Zouheir Shalabi

.. / 10 / 1998

Zeina..

(This short story in English is an abridgement and abbreviation from the original text in Arabic. )

At my early age, may be when I was just 15 years old, I realized that I was alone... all all alone, Just with a small shed, or say a primitive home with a yard my mother left to me, and a piece of land and a female horse my father abandoned when both of them passed away at a certain avalanche swallowed them while they were collecting some branches of a dead tree to build some fire to warm me up at that crazy freezing winter.

..

And just because these are the only things remained for me from the late two dear ones, I was in a strange deep love with them. I would care about the little home more than if it were a castle, and I would spend my hours everyday tickling the earth with my little tools and toiling all lighted hours in order to grow my little plants up, to eat a little and sell a little and love too much. The female horse was as young as I am comparatively to her span of life. I loved her as a gift from God, and I took too much care of her, feeding and cleaning … wiping and caressing, feeling her happiness and frustration.. The animal was happy being at home or being at the field... Relaxing or working, exactly as I did.

One day I decided to have a simple cart for her with flat wooden surface and two wheels, may be because it was the cheapest one the carpenter would make it for the good young boy of the neighbors, with the expectation that I shall relax going through the long way between home and the field..

Every early morning I was moving with my female horse quietly and with content at five O’clock may be, from the little home to the field. The cart was dragged easily and smoothly by the animal and I was relaxing. My back is fully stretched on the cart and my eyes are still entangled to the fading stars in the infinite sky, still gazing at them glittering, with the feeling that I can hold them as my own...

During the hour of sweeping away the fresh air of the dawn to reach the field, before any body wakes up.. During that hour the sky was mixed with the earth, and the breeze, together with the motion of the animal were mixed in my ecstasy...

*****

I used to leave my horse alone in the field and she is allowed to eat anything as she likes, and when she is satisfied, she can come near me to rub me or even to tease me… and I used to treat her in the same way… By time and through a few years I could not imagine myself away from her, and she is away from me… I felt she is ready to keep away from the fodder but not from me. She, the dump animal, was more faithful than man. We were intimate friends at home, in the fields, and the most important the streaming away through the breezy cool early morning… All the time I noticed her gazing at me like a shy woman... And I was smiling at her with sympathy…

One day I decided to give her the nicest name to get used to it, and I decided at the end to call her the loveable name Zeina… It looks that she liked it and started to react to it quickly...

At the early morning like every morning I laid my back to the back of the cart, looked at the faraway thousands of stars in the heaven and, like a dormant, started to sing for my sweet animal, She was feeling the same happiness I felt. I started singing:

Zeina, and all the stars of the sky,

so high!...

Zeina and myself are so happy,

 and that is why we cry !

*****

One day I said to my self… I had this year a good season, so I arranged some extra money and I can think of visiting the family of the beautiful girl in the house on my way to the field. Just in the middle of the road her family house stood with a small garden full of red flowers and a scent of Damascus rose. The girl was a part of that special garden, and she was taking care of to the extent that her body borrowed the perfume of the roses, and the roses borrowed the smell of her body… Both borrowed the colors and the shapes as well…

I started first to ask my Zeina to slow down when we reach that house one or two times, but to my surprise my horse started to hurry every time we reach that place… She could not listen to me like she was deaf!  When I was fed up with her I started to be angry and show bad treatment, so she never wanted to move next day, and when I forced her, she simply changed the whole road from home to the field taking a more difficult and a longer one!. It was something I could not explain!!!

Any how I decided to go next holiday on foot to visit that family, who were actually old friends of my family, and sound the possibility of getting engaged to the girl of my dreams whose name is Salwa in order to start the new phase of my natural life.

*****

The day I promised myself to visit the family I was dressed with the best I had, cleaned and showered with some perfume. I had a comb and put a sweet smile on my face. I crossed the yard where Zeina was, looked at her, and she looked at me shaking her head like saying: Look at the stupid!   I neglected her for the purpose I had in mind, and, while closing the gate firmly I heard some sounds like a big moan.. But I continued my way..

After a successful visit to the old friends with a solemn promise that the official engagement and marriage celebration will take place soon I came back, opened the gate, passed the yard, then I noticed that a patch of blood was on the wall, and Zeina is turning her face away from me, and when I tried to approach her closer she turned again. When I realized that she is well I went into the room trying not to spoil the happiness I had.

All the days followed Zeina was silent abstained from food, obeyed silently, but it was clear that she was sad!  Later on things went quite for sometime till the wedding day.

