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Survivors I


aurelius

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Survivors I:  1-5

 

 

1

I had to save him.  He was small and pretty, and some men—too many—like pretty boys.  And they liked the fact that he was Nubian—that made some soldiers more excited to take him.  Lucky for me, I wasn’t small nor pretty.  A few years older, I was stronger, too.  So, as the ship slowed in the dark waters off the coast of the island, while the soldiers were getting ready and loading things into other reed boats, I took Abari’s hand and we went into a reed boat on the other side of the ship, and I let the boat down into the water.  

 

Abari was scared.  I could see it in his big brown eyes.  So I took up the oar and paddled as quietly and quickly as I could.  But the island was farther away than it seemed, and soon I got tired from the excitement and paddling.  As we got closer to the island, I saw a big man dive into the ocean.  At first I wondered if he was going to treat us the way the soldiers on the ship did.  But I was so tired from paddling that it didn’t really matter.  Abari was asleep.  Soon the man was at the side of the boat.

 

He put a thick forearm over the side of our little boat and looked in, saw the two of us, and then he started swimming back to the island—one arm doing the swimming, the other holding on to the boat.  I drifted in and out of sleep. 

 

I woke up when I heard the man shout, “Amare!  You need to come down to the shore!”

 

“Can’t,” a deep voice boomed out of the twilight.  “Soldiers are coming  I’m starting to throw rock.”  I woke up enough to see a very large man standing on top of a small cliff.  He was throwing boulders toward the ship that Abari and I had just left.  I turned around and saw one of the boulders crashing into the ship; the water sprayed up.  Soldiers in a boat started yelling at each other.  I wondered if they still wanted to attack the island.

 

Because that was the reason the ship was getting close to the island.  This was the island where the escaped slaves lived, and the Egyptians wanted to recapture them and bring them back to Egypt.  I guess there was something special about these men; the Egyptians had a lot of slaves and volunteers to drag slabs for pyramids.  At least that’s what I was able to piece together on board the ship before I figured out how to get Abari and me away from the soldiers who like to fuck little boys.

 

Our rescuer swam and dragged our boat close to shore.  Then he stood up—he was bigger than I thought he was, very muscular and he had pale hair on his head.  I could barely see that he had a little pale hair between the muscles of his chest.  I had never seen someone with pale hair; it’s not something much seen in Egypt.  He dragged our boat onshore and then he lifted both Abari and me out.  I was so tired I didn’t resist, even though I’m always suspicious of big men.  But he easily carried both of us along the shore toward the cliff where the other big man was throwing boulders at the ship.  

 

“Are they coming ashore?” 

 

“It doesn’t look like it—although a couple soldiers seem to be swimming this way.  They may be new men for us.”

 

“The more the merrier.  But you need to come down and see what I found in a boat—one for me, and one for you.”

 

I suddenly was scared.  What did “one for you” mean?  Were these large men going to fuck us too?  But the big man was interested.  He came down from the cliff.  He was a huge Nubian with the biggest muscles I had ever seen; he seemed a walking mountain.  Both he and our rescuer were naked except for what looked like snakeskin covering their privates.  Both their snakeskins bulged. The walking mountain smiled as our rescuer showed him Abari.  As if he knew this, Abari woke up and immediately held out his hands toward the large Nubian, who scooped up Abari in his huge muscular arms and kissed him.  Abari put his arms around the Nubian’s large neck and kissed him back.  I could only smile.  I had played a part in bringing Abari to someone who would love him.  It looked like I had done the right thing.

 

Abari started rubbing his hands over the big muscles of Amare.  Then he was hitting the muscles with his little fists.  Amare just smiled.  He looked at the man with pale hair and said, “Thank you!”  It looked like Abari had found a home.

 

Our rescuer knelt down and looked at me: “That was very brave, what you did, stealing that boat and paddling toward the island.”

 

I wasn’t sure if I should answer him, but I did:  “Thank you for swimming out to us and bringing us to shore.  I was very tired of paddling.”

 

“You’re a brave kid, and we like that here.  You know Amare’s name, but we don’t know yours or your friend’s.”

 

“My friend is named Abari.  I am Jabar.”

