TAMAR.
Episode 27
I silently prayed to God for wisdom as we approach Lord Reese gate, and God answered, we saw two elderly men, who has white hair all over their head, they both looks like physicians coming out of the big estate, I told Tedran to inquire from them who they went to treat
“Kind greetings my lords, we are from the far end of the fourth district, my name is Tedran, and here with me is my sister Leah, we are physicians…
“…oh you are a physician, welcome my children, I guess you are here to see Lord Reese, the second prime ruler of this kingdom, that’s where we are also coming from, I don’t think he will make it, he is not getting any better, this will be our last visit, the son instructed us not to come again, he said it was a waste of time, because his father never improve no matter what we do, not just us, even other physicians were asked to stop coming again, do you know that he fell ill years ago and no physician could do anything for him, rumor has it then that it was a slave girl, their daughter’s personal maid that used her magic power to heal him but the girl is dead now, Mandioh’s lion killed her, and Lord Reese son who had so much interest in the girl went into rage and send Mandioh and his accomplice, a merchant’s wife to the lions and they were eaten up, the young man shot at the lions severally until they all died, nobody in this kingdom can forget that day in a hurry, lord Reese son is mostly feared by people, he is not as calm as his father back then but he seem calm now, he was shooting like a mad man that day because of a common slave girl, he fell in love with her and wanted to marry her but the slave girl turned him down and said she can not marry him because her god did not approve, and he was angry and gave out everything he bought for the girl, so people thought he has truly washed his hand off her…and because she is a Christian she was sent to Mandioh and when that crazy young man was informed and he rushed down it was too late because she was already in the lion’s den, is being almost three years now and the story is still fresh, well, the girl refuse to worship the gods of our land, people that witnessed it said that Mandioh gave her several chance to denounce her god, she was a fanatic Christian, a very stubborn one, she refused do such thing even in the face of death, who does that kind of foolish thing, choosing death over life, she and another slave girl, and well people said the Lions didn’t eat her but left her deeply wounded and by the time she was shoveled out of the den with her second, and a physician could do anything it was already late, they both died, well even Lord Reese daughter’s husband, Adolfo’s son from the second district also died, so many unfortunate happening has befalling on the Reese family, and we learnt that lord Reese children are not in good term, the young man has created bridge with the sister, now the slave girl is dead and no physician can do anything anymore for Lord Reese, we are going back to our homes, we wish you good luck but is better you don’t waste your precious time with him he can’t get better, you are still very young, we are well experienced men in this work than you are, and yet we can’t do anything for him, we hand him over to the gods, my son is better you do the same.
We greeted again and thanked them for their kind information before proceeding, it was clear we came as God has willed it to be.
When we got to the gate we introduce ourselves to the soldiers by the gate, and they told us that Lord Vim has instructed them not to open the gate for any physician again, that none of the ones that came was able to help their master to get better, instead he keep getting worst. The soldiers asked us to leave immediately before lord Vim comes out and see us, they said he can be a hardened man and doesn’t like his word to be disobeyed.
And just then i saw Abel approaching the gate, my heart was so gladden, I wish I can jump over the gate and run into his arm, oh, my heart was gladdened, I have really missed Abel, so very much that all I wanted to do was to go into his broad arms, he has a line of white hair in between and each side of his head, which wasn’t there before, Abel was over forty now, except for the white hair which makes him look older, one will mistake him to be in his thirties, I wondered if he later got married and to who, did Vim also marry, Adolfo did not mention anything on that, maybe he doesn’t want to make me feel uncomfortable with the news that Vim or Abel got married, I wouldn’t have felt bad, deep down I was no more carried away with marriage fantasy, having a husband and children was not as important as it has seem to me before, I wasn’t dwelling on that fantasy anymore, like I use to before my encounter with the lions, my heart is totally sold out for God and what ever he wants for me will come to past, I don’t need to stress about it, only his will must be done in my life, if it will please him for me to get married someday, so I will also be please but if he thinks otherwise then I remain focus in him to I breath my last, I see this life clearly with a better view than I use to do before, well Abel use to say so but I never understand, now I do, everything and everyone belongs to God, and he owns our life, despite God has given us the freedom to live as we wish to, whatever we do with what he has given us freely we will answer at the end, light and darkness is presented to us, whichever one we chose will determine where we will be on the last day.
The soldiers greeted Abel respectfully, and he looked at me, my face was covered so he wouldn’t know who was behind the Khimar, my facial covering. But Abel looked at me as if he can see past the Khimar, it was as if he can see who was behind the mask, Tedran turned to look at me thinking I removed my khimar, he wondered what exactly Abel was looking at since my face was covered, Abel looked at me and I have to touch my face to make sure that my Khimar was still on my face. He suddenly smile, deep and warm smile that got to my soul, making me to smile too behind my mask. He ordered the soldiers to open the gate for us and they quickly did.
