Saba: Under the Hyena’s Foot

Riding the Soulless Horse

They would have to escape out of the compound at night again, and the hyenas are hungry. Saba tells Negatwa that it will be very dangerous. Negatwa explains that in her village, the girls would join together to go out to gather wood. One evening, when the girls were coming back, a hyena caught a young girl at the end of the line and tore her nose from her face.

Negatwa says she will go out now and get as much dried meat as she can. The cooking is done in many different houses around the compound. Perhaps she can get each cook to give her a little bit by explaining their journey will be long. Saba forces herself to go through the day as if it were like any other day. Little by little the egg will walk, but not if she gives away her plan too soon. When it comes time for evening meal, Saba didn’t want to eat but she knew she must. What Negatwa told the cooks was true. Their journey would be a long one.

Negatwa serves Saba, and Saba feeds Negatwa bites of wat and injera from her own basket. Before Negatwa lets Saba drink, Negatwa always cups a little bit of honey water in her palm and tastes it. A person never knows where enemies lurk.

After they’re too full to eat anymore, Negatwa carries scraps away where servants would eat them. When she returns, her face is stricken. Negatwa says a man came up to her. He has a plan, and it has to do with Mesfin.

Saba feels a giant hand squeeze all the breath out of her. Is Mesfin alive? Negatwa says the man did not identify himself, but he might be one of the palace guards. He told her that his cousin had been killed the day General Ali’s horses trampled some of the men. He wants revenge.

The man said he plans to flee to Kassa’s camp tonight. After many weeks of searching, he managed to find out where Mesfin is. In Negatwa’s palm, Saba can make out the dark shape of a key, which the man had given to Negatwa. Saba snatches it. Negatwa says the lock that fits this key is in a solitary and dangerous place. But even if it was the stomach of the earth, Saba would go there for her brother.

Mesfin is imprisoned where one of the rivers falls into a gorge. The falling water hides a cave. The empress has long used that cave to store some of the Silver Queen dollars that people give her for tribute. Now she’s using it to hold other treasure.

The two girls talk and then their voices die away. And then they sit and talk some more. The man had explained where the gorge was. It’s not too far. Finally the two girls decide that Negatwa must first must help Saba find the right place. Then, Negatwa would leave to go to their appointed spot to meet Saba’s teacher. They would wait for one hour. Saba would go into the fearful place close to the earth’s stomach to get Mesfin. But first they had to get past the hyenas.

The moon rises early and bright. They wait for it to sink back into the western sky before they dare to creep down the stairs. Negatwa fixes a tiny leather bag around Saba’s neck saying that the key is in there, along with a knife in case Mesfin is bound with some sort of cord. Saba did not dare think ahead to that moment. Even if Saba died that night, she was glad to have met a girl like Negatwa. The two say their prayers, and then Negatwa says it’s finally time.

Carefully, they leave the room, their bare feet not making a sound on the stones. Carrying her berebaso and the old leather bag the soldiers had given her, Saba moves ahead and starts down the stairs. The large castle seems to breathe when it’s asleep. In its many rooms, the servants have closed their eyes by now, and would hear nothing until morning, when it will be announced that Saba is gone.

Outside, Saba can hear a lion’s grumble. Somewhere, a hyena’s voice rises in a wail. Then Negatwa gasps behind Saba. Coming through the door behind her is the old woman. She holds a burning candle, and for a long moment, Saba and the woman look at each other. They simply watch each other. Saba is sure the woman will send up a cry that will bring the soldiers, but then she bows slightly, and Saba can see tears on her cheek. Saba says, “For the sake of my father.” The woman quietly responds, “And for your grandmother. I served her when I was only a child. May God give your feet speed.”

Negatwa kneels and puts the berebaso securely on Saba’s feet. She stands, and they pull the meat from their bags. Before Saba can breathe, they’re under the stars and the moon. Softly and quickly, they go to the gate, where the teacher paid the guard some gold so he would look the other way. They rush through. The hyenas wails rise in a chorus. Just then, Negatwa and Saba throw the meat, and run.

In Saba’s worst fears, she never imagined she would run headlong through the dark night, not caring what she ran into. But Negatwa and Saba run until they can’t take another step. Negatwa had been outside in the dark many times since she fled her home. Negatwa takes Saba’s hand, and leads her forward. As they grope their way, a breeze blows up, making Saba’s shamma flap against her face. For some reason, it makes her think of that long-ago day at the stream. She had been afraid of zar. She should have been afraid of humans and their plans instead.

