“Kueb smiled at his intelligent disciple and said, ‘Let’s leave. They are making an unbearable amount of noise. Let’s go watch the stars somewhere else.’
“ ‘So soon?’ asked the god Cyr, still enthralled by the crowd.
“ ‘Cyr, we had to deal with enough humans in that wretched place called Europe. Here we’ll be free of them.’
“And the little god Cyr looked at Kueb with respect. Kueb picked him up and together they disappeared into the dark night, followed by the god Oman and the goddess Ishtar.
“Cannat had a stone house deep in the jungle, or rather, devoured by the jungle. It was a small house that was hidden in the perpetual shadows of the overcrowded trees that almost reached its door. The house looked lonely and completely out of place among all that exuberant viridity. Vegetation also grew inside the house, and it was apparent hundreds of monkeys used it as a refuge. The house wasn’t very big, as I mentioned, and it was built exactly like a house in the city. It was two stories, had a rectangular base and a very slanted roof. From the outside, it was nothing special. However, I was amazed when I saw the inside. Cannat’s house was like a museum, the most impressive museum you could ever imagine. He had a collection of artistic artifacts like no other in the world and had collected unique pieces from time periods I was unfamiliar with. There were unusual sculptures made from diorite, obsidian, and alabaster, which rested upon pedestals as lavish as the sculptures themselves. Some sculptures were carelessly scattered on the floor. There were portraits of pharaohs and paintings featuring cuneiform inscriptions. There were simple, clay Etruscan sarcophaguses and lavish Egyptian tombs burnished with gold and decorated with radiant precious stones. The satyr, Marysas, horses tail was carelessly enclosed in an alabaster urn. A gold cross representing Ka hung from some unfortunate pharaoh’s sarcophagus. A red and white pschent which symbolized the union of Upper and Lower Egypt, and which probably belonged to him in life, lay at the foot of the tomb.
“Cyr had entered the house and was looking at all the marvelous treasures. All I could do was stare at Cannat with speechless amazement.
“ ‘Yes, I know,’ he said as he shrugged his shoulders. ‘I should’ve put things in order... cleaned up a bit...’
“Everything on the first floor was in a pitiful state of disarray. Strange objects were thrown here and there, completely disorganized and barely recognizable beneath layers of dust so thick it looked like mud. There was animal excrement on the floor and spider webs so thick I could have sown a dress out of them.
“A little monkey sat atop a marble stand that held a Greek bust. He jumped down to join a group of monkeys to welcome Shallem and Cannat, but not before he regaled me with the remains of an exotic fruit he had just finished eating.
“Hidden in a corner amid all the chaotic disorder, I saw, mixed among some ivory spears and statuettes from an untold era, some very old musical instruments which were trying to go unnoticed as if they knew they would turn to dust the next time a chord was played on them. I saw a Minoan harp, a Phoenician sistrum featuring a swastika, a symbol, which back then, represented the promise of a happy life...
“The entire first floor was around a hundred square meters and was completely open so that with just a glance, you could find or simply admire any object in the room. The artifacts were in splendid condition although they weren’t kept in boxes or covered with cloth.
“ ‘Let’s go to the second floor. I think it may be cleaner,’ Cannat said.
“A narrow staircase abutted the wall on the right hand side of the room and several small windows illuminated the passage with a small amount of gloomy light that had managed to break through the leafy barricade outside. At the top of the stairs stood a heavy, massive iron door that made whatever lay behind it an impenetrable sanctuary. Cannat opened the door without even placing a hand on it.
“The second floor, like the first floor, was an enormous open space. However, it was obvious Cannat considered the second floor his home. It was also covered in a thick film of dust and some small, fine spider webs. However, it wasn’t nearly as pitiful as the first floor.