 

“A fitting name for one so brave.  I am Gareth; as you can probably tell, I’m not Egyptian.”  He smiled and chuckled.  “Amare is my best friend, my lover, my soul.”

 

“And Gareth is mine,” said Amare.  “But come; you boys must be thirsty.  Let’s go to our house so you can get something to drink.”

 

While Amare carried Abari, I walked beside Gareth.  After a few steps, I had to ask, “Are you going to fuck us?”

 

He suddenly stopped and turned toward me.  “What?” he nearly yelled.  Amare also stopped and turned around, looking at me and then down at Abari.  Gareth knelt down again and said, “Why would we…?—Oh.  Were you boys fucked by Egyptian soldiers?”

 

“Yes—especially Abari.  They liked fucking a Nubian boy.”  At this, Abari looked up at Amare, who hugged Abari tighter and said softly, “I will never hurt you.“

 

Gareth said, “Amare and I have each other—and we are all we ever want.”  And here he looked me in the eye.  “I am sorry you and Abari have suffered.  Please don’t be afraid of either Amare or me.” 

 

I looked at him suspiciously.

 

“No; I really mean it.  It seems Abari instinctively knows that he can trust Amare.  I hope you can learn to trust me.”

 

That would have to do for now.  Besides, have I said the man was big and muscular?  He was.  I was willing to trust him for a while.

 

As evening turned to night, we went up a small rise in the sand.  Under some trees, it wasn’t much of a house.  Amare held up some netting which seemed to be the door.  Gareth soon lit a couple of torches.  I could see slabs of rock stuck in the ground, with spaces between the slabs that let air in and, I imagined, light when it was day.  More stone slabs formed a roof over the part of the large room to our right.  There were pegs at the top of the stone walls; some belts with knives, some khepesh swords, a conch horn, and a strap for a jug hung down.  Where we entered, there were palm leaves tied together and resting on thin logs for a ceiling.  The place felt light and airy, but with a strong shelter to the right.   A rough stone table stood against one wide slab.  We sat down on a sandy floor, Amare still holding Abari, with Abari’s little arms around as much of Amare’s wide neck as he could reach.  There were bags of something in the back part of the big room; I guessed they were beds.  

 

We heard men talking and walking outside.  Gareth put his head out the door and said, “Hello Menes, Shakir!  Did you find something in the sea tonight?” 

 

“Yes, Gareth, two new men—we’re taking them to our place.  This is Aki and Babu.”

 

Gareth said “Welcome, Aki and Babu!”   We have Jabar and Abari from your ship.”

 

“That’s good to hear!” Menes said.

 

After goodbyes, Gareth went behind one of the walls and brought out a large clay pitcher and some large cups.  He poured water into two cups and handed one to Abari and one to me.  Each of us had to use both hands to hold our cups.

 

“It looks like water, but it’s more than that.  Don’t drink it too quickly.”

 

But Abari had already gulped his down.  Immediately he got sleepy and fell asleep in Amare’s big arms.

 

Gareth smiled at me: “Like I said, don’t drink it too quickly.”

 

I took a drink—probably too much of a drink.  It didn’t taste like water.  “What’s in this water?” I asked.

 

“We call it power water: it comes from the volcano in the center of the island.  When we first got here, we were all thirsty and we all drank it too fast—and we all fell asleep.  But when we awoke, we felt stronger.  Since then, we’ve found ways to increase its power.  We drink it every day and, well, you can see the result”—and he flexed his arms so that he had big balls of muscle in them.  “So, like I said, take it easy with the water.  Even if you take it easy, you may find yourself getting—“

 

But I didn’t hear the end of his sentence.  I too was falling asleep.  Gareth wrapped me up in his muscular arms and took me to a bed at the back of the big room.  Amare and Abari were already there.  As I started to fall asleep, I heard Amare softly singing to Abari as he cradled him in his huge arms.  I did not understand the words he said.

 

 

2

 

I woke up and Abari was already awake.  He was wandering around the big room, and Amare was standing at the table against the wall, pouring water into cups and shushing Abari, whispering, “Don’t wake up Jabar; let him sleep!”  But Abari was only six and was too excited, interested in finding out what this was and that was.  So he woke me up.  

