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Survivors 2-VIII


aurelius

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Survivors2-VIII: 36-40

 

 

36

 

We had just finished morning water when I hear a conch sound from the harbor.  “They’re here!” I said.  Soon a runner from the harbor came to our side of the bay: “The Egyptians are here!”  I told him to yell the same thing to the other side of the bay; he did.

 

I made sure my whole family was with me.  I could not imagine meeting the Egyptians without them.  I hugged Abari and said, “Please stay close to me—you don’t know how important it is that you’re there!”  He said, “I know; I’ll stay close.”  I grabbed a water jug; I imagined that Menes and Shakir would need some water when they came home.

 

We made quite a formidable force as we left the bay: my family and the eight men from across the bay.   And then the other men from the training field joined us.  When we got to the smithy, Xander had already stacked the spears outside the door; all the men who needed a spear took one.  Xander and Zuberi picked up the lapis basin from inside the smithy; Garin and Abari carried their spears.   We marched on.  

 

I loved being surrounded by all our muscle as we walked into the harbor.  The spearmen lined up behind my family.  Xander and Zuberi set the lapis basin down by me; then they got their spears from Garin and Abari and stood with the family.  We were a formidable family supported by a line of 16 spearmen, each one with arm muscles bulging he held up his spear.  “It’s almost as if your family leads the island,” Masud said as he stood next to me: “Your family looks in charge—as it should be.  I think the whole island recognizes you and your family as our leaders.”

 

The Egyptian captain came down a ramp from his ship.  He wore a nemes or headdress and was accompanied by his own spearmen—although they looked skinny compared to our men.

 

“Hello, Jabar!  It is good to see you again,” he extended his hand. “I don’t think I introduced myself last time.  I am Captain Amun and I have brought your friends and the items you requested.”

 

“Thank you, Captain Amun.”  I took his hand and shook it.  “I am anxious to see my friends again.”  The captain turned around and signaled the ship.  Some soldiers led two thin, frail, emaciated old men from the ship and down the ramp.  I gasped.  Amare and Dad gasped.  “Oh Jabar!” Abari muttered; he sounded as if he was going to cry.  I had to think of something to say.

 

“What is this?” I said.  “Are these Menes and Shakir?  Have you been torturing them and abusing them?”  My voice rose; I could already see Captain Amun was a little rattled.  

 

“I have fed them on our ship; they were actually in worse condition when they were given to me.  Please do not be angry with me—I have tried to keep them alive!”  The captain extended his hands in supplication.  

 

But that reply was not enough.  I heard Garin growl: “You filthy Egyptians!  You tortured them!”  And Garin lowered his spear and pointed it directly at Captain Amun.  Other spearmen did the same—especially Zuberi’s Nubian friends.  Even some the new men were muttering amongst themselves and a few lowered their spears to match Garin’s.  The spearheads glinted in the sun, both beautiful and menacing.

 

Captain Amun was visibly shaking.  He saw the musclemen arrayed before him; he heard the growl from Garin.  Amun thought his life was in danger.  I knew I had to diffuse the situation.  I went to the man I thought was Menes—I could barely tell who he was—and took hold of his arm.  Abari was at my side; he was ready to catch Menes if he fell. 

 

“Menes,” I said as gently as I could, “did the captain feed you and take care of you on board his ship?”

 

Menes nodded and said a barely audible “Yes.”  I immediately turned to Garin and the other angry spearmen: “Menes says that the captain fed him and took care of him on the ship.  Our brothers were abused and tortured, but the captain is not responsible!  Put up your spears!”  A couple of men did so.  “I said PUT UP YOUR SPEARS—ALL OF YOU!”  I had never yelled at my fellow islanders, but I did now.  I looked over at Dad; he nodded his support.

 

Then I turned to Amare: “Father Amare, would you please take Shakir; Abari can carry Menes; please take out friends to the pool.”  I gave Amare my water jug.

 

“Of course,” said Amare.  He swooped up Shakir in his big arms; Abari lifted Menes as if he were a feather, and the two big Nubians started running toward the pool.