“The second floor was illuminated by ten windows covered with iron bars. It was an enormous space that was divided into a living room and a bedroom. The space was carefully decorated with several different objects in various artistic styles from all civilizations that had existed until that date. In spite of the filth, all the pieces looked as if they had recently been created, as though they had been delicately cared for during their entire long existence; perhaps Cannat had obtained them as soon as they had been made. They weren’t just decorative items; it was obvious Cannat used them for practical purposes. He had decided to use an extremely beautiful Dipylon Krater, which contained some withered plants, as a flower pot. Some Roman amphoras were still being used as they had been a thousand years before; they were filled with wine and were meticulously arranged in a row on a small shelf.
“Two large feather beds, of indigenous origin, stood close together on the far side of the room. A gorgeous Chinese cabinet decorated with inlay had been placed next to the beds. An extremely old Venus statuette with a round body, similar to the Venus found near Willendorf, rested on top of the cabinet. Cannat stored his personal items, like his newly acquired 16th century jewels, in a large trunk and credenza that abutted the wall. Some Greek sculptures, including one of Hermes and one of Apollo, marked the boundaries of the space allotted to the bedroom. Apart from the bedroom, there were just a few more practical items in the living room; such as two tables, a couple of Roman triclinia where you could lie and rest, and four elegant Greek chairs, which were conveniently scattered throughout the room.
“But this wasn’t everything. The entire floor was covered with different styles of rugs from all regions in the world and although all of them must have been more than fifty years-old and dusty, they were in perfect condition. Twenty large paintings, some of which were obviously painted in Botticelli’s style, with mythological themes decorated the walls. I noticed that Cannat and Shallem were the protagonists in practically all the paintings. Judging by their style and theme, all of them must have been created by Florentine artists. Here and there, you could see Greek statues or Roman portraits that also looked like either Cannat or Shallem.
“Everything on this floor was definitely more lavish, expensive, and splendid than what I had seen upon entering the house. There were even two gold-plated and bejeweled Egyptian sarcophaguses that still contained their mummies.
“Cannat adored precious stones, especially blue colored stones, which he used to decorate the walls or hung from the necks of white marble statues.
“Collecting objects from civilizations that had already disappeared and placing them in that small and inaccessible house in the jungle seemed completely foolish and out of place.
“ ‘All of these things are souvenirs,’ Cannat told me. ‘Beautiful keepsakes I’ve collected all of my life. Actually, I don’t collect them, I just take care of them. They mean a lot to me and many of them mean a lot to Shallem. Look, you see that palette of makeup and that obsidian mirror? I took them from an Egyptian queen’s bedroom. What a night we spent together! A young Roman who died too young painted this portrait of me. That poor guy! And that rug... all the beautiful girls from India who weaved it spent a night in my arms. Oh, yes! A small Asian girl who sold me that rug and also spent the night in my arms. Unfortunately, many of my keepsakes have be ruined with the passage of time. I’m so old!’
“ ‘And what is this?’ Cyr asked. In his hand, he held an alabaster vase into which a procession of naked and muscular men, who carried different types of offerings, were etched.
“ ‘Be careful, Cyr. It’s an irreplaceable relic, just like everything else in here. It’s from a place called Uruk that no longer exists. It’s more than forty-five hundred years-old.’
“Cyr breathed a sigh of amazement.
“ ‘It’s a vase used during religious ceremonies. There’s a cy
linder inside it, be careful with it.’
“I took the cylindrical stamp from Cyr and curiously examined its relief.
“ ‘Were those ceremonies dedicated to you? Were you their god?’ Cyr asked.
“ ‘Yes. Your father and I were a couple of their gods. That’s why it’s so important...’
“Suddenly, Cannat stopped speaking. Shallem was watching him as he leaned against a sculpture of Apollo. His torso rested against Apollo’s torso and just like Apollo, he was completely naked.
“From where I stood, I compared Shallem to the Greek prodigy and once again realized just how beautiful he was. The hardness of his chest, his perfect muscles, his sturdy legs, his pelvic bones that protruded sharply and were so exciting and erotic. Apollo looked like a pale mirage in comparison to Shallem.
“Cannat didn’t say a word and starting walking toward him. Without wasting a second, he began taking off his clothes and throwing them carelessly onto the trunk his brother had left open. Now naked, he stood next to Shallem, laced his arm through his and kissed him affectionately on the shoulder.