 

“That’s OK,” I said, slowly pushing myself up.  “I’m awake.”  It only occurred to me later that I might have fallen sleep in Gareth’s arms.  The idea felt oddly reassuring.

 

“See?” Abari said brightly, “He’s awake!”  

 

“OK, Jabar,” Amare said, “Let’s see if some power water will put you to sleep again” as he handed me a cup of water.

 

“Well, if it does,” I said, “I’m fine with that.  I feel great!”

 

“That’s usually what happens,” Amare said.  “Especially if you’ve had a strenuous day before you had your first drink.  And you did have a strenuous day yesterday!”

 

I looked at my arms. They somehow seemed stronger.  At least they didn’t hurt—and after all that paddling I did last evening.  I drank some.  And then I drank some more.  “That’s funny; I’m not sleepy.  And I don’t feel hungry.”

 

“The water is nourishing,” Amare said.  “Sometimes we will have a feast—especially of seafood, since Gareth loves to bring in oysters and other things from the sea.  I love him like crazy, but the man is addicted to swimming and diving in the water.  But most days we just drink the power water.”

 

“And if I keep drinking this water, will I grow up to be as big as you?”  Abari was looking up at Amare with his big brown eyes and all the innocence of his six years.

 

Amare looked down at Abari:  “If you want to grow as big as me, I think we can help you do that.”

 

“Goody!” said Abari.  “I want big muscles!”  And he began flexing his little arms and growling as he danced around the room.  Amare and I couldn’t help laughing.

 

“Who wants big muscles?”  Gareth said as he came up the steps to the house.  Behind him were four young men: two of them older and taller than the other two.  And each pair was white and black.  And they were each beautiful in his own way.  The two taller men were nearly as muscular as Gareth—was every man on this island a muscle man?—and they also only wore snakeskin pouches for their privates.   The tall white man had hairy legs, while the other tall man was smooth and black; they could have been brothers, but for their skin.  The two younger men were different: one was stocky and very muscular and the other was thinner.

 

“Abari and Jabar, I want you to meet your new bothers.  These are”—and he gestured to the younger men—“Lateef and Garin; the older guys are Zuberi and Xander.”

 

Abari immediately made the names into a game.  He went around to each of the young men and tried to say their name:

 

“You are Lateef.  I think you are thin as a leaf!”  He laughed, but Lateef looked a little hurt and embarrassed.

 

“Thanks, kid.  One of these days I’ll say something mean about you!”  

 

“Now, Lateef,” said Garin,  “So you’re a little on the thin side.  You’re also the fastest and smartest of us and you know I will always love you.”  And with that, muscular Garin swept Lateef up in his arms and planted a big kiss on Lateef’s lips.  

 

“Garin loves Lateef!” Abari said, and then he turned it into a song: “Garin loves Lateef!  Garin loves Lateef!”  It was cute; everyone chuckled.

 

Abari went over to one of the two older youths.  “Are you Zuberi?”

 

“No; I’m Xander.  Zuberi’s Nubian; I’m Greek.  But I love Zuberi just as much as Garin loves Lateef!”

 

Abari looked shocked.  “Everyone loves everyone else!” he said, as if he had just made a momentous discovery.  “And I will love you all, too!”  And he went around to each young man, hugging their thighs, since that’s as far as he could reach.  When he got to Zuberi, the muscular Nubian swooped Abari up in his arms and said, “And I will love you too!”  as he gave him a kiss on the cheek.

 

I was glad Abari was happy, but my natural suspicion rose.  I cleared my throat and said, “Can I ask a question?”

 

“Certainly, Jabar,” said Gareth.

 

“These guys are pairs of black and white.  I know Abari and I are black and white, but so are all these other guys.  Was this on purpose?”

 

“Of course it was,” Gareth said.  “Amare and I love each other and each time we’ve rescued—“

 

“You’ve rescued,” corrected Amare, with a smile.

 

“OK; each time I’ve rescued a pair of white and black boys, we’ve taken them in and brought them up.  Amare and I love each other, and we want other young white and black boys to grow up loving each other as well.”

