Khebi, the neighbouring country had established firm trade relations with the city Jub. Since Froyale was much more prosperous than Khebi, many Khebite merchants had settled down in Jub.
The Khebites' residence was permitted on the basis of a discriminative tax system which was imposed on them. They were required to pay a princely sum to the king’s government every year.
It was too taxing for the poor Khebite The Carpenter. His wife, who died at a young age, left him with two daughters and a son. The elder daughter was named Gurgini whereas the younger one was called Fruimuah.
Those were Khebite names. The Carpenter wanted them to be reminded of their roots though they all dressed like a Jubite.
Soon, The Carpenter realised he could no longer afford to pay the individual tax for the family.
He had no choice but to send his two daughters to the temple of Fush-urah, believing the temple would be a shelter for these girls and they would grow up living a disciplined life.
All household responsibilities were laid on his son Khrumakwe's shoulder, when The Carpenter was about to die.
“Swear to me, Khrumakwe, that you will free your sisters,” gripping tightly to his left arm, The Carpenter whispered at his son's ear on his deathbed.
“I will,” replied Khrumakwe,” he promised.
The Carpenter used the only strength left to pull Khrumakwe towards his face.
“You must free them. I now lay a curse on you and your family that you will be struck dead if they are not redeemed before they die,” The Carpenter then released his clutches and shut his eyes.
The last curse became Khrumakwe’s burden.
And this is what you bestowed upon me, father?
Wake up, father! Undo the curse on me! Undo the curse…
It then became more than of an obligation a brother must take on. It is the curse that was destined to haunt Khrumakwe for the rest of his life unless and until he liberates Gurgini and Fruimuah.
But he does not hate The Carpenter for his last words. A son, after all, should not only inherit the wealth and property passed down by his father but also carry on the burdens and regrets on behalf of the dead.
Khrumakwe performed a Khebite cremation, a ceremony Jubites perceived as an act of disrespect to the deceased. He also buried the urn of the father’s ashes on a small piece of land though it was not their tradition. He was doing this to prevent Jubites from pointing fingers at him.
***
They do not blame their father for the decision. They were matured enough to understand the importance of survival must come before kinship.
In fact, they were thankful to be given a new identity as Fush-urah’s priestesses in Her temple and be set free from leading life that forced them to beg for loaves from their neighbours. They had enough humiliation from the Jubites.
Gurgini, 16, came out from her mother’s womb two years earlier than Fruimuah, was said to have possessed the quality of a Khebite woman. Hardworking, determined and courageous.
She, who fought like a man, would not hesitate to take any young man who jeered at her Khebite ancestry though often she was at the losing end.
She had shown no mercy on slaughtering a hen when performing a religious ritual to commemorate her late mother who returned to the embrace of god of peace Tellash some three years ago.
Gurgini knew nothing about Fush-urah. The goddess was foreign to her though she grew up looking at the statue every time she entered the city with The Carpenter.
She had never bowed to the Froyalean goddess but she knew she had became a subject under Her rule now.
I will serve you with all my heart, for you have shown mercy upon me by taking me into Your courts.
A silent prayer she made to Fush-urah.
Fruimuah, on the other hand, was more like a chick who sought shelter under the mother hen. Gurgini would stand up and fight the injustices, while Fruimuah stay behind her back and keep her head down.
Gentle like a lamb and frightened like a mouse.
Fruimuah was as if born to be fearful of many things. It was her misfortune to be born into a devastated family.
But she had never blame fate for it. She contributed in anyway she could to the family- light chores like cooking, house cleaning and clothes weaving.
She possessed a softer character compared to Gurgini who appeared to be more assertive than girls of her age; Fruimuah has more of a feminine quality and beauty than her sister. She was the desire of men from all ages.
Gurgini observed worshippers hustled in and out of the hall of worship. She doubted the divine power of the goddess but did not have the courage to challenge priestesses to demonstrate the power bestowed upon them by Fush-urah.
Knowing that her straightforwardness would cause unnecessary trouble, Gurgini swallowed all the curiosity and kept it down. The price of sacrificing her future was way too costly, she thought.
Fruimuah looked out from the window and found another temple built next to the one they were in.
She saw a status of Fush-urah. The exact proportion of face, nose, mouth and hair just exactly like the one in the temple they were at - except it was a naked status displayed at the outer court. It was made so real that any man would be drawn to her perfectly sculptured body.
Fruimuah turned around again and studied the Fush-urah status in the temple. It is apparent that the Fush-urah status closest to her is for the women while the bare-breasted one for the men.
(to be continued...)
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