 

‘“Thank you,” Amun said softly to me.

 

“I know you are not responsible,” I said, “But consider what just happened.  The man who growled at you is my brother Garin.  When he was a little boy he was a fuck boy for Egyptian soldiers.  My lover—the younger Nubian who just left—was fucked every night when he was a child.”  I paused, then looked at Amun and said, “so was I.”  I let that sink in.  “So, seeing our friends tortured and abused—it sets off deep memories of abuse by other Egyptians.”  Captain Amun seemed to be thinking that maybe he was still in danger.

 

“Now,” I continued, “I want to move beyond those nightmares we carry.  I want to be able to trade with Egypt.  I do not want another Egyptian invasion.  But I assure you, the state of Menes and Shakir will be known all over our island before the sun sets.  And if Egypt invades us again, I promise you that your army will be”—I paused and got close to Amun’s face before I said, “obliterated.”

 

Amun stuttered as he responded: “I think—I understand,” he said.  “That is why I brought more of everything you requested, as a meager means of compensating you for the brutal treatment of your friends.”  He made another signal.  Soldiers on the ship brought down baskets of loincloths and big cotton pouches.

 

“Thank you,” I said. “Now your men can take the basin of lapis,” and I gestured to the basin sitting near me.  But that was easier said than done.  Four Egyptians tried to pick up the basin; they couldn’t.  They called for more men, but they only moved it a little.  Then someone went back to the ship and brought out several urns.  Pieces of lapis were taken out of the basin and put in the urns.  After three urns were full and taken on board, they tried again to move the basin.  They moved it further, but a fourth urn was filled before five men could lift the basin and carry it onto the ship.  

 

I felt embarrassed for Amun.  “I apologize,” I said.  “A basin like that can be moved by two of my brothers.  I did not think about how difficult it might be for your men.  In the future I will ask our potter to make some smaller basins.”

 

“Thank you,” said Amun; he smiled.  “And now, can we talk about a future trade?”

 

“Of course,” I said,  “What would you like?”

 

“Could we have 100 of your scarab necklaces and 100 of your ankh necklaces?  I hear you have a particularly gifted artisan on the island.  I would like to meet him.”

 

‘Yes, we do have several skilled artisans on the island.”  I looked only at Amun; I made no reference to Zuberi.  I only hoped that neither Dad nor Lateef nor Garin were looking at Zuberi.  I wouldn’t put it past the Egyptians to make a raid on our bay and try to steal Zuberi away.  “I think we can meet your request.  Our request is for 50 more loincloths, three big coils of sturdy rope—our new ships need the rope—and 20 jars.  We are asking for more because of the mistreatment of Menes and Shakir.”

 

Amun bowed slightly and said, “I understand.”  The more I was around this guy, the more I kept smelling the perfumes of the Egyptian court and their courtly ways.  He wouldn’t last a day on our island.

 

We shook hands and said our goodbyes.  I waved to him when he was back on board his ship.  Then they brought up their anchor and started sailing down the harbor and away.

 

I collapsed in the arms of my Dad.  I didn’t cry, but I was near it.  My Dad kissed my head and said “You did well, my son!”  And that was what I really needed to hear.

 

 

 

37

 

As the Egyptian ship sailed away, my family turned toward the pool; all the spearmen did the same.  Even Masud came along.  We all wanted to see how Menes and Shakir were doing.

 

So, once again, we were drawn to the pool to check on someone who had been hurt by the Egyptians.  I walked with Dad; ahead of us I could see Garin, still seething and muttering about the “damned Egyptians”.  I figured that I would soon be hearing from him and others; I would have to respond.

 

I found myself loving the trees around the pool: they were tall and big, fed by the water in the pool and the stream that wandered away from the pool and toward the jungle.  But there was a breeze playing with the leaves of the trees and I found that comforting.  