 

“And it works,” Lateef said.  “These guys”—he gestured to Amare and Gareth— “are the greatest fathers any boy could have.  Am I right?”  He looked around at Garin, Zuberi and Xander, and all of them were nodding agreement.

 

“But wait a minute,” I said, turning to Amare and Gareth.  “Zuberi and Xander look to be about twenty, while you guys look to be only thirty.  Did you get here when you were twelve?”

 

Amare and Gareth looked at each other and laughed.  Amare spoke: “We’re closer to 50.  It’s the power water.  It keeps our bodies young.  I can still throw boulders at ships out at sea, and Gareth—as you know—can tow a boat while swimming with one arm.”

 

“And we’re about thirty,” said Xander.

 

“We’re still teenagers—just,” said Garin, and he and Lateef turned to each other and smiled.  “But we’ve been here a while.  We came here pretty much at the same age as you and Abari.  Can you tell that I’m the baby?”

 

“He can’t, but I can,” said Lateef, and all the older guys laughed.

 

Gareth smiled and spoke:  “It’s a lot to take in, Jabar.  You’ll have to help Abari understand it.  And Lateef and Garin will help you to understand it.  Xander and Zuberi are your back-ups.  They’ll find you if you’re in trouble, but most of the time they’re busy at the smithy or with the military.”

 

“Smithy?  Military?”  I said.  I really can be annoying with questions.

 

Zuberi said, “Xander and I work at the smelter, taking ores and heating them up to refine them into gold and other metals. And this one”—he punched Xander in his arm—“likes nothing more than to hammer metal into swords and spears.”

 

Xander ducked his head a little and said, “Yes, I do.”  Was he actually blushing?  If so, it only made him more beautiful.

 

It seemed Xander and Zuberi had worked out how to split up the information; Xander said, “And we’re also part of the defense force.  As you know, Egyptians like to come here, steal men away and make them slaves.  Zuberi and I want to stop them.”

 

“And I hope you always will!  Abari and I never want to go back!”  I found myself standing up straight and yelling.  I think everyone except Gareth was surprised at my outburst.  But Gareth said, “And we will all—“  here, he looked around at everyone—“we all will make sure that never happens.  You are safe here.  We will protect you.”

 

And with that, my trust in Gareth increased again.

 

“And now,” said Amare, “Let’s all sit down and have a drink and some talk before I ask Garin and Lateef to show Abari and Jabar some more of the island.”

 

 

3

 

But our conversation had to take a necessary turn.  As Zuberi sat down, he came right out with it: “Did the soldiers hurt you?”

 

Gareth intervened: “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, Jabar.”  Already, Abari was hiding in Amare’s big arms.  He looked down as if scared.  I wondered if I should tell the truth or let Gareth answer.  So I looked at Gareth and nodded.

 

“Let’s just say,” he said, “that some Egyptian soldiers like little boys, and they do bad things to them.”  I looked at Abari; he gave a tiny nod; he was fine with that description.   

 

Like a breath of fresh air, Garin said, “The same thing happened to us.”  And Lateef nodded his agreement.

 

“Really?” Abari perked up from Amare’s arms.  “And now you’re big and strong?”

 

Garin smiled and flexed his big arms. “Yes, my little brother.  The same thing happened to me, but now I’m big and strong!”

 

Abari jumped out of Amare’s arms, ran toward Garin and jumped in his big arms, “Then you’re my favorite brother!”  

 

“Wow!” said Lateef.  “You really know how to hurt a guy!”

 

“Oh, I love you too!”  Abari ran to Lateef and hugged him.  “But I want to be big and strong like Amare and Garin.  I hope you will help make me smart.”

 

“I certainly will,” said Lateef, kissing Abari.

 

I let out a long, low breath.  What I thought was our secret wasn’t a secret; other boys had been fucked too.  This had gone better than I had feared.  And I owed it all to Gareth.  The man was a hero in more ways than one.  It was a strange feeling: I was starting to trust an older man.

 

Amare passed around cups of water.  I noticed that Garin drank pretty fast, while Lateef drank more slowly.  Xander and Zuberi drank more slowly too.  I drank mine as slowly as I could.  Amare said to Abari, “This time, drink the water slowly—or you’ll go to sleep again.”

