Beyond the Sand Dune

by Asen Djinah

  ‘Will Ghazale be able to hold on like she had done so many times in the past or will Saika be the first horse to catch up with the champion?’ everyone was thinking.

  Omar and Numan were on edge. But the champion would not give up so easily and made a last effort to maintain her lead, which was now a steady two lengths. In Saika’s mind, there was no doubt that she would overtake the black horse as she had done so many times before in training and she dug deep and gave all that she had, more than she had ever done before.

  In the last fifty yards, the horse owners and the crowd witnessed something they had never seen before. Saika seemed to fly, her hooves barely touching the ground as she gradually ate up the two lengths and came neck and neck with the champion just five yards from the finishing line. The crowd went wild and started cheering for the local horse.

  ‘Come on Saika,’ the two boys were screaming.

  Omar and Numan were holding each other’s arm and jumping.

  ‘You can do it Saika. One last effort,’ Omar was shouting as if the filly could hear and understand him.

  With one final, valiant effort, Saika overtook Ghazale and crossed the finishing line, winning by a head.

  ‘I can’t believe it! Saika has defeated Ghazale!’ Aydin screamed.

  The crowd was delirious, while Omar felt dizzy and almost fainted. Numan finally let his emotions loose and was screaming while the two boys were jumping up and down. In the crowd, Alima and the servant were holding to each other, jumping and screaming. Even the servant with no interest in horse racing realised that she had witnessed something special.

  Someone in the crowd screamed ‘Saika, Saika’ and the whole crowd joined in and started to chant.

  ‘Saika, Saika, Saika’.

  Omar could no longer hold himself and joined in too, for once forgetting his status. The two brothers, followed by their sons, jumped from the podium and went to Saika as she trotted along the racing track. Bilal rushed onto the track too. The filly went to him and nuzzled him in the chest before finally resting her head happily on his shoulder.

  What a race! Overnight, Saika had become a sensation and her first race would most certainly be recounted over and over for years to come around campfires. And for the first time, a stable had won two races in a day!

  Chapter 15

  The euphoria of the double win gripped the whole of Qadday and the souk remained open late into the night. The news that the local stable had won two races, an achievement never accomplished by any town before, had spread like wildfire. Everyone, including women and children spontaneously came out on the streets to celebrate. When darkness fell, oil lamps appeared on every window sill and doorstep, adding a surreal atmosphere to the celebrations. There was an air of festivity as residents gathered in groups, those who attended the race describing it to others.

  ‘I tell you, Saika was literally flying with her hooves not even touching the ground. You should have been there to see it,’ one man was saying to a group of listeners who were not at the race.

  The men looked disappointed for not being present to witness such an event. But everyone was proud of their town for having won two races – and finishing second in a third.

  In the tent, the party organised by Numan was in full swing and everyone was trying to get to Omar to congratulate him. The owners were keen to find out the pedigree of Saika.

  ‘Is Alfahil Saika’s sire?’ everyone wanted to know.

  ‘Who is Saika’s dam?’ was the other question.

  Soon the entire tent knew that Saika was the offspring of Quzah and Alfahil. After meeting everyone and thanking them for their visit, Omar decided to leave. It had been a long and eventful day for him and he gave Numan a final hug. The two brothers could still not believe that Saika had won and that their plan had paid off. As Omar made his way through the streets with his entourage, people called out to him, cheered and followed him. An impromptu procession was formed behind the caliph and the crowd escorted him noisily all the way to the palace. When Omar reached the palace, he was still feeling light-headed. Aydin left him promptly and rushed to describe the race to Inaya and to his mother.

  ‘See you tomorrow, Abbi,’ he called over his shoulders.

  Omar went straight to Alima’s chambers. Alima and her servant had rushed back to the palace immediately after the final race. She had freshened up and changed back into her normal clothes so that her husband would not suspect her escapade.