*****

The day of the celebration, the night and the next day of the marriage were never to be forgotten. Our way of the village celebration starts at the big open space among the houses, where everybody meets to eat, drink, sing, dance, and laugh or at least smile in full load music of joy and happiness. The entire village would participate in such a special day, and for long hours. They continue till they get exhausted carrying the happiness with them to accompany them in their beds. And at the end of the night I left home with tens of people to go to the house of my bride Salwa, accompanying back her group of people to reach with all the two groups, almost everybody in the village, at the end of procession, to my home where everybody continues the music and the full joyful celebration outside the private room till late to leave at last the bride and the groom together forever.

Everything went well. The night was in paradise where, my bride and I, flew up in ecstasy in such a way that both never practiced before.

Late at night, when we returned back from the procession, I never thought of Zeina, and I never noticed her in the yard. My feelings all were dedicated to my wedding and my bride charming Salwa.

 *****

Nobody can imagine my big smile when I opened the door of my little tidy room to my mother in law late first day after marriage. She was bringing us a special food for the hungry man and wife! It was the habit to bring the best strengthening food to the couple as they were considered to have spent a consuming night. The lady, my mother in law, sat down smiling widely and wishing us a long happy life with a lot of nice children! …

After we welcomed her, kissed her thankfully, she bent her neck suddenly towards the door with a glimpse of surprise! She changed face and went into something like a dream!

She uttered:

((But something very strange happened after we left and went back home at midnight.. no body could sleep ! ))

I stared at her, my wife Salwa paid more attention, and we both listened carefully..

The mother in law continued in a dreamy way:

(( We could not believe what we saw !))

(( It was amazing that when we reached our house some flower trees were broken and tread on and a she-horse flooded into our yard all wounded with the thorns of the roses bleeding skin and she was trying to enter the room and destroy the bed of Salwa.. It was a bad omen, and we hoped that it was just only a crazy animal behaving crazy!!))

It was a shocking start for me.. I got up amazingly, looked once at the roof, and once again at the ground murmuring:

(( What a strange behavior of Zeina !!!))

 My mother in law continued:

(( The animal, when was forced out to the yard by several men, was hitting her head on the stone fence till it fell down completely exhausted !! They tied her neck to the fence, and it was left in peace with some water and grass next to her!!  Nobody could find any explanation to what happened!!))

My mother in law took a very long deep breath, followed by a short silence, and then suddenly she continued:

((What happened later in the morning was more astonishing!  We woke up late today after the very long tiring night !  And we saw something unbelievable again.  Our stallion that was tied in the stockade could get out to that crazy horse and it looked that he could cool her out and keep her quite and he reached the stage of licking her wounds patiently, and even with passion. It looks that both of them were very happy with this special relation started and development during the second part of the night !!))

I could not believe easily what I heard, But I was almost dizzy and amazed ! My mother in law commented on the story saying:

(( I believe they will be a very nice female and male to make for us young foal and filly... I left them licking each others and neighing… What shall I say ! It is the haziness of life .. Now forget all about it and let us come to your happiness ! ))

I could not hear anymore imagining and trying to understand something beyond logic. Then I said to my self: Why beyond logic?! May be it is a logic but beyond our logic!!  … …

My mother in law cut my dreams, and attracted my attention suddenly to something she said was very important!!

(( Look my dear son ! Now while Salwa is in the kitchen I want to tell you a small secret! It is true that your bride’s official name, and the name everybody is calling her is Salwa, but if you call her the name we, mother, father, sister and brother, are calling her only at home intimately and privately it will be a special surprise and she will feel always much better and much happier. Even when she is pressed or stressed or even sad and we call her the intimate name she loves , she will be very okay. It is a medicine to her ! ))

I was listening, and I would not care for names, after all they are the same.. but when my mother in law continued to say:

(( .. You know what that name is ?!  Call your bride, the shining beautiful bride of yours.. call her Zeina ! this is the name she loves !  call her only that name when you are alone and she will be the best woman for you!!...  ))

I just jumped to my feet , collected myself and my shaking feelings .. lied my back to my bed seeing my self early dawn lying my back on the cart, and my horse dragging me smoothly into the fresh early air with the glittering stars in  the heaven, with my hands able to reach and harvest them to give them as a present to the person I love. I felt I need to sing:

Zeina, and all the stars of the sky,

so high!...

Zeina and myself are so happy,

 and that is why we cry !

*****