 

“I don’t want to go to sleep,” said Abari brightly.  “I want to stay awake with my new brothers!”

 

Everyone loved Abari.  And why not?  He was pretty and cute, but I couldn’t help feel like I was still his best protector, even if we were surrounded by all these muscular young men who were our new brothers.  But I wanted to know more.

 

“Zuberi and Xander—were you slaves as well?”

 

“Yes, we were,” said Xander. “But we were on a commercial ship from Crete.  We weren’t hurt too much—though some men liked Zuberi because he was darker.”

 

“Yeah, well they liked you because you were pretty!”  

 

“Well, OK,” said Xander, who dipped his curly head a little; he really was very handsome.  “Zuberi and I worked out a plan where we would steal a small boat and paddle to this island.  Our father Gareth swam out and pulled us to the shore—like he probably did with you.  But Lateef is right.  Our fathers gave us the love and protection we needed.  They helped us grow up and get strong and become the men we are.”

 

“You mean the studs you are!” Garin interjected.  “Because you guys are the two most beautiful studs on this island.”

 

Now both Xander and Zuberi dipped their heads and smiled at each other.  

 

“Well, if we are,” said Zuberi, “it’s only because of our dads.”

 

Then Xander said with a smile, “And these two studs have to be getting back to the smithy.”  

 

“Yeah,” said Zuberi, “Xander’s muscles have a hot date with a sword.  You should see how he wails on that metal!”

 

He and Zuberi stood up and went over to Amare and Gareth.  Xander said, “Goodbye dad; I love you” and he gave Gareth a kiss and a hug; Gareth answered with “I love you, son.”   Zuberi did the same with Amare, who answered the same as Gareth.  Then the two studs switched: Zuberi went over to Gareth, kissed him, gave him a hug and said, “Goodbye father; I love you.“—which is what Xander said to big Amare.  It all seemed a ritual which the young men had repeated with their fathers many times.

 

Then the two big young men came over to me and to Abari and said “Goodbye little brothers,” and gave us kisses and hugs.  Garin and Lateef only rated waves from Xander and Zuberi, who said, “See you later, studs”—and everyone laughed.  

 

After they had left, Amare said to Garin and Lateef, “Why don’t you studs take your new brothers and show them where Zuberi and Xander work?  And then tour some of the island—like maybe take them swimming in the pool?  Just make sure you are back by sunset.”

 

“Of course, father,” Lateef said to Amare.  He got up and kissed Amare and gave him a hug.  Garin did the same with Gareth.  Then they switched parents; Lateef said. “I love you, dad,” as he hugged and kissed Gareth, who again answered with “I love you, son.”  Garin said and did the same to Amare.  Once again, it all seemed a ritual they had done many times.

 

Garin then picked up Abari and said, ”How would you like a ride on my shoulders?”  To which Abari said “Goody!” and clapped his hands; Garin promptly put him on his shoulders.

 

“Come along, Jabar,” Lateef said, “I could carry you on my shoulders down the hill, but you might fall off.  I think it’s better if we walk and talk.  Ready?”

 

“Of course,” I said, and I got up to follow Lateef.

 

“Lateef,” Amare said, “here’s a jug of water to take with you.  Remember—back by sunset.”

 

“Of course, father,” said Lateef, who took the jug of water as he and I turned to go.

 

 

4

 

Amare and Gareth lived close to the ocean, up a small rise from the sandy shore.  The shore formed a small bay where the water looked calm; the waves were small and on this bright, sunny day had a constant rhythm that I liked.  Toward the right as we came out of their house, the sandy shore got even bigger: it widened, went on for a while, and then it disappeared into palm trees and other trees that lined the shore on the other side of the bay.  All that sand looked inviting—a good place to play.  But we turned away from the shore on a path to our right.

 

We could see tall, muscular Xander and Zuberi walking in the distance and we followed along.  But Abari had to get down every now and then to look at something along the path—a flower, a butterfly; it didn’t matter; I suspect what he really wanted was to feel the power of Garin’s arms lifting him up to his shoulders again.

 

But since Garin and Lateef knew the way and we weren’t in a hurry, I had more questions.

 

“Why did you call Gareth ‘dad’ but you called Amare ‘father’?”

