Maliha

“Yah Kri,” shouted Ujarak. Motioning for the guards to bring Tanzim towards the root of the Great Tree.

She struggled, legs kicking and body jerking as she tried to pull away, fighting the guards with every breath in her body but it was pointless because she was no match for them.

They dragged the woman kicking and screaming before dumping her at the feet of Ujarak. She tried to climb to her feet, but one guard placed his foot on her back, keeping her subdued on the floor.

“Please Ujarak, please.” She sobbed, her face blotchy as she begged him with no shame.

Her words melded into their native tongue, a language that Maliha still could not fully understand. She picked up small words like éruhu, which meant love or the word rahi which meant give. Tanzim was clearly begging for Ujarak to give her another chance, to give her his love but Ujarak was unbending. He was like his namesake, a rock. Stone carved into the sharpest and toughest statue. He was cold.

“T’la,” he snapped. Shaking her fingers from his legs as he commanded her to stop but she wouldn’t.

She had no shame. Snot dripped down her chin as she humiliated herself in front of the tribe and Maliha could do nothing but stand on and watch in pity.

Ujarak howled some other commands, The Ishanu rippling as the women and men he commanded began bringing items to the root of the Great Tree. Amongst those things was a long metal stick that made Maliha’s flesh ripple in repulsion.

She remembered that pole, remembered how the hot metal poker had seared into her skin and burnt her flesh with a sizzling pop. She could still remember the smell of her own charred flesh. Did they mean to?

“Ishah, m’tahar zi ashran em géh.” Commanded Ujarak and at his words the adults began gathering their children and exiting the Ishanu.

Nahi tried to remain but Abazz encouraged her to leave so that she could feed the children and put them down for a nap. Her reluctance dwindled when she realised that as much as she wanted to stay, she also had two babies who were only a few days old.

“Take your grandmother with you, she doesn’t need to witness this.” Muttered Abazz, motioning to the side of the Great Tree where some elderly tribe members lingered.

“Maliha can you-”

“Of course,” she mumbled taking Namali from Abazz and rocking the baby in her arms as he headed off towards Ujarak and the procession of people bringing tools and plants.

Now that everyone with children had left, the Ishanu seemed to be that much more spacious. The buds were still not blooming in bright colours but Maliha could feel their energy.

Her feet padded against the curled leaves as she trailed behind Nahi, smiling down at Namali. The girl was beautiful, even in those early days where babies were mostly wrinkles and discoloured skin, Namali was pretty. Her pale eyes shining with an amber hue that hinted to her inheriting her father’s Hazel orbs. Her ears were a dark cocoa brown, but her skin was still that blotchy pink. She had thick black hair that clung to her head in waves. Her little lips were permanently puckered in a sour look, as if she had no liking for this new loud world.

“Umahti.” Nahi greeted, her steps cautious as she approached.

Maliha’s head jerked up as she noted that Nahi had stopped before someone, and then her eyes were bulging wide as her mind slowly began to register the relation. Maliha shouldn’t be surprised, the first time she had seen her she had thought she was the image of Nahi. Yet she was.

“Hello daughter.” Hafiza smiled sadly, looking down at Kanu who was nestled comfortably along Nahi’s chest in a colourful sling.

“Abazz has asked you to help me bathe the little ones as both he and Maliha must stay here.”

“Daz, of course. I still remember bathing your mother when she was just a few weeks old.”

There was a sad look that seemed to permanently be in Hafiza’s orbs.

“I didn’t know you were related, though I feel silly for not realising it sooner.”

Maliha whispered, handing over a droopy eyed Namali. Slumber finally claiming the fussy little girl.

Maliha’s mind was whirling at this new piece of information. If Hafiza was Nahi’s grandmother, then that meant that Yaniza was her aunty and Tanzim was her cousin. That couldn’t be right because that would mean that Tanzim and Ujarak were cousins

“Nahi looks much like her mother and I, but nothing like Ujarak and their father.”