“ ‘I love you,’ he whispered and ran his hand through Shallem’s hair. He selected a lock of hair and studied it as one would admire a treasure.
“I had never seen Cannat naked. He was absolutely perfect. His luscious buttocks were high and round and as smooth as if they had been chiseled in marble and then transformed into rosy flesh. They were an invitation to lust. The slightest movement caused a host of different muscles and tendons underneath his skin to tense. His neck was strong but thinner than Shallem’s and his skin had an almost golden hue.
“Shallem stared at him with an expression of admiration and fascination, as though he were seeing him for the first time. He slowly grew closer to Cannat and kissed him softly on the lips.
“I saw how the kiss grew less moderate and more profound, more impassioned. I noticed how Shallem responded to Cannat’s touch and pressed himself against him.
“Cannat’s eyes pierced me like red-hot irons as he kissed Shallem. I knew right away what he wanted to do; something that he himself had explained to me on one occasion. He wanted to become one with Shallem. He wanted to unite their souls as they had been before their Father had separated them.
“Of course, this wasn’t a physical act, like the miserable coupling of humans which pales in comparison. Helpless and dejected, their bodies would fall to the floor but their souls would become one. One perfect soul that would be just as strong and powerful as it had been before God, perhaps for this reason, decided to divide in two.
“Cannat had told me that time ceased to exist when their souls were united and it was God who forced them to separate. Once, their souls were united for more than twelve years without either of them realizing how much time had passed. Each time they would unite their souls, God would struggle to separate them. Having to separate was unbearable, so much so that they often avoided joining their souls so as not to suffer.
“Not being able to unite his soul with Cannat’s, because of my presence, was a great sacrifice for Shallem. He couldn’t succumb to this desire because once their souls were united, he might abandon me for years. However, for Cannat, it was an unacceptable torture to not be united with Shallem. And, of course I, once more, was to blame.
“I saw Shallem’s eyes glisten and knew all he saw was Cannat. I saw that his muscles had relaxed and that he was completely at the mercy of his other half, as if he could no longer fight the desire to merge their souls.
“I wanted to stop them before it was too late. I looked at the five thousand year old stamp that I still held in my hand and compulsively threw it against the hard stone floor.
“It shattered to pieces beneath the painting of Venus and Adonis that Leonardo had painted for me.
“Everyone turned to look. Cannat’s gaze alternated between me and the pieces on the floor; his face was contorted with anger. I was glued to the floor in the center of the room, just like one of the statues, and watched as he ran furiously toward me.
“Panicked, I started to scream and run but it took seconds for him to reach me. He grabbed me and threw me in the air as if I were a doll in a puppet show. He lifted me above his head with one hand wrapped around my neck and the other grabbing my waist. Shallem tried to pull his arms down as he begged him to leave me alone. Cyr was visibly frightened and jumped up and down next to Cannat, asking him to let me go. Then Cannat looked at the wall and I knew he was about to hurl me against it.
“That is exactly what would have happened if Shallem hadn’t of grabbed my long dress. Cannat grew frustrated and then threw me toward the floor in front of him. Shallem caught me in his arms.
“I was trembling and frightened. Shallem left me lying there and approached Cannat who was kneeling on the floor picking up the pieces of his relic.
“Shallem leaned over, rested his hands on Cannat’s neck and kissed him softly on his temple and hair.
“ ‘Don’t you say anything if I kill her,’ Cannat snarled in a low voice. ‘Please, don’t say anything. You’re going to pay for this.’
“Shallem rested his cheek against his head and cradling him like a child whispered, ‘Calm down Cannat, calm down.’