 

“Because while each of us loves both our parents, we have a special relationship with our dads.  Our dads made us who we are, one way or another.  I know it sounds mysterious, but I’m sure that Gareth wants you and Abari to enjoy being kids.  In order to do that, some things will have to be secret for a while.”

 

“But I don’t like secrets,” I said. “Secrets can hurt little boys.”

 

“Yes, they can. I understand what you mean and why you feel that way.  But after you’ve been here a while, and after you really trust us—and have become our brothers and the sons of Amare and Gareth—then you will learn more.  And you will learn it from your dad.”

 

“You mean Gareth?  It’s pretty obvious that Abari has already chosen Amare as his dad.  That leaves me with Gareth.”

 

“But see?  You’re still distant from him.  You don’t trust him enough.  When you do trust and love him, he will know how to answer your questions.”

 

“So then, I’m the person holding me back from knowing what I want to know.”

 

Lateef stopped, smiled, looked at me and said, “You’re very bright.  I’m so happy you’re becoming my brother.”  He knelt down, hugged me, gave me a kiss, and then said, “But yes: you are holding yourself back.  Let me tell you that I speak from experience: it’s harder for us smart boys to learn to love and trust.  Just look at Abari and Garin: they’re two peas in a pod: they want muscle; they want to live in their bodies.  It’s a rare day when Garin is troubled by a thought.”

 

“Who has time for thinking?” Garin said.  “Especially when I get to play with this rascal!”  And he threw Abari up in the air and caught him.  Abari giggled.  Clearly, Garin had been listening—and he wasn’t as thick as I had thought he was.  

 

Garin came over to Lateef and me.  “But Lateef is right—as usual.  You two boys are a lot like Lateef and me: you’re the smart one, like Lateef, and Abari just wants to get big and strong, like me.”  And here Garin, holding Abari on his shoulders again, came up to me and whispered, “Listen to Lateef.  Trust Gareth.  The man already loves you; you need to learn to trust and love him back.”

 

As Garin walked off with Abari on his shoulders, Lateef said, “Garin is quick to size up people, and I think he understands you—as he has understood me for years.”

 

“Damn right!” Garin yelled over his shoulder.

 

“You see, when we came here, Gareth thought Garin should be with him.  After all, they were from the same northern barbarian tribe and spoke the same language.  But Garin was a lot like Abari—as soon as he saw Amare, he wanted big muscles.  So, although Xander and Zuberi had gone with fathers who were closer in color, Garin refused to go along with that idea.  He liked Gareth; he liked talking with him and hearing stories about their people.  But he kept looking over at Amare; it was obvious that he wanted to be with Amare.  At first I resisted—why would I want to be with this pale white ghost?  I was Nubian; I wanted to be with Amare, too.  But Gareth calmly—and wisely—had me look at how happy Garin was in the arms of Amare.  He knew that I, as the older boy, wanted Garin to be happy.  After all, I—like you—had devised a plan for us to escape.  I was very protective of the pretty little white boy who was fucked every night.  Gareth understood that I wanted Garin to be happy.  And Gareth knew that it would take some time for me to trust him.  Sound familiar?”

 

“Yeah, it does!”  I looked at Lateef more closely.  He was Nubian; I was Egyptian, but something in his eyes told me he was smart, and that he probably did understand me.

 

“And now,” said Lateef, “since there’s only one adult in this group, I think it’s time we stop and have some water.”

 

“Well, OK, big brother, I guess I could use a rest.”  I got the impression that Garin was used to his brother thinking for him—even if he wanted to play more.

 

We found a sandy place out of the sun under some trees.  Lateef opened the jug of water and passed it to Abari, saying, “Drink slowly, little brother, or you’ll fall asleep and miss watching Zuberi and Xander.”

 

“OK.  I don’t want to miss that!”  And Abari actually drank slowly.  He passed the jug to Garin who also drank slowly.  So did I and so did Lateef.

 

I was surprised when Abari spoke up; he turned to Garin and said, “How did you old guys escape and come to the island?  Did Lateef steal a boat like Jabar did?”

