His laughter traveled so fast in every dimension of the cosmos, “Stop counting, Thu’banu! I already know how many they are” ─ “One hundred twenty slaves” announced Anansi triumphantly and then rubbing it in Thu’banu’s nose, he advised Thu’banu not to forget to enter the number in the books of wisdom.

God then announced Anansi to be his Official Officer. But ashamed, wise Thu’banu ceased flecking his tongue and dropped his head; lips sealed. He never dared challenge Anansi again.

The End

SHORT STORY: Anansi, the African Spider

Anansi, the African Spider/ based on African mythology

By: Aadel M Al-Mahdy

Majestically doming above them, the pitch-black, starry sky looked dignified. The sporadic African trees, though so low for having been stunned by the heat of the days’ blazing sun, looked like ghosts on guard to protect the jungle’s night from the worst animal of all; man, who kills for pleasure. A couple of jackals stood at a distance; their eyes’ shining not eclipsed by the glow of the camp fire. But they soon whinnied and departed. The people around the fire; Kumbo and his British friend were all ears listening to the story being narrated by wise Kawanga, the elder of the bushman tribe.

Thu’banu ─ Narrated wise Kawanga ─ was known among the celestial realm for his strength and wisdom which made God choose him to hold together the two halves of the cosmic calabash and also entrusted him with the key to the Treasury of Divine Wisdom where the Tablets of Destinies were kept. But one day, while muscular Thu’banu’s cylindrical body coiled tightly around the cosmic calabash lest its two halves fall apart and thus converged eternity of earth and heaven would be breached, Thu’banu said to Anansi,  whose legs were bending and unbending causing his furry chest to brush the floor, hence stirring celestial floor dust that floated and glittered in the endless space, “So, Anansi, you want me to reveal to you the secret knowledge of the universe” Anansi begged him, “Yes, Please. I’ll be in your debt for ever”. Thu’banu thought for a while and then said in a very stern voice, “But, I can’t, Anansi”. Anansi asked with a hint of impatience, “Why?”.  Thu’banu said, “Lest you lay it bare to the impure eye of the reckless” Anansi quickly promised, “I won’t divulge the secret to anybody. Trust me!” Thu’banu said, “I can’t risk evoking God’s fury”. Anansi said in a way that mad Thu’banu shouts emphasizing every syllable of his say by moving his tale faster in divine circles, “How would He know?” ─ “What! He is God, the One and the Supreme. Of course He will know. Nothing can be hidden from Him”. Known for his intelligence and trickery and for getting what he wanted, Anansi then said, pretending not to be interested in the subject anymore, “Oh, yes, that is right, sorry!”, and then to distract Thu’banu, he added, “What a beautiful body you have! Just keep it wrapped around the calabash and everything will be fine. Woof, I guess I have to go home to get some sleep”

Thu’banu smiled and Anansi turned around to leave, but hesitated for a while. Thu’banu then asked him what the matter. Anansi turned back to face him and innocently and in a very casual tone of voice asked him, “Oh, haven’t I told you anything about the new girl, Hisser?”.
Thu’banu said, “No. You haven’t. Who is she?”. Anansi quickly said, “She is the new dancer in the celestial tavern. Oh, my friend, what a reptilian she is! Her looks, oh...ah…eh…ooh”, and then after a short period of hesitation, he added, “For Heavens sake, why am I telling you this? I should go”

Having spun the first string of his deceptive web, Anansi then pretended to leave. Thu’banu stopped him, desiring for more information. Anansi casually smiled and said, “Well, what to say but, oh, her eyes are gorgeous; her body is so tight and flawlessly round and her skin, oh, words will fall short of describing a glimpse of it.”. Anansi then had a teasing pause, but Thu’banu, who has already stepped beyond the borders of interest and became anchored in the land of curiosity, flecked his tongue nervously. Anansi knew that soon he would be able to drag Thu’banu into his lair, if he waited for the right moment. So enthusiastically he deceptively continued accentuating his words, “And when she dances, she wiggles and gyrates, twists and curls and undulates, heaves and falls and, oh, her feminine essence hits the clients and seeps through to mix with their drinks; to sweetly caress their taste buds, ah, you should see her when she dancingly intertwines with the clients on the floor, swaying them and letting them enjoy a journey of divine pleasure”