Maliha’s racing heart slowed to a calm, steady thud as she realised the ramifications of Hafiza’s words. Nahi looked like her mother, a mother who was not Ujarak’s mother because otherwise Nahi would have been the sujurrah they all waited for. A relieved breath whooshed from her lips. Ujarak and Tanzim were not related though Nahi and Tanzim were. Maliha didn’t know why this was important to her but she knew that it was.

A heavy drum splintered into the air, crashing in time to the thundering weather.

“It is time.” Hafiza’s eyes widened as she stared up at the lightning-stricken sky. “Let us leave.”

She bowed her head to Maliha in parting and then lead the way for Nahi to follow. Nahi lingered for a moment, teeth gnawing at her lips she hesitated.

“I wish I could stay but-” she looked down at her son.

Maliha understood, she truly did. As much as she wanted Nahi’s support, she also could not be selfish enough to expect Nahi to stay when she had children and she herself had not fully recovered.

“It will be fine.” Maliha assured her.

“Do not feel guilty for what happens this day.” Nahi murmured gently. “It is the way of our ancestors and Savuriya’s wish.”

Words were clogged in Maliha’s throat as dread began to weigh her down. Her head nodded in agreement as Nahi turned away, but her heart was heavy with what she knew would happen this day.

She could hear the popping of the flames as they flickered.

Her body grew slick with nerves as she made herself visible to the council.

“Maliha,” frowned Abazz.

“You will stay by me.” He grunted leaving no room for argument as he pulled her to his side.

“But Xiuri?” She stammered.

His head nodded to the ginger warrior who stood beside with Xiuri, their arms grazing each other’s as the woman tried to pretend she couldn’t see or feel Kamir.

“Kamir, will keep her close.”

Maliha was appreciative of Abazz standing by her side but she did not understand why it was so important for her not to move.

“I must warn you Maliha, what will happen next will not be pleasant. You may wretch and that is fine. Many do, some even faint.”

Her head nodded slowly as she stared with bleary eyes at the poker sticker that lay discarded on the grass.

“Is that why you are by my side? To catch me if I fall.”

“No,” his head shook. “I am by your side in case you try to leave. You must see this out. Only once justice had been tolled out, can you leave.”

“What if I faint.” She gaped breathlessly, sweat beading along her upper lip.

“I hope you do not.” He grimaced. “Tanzim’s punishment will be held out until you are conscious enough to see the end.”

Did he mean they would stop until she woke up or would they just prolong whatever punishment she was suffering through until Maliha could watch.

“I won’t faint.” She gritted, steeling

herself for the ordeal she would likely face.

Not five minutes later, Maliha began to doubt her own resolve. The punishment had not yet begun, but all the weapons and tools that lay on the earths floor detailed the torture they were about to put Tanzim through. Her stomach churned in repulsion.

“Be strong, Maliha.” Whispered Abazz as the final tool was laid to rest.

Ujarak stepped forwards, his large body towering over the tribe as he stood along the small stage.

“My people, tonight a grave sin was unravelled: the attempted murder by one of our own.”

The Ishanu creaked in pain, the ancestors wailing their grief and anger as the sky lit up with pale, white bolts of lightning.

“For years we have vowed to be kind to each other, to shun all dark energies that seek to taint us and practice only holy light.”

Ujarak’s face was dark with disappointment and loss, loss that Maliha could feel strumming through the earth that lay beneath her feet. As she twisted her head about to look at the faces of each tribe member, she spotted the same expression. Grief and loss. They mourned Tanzim as if she were receiving a death sentence.

“We are people guided by Daharrosol and we must stay this way. We cannot let those who shun Savuriya’s light to go free. To remain unpunished.”

His fingers curled in a beckoning motion as the two guards who had held Tanzim throughout the trial, dragged her towards the Great Tree.

“I admit that this is new to me. Never have I had to punish someone so severely, and yet we find ourselves here.”