 

Garin chuckled and said to Lateef, “He called us ‘old guys’!”  Then he turned to Abari and said, “Yes; that’s pretty much what happened.  Lateef saved me from the soldiers.  He put me in the boat and paddled toward the island.  Father Gareth came out to bring us to shore.”

 

“And that’s what happened to us, Abari,” I said. “You were asleep most of the time until you saw Amare.”

 

‘The difference is that I was picked up by Amare,” Lateef said, “while little Garin was cuddled by Gareth.”

 

“And I have little memory of that;  I was asleep in the boat, too,” Garin said. “So you see, my little brother, we are very much alike!”

 

“And I’m going to get big and strong like you, too!”  And once again, Abari threw himself at Garin, who hugged and kissed the little guy. 

 

“It’s not so bad, being the smart one,” Lateef whispered to me.  “But you will always have to think ahead for your little brother—just as I have!”

 

“You know,” Garin, still holding Abari, said to Lateef,  “if you hadn’t been thinking for me, all those years, maybe I would have gotten smarter on my own.”

 

“And maybe you’d be dead!”  And here Lateef punched Garin in his thick, muscular arm.

 

“Ow!” Garin pretended to be hurt.  “Here, little brother, kiss my arm and make it better!”  Abari kissed Garin’s arm again and again and again.

 

“Are we rested and ready to go see Zuberi and Xander?” Lateef put the lid on the jug and put it back into the pouch that hung from his shoulder.

 

“Yes, my brother; thanks for the rest!”  Garin got up and put Abari on his shoulders.  We were off again.

 

 

5

 

We still had a long way to walk.  Lateef had us rest at about the midway point.  Garin still carried Abari on his shoulders, but Abari was tired from all his excitement and didn’t want to explore anymore.  I saw him nodding off a couple of times.  Garin noticed it too and slowed down.  And I didn’t feel like asking more questions—at least not for a while.  I had a lot to think about.  Lateef was smart, and Garin and Lateef seemed to have an understanding of Abari and me that I never would have guessed was possible.  So, I wanted to think about it all.

 

Lateef pointed out our destination in the distance: a dull gray building made out of stone slabs, with  chimneys spewing smoke.  The building was not too small nor large; it sat near the bottom of a long hill—a hill that got taller as it rose up toward the old volcano.  So I guessed the ore came from mines that were connected to the volcano, and the ore was brought to the smithy where Xander and Zuberi worked.  Beside the smithy were a couple of other stone buildings; one had a large smoking chimney.  Lateef said the chimney was the potter’s kiln; the other building was for weavers of rope.

 

At last we entered.  It was dark and smokey inside; fires burned, some of them flaring up as someone used a bellows to pump air into the flames.  It wasn’t too hard to see Xander; his skin glistened with sweat as he hammered a sword on an anvil.  Sparks flew with every hammer blow.  It was harder to see Zuberi, but he was working in front of a fire and so we could see his outline.  He was pouring some gold liquid into something.  Once our eyes got more accustomed to the darkness, we could see his skin glistening with sweat as well.  

 

It was a bit strange, seeing all that muscle in Zuberi’s body, seated and a bit hunched as he poured the liquid gold into some kind of mold.  His muscles seemed coiled and unused; meanwhile his brother’s muscles were flexing hard as his hammer fell on the sword.

 

Both young men flexed their muscles as they worked, and those muscles looked bigger than when we had last seen them.  I looked around at the other young men in the smithy.  There were about a dozen of them; they were all muscular.  But I thought my new brothers were the most beautiful of them all.  They looked like young gods.

 

I noticed that Garin tightened his grip on Abari’s legs as he walked up to Zuberi.  “I’ve got a little brother who wants to know what you’re doing.”  He nearly yelled, given all the hammering and bellows sounds throughout the smithy.

 

“Oh, hi, little brother!”  Zuberi got up from his seat, put the hot liquid back into the flames, and walked over to us.  “I’m working with gold today.  Xander is beating swords into shape.”  Here he put his hands up next to his mouth and yelled, “Hey, Greek boy!  Someone’s here to see you!”  At the sound of Zuberi’s voice, Xander turned around and put down his hammer.  Then he walked over to see us.