Thu’banu shouted, overcome by a ripple of slight muscular convulsion all over his cylindrical body, “Stop, Stop, Stop, my friend! You’re killing me” Anansi asked, pretending not to understand, “Am I? How?” Thu’banu agonized, “Don’t you know I can’t go to the tavern, I can’t leave my post” Anansi flatly, though pretending to be sorry, said after a short pause, “Ah, the universe, the calabash will collapse if you uncoil your body…but, but, I believe there is a way, after all. It has just hit me”.  Thu’banu, though he failed to conceal his eagerness, commanded, “What? Tell me!”

Stepping a couple of paces back, Anansi said, “No! Things may turn out ugly and I’ll be the one to blame and hang” Thu’banu said; his voice shaking, “I will never blame you, my friend” Anansi then said, “The solution is deceitfully simple. I wonder why you never thought of it” ─ “What is it? Stop torturing me!”, said Thu’banu impatiently hissing loudly, baring his teeth and flecking his tongue. Anansithen said in a calm tone of voice, “Well, I know, you can shed your skin on demand for as many times as you want. Can’t you?” - “Yes I can. So what!” said Thu’banu; his head hanging close to Anansi’s face. “You still can’t see it, can you?” said Anansi; his voice showing sympathy. impatiently Thu’banu said, “See what?”. Anansi solemnly said while scratching his spinnerets, “Ah, I understand why you can’t see it. My friend, your sense of responsibility is so strong and your diligence in carrying those responsibilities out is so unprecedented, thus and therefore your wise mental eyes can not see the solution though it is so obvious”. “I am totally lost. Please, what are you trying to say, Anansi?” said Thu’banu. “What am I trying to say?” Anansi whispered, “What I am trying to say is, if you shed as many as you can of this strong skin of yours and wrap it around the calabash, it will hold it together while you are away enjoying the company of Hisser” Ananis added. “Oh my God, why didn’t I think of this before?” hissed Thu’banu in astonishment, but Anansi quickly assured him, “My friend, the discharge of our duties can, sometimes, take us away from what we love, especially when such a discharge is so overwhelming”  Thu’banu confirmed, “You are absolutely right, my friend”

In the celestial tavern Thu’banu and Anansi were sitting to the table closest to the dance floor. Thu’banu has already had a few glasses of wine, the best nectar around, and his tongue became slightly twisted. Amongst echoing cheers, Hisser, coming to the dance floor, caught sight of Thu’banu whose widely opened eyes were gazing at her. Hisser  took a few short steps towards him and then stopped... smiled and seductively retreated, and then her body started to move gently like plasma waves did in the cosmic ocean. She then rushed towards him and they both went back and forth feverishly on the floor while intertwined and then collapsed and rolled on the floor, then rose up to spin themselves on the tips of their tails. Everybody cheered feverishly, Anansi’s face illuminated with a broad smile expressive of the near fruition of his scheme, and thenwhispered to himself, “Either he tells me the secret knowledge, or I’ll steal the key of the Treasury of Wisdom and read the Tablets of Destiny”

Before the celestial rooster cried announcing the advent of the celestial dawn, sleepy Thu’banu, dragging his massive coils on his way back, asked anansi if they could rest for a while on a nearby nebula. Anansi agreed. Thu’banu threw his massive coils all over the constellation unaware that he dropped the divine key of the Treasury of Wisdom. Anansi quickly hid the key under one of his spinnerets and crawled away; his destination the Treasury of Wisdom.