Negatwa says that it’s just a little bit farther. They need to go down into the gorge. Saba might as well have been blind and lame, but Negatwa’s feet, for once, are sure. And after a little while, they stand silently, listening to the churning water. They search in the dim light for the cave. Finally, Negatwa touches Saba’s arm and points to the rocks. Saba takes off her berebaso and puts them in Negatwa’s hands. She says it will be better for her feet to be bare and the berebaso will protect Negatwa’s as she hurries to tell Saba’s teacher to wait. Saba tells Negatwa that she’s been a very good friend. Negatwa lets her fingers close around the sandals. Finally, Saba says, “May the speed and protect your feet from stumbling.” And with that, Saba is left alone.

Saba listens for a moment to the sounds of Negatwa scrambling away. Saba can faintly see what she needs to do. The ledge isn’t terribly narrow or long. In the rainy season, it’d be treacherous with the water making the rocks slippery. Even now, Saba can feel the spray of the water on her face, and knows she’ll have to stay close to the wall. Saba clutches her cross and feels her fingers tremble against her neck.

Saba puts her foot on the cold ledge. Her hand reaches for the wet wall behind it. She feels the soft moss and the solid stone steadies her. She puts her second foot up and cautiously begins her journey. After a few long moments, she’s actually behind the waterfall. Her clothes are wet with the drops that were flung at her by a giant, unseen hand. She takes a step. Then another. Suddenly, a weird wailing rises from the rocks. Saba shrieks, but her voice is drowned by the thundering water. Her bare feet still feel the hardness under them though. It’s only the wind. Saba can hear her breath coming in ragged gasps.

Slowly, Saba wiggles her fingers forward on the cold rocks. And in this way, creeping slowly ahead, she moves the last few meters until she sees the Iron Gate that blocks the mouth of the cave. Saba’s shaking fingers tremble for the key. She pulls herself up using the bars, until she’s standing. She hears the clink as her shivering fingers tap the key against the iron. Then she’s pulling the door open.

Inside, the cave smells dank and old. She calls quietly out for her brother. He responds! The opening of the gate must’ve awakened him. His voice doesn’t sound far away. Saba moves forward slowly until she almost stumbles and falls on top of her brother. He’s wrapped in a thick blanket, but his hands and feet are tied. Saba smiles at her brother, and reaches for the knife.

A short time later, Saba’s teacher and Saba are on their mules. Saba’s brother had insisted he could ride his own mule, but he looks pretty unsteady. “Let him try it,” Saba’s teacher said. He can ride behind the teacher when his weakness overcomes his resolve. But now, Mesfin is sitting on the ground, gathering his strength. Negatwa digs in the leather bags for food. Negatwa is riding on the back of Saba’s mule, with her arms around Saba’s waist. This time, Saba will be the one to sit in front.

The teacher says they should be getting on soon. But they must think about this one last time. Is Saba sure she wishes to go forward into a strange land? The teacher can take Mesfin on to Kassa, but it’s not too late for Saba to turn around. Saba thinks of everything she has learned about royalty. Sometimes, General Ali and Empress Menen seem to be on each other’s sides, supporting each other. But at other times, they circle wearily like two wild animals ready to claw and bite each other to death. The people said General Ali and his daughter loved each other deeply, but now, the daughter is urging her husband, Kassa, against her father and grandmother. And Saba’s great-uncle, the emperor, the only one among them who carries the blood of Solomon and Saba, is no more than a puppet.

No, the hyena life is not for Saba. Saba responds that she is the great-granddaughter of an emperor. Saba has the blood and name of the Queen of Saba, and she is not afraid. Her teacher responds that she has great courage. Saba looks up towards the sky. Did she really have courage? No, Saba decides. She does not have great courage. But she has learned that fear is not fought in the stomach but simply by taking one stumbling step in front of another.

The teacher says that he knows priests and others who will help them along their way. There will be many places where they can hide and take food. But reaching their destination will not be easy. These are mistrustful times. When they do reach Kassa’s gates, they must depend on Saba to explain why they’ve come. She will need to have someone quickly to find her father, who can speak to Kassa on their behalf. Now, Saba is the protector. Saba agrees that she can do it.

Now, Saba knows that strength means that when you fall off your horse, you walk. And if you can’t walk any further, you crawl until you can stand again. Mesfin gets to his feet and slowly climbs onto his mule. Negatwa scrambles onto another mule behind Saba. Saba likes knowing she’s there at her back for whatever dangers lay ahead.

And now, their new journey begins. And a moment later, the sound of their mules’ footsteps send a song of soft thudding up to the star-filled sky.