 

“Hello, little brothers!  Welcome to our smithy.”  Then he turned around and put his hands up to his mouth and yelled loudly, “Hey guys!  Come over here and meet our new little brothers!”

 

Suddenly the smithy got a lot quieter.  The dozen other young men put down their hammers and tools and came over.  I think they were all grateful for the break.

 

Zuberi lifted up Abari and said, “This is Abari!”  There was a chorus of “Welcome, Abari!”  Abari got embarrassed, put his arms around Zuberi’s neck and hid.

 

And Xander lifted me up and said, “And this is Jabar.”  There was a chorus of “Welcome Jabar!”  I nodded and tried not to feel embarrassed.  But I was glad to be in Xander’s big arms.

 

Xander explained:  “Abari and Jabar were rescued last night from the sea by our father, Gareth.  They will be living with Amare and Gareth for as long as they like.”  Xander gave me a little tickle in my tummy, got me to smile, and then he set me down.  “Do you boys want a tour of the smithy?”  Of course Abari nodded yes, so we were off.

 

Everyone was big and muscular and kind.  I wasn’t used to all this male beauty in one room.  Of course, I had been surrounded by male beauty at Amare and Gareth’s place, but now I was really surrounded by it.  Glistening muscles on men of different colored skin, friendly smiles, young men who used their muscles every day and were proud of their bodies—and didn’t feel like they had to prove anything to anyone.  I was impressed as well as surprised.  The smithy was nothing like the ship full of soldiers bickering and fighting at any excuse.  The smithy may have been noisy when everyone was working, but it seemed perfectly calm now.

 

Each young man explained what he was doing.  Some were working with gold; others with silver; others were casting copper spear heads or pouring metal into molds for khepesh swords.  Abari wanted to see if he could hold a hammer, so Zuberi handed him over to Xander, who put his hammer on the ground to let Abari lift it.  He could barely get it off the ground.  This, of course, led to Abari asking Xander to make a muscle with his arm, and then feeling Xander’s muscle. 

 

I wanted to see what Zuberi was making: “Has the gold cooled enough for you to take the mold off?”

 

“You know, I think it might have cooled just enough.  Come with me.”  So I went with Zuberi over to his work station and watched as he dipped the mold into water; then he checked the heat of the mold and used some tools to open it up.   It was a gold ankh; of course I’d seen that symbol of life back in Egypt.  “Are you going to sell it?”—I admit to being both practical and money-hungry.  “We do sell jewelry and ores, but this one is for my dad, Amare.  I will tie it to some smooth rope to make a necklace for him.  I plan on making a thunderbolt for Gareth—but I have to check with Garin to see if that’s an appropriate symbol for their tribe.”

 

“Amare will love it,” Lateef said; he had come up behind me and was also marveling at Zuberi’s handiwork.  Then Lateef called, “Garin, can you come over here and help Zuberi with a question about your tribe?”

 

Garin picked up Abari, put him back on his shoulders, and came over.  “What’s up?” he said.  

 

“Is a thunderbolt a good symbol for me to make for Gareth?  Neither Xander nor I know much about your tribe.”

 

“It’s a great symbol,” Garin said.  “Either the thunderbolt or the hammer are symbols of Thor, the god of thunder.  But the thunderbolt is a bit more exciting than a hammer.”

 

“I like Xander’s hammer,” Abari said; then he said more quietly, “I only wish I could lift it more.”  

 

Garin pulled Abari off his shoulders, turned him around, and held him close to his face. “And I’m sure, one day, you’ll be able to swing that hammer just as well as Xander can now!”

 

“Of course he will,” said Xander, who had come over to join the rest of us. “You’ll grow up big and strong like the rest of your brothers—yes, even you, Lateef!”  As his brothers chuckled, Lateef looked a little embarrassed.

 

“Well,” said Lateef, “We should let all these guys get back to their work.  Amare wants us to take the boys to the pool.”

 

“Oh,” said Xander and Zuberi, almost in unison, “Then you’d better go!”  Zuberi said, “Abari and Jabar, have a great time at the pool.  Swim as much as you want!”

 

“But I don’t know how to swim,” said Abari.  I was glad he said it; I couldn’t swim either.

 

‘Then it’s time you learned!” said Garin.  “Let’s go!”

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