The Redemption (Part 6)

While his sisters were serving at Fush-urah’s temple, Khrumakwe were also working relentlessly to polish his carpentry skills.

The Merchant’s Wife, who was a loyal customer of The Carpenter when he was still alive, continued to support Khrumakwe by giving him projects to work on.

She would also bring food for him, as she noticed that the young man was living alone.  It was an unusual practice for a dignified woman to offer food to a filthy Khebite.  Many Froyaleans were irked by the scene.

“A dirty creature like you does not deserve to eat,” a gang of hooligans flipped a basket of bread and spat on him.

Khrumakwe kept quiet and pretended nothing happened. Though he was thankful to the Merchant ‘s Wife, sometimes he wished she could stay away, so that he could be spared from all the unnecessary trouble.

“You don’t have to do this,” Khrumakwe said gently to the Merchant’s Wife during her next visit.

She put down another basket of freshly baked loaves on the floor.

“You need food,” she said with a grin while patting one hand on his shoulder.

Khrumakwe remained static but he shied away from her eyes.

“We should go,” said the woman, who stood next to the Merchant’s Wife.

“Watch your behaviour, sister,” the woman warned. “You don’t want to arouse any suspicion here.”

***

The Merchant’s Wife was a faithful worshipper of Fush-urah and also a good friend of Sawart.

“He is at Ammog for business for six months, will be back before the Khuy festival,” she said.

“It is dangerous to enter Ammog through Mount Moyra, which is a hideout for the rebels,” said Sawart.

“Oh no, he did not take the route. They decided to travel along the Senio River. It is much safer. He was hoping to make a stop at Khanef to drop off some goods there too.”

“I am glad to hear that,” said Sawart as she drank from a cup. She let out a sigh and continued.

“The king is so obsessed on enlarging the Froyalean Empire, so obsessed that they have neglected the rebels hiding in the deep mountains along the borders. 

The Merchant’s Wife nodded and said: “We hear news of rebels killing traders and stealing their goods. The Merchant had sleepless nights before embarking on his journey.

“We are running low on incense and spices. Our suppliers from neighbouring towns have also refused to trade in Jub these days.

“The king does not understand our woes,” said Sawart.

“Feeding his troops is more important than feeding us,” said the Merchant’s Wife, who has unknowingly raised her voice. Sawart immediately stopped her and diverted the conversation when noticed someone walked by.

“We have a table with two broken stands. Do you know anyone who can fix it?” Sawart asked.

The Merchant’s Wife frown for a second but was swift enough to read the signal from her eyes.

It was the Council Man. 

Sawart and the Merchant’s Wife greeted him from afar by nodding their heads gently.

“Oh yes. I can introduce you a carpenter from a village nearby,” she said and pointed to a table.

Sawart went up to the Merchant’s Wife and spoke softly to her right ear.

“That was not acting. We need a carpenter to get the table fixed.”

The two elderly women broke out in laughter.   

***

Khrumakwe received a message from a slave from the Merchant’s mansion. His service was required at the Fush-urah temple.

Ah. The temple where my sisters Gurgini and Fruimuah were sold to.

Never had he imagine that he would have a chance to step into the temple. The thought of meeting his sisters has given him sleepless nights. He was thrilled. However, he knew he was not allowed to speak to any of the priestesses.

Standing in front of the temple’s entrance with carpentry tools dangling on his shoulder, Khrumakwe was in awe of the magnificent building.

He was led to a hall scattered with broken tables and benches by a priestess, who had not spoken a word to or made eye contact with him.

Khrumakwe studied every single person, who hustled in and out the hall, hoping that

he could spot his sisters somewhere in the crowd.

He could only identify them based on the memory he had of them three years ago.

There were priestesses who would take turns to bring him water once in a while, but none were Gurgini and Fruimuah.

At noon, a priestess came to serve him lunch. Her presence has caught Khrumakwe’s attention. Just when he was about to turn around, he let out a shout out of a sudden.

“Ah!” shouted Khrumakwe. He dropped down the saw and started to press on one of his fingers that were covered in blood.

Jeyah put down the food tray and ran out to fetch medicine without saying anything.

“Where are you rushing to?” Gurgini asked when she bumped into Jeyah.

“The carpenter cut his finger,” she replied and hurried off to the medicine room.

Carpenter?

Khrumakwe’s face immediately appeared on her mind. There was a possibility that the carpenter is his brother as there were not many people willing to take up this kind of lowly job in Jub.

She peeped from the side of the door and saw the carpenter, who was trying to stop his finger from bleeding.

Khrumakwe. It’s him. It’s my brother.

Jeyah arrived with the medicine. Just when she was about to enter the hall, Gurgini halted her.

“Allow me to do, please,” said Gurgini, whose eyes were already filled with tears.

Khrumakwe kept his head down when Gurgini approached him.

