20.
boom,
the earth shook
boom,
the earth shook again
boom,
the earth shook again
and yet again
the entire camp was in a state of fear
unsure of what these portents beheld
until
the summit of the hill was occupied
by a massive army
the front line composed of huge men
following soldiers playing large kettle drums
the rhythm of aggression continued
as the shaking of the earth ceased for now
there they stood
a crescent moon of impending doom
that stretched back as far as the eye could see
if the men of layla’s clan
could have seen this from the valley
they might have swallowed their pride
and restrained their courage
to spare unnecessary death within inevitable defeat
but they could only see the brim of this cup
blinded to the reach of its depths
in their ignorance,
they screamed in fury
rushing to gather arms and fellow fighters
nawfal watched from the center of the crescent
sending forth a messenger
to reiterate his demand for layla
a mere formality
for the coming bloodbath
one of the sultaans riding beside nawfal asked
“have you assembled this ocean of an army
for this puny puddle
my army alone would have been enough
to smash the water out of this shallow pit”
“i doubt not your words
but certain victories are worth
being more than assured of
for with this victory
i have already won many more battles to come
without having to withdraw my sword”
as nawfal and the sultaan smiled
the messenger approached the camp
but before he could even begin to dismount
a man from layla’s clan charged at him,
swinging his sword
the messenger quickly retreated
but with that
the hostilities began
nawfal yelled aloud
with an echo that filled the valley
“attack!”
the steady rhythm of the drums
became drowned in a tirade of charging soldiers
soaking the valley with a rain of attacking strikes
coming down hard
the drummers held the line of the hill
as nawfal led the assault
a flood of men on foot surging as an unending flow
toward the small damn of defense
emerging from the camp
before any contact was made
the prospects for defense seemed minimal
the earth shook again with a deafening din
the fighting commenced to be fierce and intense
the surging water swelled against the bending damn
the pressure building as an unending ebb
it quickly became evident
the bulging damn would not suffice
it was already breaking in small ways
that foretold a final big collapse
yet layla’s clan fought on with pride
even if the cost of their bravery was
complete demise
there’s something about skilled warriors
fighting a battle they know they will win
and nawfal led the way
leveling a path of broken twigs
as he penetrated the core of the damn
not even layla’s uncle,
who charged with the force of his whole soul,
could survive a single swing of the
destroyer’s sword
his spilt blood contributing to painting the
valley soil red again
this time with the hue of complete domination
it didn’t take long before the battle became
a massacre
the damn collapsed
with even the structure falling
to the flooding water
* * *
nawfal stood over a corpse by the camp’s edge
as if the cocoon of war’s fate
unraveled from the tip of his bloody sword
he surveyed the survivors standing before him
morning wives transformed into afternoon widows
mothers made childless, sisters now without brothers
sons and daughters rendered to bastards
a clan once strong with men
now reduced to a collection of mostly women
and children
their resistance now winnowed
to a few cursing women
and angry kids throwing rocks
the elders,
wishing not the extinguishment of these
scattered embers
grabbed the furious survivors
and pushed them back into the camp
then these very same elders
fell to their knees upon the bloodied soil
sprinkled the red-tainted sand
upon their aged heads
and crawled toward the victor
on their hands and knees
with bent necks
crying for allaah’s mercy
pleading
that the hand of the conqueror
in kindness, stay itself
from completely annihilating the clan
the senior-most elder reached nawfal’s feet first
his blood-stained hands touching nawfal’s boots
a dirge of tears fell upon the weathered leather
as the old man looked up with defeated pride to say,
“lord, victory is yours
this cannot be disputed
in the remains of our defeat
we plead for mercy and justice
the spoils of war are yours to take
we beg for the peace of survival
spare our innocent women and children
and please forgive those
who threw rocks in despair
what little is left of our men
please spare them too
refuse not the compassion
that will allow us
the chance to survive as a clan
“our weapons we have thrust into the sand
even our shields we drop
there is nothing more to defend us from you
we pray to be delivered from
the hardship of more death or captive bondage
completely defenseless,
we beg for your pity”
the elder then fell again at nawfal’s feet
his body heaving heavy with wails of grief
nawfal was touched
although he came with the intention
of burning the camp to ashes
he relented and said aloud,
“i will leave you as you presently are
if only you bring me layla now”
these words drew forth
a man from the camp’s edge
he walked as someone broken to the core
he knelt beside the senior elder
placed his head in the soil
and then looked up at the conqueror
speaking humbly with flowing tears
“great lord of our time
i bow before you as a soul wretched
it is for the sake of my paternal honor
that this carnage occurred
these battles have become badges of my shame
as i am now in the same predicament i was
before the bloodshed began
with the additional burden
of so many dead and maimed
i cannot help but question
was my resistance worth it
“i can only beg now before your bloody sword
for you to somehow leave my daughter in my care
or if you will murder her,
dismember her or burn her flesh to death
i shall mourn but not refuse such cruelty
but one thing i can never accept
as long as i am alive,
absolutely never!