We came down from the chariot and walk with him as Tedran did his normal introduction…
“Greetings to you my lord, you came at the right time to the gate when the soldiers where keen on sending us away. Thank you for showing us kindness by letting us in, may God also favour you as you have favoured us. We are physician from the far end of the fourth district, my name is Tedran, the son of lord Cozam, a renowned physician who thought me medicine from childhood, and here with me is my sister Leah. We are here to see Lord Reese and do our best for him, we can only treat to the best of our knowledge but God is the best healer, we will like to see him now my lord…
“Your welcome lord Tedran, we will be so please to have you and your sister stay with us while you attend to the master’s health, and since your journey is far, there’s enough room here for you and your sister and whatever you need will be provided, my lady, I’m glad to see you…we have being expecting you, I thank the almighty for bringing you at the right time, please come with me
I wanted to laugh at the way Abel act cordially, saying every word with full smile as if we are angels from the stars, as much as I wanted to laugh all I did was to smile under my mask and nod my head in respect, as he took us to the passage that leads to Lord Reese chamber, everywhere look to familiar, it was just like yesterday, everything seem almost the same.
And when I saw Vim coming out of his father’s chamber my heart began to beat hard and faster, he looks more huge than the last time, I started sweating under the long gown and the khimar that I wore, thank God for the facial covering that hide all my troubling emotions, we stopped and bow to him in respect, Abel spoke first
“My lord, this are physician from the far end of the fourth district, his name is Tedran and with him here is his sister Leah, they have come to see the master, and I will ask the servants to make room available to them for their journey is far and they will need to carefully attend to the master for days or weeks before returning back…
“Well then if you approve of them is fine by me. I told them at the gate not to let any other physician in again, father is not getting better, mother is always worried, it troubles her greatly that father is still down despite all the powerful physicians coming to him with different specified medicine, I am troubled too, and so is everyone, I always trust your judgement Abel, if you think this ones will make a difference then so be it, all I want is father to get better and for mother to stop worrying, I want father to be active again, he can’t even speak reasonable word again, he is just bedridden, I am just tired…. And…and why is her face covered with a khimar, why is she covered all over…I need to see the face of the person attending to my father..or is there a problem…
“Pardon us my lord, my sister has a burnt scar on her face, and it makes her feel uncomfortable around people, she feels accepted when she is covered up…
I breathed deeply, as Tedran speak, I needed to say something too, I don’t know if my voice still sound familiar, but Adolfo and Eura did not recognize me from the voice until I pulled off my khimar. So I cleared my voice and try to see if I can twist the voice a little so that it will sound strange…
“My name is Leah and I am a physician just as my brother Tedran has said, I do not cover up far fashion sake, is more of to shade from people who do not feel comfortable around my scar, and majority of people get turn off when they see the scar on my face, so to prevent people from getting uncomfortable I remain covered up…
I breathed again, wondering if he catch any glimpse of the voice, Abel stood at one side looking at me, but my voice did not sound familiar to them
“Apologies my lady, you two can go ahead now…Abel will take you to my father’s chamber…and if you need anything don’t fail to ask and it will be provided, and may your god favour you and make father to get better as you attend to him…
We bowed as he walk pass us, I breathed heavily down again as Abel took us to the master’s chamber, on getting there I saw Lady phin, she quietly sat beside her husband, Lord Reese was so sick, he look so dry and has lost so much weight, my heart melt down at his sat and the sight of lady phin’s ashen face, Abel told me then that they are my sheep and I have to pasture them, could it be the reason he said they have being expecting me even without knowing who I am. Abel introduced me and Tedran to lady Phin who acted as if we are just like every other physician that has come and go, but she looks like she was ready to accept any help for her husband even if is coming from the devil himself, Abel turned and left immediately.
My heart broke at the sight that greeted me, I went to lady Phin, I knelt beside her while Tedran checked on Lord Reese.
“my lady, worry not because the master will be alright, for God did not send us down here in vain, his name alone will be glorified over this, the master will be fine by God’s grace, not by our power or might but according to the will of God.