 

Abari was still holding up Menes as he lay in the water; Amare was doing the same with Shakir.  Aki was ladling water onto Menes’ body; Babu was doing the same for Shakir.  The two men looked a lot more like themselves than when they were taken off the ship.  Menes said softly to Aki, “I’m glad you’re here.”  You could almost see the muscles growing under their skin.  And I could see Menes smile.

 

I asked Abari how Menes was.  “Much better,” he said.  “They went to sleep a little when we first put them in the water, but they’re awake now and I hope you saw that Menes just smiled!”  Abari himself smiled.  I waded into the pool and gave Abari a hug and a kiss.  “Thank you for being the loving man you are!”  I could see him tear up, so I gave another brief hug and stepped out of the pool.

 

Other men were coming from the training field and sitting around the pool; Garin stood up and started what I feared was coming: “Look at what the filthy Egyptians did to our friends!  It’s clear that after Menes and Shakir were captured they were worked hard and tortured—you see the result right before your eyes!”  He extended his hand toward the men in the pool.  Amare looked up at Garin, concerned.  Garin continued: “I say we take one of our new ships and pay the Egyptians a visit!”  Murmurs of “He’s right!” and even “Let’s go!” from the men around the pool.  I saw that Zuberi’s Nubian spearmen were among the loudest in support.  “Look!  It’s not hard,” Garin went on: “We have sailors who can man the ship and strong men who can man the oars.  Our ship still looks like an Egyptian ship.  We can sail through the Delta without challenge.  We can pull over to a place in the Delta and wait till nightfall; then we row hard till we get to Giza.  Several of us remember exactly where the slave masters live.”  He paused and smiled that sly smile I had seen so often on Lateef.  But when I looked at Lateef, his mouth was open and his eyes looked like he was watching a horror.  “Then we raid the slave masters while they sleep and kill a few.  Maybe they’ll think twice about raiding our island and stealing our men!”  Several in the crowd applauded; again I heard “Let’s go!”  I could see Amare’s face had changed from concern to disapproval; Abari looked concerned and confused.  I had to stand up and say something.

 

“Yes,” I said, ‘You can raid the Giza slave masters.  You can easily do this.  We are strong men; most of us can row most of a day and only tire a little.  You can raid the slave masters and kill as many as you want.  But then what?  Doing so would be an invitation to another invasion.  And this time, they would send even more men.  And this time they would use our strategies against us.  This time, they will find archers who can shoot flaming arrows from their ships toward our lookouts.  This time they will burn our ships before their ships even get into our harbor.  And they can bring twice as many men as they brought the last time.  Yes, we have more men.  Yes, we can prepare.  Yes, we can fight them again.  But will we win?  If Theron hadn’t set fire to one of the Egyptian ships, we would have lost the last battle and some of us would be dead and the rest slaves in Egypt!   And what if they come at us with flaming arrows shot from distant ships?  If they attack us with swarms as they did once before?  If they bring even more Nubian archers and shower us with so many arrows that they block out the sun?  For understand: if we attack them in Giza, the pharaoh will spare no expense to capture as many of us as he can and kill the rest.”

 

Garin stood up again: “You think too much, Jabar!   You think too much and you have no guts—you’re a coward who just doesn’t want to fight.  You always are looking for some sneaky way to do things“ —here he twisted his hands together and twisted his body from side to side—“You find a tricky way to win.  You don’t attack the enemy head on.  We can beat them because we’re strong—“ here he made a muscle with his arm— “We’re better men than they are; they’re weaklings.  Let’s attack them and show them that we’re better men!”

 

Now I was the one with a gaping mouth.  I never expected an attack like this from Garin.  He wasn’t attacking my ides; he was attacking me.  I felt crushed: I was worthless once again.  Everything I had done in the last two battles—it seemed like nothing.  So, I took a breath and attacked Garin:

 

“You muscled numbskull.  You think with your muscles and not your head!  If you can stop admiring your muscles for just a moment, understand what will happen if your raid is successful: the Egyptians will attack us again!   And what happens if something goes wrong on your raid?  What happens if rowing up the Nile to Giza tires some of your men?   What happens if someone in the slave master quarters hears or sees you and raises the alarm?   You will soon be outnumbered and several of you will be dead.   And all because you had to think with your muscles instead of your brain!”