Thumbing through the Tablets of Destiny, Anansi heard a little screeching sound. He wondered what it was. A little while later, he heard the same sound again; weak at the beginning, but then it became louder. Anansi became curious and decided to find out for himself what was happening. So he went to put the tablet back on the shelf and just before he closed the record, his eyes caught sight of a few lines at the bottom of the page, “The tearing of Thu’banu’s shedding sounded like thunder. God and the whole celestial realm awoke and although the universe did not collapse, it was breached”

God was angry and decided to punish Thu’banu and Anansi. He threw Thu’banu along with a few suns and a handful of stars and planets into the gash caused by the breach. Thu’banu’s white fat melted and filled up the wound, hence it glued its two edges together. It took aeons for the wound to heal.

“So what you see right now up there in the sky is Thu’banu’s melted body. Thus, Thu’banu is still holding the universal calabash together, but from his death abode” said Kawanga, pointing to the sky, “As for Anansi, whose size was enormous and voice a thunder, God shrank him and kicked him out of heavens. Though shrunken, Anansi can still talk, but nobody can hear him. He is therefore abashed and hides himself from people and can only be seen in huts’ corners, trees’ branches and deserted places feeding on house flies, mosquitoes and other small insects”

Kawanga concluded his narration by looking at the sky for a while and then left as it was already beyond his sleeping time. The uncountable stars dotting the Milky Way that stretched across the canopy made it look like a healed wound in the fabric of the universe. 

A small smile crept on the lips of Kumbo’s friend and then slowly turned into a big one. Kungo then asked him, ““Why are you smiling? Did you like the myth?” Solemnly, his friend said, pointing to the Milky Way, “I am smiling because it really looks like one of those big scars sustained after a major surgery. Isn’t that right?”. Kumbo laughed and then laughed louder because he saw an Anansi shyly crawling by.

The End

SHORT STORY: African Genesis/ based on African mythology

African Genesis/ based on African mythology

By: Aadel M Al-Mahdy

“It’s going to be a good night” Kumbo, who is an African postgraduate of Zembaba University, said while lying in front of the tent pitched by his British friend and he in proximity of his bushman village. Sipping on his drink, his friend answered, “I hope so. It has been unbearably hot during the day”

Fascinated by the stories he heard in his childhood from his grandparents, Kumbo loved every African myth he laid his hands on, and because of the young awareness of African mythology by other contemporary cultures, he decided to collect the oral legacy retained in the hearts and minds of his own people for generations, while it is still untainted and still in its original form; a great task requiring the assistance of a friend.

“Do you remember the mountain caves by the ocean?” Kumbo asked. “The ones we visited two days ago!”, his friend wondered. Kumbo answered affirmatively. His friend then asked him, “What about them...Aren't they fascinating and defying modern schools of art?”

 "Oh, definitely they are" Kumbo answered and then added, “Blackness of tonight’s sky; the stars’ brilliance and the way in which the Milky Way stretched across the canopy reminds me with a night I spent in one of the caves with wise Kawanga”. His friend asked, wondering, “Kawanga! Who is wise Kawanga?” Kumbo answered, “The eldest of my tribe whom we will interview tomorrow”. His friend asked; his voice shrouded with seriousness, “What happened?”. Kumbo said, “One day, my grandfather, wise Kawanga, and I were out hunting for game but the darkness of the night sneaked upon us. So we sought shelter in one of the caves. Inside, the light of the torch held by Kawanga unveiled wall paintings. I asked my grandfather to look at them. My grandfather asked me if I meant the the paintings of people and animals. I answered affirmatively and said that I could not recognize some of the animals and asked what were these paintings. Kawanga said they were very old paintings. Realizing how beautiful they were, I asked him again who painted them. He did not have any idea.