She knelt down and took his wrist by his hand but remained silent. Her warm tears fell onto the back of his palm.

He lifted his head and saw Gurgini, who was staring at the floor.

“Gurgini…”

No, I am not supposed to touch her. She is not allowed to look at me. But I miss my sister. I miss her.

All sorts of memory of Gurgini came flushing back to him.

Gurgini wept silently while she cleaned her wounds.

Life must have been hard for you, brother. I wish I could look at you in the eyes and tell you how I have missed you, how I devotedly pray that gods and goddesses will protect you from all harm.

Gurgini wished she speak to him through the firm grab on his wrist. It was however time for her to let go when the wound has been cleaned.

She tapped her finger on his wrist to bid him goodbye before releasing her hands from it and walked away.

Khrumakwe wished he could just bring her home. But he knew he could not. The Carpenter’s curse on him was specific: Redeem his sisters.

Sisters. But where is she?

***

Gurgini had to confine herself in a room to conduct a self-cleansing ritual before the altar of Fush-urah for she has touched men.

She had to abstain from food for three days and knelt before the status for five hours a day to chant the prayer of sanctification.

***

The scroll recorded that Khrumakwe took another five years to redeem Gurgini and Fruimuah, but did not record on how the sisters have lived in the temple during the years.

Soon after being redeemed, Gurgini married Bashut the Fishmonger but still performed birth chanting for women in labour.

Her kind act has earned her respect from villagers. Thanks to her, many have stopped viewing Khebites as pests.

Gurgini was not the loud-spoken wild child she was eight years ago anymore.   

Fruimuah, on the other hand, was so used to being treated like a princess by the Council Man that she could no longer adapt to the life she once led in the village.

She despised the lifestyle of her fellow villagers.

There have been incidents of drunkards mocked her for being a Red Priestess - the identity she was proud of.

“Men in the city no longer need your service in the temple? Maybe you can practise your rituals on me,” said a group of men who jeered at her while trying to undress her when she was doing laundry.

Khrumakwe might not be a brave man but he would not allow people to treat his sister with disrespect. He would always be there to protect Fruimuah, and shoved the mockers away.  But he, who has never fought with people in his life, was always beaten to a pulp.

Fruimuah was grateful for what her brother had done but that was not enough. She wanted to flee from the village and start afresh in the big city.

If I were given a choice, I will definitely not come back to this filthy place and be insulted by these evil people.

Being separated from The Council Man, who had been her patron back in those days, has also caused Fruimuah to live in misery.

She never thought she would meet the Council Man again.

But she did. Eventually, the Council Man showed up in the village.

“Leave with me,” the Council Man pulled Fruimuah to an alley. He pressed her to the wall and kissed her deeply.

Fruimuah struggled and pushed him away, and gave him a tight slap on the face. Just right after she spat on him, she threw her arms around his neck and started kissing him again.

“What took you so long?” she cried.

“I am here to take you with me. Come with me,” he said, with his hands grabbing her waist.

Fruimuah’s teary eyes sparkled when she looked into his gaze. The hopeful expression disappeared just seconds later.

“Not if you still have your wife.”

“Come back to the temple then. I promise you freedom.”

On the night itself, Fruimuah decided to leave the village for a greater world to pursue a life she wanted.

She left - without informing his brother and sister, and was never seen in the village again.

The Council Man reinstated her position in the Red Temple and she would no longer need to perform rituals on other men, except him.

But Fruimuah wanted more. She desired freedom. She even wanted to set up a family with the Council Man.

“Give me time, and I will set you free,” This was the promise she fervently held on to, though the rational side of her realised that those were just sweet words made conveniently by the Council Man.

A simple peaceful life with the man she loves was the only vision she had in her mind.

She could care less even if it means she would be cursed by the only goddess whom she sworn to serve.

She was blinded from reality by her willful attachment to a romantic ideal. So blinded that she was unable to see what a coward the Council Man is – especially when he stood before his wife.

To be exact, it was his influential father-in-law, whom he was afraid of.  

As much as he loved spending moments of intimacy with Fruimuah, the Council Man would never risk his position for an unknown future with a priestess from the Red Temple.

Undeniably, he loved her more than his wife. But his love for her was not deep enough to make him give up all the fame, glory and his precious life.

His father-in-law, who is well known for torturing slaves with the harshest punishments any person in his or her right mind could possibly imagine, is certainly not someone to mess with.

The Council Man’s rise and fall all depends on the old man, who also holds great authority in the temple’s council.

Rumours about the relationship between her husband and Fruimuah have reached the ears of the Council Man’s wife. It did not take long for the shrewd woman to confirm the hearsay, when Fruimuah’s mentor, Senti, fed her with the details.

I have warned you not to fall into temptation the day the Red Temple welcomed you. Yet you defy the commands of Fush-urah.

Punishment will be on your way, Fruimuah. Be prepared.

(to be continued…)