 

That got Garin so angry he came at me.  Lateef jumped up between us.  Abari quickly gave Menes to Aki, took leaps through the water, and put himself between Garin and me.  “No!” he yelled in Garin’s face, “You cannot hit Jabar!”

 

And then from the pool, Amare roared: “GARIN, STOP!  I won’t let you destroy our family.  I know you love Jabar and I know Jabar loves you.  Stop this quarreling now!”  Amare gave Shakir to Babu and stepped out of the pool.  He came over to stand beside Abari.  In the meantime, Dad stood behind Lateef.  I was glad of the protection.  Garin could have killed me with two blows.

 

“Don’t fight!” came a weak voice from the pool.  Menes was standing up with the help of Aki.  Everyone turned toward him.  Everyone was quiet.  “Please do not attack the Egyptians for Shakir and me!”  He paused.  I could see it was difficult for him to speak, but he continued.

 

“Garin is right: Shakir and I were tortured on board the ship that took us to Egypt.  We were taunted because we could not break our chains.  Then, at Giza, Shakir and I were yoked together like oxen and whipped so we would drag the heaviest blocks up the ramp.  And at night we were chained up and fucked.  And we were only given dirty Nile water and stale bread.”  He paused again.  Aki wrapped his arm more tightly around Menes’ body.

 

“But I don’t want any of our men to raid the Egyptians.”  Shakir was now standing with the help of Babu: “And I don’t want that either.”  He paused, but he took over from a weakened Menes.  “Stay here; train here.  Make this island a fortress against any future Egyptian attack.  But understand: there are many soldiers and slaves in Egypt.  They could all be sent here to capture a few and kill the rest.  Garin, they want your muscles back in Giza.  They will have fun torturing you and watching you drag heavy stones.  I’d rather watch you play Coconut!”  And here Shakir smiled a wide, beautiful smile.  Many in the crowd chuckled and there were murmurs about Garin’s prowess in his Coconut matches.  Even Garin smiled.

 

“And you know, Garin,” I said, “that I have also loved watching you play Coconut!”  I tried a smile; it was worth a shot.  I looked at Garin; he looked at me.  Amare pushed us together and said, “You are brothers!  Give each other a kiss!”   I gave Garin a brief kiss on his cheek; then the big boy grabbed me, kissed my cheek and hugged me tight.  I loved feeling his big arms wrapped around me.  I looked over at Abari; he was all smiles, with tears in his eyes.

 

 

38

 

There was some grumbling among some of the men.  I could hear patches of Garin’s argument and my argument from several different directions.  Men were standing up and walking away, back to the training field or the harbor.  And they were talking about my family:

 

“That Amare—he holds that family together!”

 

“Yeah, no one is going to cross him, not even Garin.”

 

“I heard that Amare is Garin’s dad, and that they’re very close, so when Amare yelled at him, Garin changed his mind.”  And thus our family drama became part of island lore.

 

Our bay spearmen asked Xander if they should return their spears to the smithy.  He said they could keep them, so they held them down and started walking back to the bay.

 

My family stayed by the pool for awhile.  For one thing, Amare and Abari wanted to make sure Menes and Shakir were strong enough to go home—or if they needed to be carried to the far lookout or if they wanted to stay with us.  Aki and Babu said they could take care of their friends.  They made sure to fill up their water jugs before they left, and they welcomed Amare and Abari helping Menes and Shakir walk back to the bay.

 

As we started back to the bay, Lateef started talking about a Coconut tournament.  He turned to Garin: “How many teams do you think we have on the island?”