  ‘I heard that Saika has beaten the champion and won the race,’ she said with an innocent look on her face as soon as Omar walked in.

  ‘Oh Alima, I wish you could have seen the race. Saika was amazing. We have won two races and came second in the third one. I still can’t believe it,’ Omar replied.

  He was rather surprised that his quick-tempered wife seemed to have completely calmed down and had not even reproached him for not taking her to the races. He had expected Alima to give him a hard time about missing Saika’s victory.

  Alima was still feeling exhilarated from the race and on seeing Omar in person, a warm feeling spread in her pelvis area. The image of her powerful husband addressing the public at the races came to her mind and she felt the warm wetness throbbing in her most intimate part. She impulsively pulled Omar to her and kissed him. Her husband was rather surprised at her affectionate mood, but still ecstatic from the race he too became aroused. He picked up his slender wife in his arms and carried her to the bed. He laid her down and kissing her, he climbed by her side. As he tried to pull her dress up, Alima stopped him and gently forced him backward to lie down on his back. She took charge and started to undress him, tossing his garments aside until he was completely naked. She then stood at the foot of the bed and provocatively removed her garments slowly, one by one, swinging her hips as if dancing to a slow music.

  Omar had never experienced her like this before and became even more aroused as he watched her. He wanted to pull her quickly to bed, but Alima took her time, untying her long black hair. She kept gyrating her hips like a belly dancer as she slowly removed her undergarments, until she too was completely naked. By now Omar could not think of anything else, feeling dizzy at the sight of her slender body and her erotic moves. After what seemed an interminable time to Omar, Alima finally mounted her husband, squatting over him with one leg on either side. She leant forward until her pink, pointy nipples touched his lips.

  ‘Tonight I will be your Saika and ride for you,’ she whispered in his ear.

  Omar was in heaven, excited like never before. Kissing Alima, he felt her hand reaching out behind her, guiding his manhood into her. As he glided inside her wetness she moaned and began moving back and forth.

  ‘Saika starts the race in short strides,’ she panted, ‘easy smooth flowing strides.’

  ‘Yes Saika, easy smooth strides,’ Omar repeated after her, unable to think about anything else to say.

  Omar moaned and made little grunts of pleasure as he caressed his wife’s rump. Alima leant forward and grabbed his shoulders, with her breasts in her husband’s face. She adjusted her stride slightly so that one nipple was on her husband’s lips.

  ‘How does Saika taste?’ she whispered in a husky voice.

  ‘Sweet,’ Omar managed to reply with his lips busy.

  After a while, Omar grabbed both her breasts and started to lick her pink nipples in turn, moving from one to the other. Alima was moaning and gasping loudly in his ear, which made him feel even more excited. Soon feeling he was reaching his climax, he groaned.

  ‘Now I want Saika to ride in long strides towards the finishing line.’

  ‘You will have to use the whip,’ Alima replied, teasingly.

  Omar tenderly tapped her on the rump with his right hand.

  ‘Harder,’ his wife ordered and she kept repeating it until Omar was smacking her and she moved into longer strides.

  ‘Faster,’ commanded Omar and his wife responded. Both were panting, heavily out of breath.

  ‘Now Saika is
close to the finishing line and almost home,’ warned Alima.

  She moved faster and faster, until they both gasped as a sweet spasm took over their bodies and they reached their climax.

  As they lay side by side exhausted, hot and contented, suddenly something clicked in Omar’s sharp mind. He turned to his wife.

  ‘You were at the races, weren’t you?’ he asked.

  Alima had no choice but to tell her husband how she and her servant had been watching the race anonymously in the crowd. Omar was lost for words. After what he had just experienced, Omar silently vowed that he would definitely take Alima with him to the races in future.

