Fire Maiden

Fire Maiden - A Tale in Seven Parts

by Michael Asher

Part 1

Just before sunset we halted our camels at a patch of grass and trees in the emptiness. We had come a long way that day, and the evening was cold. We fed the animals, collected deadfall from under the trees, and made a fire. We cooked polenta and by the time we had eaten it was dark. We built up the fire and sat close to it wrapped in blankets, as the wood crackled and the flames blazed. For a while we watched it burn in silence. Above us Lady Moon was bright and the stars were a cascade of pearls, but for us the fire was the central pole of the night’s tent, and as I stared into it, it seemed to grow larger and larger until the glow and the heat enveloped me. For a fleeting moment I glimpsed a face within the swirling flames - the face of a woman with smouldering eyes and raven dark hair. She gazed directly at me and smiled in a sultry way that shook me – she was so enticingly beautiful that I gasped.

Rafig glanced my way. ‘What is it?’ he asked. ‘Did you see something?’

‘Just for a moment, perhaps. It was nothing ...’

‘What did you see?’

‘It looked like the face of a woman – a beautiful face.’

The old man chuckled. ‘Ah,’ he said. ‘The Fire Maiden. Most of us have seen her at some time or other.’

‘Fire Maiden?’ I repeated. ‘Who is she?’

‘Let me tell you a story,’ he said. ‘Then you will know.’

He paused, added a couple more pieces of wood to the fire, and continued.

‘It happened in the Distant Time, long ago, when Bani Adam spoke the same language as the plants and animals, and all could talk to each other, and change their shapes. There were two nomad children, a boy and a girl, Kais, and Alia, who, though they came from different families, would herd the goats and sheep together in the desert pastures. They played, talked and laughed, told stories, made up poems, and shared their food. It was easy for anyone to see that they loved each other in the way of children who are close friends and never want to be parted.

‘Then, one evening, at sunset, as Kais was bringing his flocks back to his family’s tents, he was stung on the foot. Whether it was a snake, a scorpion or something else, he never found out. His foot swelled up and for a while he was unable to take the goats and sheep to pasture. When the swelling went down, though, he seemed to have become a different person. He was restless and no longer seemed content with Alia’s company. The girl noticed that he was forever gazing towards the distant horizon in a way he had not done before. Sometimes he would shade his eyes and stare at the sun, until Alia told him to stop. ‘Don’t you know that Father Sun has a lasso to catch children who stare at him too long,’ she said.

Kais laughed at her, though, and mimicked her voice in a cruel way as if she were an infant.

On another occasion, he caught a coney in a wheel-trap, and teased the little animal, poking her with a stick.

Alia was horrified. Kais had always been gentle and kind to animals. ‘Don’t you know coneys are our brothers and sisters?’ she asked him. ‘You must stop teasing her and let her go.’

Once again, Kais made fun of the girl, saying that he was almost a man now, and that when he was fully grown he would be a great hunter like Shadad, whose image was in the stars.

Alia reflected sorrowfully how Kais had changed since he had been stung in the foot. Though the swelling had appeared to go down, she thought, the poison had spread to his soul, for now he was puffed up in a way that made it hard for her to recognize him.

Then, one afternoon, when Alia had gone to search for a lost sheep, Kais noticed a cloud of dust moving across the desert far away. At first he took it for a dust-devil eddying across the sands, but as the cloud moved nearer, he saw that it was a camel caravan divided into two strings. He stood watching the strings, open mouthed, and, as they coiled silently towards him like twin serpents, he saw that each string was made up of scores of camels of the finest and noblest race, tied head to tail, carrying heavy saddle-bags richly decorated with glittering cowrie shells. There were dark riders like shadows at intervals along both strings of the caravan, but in the lead, between the two strings, was the tallest camel Kais had ever seen, carrying a litter covered in woven draperies and fine leather mantles, bedecked with cowries. The great camel strutted directly towards him, draperies swinging, its broad head held high, its neck festooned with tassels. On its crown was a single black ostrich feather.

The front of the litter was covered with a silk cloth and Kais could not see who was guiding the camel, until the great animal halted not far away from him. The two trains with their silent, dark riders, passed by on either side. Suddenly the silk veil was pulled back and Kais saw that the rider inside was a maiden with a face of such dazzling beauty that her features seemed to burn like the sun – so brightly did she shine that he had to hold a hand over his eyes so as not to be blinded. Yet when the maiden smiled at him she looked friendly – her eyes were clever and wise. She wore a wrap of fine black cloth, the same shade as the raven hair that fell in long tresses over her bare shoulders.

The maiden beckoned to Kais, and at once he felt that he could not resist her call. As he approached the camel, she leaned forward, and held out a slender hand to help him. ‘Come up,’ she said. ‘Ride with me.’

A moment later he was beside her in the litter, and the veil was in place, and the camel was already moving. The maiden spread a woven blanket over his legs and hers, then she leaned over again and kissed him on the forehead. Her kiss was so hot that for a moment fire rushed through his body, and he felt as if he would faint. Then he regained his senses and began to feel warm and contented.

The great camel paced on fast, and though the maiden held the head-rope, Kais could not understand how she could guide the camel without seeing ahead. ‘How do you know the way?’ he asked her.

‘My camel knows where we are going,’ she said.

‘And where is that?’ Kais asked.

She smiled sweetly. ‘You will see,’ she said.

Soon Kais realized that it was dark outside - the sun had set without his noticing it. He sensed that the camel was moving faster now, but so light was its step that it seemed almost to be floating. When Kais peeped through the mantle covering the litter he saw that the two strings of the caravan were still keeping step with them. The darkness was lit up by stars that were both above them and below them, and on the far horizon of the night, glowing gently, larger than he had ever seen her, was Lady Moon.