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Ealasaid · 06-25-2003, 05:25 PM

CHANI -- Ahmad's Sister

Chani pulled her robes closer around herself and walked quickly out of camp. She had seen her mother disappear into her tent with Jamilah, her friend from the Baobab tribe. She had also noticed that Jamilah carried a baby basket. The sight of it, though it was a truly beautiful thing, made Chani ill. She knew it was intended for her as an important part of her wedding trousseau, but she wanted no part of it. Let Shushila marry Yusef! she thought bitterly. She seems to fancy him. As for herself, Chani found her future husband angry and irritable, contemptuous of her all of the time, as though she had offended him somehow. He frightened her. The last thing in the world she wanted was to have a child with him. She quickened her step as she moved through the tall prairie grasses.

In the distance, she could hear the noises of the tribe's grazing horses. If only there were a way for her to take a horse -- just one -- she could get away. She would ride north to one of the great northern cities she had heard about and lose herself there, Dol Amroth or Minas Tirith. No one would find her there. She smiled to herself, envisioning herself astride one of the sleek horses, riding like a goddess ahead of the wind. She laughed out loud. If only, if only... She was being childish, and she knew it, but the stubborn side of her refused to release the dream. If her parents couldn't make Ahmad take a wife, then how could they force her to take a husband? It wasn't right.

She walked along through the grasses, thinking hard, when suddenly she burst forth into a clearing. She stopped short and looked around. The clearing was full of young people and children, Baobabs by the look of them, and they seemed to be building a camp. Looking around for adults, she saw none. A tall young woman with a distant look about her eyes seemed to be the one in charge, and she was attended by a small boy. Chani stared at her curiously. It was the same young woman who had accosted her and her sister the previous day on the border of her tribe's encampment. While Chani had been interested to discover what the girl had wanted, Shushu had been a goose, as usual, and pulled her away, whimpering about something. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Chani stepped forward into the camp. As she did so, all the activity of the Baobab young people stopped.

06-25-2003, 05:25 PM	#58
Ealasaid Wight Join Date: May 2003 Location: under a large pile of dirt & gravel Posts: 193	CHANI -- Ahmad's Sister Chani pulled her robes closer around herself and walked quickly out of camp. She had seen her mother disappear into her tent with Jamilah, her friend from the Baobab tribe. She had also noticed that Jamilah carried a baby basket. The sight of it, though it was a truly beautiful thing, made Chani ill. She knew it was intended for her as an important part of her wedding trousseau, but she wanted no part of it. Let Shushila marry Yusef! she thought bitterly. She seems to fancy him. As for herself, Chani found her future husband angry and irritable, contemptuous of her all of the time, as though she had offended him somehow. He frightened her. The last thing in the world she wanted was to have a child with him. She quickened her step as she moved through the tall prairie grasses. In the distance, she could hear the noises of the tribe's grazing horses. If only there were a way for her to take a horse -- just one -- she could get away. She would ride north to one of the great northern cities she had heard about and lose herself there, Dol Amroth or Minas Tirith. No one would find her there. She smiled to herself, envisioning herself astride one of the sleek horses, riding like a goddess ahead of the wind. She laughed out loud. If only, if only... She was being childish, and she knew it, but the stubborn side of her refused to release the dream. If her parents couldn't make Ahmad take a wife, then how could they force her to take a husband? It wasn't right. She walked along through the grasses, thinking hard, when suddenly she burst forth into a clearing. She stopped short and looked around. The clearing was full of young people and children, Baobabs by the look of them, and they seemed to be building a camp. Looking around for adults, she saw none. A tall young woman with a distant look about her eyes seemed to be the one in charge, and she was attended by a small boy. Chani stared at her curiously. It was the same young woman who had accosted her and her sister the previous day on the border of her tribe's encampment. While Chani had been interested to discover what the girl had wanted, Shushu had been a goose, as usual, and pulled her away, whimpering about something. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Chani stepped forward into the camp. As she did so, all the activity of the Baobab young people stopped.