  The Story of Amel

  Chapter 1

  The first time Safwan became aware of his weight loss was when his wife made a remark about his ribs showing under his skin. It was a hot evening and he had been lying bare chested on the sleeping rug in his undergarments, when his wife made the comment. Safwan looked down and indeed saw his ribs were clearly visible, so much so that he could easily count them. As he looked further down, he also noticed that his shorts were loose around his pelvic area.

  ‘You are working too hard, Safwan,’ his wife complained, ‘Most of the time, you leave home at dawn and I don’t see you till late in the evening.’

  ‘And you probably don’t have time to eat properly during the day,’ she added.

  Safwan had heard this all before, but for the first time he shared her worries about the effect of his busy schedule on his health.

  ‘My dear wife, there is so much to do. In addition to my lectures at the madrasah and checking my students’ work, Ulama Kateb trusts me more and more with the important court cases. For each case, I have to devote an enormous amount of time to study the fine details. Only then I am able to win in court. I will try to delegate more work to my assistant and come home earlier,’ Safwan explained apologetically.

  ‘Well Ulama Kateb should not be taking advantage of you. He should share the workload among several scholars,’ his wife argued.

  ‘La, la, la, – No, no, no, you don’t understand. I want these cases. This is the only way I am going to get the necessary experience and be ready when Kateb promotes me as a senior scholar, to work in his inner circle at the palace,’ Safwan patiently explained to his wife.

  It often exasperated him that his wife did not appreciate his long-term ambitions. As pretty and charming as she was, Safwan simply could not understand why his wife paid so little attention to his aspirations. He found himself having to explain time and time again.

  ‘And when I get promoted, you too will have more responsibilities. You will have to socialise with the other wives at the palace and become involved in their charity work. In addition to attending the numerous social events, you will be organising dinner parties and entertaining guests,’ he said to motivate her.

  His wife’s eyes opened wide as the image of her throwing lavish dinner parties entered her mind. She felt that she was made for this glamorous lifestyle.

  ‘I guess I will have to start practising how to be a good hostess to support you, dear husband,’ she said with a sudden change of heart.

  Having resolved to delegate some of his work to his assistant, Safwan was no longer overly concerned about his weight loss until a few weeks later when he felt an itching sensation in his rectal area. He was retiring to bed, looking forward to cosying up with his pretty wife, when the itching started for the first time. After his initial furtive attempts to scratch it off failed to provide any relief, the persistent itchiness forced him to visit the latrine to wash himself. He used the fingers of his left hand to scratch the area when he saw two tiny translucent string-like worms, about a quarter of an inch long, on the tip of his index finger. One end of each worm had hooked itself onto his finger while the rest of the body was wriggling like a desert snake. Safwan crushed these tiny creatures between his thumb and index fingers, feeling utterly disgusted for he was a man of extreme cleanliness. Although infestations by worms and other parasites were common, Safwan took it as a personal affront to his meticulous hygiene. Feeling embarrassed, he kept the matter to himself. As he climbed into bed, he turned his back to his disappointed wife and pretended he was tired, praying that he would be spared from further discomfort during the night.

  Very early the next day, immediately after morning prayers, Safwan visited the herbal shop at the souk. The stall owner was just opening up and Safwan was his first customer. The embarrassed scholar was relieved to be able to explain his ailment in private without others around to overhear the gruesome details. Head bent, he described the type of worms he had seen on his finger.

  ‘Ah, don’t worry, Sayyidi, this is very common. Have you lost weight recently?’ the healer asked, noticing his thin frame.

  ‘Yes, these last couple of months I have lost quite a bit,’ Safwan acknowledged.

  ‘It is a sign of worms. Contaminated water or contaminated food, especially if you have the habit of eating out at the souk, is generally the source of infestation. Don’t look worried Sayyidi, many people suffer from this. I have the remedy for it,’ he reassured him.

  The stall owner rummaged through his stock and fished out a sack.