 

“We have one at the bay,” Garin said, “but we could have two if certain people”—he looked at Lateef and me—“would join a team, along with the four new guys next to Zuberi and Xander.  Then there’s at least one team at the far lookout—but two if we can convince Akhom and Tafari and some of the big new quarrymen to play—and they will be a powerful team, if they do!”  He paused. “Then there’s two teams at the training field and probably two teams at the harbor.  I guess that’s maybe eight teams in all.”

 

“Exactly!” said Lateef.  “We need to draw up a tournament where teams from different parts of the island play each other, and then the winners of those games play each other until we have a champion for the whole island!”

 

“And what would these champions get?”  I wanted to know.

 

Zuberi replied: “We could make special necklaces for the winning team!  Maybe scarabs with diamonds.”

 

Lateef grabbed Zuberi and hugged him: “Zub, you’re wonderful!  That’s a great idea!”

 

And so began Lateef’s Coconut Tournament.  I suspect he wanted something to keep Garin occupied, to keep his mind off raiding Giza.  It worked: Garin was immediately interested and involved.  And the two of them started to come up with more rules: eight men on a side; every match had to have someone like Dad, a judge; only two matches could happen at a time, so that more people could watch.  Which meant that they needed another judge.  The two of them turned to me.

 

“Me?”  I said, “Why me?  Just because of my dad?”

 

“No, silly,” said Garin, “because you are more like your dad than Lateef—no offense, brother.”

 

“None taken.”

 

“And besides, every man on the island respects your silly brain!”

 

“Careful,” said Lateef.  “Let’s not go down that road again!”

 

“I won’t,” grumbled Garin.  But he turned back to me: “You just need to sit down with your dad and go over what to watch for—the kinds of bad plays that would mean a team would lose the coconut to the other team.”

 

“Like pounding heads into the sand, or punching someone in the face,” added Lateef, although I immediately thought those awful things were unlikely.

 

“Somehow I think it’s more complicated than that.”

 

“There you go,” Garin said, “over-thinking things again!”  Lateef shot him a withering glance; I decided to let it go.

 

Evening water at our fathers’ house didn’t happen until Amare and Abari had helped Menes and Shakir get home.  I was glad Abari shared that time with his dad.  In some ways they were a lot alike: big hearts and big bodies.  And maybe being around Amare more would help Abari grow up a little.

 

Dad made an effort to invite Tau, Thabit, Atum and Sadiki—the new guys living near Zuberi and Xander—down to evening water.  They brought their own water jugs and Dad of course brought his.  Soon our cross-bay brothers wandered down to the rest of us.  Dad explained that we would wait for Amare and Abari before sharing water.  But that couldn’t stop Garin:

 

“Lateef has this great idea for a Coconut Tournament!  Come on, lover, tell the men the idea!”

 

“I’d rather wait until your dad and Abari get here.”

 

“Oh, they won’t mind.  Besides, Abari will be on my team so I’ll explain everything to him.”

 

Big Thabit spoke up: “Tell us, Lateef! I’m interested!”

 

So Lateef laid out his tournament idea.  He wasn’t too far along when Amare and Abari came down the hill.  I motioned for Abari to sit next to me.  Once he sat down, I whispered, “Lateef is explaining his idea about a Coconut Tournament.  If you get confused, ask Garin later.  He says you won’t mind Lateef starting without you.”  Abari nodded.

 

It turned out the whole bay was interested.  Garin said we should have two teams—and he promised to help each one.  Asim wasn’t so sure.  He thought the cross-bay boys needed a lot of practice.  Thabit said he and his friends needed a lot more practice too.

 

“Then we start practice tomorrow!”  Garin was excited.  “I know most of us have things to do during the day, but how about we come down here and practice in the late afternoon just before evening water.  Nothing too formal; if you want to come practice, then come.  If not, don’t.”  I leaned over to Lateef and whispered: “You need to tell your idea to the other parts of the island.  Otherwise, our bay teams will have an unfair advantage.”  Lateef nodded.

 

Sadiki wanted to know what our teams would be.

 

“Well,” said Garin, “how about each side of the bay?”