When I lay in bed I saw an opening in the cave ceiling, and through its limited size, I saw many brilliant stars. My mind roamed and my soul flew through the ceiling hole in attempt to ascend to heavens the genesis of which wise Kawanga told me that night. “What did he tell you” Kumbo’s friend asked when Kumbo paused for a while. “But I can’t tell you now” Kumbo said, laughing, “You will have to wait until you hear it first hand tomorrow from wise Kawanga”. Kumbo’s friend said with an edgy tone of voice, “I can’t wait, my friend!" and then after a short pause, he emphatically added,  "You have already rattled the boat of my curiosity” . Kumbo laughed and then said, “Keep your boat steady and sail ahead in the ocean of time until we hit the island of tomorrow!” 

Next day, a while before sunset, Kumbo and his friend sat on the ground in the open in front of wise Kawanga who was in his early eighties, physically feeble, but still sharp-minded.

 

At the beginning ─ narrated toothless wise Kawanga ─ the universe was a great void; nothingness, darkness and absolute silence, But the self-existent creator who came out of the womb of nothingness looked at  the Great Above and saw that it should be illuminated. So he created pebbles of clay, fashioned them as stars, suns and moons and then flung them into the void where they scattered and floated on the void's substance. And by His will the celestial bodies stayed in suspense giving light and guidance. After that, the creator desired to visit the Great Below. The half-calabash of the Great Above and the half-calabash of the Great Below were divided by a wide spatial gap. So God created Anansi, the celestial spider to spin a web over the spatial gap. By means of such a web, God reached the Great Below.

In the Great Below, everything was marshy and watery. So God decided to create solid ground. He took some of the loose earth stored in his giant snail’s shell and poured it on the marshy area and then created the divine pigeon and the five-toe hen and let them scratch and spread the earth.

On his second visit, God hoarded part of the water by creating embankments and dykes to control it. Thus He created the rivers. The rest of the water became the big seas and lakes. He then looked and everything seemed good in His eyes. So he created many other things like trees, plants and animals. He looked again and everything seemed good in His eyes, but he noticed that the Earth became heavier, due to the increased mass added by His creation, and started to sink. So he created Thu’banu, the mighty python. Wise and mighty  Thu’banu carried the Earth in one of his curls and then wrapped himself around the two halves of the calabash; the earth below and the heavens above, and held them together. As a reward for his wisdom, God entrusted Thu-banu with the key to the treasury of wisdom where the tablets of the divine knowledge were kept. 

 God looked again and everything was good in His eyes. God then created Abi'du to worship him and appreciate his creation. He supplied them with wheat and barley, onion and garlic, Maize, flax and many kinds of fruits, and asked them to intimately know each other; male and female, multiply and spread around, gather and hunt and fill the earth with their offspring.

When wise Kawanga finished his narration, he smiled and then rose up and left; his body’s internal clock, the external solar clock and the good smell of African spicy food being cooked told him that dinner was about to be served.After Kawanga’s departure, Kumbo pointed to a little stripped and beautifully colored lizard running by and said to his friend, “Do you see that lizard running over there?”. his friend nodded, “It is beautiful” .Kumbo said, his mouth wearing a smile, “I heard this type of lizards have a divine task”.  His friend wondered, saying, “Is that right?” Kumbo said, “I remember when I was young my mother always yelled at me whenever I killed one” Kumbo’s friend inquired, “And what divine task is that?” Kumbo answered, “My mother told me that this particular family of lizards carried the key to heavens in their colorful stripes and if I killed any of them, I won’t be able to enter heavens”. Kumbo’s friend then answered with a bit of sarcasm, “But I heard such a key was given only to those who were faithful” Kumbo wondered,  “Really!” Kumbo’s friend emphasized, “That is what my mother told me” Kumbo then asked with a mischevious smile on his lips, “And you believed her. Did not you?”. After a short pause, Kumbo’s friend answered while scratching his chin, “Why not, my friend. If the cosmos is a split gigantic calabash held together by a snake, then definitely a tiny lizard can carry the key to heavens”. Kumbo, then, burst out laughing all heartedly. 

The End