  ‘Here, take these dried pumpkin seeds. Add two spoons of the peeled and crushed pumpkin seeds to three cups of boiling water. Let it steep for 30 minutes. Make sure you do not boil the mixture. Allow it to cool, and drink this concoction five times a day. You need to fast and should not eat or drink anything except water during the day. You can have a normal meal in the evening,’ the healer explained as he measured enough seeds for two days.

  ‘On the second day, in addition to the pumpkin seeds, you will need to take this single dose of castor oil in the morning. Again don’t eat anything till evening. Make sure you stay at home as castor oil is a strong laxative and you will be running to the latrine throughout the day. You should be free of worms by the evening of the second day and can eat normally afterward. And soon you will get back to your normal weight,’ the healer further instructed.

  With the medicine man sounding confident about the treatment, Safwan felt reassured. His detailed knowledge had made Safwan realise that worm infestation was a common ailment afflicting many people and that his impeccable hygiene was not to blame. He paid for the medicine and went back home in a better frame of mind. However, he resigned himself to having to tell his wife the truth since she would eventually find out herself. Contrary to his fears, Safwan’s wife was very understanding and did not feel repulsed.

  ‘I will prepare the potion now and you can start the treatment straight away. In a couple of days you should be fine. Don’t worry about it,’ his wife also reassured him.

  On the evening of the first day of treatment, Safwan did not feel any itchiness and was delighted that the remedy was already working. He had taken more than the prescribed five doses during the day, so determined was he to rid himself of this disgusting ailment. On the second day, he took the castor oil on an empty stomach in the morning as advised and by midday he was running every hour to the pit latrine. By evening he felt very weak and was relieved to be able to eat a proper meal. Both he and his wife were pleased when, on the second evening, again he did not feel any itching. With his predicament finally over, Safwan vowed never to eat out at the souk again.

  The following morning, to make him feel even better, Safwan unexpectedly received a personal summons from Chief Ulama Kateb. Both he and his wife were rather surprised by the invitation from the leader of the scholars.

  ‘Maybe Ulama Kateb is finally recognising the fine work you are doing and wants to promote you,’ Safwan’s wife speculated, already thinking about the glamorous life ahead.

  ‘If anyone deserves to be promoted, it certainly should be me,’ Safwan replied, having the same thoughts as his wife.

  ‘But I didn’t expect it to happen so soon. I was happy to wait for a few years to gain more experience,’ he added.

  Nevertheless, he could see himself working a
longside Ulama Kateb. He felt the hard work, and the long hours he had put in, were finally being rewarded.

  ‘I hope that I will not be too intimidated in his presence – I will certainly be very nervous meeting him face to face,’ Safwan confided to his wife.

  Unknown to Safwan, Nuffay had also received the same invitation delivered by a religious guard. In fact, a total of thirty scholars had been summoned for the meeting. Unaware of this, Nuffay too was surprised by the invitation, but for a different reason than Safwan. At one time he had been a promising and bright scholar with a great future ahead under the wing of Ulama Kateb. However, due to his own misjudgement he had fallen out of grace with Kateb. His status had plummeted and now even his colleagues kept their distance in case they too became tainted by his perceived lack of respect. Not a single day passed that he did not regret the presumption that he could debate with his mentor. The unexpected invitation mystified him.

  ‘Maybe Ulama Kateb will send me away to a remote town to punish me further,’ he thought gloomily.

  ‘It may also be possible that Ulama Kateb has had a change of heart and wants you to work alongside him. He is a busy man and only has time to meet with important people. He probably wants to promote you,’ his wife said half-heartedly, trying to sound optimistic to cheer up her husband.

  After a restless night, Safwan left home the following morning with a spring in his step as he made his way to Kateb’s office at the Grand Mosque. His worm infestation was already a distant memory. His pretty wife had given him a long and warm kiss, wishing him good luck on the anticipated promotion as he left the house. However, as he got closer to the palace, he started to feel more and more anxious.

  ‘Why would the renowned ulama want to see me?’ he asked himself for the hundredth time.