 

“But that’s not fair!” said Osaze. “You and Abari, Zuberi and Xander are all better than any of us from our side of the bay.”

 

“OK,” said Garin, “How about me and Abari—because we’re a package deal—go on your team, Osaze, and a couple of your guys—Asim and Bennu—can play on Zuberi and Xander’s team.”  I kept quiet, but I was enjoying watching Garin struggling with the politics of the bay.  He wasn’t having to think about the whole island, but maybe he would develop some respect for what I’d been doing.

 

Dakari had a question: “Lateef, your tournament is based on two games being played at the same time. I’m guessing Gareth will judge one of them.  Who’s going to be the other judge?”

 

“Why, who better than Gareth’s son—Jabar!”  Dad looked me a little surprised at first, but then he smiled and nodded his approval.  And I heard murmurs of approval from all the other men along the shore.  It looked like I was a Coconut judge!

 

 

39

 

Lateef and I spent most of the next day going to the training field, the harbor, the quarry and the far lookout, explaining Lateef’s idea for the tournament.  Lateef introduced me as the other judge.  Everyone nodded; I guess I was accepted across the island.  I made sure to tell everyone that Garin was already practicing with the teams from the bay: “So, if I were you, I’d start practicing too!”

 

Lateef was asked when the first games would be, and how the opponents would be chosen.  He suggested a week, but there was some opposition.  In the training field, Baniti said, “A week for Garin to get the bay teams ready.  But we need more time!”  So ten days was agreed on and endorsed by the harbor and the other areas.

 

As for choosing opponents, Lateef suggested drawing lots—every team would get a symbol marked a small stone: a gull or an arrow for the bay teams, a sword and spear for the training field teams, a slab for the quarry, an oar and boat for the harbor, a tree for the far lookout. Lateef would come around to each area and pull out the symbols for that area, allowing the captains of those teams to choose their opponents.  If captains chose a team that had already been chosen, they would choose again.  Everyone thought this was a bit complicated but fair.

 

By the late afternoon, Lateef and I were back at our bay, watching Garin start his job as coach.  He started with the basic rules of the game: eight on a side, and reaching for an opposing man so you could restrain him from getting the coconut.  “It’s a bit like wrestling,” he said, “you’re trying to get a good position over your opponent.  So let’s start practicing that.”  And soon Lateef and I were once again enjoying the sight of arm muscles bulging and hands clenching; I turned to Lateef and whispered, “This is the best part of your idea, so far!”  He smiled and whispered back, “I know!”

 

Most of the men practicing were new men; Zuberi and Xander had played coconut so many times, they didn’t need to practice.  Garin wasn’t impressed by what he was seeing from the men on the beach.  I half expected him to start yelling at people, but he only said, “You don’t seem to be taking this seriously.”  He thought for a moment, then said, “Osaze, let’s you and me show them how it’s done, OK?”  Osaze was willing.  He crouched down opposite Garin and the two started reaching for each other’s arms.  Osaze was nearly as big as Garin; I looked at Lateef and we both smiled.  But suddenly it became a real wrestling match—it went beyond grabbing arms to Osaze grabbing for Garin’s leg, then getting his leg, then the two of them falling over and rolling around.  For awhile there was no Coconut practice; there was only a wrestling match.  Osaze was on top; then Garin; then Osaze—their muscles glistening and bulging even more than normal.  I didn’t have to look at Lateef; I knew that he was thinking the same thing I was—or was he?  Osaze’s cock was getting hard; it was bulging against his cock pouch.

 

But soon Garin was on top of Osaze saying, “Well, you wanted a wrestling match, so I gave you one!”  But he helped Osaze up and the two embraced.

 

I reached over to Lateef and said, “I think you and Garin need to talk tonight.”  Lateef nodded.   

 

Then Osaze turned to the rest of the men and said, “I took things too far—you don’t need to go for an opponent’s leg; you don’t want to end up rolling around on the ground.” “Yeah,” said Garin, “You might miss the coconut getting picked up by someone on the other team!”  Most of the men chuckled.  “But,” said Garin, “you have to get involved.  The more you try to grab hold the other guy’s arm, the more he’ll be looking for your arm and not looking for the coconut.”  Several men nodded—it seemed they finally understood.