“I was truly sorry for what had happened. I knew perfectly well how much Cannat valued the treasure I had destroyed. His initial anger passed and he seemed extremely sad for many days. When I glanced his way and saw the sad expression on his face, my heart broke and I was overwhelmed with guilt. But Cannat knew very well how I felt and exaggerated his anguish just to torment me even more. In fact, he had already pieced the stamp back together and it was back inside the ritualistic vase from Uruk. However, I would often see him hold it and look at it sadly as if it were still shattered to pieces. In reality, he had restored it so well that you could once again see its relief as easily as when it was first created. Cannat wouldn’t stop until he managed to break my heart, until he caught my attention and watched as I looked away in shame and guilt for having destroyed his irreplaceable memento.
“One day when we were alone, I asked him. ‘You would have killed me because I broke a piece of clay?’ He was sitting on a rug with his back against his bed. He looked at me, closed his eyes for a moment and then placed his index finger on his temple as though he were deep in thought.
“ ‘Twenty-seven thousand two hundred and fifteen,’ he said.
“ ‘What’s that mean?’ I asked and with his most evil smile he responded, ‘That’s how many days I have left until you are gone. If I can handle it... You don’t remember? Your days are counted... And you can’t bargain with time.’
“I can’t explain why but right after he said that, I wanted to approach him. When I was less than a meter away, an electric shock pushed me away. I shrieked in pain, shock, and anger.
“ ‘You jerk!’ I shouted and he just laughed.
“ ‘I don’t want you anywhere near me,’ he stated. ‘I’m not going to hurt you but stay away from me.’
“I tried to get close again and again was jolted by the shock.
“ ‘What is that?’ I asked, trembling from the shock.
“ ‘It’s a repellent for annoying humans. I made it just for you. Do you like it? You destroyed something that is magical to Shallem and I but, as usual, you don’t understand anything.’
“Our conversation continued fruitlessly. For several months, Cannat used his damned electric shocks to keep me away from him and he found it very amusing to do so.
“Shallem and Cannat didn’t touch their clothes. Day and night, they walked around completely naked. And I, of course, had ended up taking most of mine off. At first, I was somewhat bashful because I was worried Cannat might leer at me. However, he didn’t even blink the first time he saw me naked. He just gave me a slight look of approval, not because of my body, but because I had finally allowed myself to be free. I quickly discarded my modesty because, for them, us walking around naked was just as normal as all the rest of the animals wal
king around naked. Being naked had nothing to do with sex or lust.
“Often, I would feign a headache just so I could spy on them when they left the house together. I found it fascinating to do so.
“They usually went to the river to indulge in a bath among innocuous alligators and pythons. I was able to spy on them easily hidden behind the dense foliage. They enjoyed being in the water, sitting on the banks of the river as they placidly listened to the birds sing, and playing with beautiful jaguars that would come and rub their warm and soft fur against their skin. When there weren’t any jaguars around, you would see them surrounded by little skunk pigs, deer, tapirs, monkeys, agoutis, capybaras, multicolored birds and an endless list of other adorable animals. Shallem and Cannat were magnets that attracted any animal that detected their presence. All animals would come running to give and to receive love. In the jungle, Cannat and Shallem were in their element, in their world. They felt freer, happier.”
–II–
“Pleasantly, two years passed by. From time to time Cannat pretended he hadn’t forgiven me for everything I had done. When he was in a good mood, he would jolt me with his electric shocks. It was a game to him.
“Although they would ask me to go out with them, I would decline because I knew how much they enjoyed being alone together. And also because I didn’t want piranhas to eat me, or alligators to rip my arms off, or because there were things that I simply didn’t want to do like materialize and dematerialize, or because there were things I couldn’t do like play with jaguars or deer. This was the one thing that made Cyr very sad. He would cry inconsolably every time an animal would flee when he tried to approach it. And, at times, I would also cry. We would keep our distance and suffer their rejection together. This was the one thing we couldn’t share with Cannat and Shallem and therefore it was precisely what we wanted the most. Cyr loved animals and couldn’t understand why it wasn’t reciprocated, why they threatened to bite him with their large fangs, or, and even more hurtful, why they ran away from him. When he ran crying and asking why, why and why to Shallem and Cannat, they just looked at him as if he were a poor, pitiful creature and kissed him compassionately.
The Devil's Concubine Page 29