He looked down at Tanzim and then raised his hands above him, noting the way The Ishanu roared and creaked its anger and pain at losing a child. The wind whipped around Maliha’s face, harshly throwing the short choppy strands of her growing hair, into her eyes.

“We must cut down the snake that would poison us all. A life for a life.” He growled

Makula’s crooked form made itself known, as she hobbled alongside the stage.

“Yet no life has been taken and so, I bring to you a different outcome. One that would both please our goddess and the ancestors.”

Her head tilted sideways, bidding Ujarak to give his ear.

His head tilted in acquiescence at her wisdom and he stepped off the stage, allowing Makula to speak.

When her head snapped up a sharp gasp rattled through the tribe as eyes as pale as winter snow stared out of her withered face. The air twirling viscously beneath her fingers and coiling around her hair.

“Tanzim, I sentence you to fifty lashes. You will be sent to work in the Nashtur mountains as a Nehad.” Makula croaked.

A gut-wrenching cry ripped from Yaniza’s soul as she collapsed to the floor, her wails clashing with the thunderous sky.

“Your hair will be shaved to nothing, your nose pierced as a Bukar and all claims of the Der Surjaz will be seared from your skin by holy light, to mark the death of Tanzim, daughter of Yaniza.”

“So, it shall be done.” Muttered Ujarak, gravely.

Tanzim’s body flayed about, mouth frothing as she fought to break free of the hard clasp. Her feet swung wide as she kicked and screamed, Yaniza sobbing with every step they made closer to the Great Tree. As the two guards dragged her towards the trunk of the tree, Ujarak gathered some rope that lay curled on the floor. He hung it over his forearm and began to wind it around her wiggling waist.

“Hold her wrists,” Ujarak growled when Tanzim’s yanking made it harder for him to bind her to the Tree.

Once the rope had been bound and the lower half of her body was tied to the tree, he told the first guard, a man with pale blonde hair that stood contrasted with his dark mahogany skin, to release his hold in her arm. As he did so, Ujarak cut away the sleeves and back of Tanzim’s dress until it hung limply across her skin. He repeated the same with the other, until her pale back was bared to the whole tribe. bare

Ujarak’s hands shook as he bent down and picked up the long leather whip that split at the tip into two separate ends, like a snake’s forked tongue.

“I can’t watch this.” Stammered Maliha, her head twisting away.

“You must.” Growled Abazz, gripping Maliha’s chin and forcing her face to the front.

“You must” he sighed even as his body visibly cringed at the loud swooshing sound of the whip as it reared back and smashed down onto Tanzim’s back.

Her keening screech had Maliha crying out as if the whip had scored down on her back. Her eyes clenched shut as she tried to block out the sight and sounds of Tanzim’s back being torn apart.

The lashes continued raining down, Tanzim’s back shredded as the forked whip tore away skin until there was nothing but blood and gaping flesh. Even as the whip continued to slash down, Maliha could see that Ujarak was pulling his lashes. His wrist not flexing fully as he continued to punish the woman until the last lash ripped through her skin and sent Tanzim’s head bobbling and Maliha’s stomach rolling.

“I’ve got you.” Muttered Abazz as Maliha’s world began to tip.

“I’m okay.” She muttered mouth dry as she lifted her head from its perch on Abazz shoulder.

Tanzim’s back was a mess of bloody lash’s that splintered open and revealed flesh that would surely fester. She would be scarred for life, if the infection didn’t claim her first.

“You have five minutes to heal what you can before we continue.” Ujarak declared to Yaniza who was barely standing.

At his command, feet thundered over the roots as bodies sprinted to the tree and unwrapped the rope that bound her. Her body collapsed but strong arms caught her and carried her towards the stage where she was put to lay on her stomach.