 

I wondered if the other teams around the island were getting coached this well.  I never thought of Garin as a teacher but he was teaching now—and well.

 

“Next thing,” Garin said—it seemed he was going to completely ignore Osaze’s hard cock—“is bringing a man down who has the coconut.  Abari?”  Garin and Abari must have talked before the practice.  Abari stepped forward and tossed Garin a coconut.  “I’m going to carry the coconut and Abari will bring me down.  By the way, always try to carry the coconut close to your body, guarded by your arm.”  He showed how he carried it.  “Now, could we have some space?”  Men moved out of the way.  

 

Abari stood away from Garin; Garin started to run; Abari ran toward him; it seemed he was focused on Garin’s legs.  Abari threw himself toward Garin’s legs; he grabbed hold and Garin came crashing to the sand.  Abari helped Garin up and they hugged; Garin said, “Good job!”  Then he returned to teaching: “Abari grabbed me by my legs; he grabbed me a little behind me, so I didn’t have a good look at him.  That’s the best way to bring a man down.  But of course, you won’t always have a best way happening in front of you.  Just try to be a little behind your man and go for his legs.  Now, I’ve asked several of you to bring coconuts.  It’s time you paired up and Abari and I will help you with bringing a man down.”

 

But Garin paused and said, “One more thing.  If you have the coconut, and you see a man coming for your, you can use your arm to push him away—but only if you push his chest.  Abari, let’s show them.”  Abari came toward Garin and Garin put his hand on Abari’s big chest and pushed him back. “But you cannot—I repeat, you cannot—push him in the face.”  Abari again came close and Garin put his hand on Abari’s face.  “Judge Jabar, isn’t that right?”

 

“Yes it is.  If you push an opponent’s face, the coconut goes to the other team.”

 

All the men nodded.  It seemed like that was one rule they already knew.  As men practiced bringing each other down, I could see some men didn’t need any coaching while others needed a lot.  I also saw that Garin and Abari spotted those that needed coaching and went right to them.  Garin was quick to correct; Abari was very gentle.  I’m not sure if Abari got better results than Garin, but I was pretty sure the men he coached liked him more—but then I already knew that.

 

We knew the practice was over when Amare and Dad brought down water jugs from the house. They were both wearing their new cotton loincloths—and they looked pretty good in them!  Zuberi and Xander wandered down the hill.  We all sat down and started passing the water jugs around.  Amare sat down next to me, put his head next to mine and said softly, “I’m glad you stood up to Garin.  I think it has helped him focus more, and he’s becoming a better man by teaching Coconut.”  Then Amare stood up and went over to Garin and put his big arm on Garin’s big shoulders, “You did well today, my son!  You are a good teacher of Coconut!”  Was that a blush I saw on Garin’s face?  I turned to Lateef and said, “I am so happy you came up with this tournament idea!”  Lateef put his arm on my shoulders and whispered to me, “So am I!”

 

 

40

 

I talked with Dad about being a judge, but what he said was mostly general truths about being fair.  I wanted to watch him judge; I wanted to ask him questions while the game was happening.  But he was going to judge a game between a bay team and a training field team; at the same time, I would be at the harbor, judging a game between a harbor team and a quarry team.  I would be on my own.

 

The quarry team was huge: Akhom, Kosey, Adofo—even their smallest man, Alara, was bigger than most of the men on the harbor team.  So I expected that the quarry team would easily win.  But that’s not what happened.

 

When the two teams lined up, about four guys from the harbor team started acting strange.  They rubbed each other’s bellies, made exaggerated kisses toward the quarrymen and each other, showed their butts to the quarry men—in general, they acted more like women than like wrestlers.  Most of the quarry team was dumbfounded—they looked at their opponents, their mouths gaping open.  I was pretty sure that was the intent of the harbor team—to distract the quarrymen.  But I got a nod from the captain of each team and so I tossed the coconut between the lines.