i can never consent to give
or yield her to that devil, majnuun
an insane derelict
who spews his poison through the mountains
and beyond
“he has brought unending shame
upon my clan,
my daughter,
and myself
and so too upon his own clan
who cannot restrain him
how can i protect the modest honor of my daughter
when her name is paraded throughout arabia
like a famous tramp in countless harlot riddles
“we did much to prevent
his uncontained madness leading to
the spilling of blood
we moved to this isolated terrain
yet he continued to drown my daughter’s honor
deep in indignities
even this current tragedy
was brought to our threshold
we pursued it not,
it came to us unavoidable
what more could we do
leave the earth for a chance at peace
“so many have died to support
the rightful and revered duty
of a father protecting the honor of his daughter,
the honor of all arab women
to respect the sacrifice of those who died
for this cause
i will behead her myself
and feed her corpse to jackals
before i turn her over to the hand of majnuun
let wolves devour her flesh to the bones
and refuse her the right of a grave
leaving her soul to wander restlessly upon the earth
i will choose that path of torment
over turning her over to majnuun
“even if these words cost me death
my tongue i will not hold
there is no way i can place
the flower of my life
into a hand of ravishing madness
have you a daughter
if so, you understand my stance
and see why i can never relinquish her
to a madman”
with that
the desperate man lowered his head
and there was silence
eventually nawfal unsheathed his sword
layla’s father closed his eyes
his body trembling beyond control
anticipating death
he heard the sound of the sword
being thrust into the soil
then he felt a strong hand lift him up
he opened his eyes
to find himself standing before nawfal
who looked him squarely in the eyes to say
“although i sought to compel your will
i will not force your hand
i will not taint this victory
with the brutality of extreme oppression”
in the continuing silence
it became clear
that this twist of fate
lay within majnuun’s inconstancy
whereby one of nawfal’s closest warriors
could hold his tongue no longer
“her father is right
how can one of such unstable and delirious mind
be fit to behold one of our women as his wife
did he not betray our willingness to die for his cause
when he proclaimed allegiance to both sides
corpses are turned in their graves
wounds forever scorned
having suffered for his shifting whims
“what would become of layla
if he found disfavor with her marital vow
would he cry for her life as he joyfully beat her
maybe even murdered her
he played that very dance before our eyes
on this very battlefield
“we have already done too much
by retrieving him from the wastelands
let us not further this flawed endeavor
by forcing her hand into his
pride and shame paint irretrievable losses
on both sides
let us leave our debts as they are
and turn away to avoid further disgrace”
with that said
nawfal grabbed his sword from the soil
and began to walk away in departure
yet in his turning
his eye could not disregard
the sight of majnuun on the hill
sitting upon his horse
knowing he had to face the inevitable
nawfal started toward the friend
he now knew he betrayed
❍ ● ❍