Yaniza got to work, crushing some of the herbs that had been brought in. She made a thick paste before getting a warm cloth and gently dabbing across her daughter’s back. Tanzim’s screams crashed over the wailing thunderstorm as she jerked away from her mother’s healing hand.

“Enough.” Tanzim sobbed, her head shaking in delirium, but her mother kept cleaning, wiping away the congealed blood and packing it with natural herbs meant for healing.

“Give me the cup.” She muttered to her Solah.

Lenar handed her a steaming cup with floating flecks of dried plants. She put the cup to Tanzim’s lips and forced her to drink as much of the steaming brew before she was pulled away.

“That’s enough.” Sighed Ujarak, forcing his way between the two parents.

He motioned for Makula and another council member to come over, alongside the two guards

“Hold tightly.” His words drowned out by Tanzim’s wailing.

“Why?” She sobbed. “Why?” Her words slurred as she tried to rise to her feet.

“Are you all so perfect. Do we all not sin?”

Her teeth clattered together as big pools of tears glided down her pale cheeks. Bile clinging to her lips in large lumps.

“Nothing in this world is perfect. We are made of flesh and blood, and so we err from the true path, but we must guard our energy from those who cannot bring light. You have become all that this tribe stands against. We cannot sit by while your svokah shanisha taints our way of life.”

Makula’s voice was disjointed the energy coiling around her body and hair. Her face ethereal with bright peaks of light shining through her as she appeared to float before them.

“The last time dark energies lived in our land we did not act, and we suffered for it. We still do. The Ishanu cried blood for years after the Svolik split our tribe apart. We will not make the same mistakes again.”

The tribe howled their agreement, fists beating down on their chests as the Ishanu pulsed its agreement.

“Even the Ishanu turns against you.” Muttered Ujarak, smoothing Tanzim’s hair away from her face in a gesture of kindness.

Maliha’s heart gave pause at the delicate way he touched Tanzim, but she could not fault this woman one tiny pleasure when her punishment had just begun. Ujarak’s flaming orbs moved to Maliha’s face, lingering over the soft contours of her skin before his head nodded in conviction.

His hand disappeared at his waist and when it reappeared a long blade was in his hand. The sharp, golden point glistened up at the lightning struck sky, as his dark eyes turned into pools of flame. Flickering flames spewed from his fingers and burned the blade of the knife.

His lips pursed together as he lightly gripped Tanzim’s arm. Their eyes met for a brief glance just as the scolding hot knife was pressed down on Tanzim’s arm and the coloured tattoo of the Der Surjaz symbol turned to charred remnants of skin.

Tanzim’s eyes flickered and then they snapped shut, a roaring, wail flying through her lips as the gold blade cut and burnt through her tattoo.

The Earth beneath Maliha’s feet quaked, the Great Tree groaning as a small flame began to flicker alight in the heart of the twining tree.

Orange and blue flames cascaded around Tanzim’s skin in one large flickering fire, the energy of The Ishanu sucking the plumes from her being and pulling it into The Ishanu’s centre. The flames grew stronger, more aggressive as the last of Tanzim’s tattoo was sizzled away and the fire that was her essence was pulled into the Great Tree.

The fire kindled and spread towards the tips of the Tree, orange flames pluming and burning all the way to the leaves. Ash blew in the wind and scattered around them, grey smoke filling Maliha’s lungs.

Her chest rattled as she stared in horror at the burning tree but then something happened, and her horror turned to awe. The tree shifted, the atmosphere roaring with charged energy until it was snapped back into the Great Tree.

Breath whooshed from Maliha’s lips in a cacophony of sound, ringing in her ears as the world stood still.

A blinding flash of bright orange light whipped out into the Ishanu and then there in the middle of what had become of the burning tree, stood the Great Tree, as if fire had never touched it.

“It is done.” Sobbed Yaniza, her chest rising and falling harshly.

“It is done.” Solemnly repeated Makula.

Tears lined her withered face as she howled, “Tanzim, Daughter of Yaniza, is no more.”

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