 

With so many quarrymen distracted, the coconut was picked up by a harbor man and he started running toward their boulder.  Only then did some on the quarry side turn around and start after him.  They caught him just shy of the boulder, but the harbor man tossed the coconut back to a teammate and he touched the coconut to the boulder.  The harbor team was ahead!

 

The quarry team protested loudly: “They can’t do that!” “What they did surely was illegal!” “Why didn’t you stop them?”  In fact, some of the quarry men came up to me and yelled in my face.  I calmly said that there was no rule that the line up had to include wrestling moves.  There was no rule about how men in a line-up should behave.

 

The quarrymen were furious.  But they didn’t fall for any distractions at the next line-up.  I tossed the coconut between the lines and immediately it was scooped up by a quarry man who tossed it to Adofo and he pretty much ran over the whole harbor team on the way to their boulder.

 

And that’s pretty much the way the rest of the game went.  The only problem was that I had to keep interrupting the game and taking the coconut away from a quarry man and giving it to a harbor man because a quarryman had punched a harbor man.  “Stop the game!  No punching!”  The first time I did this, the quarry man with the coconut looked as though he was going to kill me, but Akhom intervened and protected me, admitting that his teammate had hit a harbor man.  I was lucky to have Akhom there; his size intimidated everyone—including his own teammates.

 

The harbor team tried to catch up, but the quarry men were too big, too strong, and too determined to refuse to let the harbor team score any more points.  They won, 8-3.

 

I was glad when the game was over.  I felt like I had survived a test.  I wanted to thank Akhom, but I thought I’d better stay impartial.  So I walked home alone, hoping that Dad was there.

 

He was.  With all the interruptions, the harbor-quarry game had taken longer than the bay-training field game.  It wasn’t yet time for evening water, so I went to my fathers’ house and pretty much collapsed in Dad’s arms.  “It was horrible!” I said.  And then I recounted what had happened.  Lateef and Garin were also there, celebrating Garin’s team’s victory.

 

Garin was amazed at the cunning of the harbor team.  He said, “They actually acted like women?” two or three times.

 

I was so happy when Akhom stopped by—also wearing his new cotton loincloth.  He had gone out of his way to stop by; he correctly figured I would go to my Dad.  He verified everything I had said.   And he told my Dad that he would have been proud of me: “Jabar is a good judge!  He seems to have picked up a lot from watching you!”  I nearly cried.  Dad reached over and gave me a kiss on my head.   Akhom left and said he would be back.  I guessed that our evening water by the shore had become known in other parts of the island.   

 

When it was time for evening water, Dad and Amare brought their water jugs—and a couple extra ones that Xander had brought from the potter’s—and we all went down to the shore.  Men asked about my first time judging a game.  I told them it was pretty bad and how the harbor team had teased the quarry team and then the quarry team started punching the harbor guys.  But several of the men started their own teasing acts, standing up and showing their butts and getting other men to slap their butts and even acting like they were mounting their butts.  It was pretty hilarious and a good way to get over the fear I had felt at the game.

 

And then down the hill came Akhom, Tafari, Aki, Babu and Menes and Shakir.  All the men on the beach rose as if they were one, clapping their hands and shouting their welcomes to Menes and Shakir.  Garin was loudest among them: “Welcome, friends!”  Abari ran to Menes and gave him a hug;  Amare wasn’t as enthusiastic, but when Shakir got closer, Amare surrounded him with a big embrace and kiss: “I’m so glad you are feeling better!”

 

Menes gestured for all of us to sit down.  “Shakir and I wanted to come and thank all of you for bringing us back from slavery, for healing us”—here he looked at Amare and Abari—“and for being our friends on this wonderful island.  We are so happy to be home and healthy!”  Amare said, “And so are we!”  All the men on the beach rose up and applauded again.  

 

I looked around and loved everyone I saw.

 

  

 

 

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