I watch as she tried to see the face behind the mask but couldn’t
“ I don’t know why I felt so at peace with your presence despite I can’t see your face, Abel, the man that lead you in, ones told me that his God has sent someone for the master, he said a young lady in a khimar mask, but I did not understand what he meant until now, immediately I saw you I remembered Abel’s word. He has the ear of a god. you speak so boldly like a girl we use to have here, her name was Tamar, she died, filled with confidence and not allowing anything or any one to break her down, she stood firm and proclaimed the name of her God as the one true God. They said the lion couldn’t eat after she was thrown in with another slave, but she died from it’s injury, she once told us about her God and we wanted to hear more but she got busy with lie. Abel, when I pleaded with him yesterday to pray to his God for his master to receive his healing, he told me God has already sent someone to do so, he reminded me of the lady in a mask, but I still did not understand then, he said a go ahead was not given to him in his spirit to do so but the master will be fine but not for long…I don’t really care how long he has to be but I want to hear him speak to me and look at me like he use to do before. Even if is one more time, just ones, I will be fine, watching him fades away like this is saddening, Leah, that’s your name, please do whatever you can for him…
I bowed in respect, and sat beside the master’s bed. i took his weak hands into mine and held onto them as if he was a child, I told Tedran to hold his legs and he did, and we bow our head, I silently sang repeatedly and then I prayed just few word prayer as the holy spirit lead
After that day we were given a place to sleep, I had a room and Tedran has his, and the following day we did the same thing, sing and prayed. I saw lady Zity and her son, she looks sad, she was talking with Abel by the fountain and I saw Abel holding her hands and saying some encouraging words to her which I couldn’t hear what he was saying, Vim was always coming and going, he was always more to himself, sometimes when he sees me, he wants to see who is behind the Khimar, I felt in my heart that Abel already know who I am, he act so familiar with me, i move around with Tedran who planned returning in few days time for his wedding, I was so happy to see the smile on lady Phin’s face as her husband got better, his health improve everyday as he began to do things on his own again. I was sitting at the fountain alone, while Tedran was inside, and Vim suddenly came and sat beside me, he wanted to thank me for helping the father with his health, he looked at me all over again, and later said
“why do I feel like I know you… yet I don’t, Leah, I’m grateful to you and your brother for my father, but there’s something about you, is as if…I have known you in my other life…hahahaha…apologise, but I can’t help laughing at myself…I wish I can have a glimpse of your face…but is all good…I use to love somebody…so deeply…a long story though…which I don’t want to remember or you have probably heard of it because the people never stop talking about it…but I don’t want to remember…she use to come out here to pray to her god when she was living here, I loved her but she loved her god and chose him over me…and unfortunate thing is that she died for the same god….hmmmm, well that’s being almost three years now or more…have tried everything possible to put it behind me…I thought I will go crazy, I felt like I was going to die when she died, I want to burn down this kingdom for her sake, I got a knife cut, deep one on my back as the soldiers tried to hold me down, and after I came home, broken, lonely sad and in pain, Abel, you know Abel, he did help me, he spoke words to my heart repeatedly, and helped me pull through, and I became calm I still hate my sister, I hate her with passion for planning with the merchant wife to do such, I refuse to listen to her or anyone speak to me on what lead to Tamar being taking to Mandioh… why will she plan such evil with Okra, why, when she knows that I love this girl and even though I got angry and said her god can have her after she rejected my proposal is that enough reason for Zity to plan with her evil friend and send Tamar to her early grave, Zity is only lucky because she is my blood, I would have thrown her into the lions den too, i can’t look at my so called sister’s face without seeing the evil she did to me, mother and father pleaded on her behalf but I’m not ready to forgive her, maybe someday I will because but not now… she hurt me so deeply. So Leah, are you married…or you have somebody asking for your hand in marriage…am…am sorry for asking that…thanks for your time anyway…
I watch as he stood up, and walk to the front before turning to look at me, he went to his chariot and speed out of the gate, I wondered if he was falling in love with Leah, the new me, why was do he want to know if I was married or not. I needed to speak to Abel. and the following day I saw Abel again talking with Zity, Abel seem to be the only one Zity goes to, she was always inside her chamber with her son or outside at the fountain with Abel, and I know she must be heart broken knowing that her only brother hates her and also loosing Chakan, her husband to death, it must have being sad for her, so I went to sit with them at the fountain, Abel stood up as he saw me approach them, he came to me and took my hands into his as he lead me into a chair, Zity just watch two of us before greeting me, I replied back warmly and she smiled, her little son strolls around the fountain playfully, I thought of little Jon and I know very soon Zity will come to a shocking realization of her other surviving son she had for Adolfo. I breathed deeply again as I saw Vim walk pass us, he looked at my side and replied to Abel’s greeting, he ignored Zity and walk past. I saw sadness written on Zity’s face but she tried to hide it. And just then I was told by a servant that Lord Reese was calling me, so I stood up and left, as I silently work along the passage I over heard Tedran talking with Vim, so I became so quiet,
“sorry for my numerous question but is she married…your sister, Leah…i…I have never like anyone ever since the lady I was suppose to marry died, but even without seeing her face I do like her, it sound quick but I don’t need forever to like someone…she is always quiet and hardly speak, I wanted to engaged her in a conversation yesterday but I felt it wasn’t proper and stopped…
I listened as Vim talk with Tedran, I quietly walk past to Lord Reese chamber.
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