Anbessa couldn't help but laugh at his sister. Frankly, he appreciated it. He was so sick of people looking at him as if he were different, as if he were inhuman. Normal. It was all he ever wanted to be. Just a normal man.
He wondered what his life would have been had he not been caught up in all of this. Existence in a society that kept themselves cloistered from others. A double life of secrets and other worldliness.
Asmara was cosmopolitan, Little Rome. He could have gone to Secondary School, pursued a career in...he paused. It was sad. He had no idea what that could have been. What could he have striven for had his life had not been decided before he had ever been born. Lawyer? Doctor? Teacher? Social Worker?
A world of normalcy. He imagined the most banal of things and they sang to him. Hanging out with friends after school. Playing video games together. Going to dances. Shyly taking a girl for a coffee and thrilling at the touch of her hands.
All things he didn't know, even now. He didn't know how to begin. How to be...human.
And yet...the power of the g'brim flowed through his veins. The mark on his palm said he was set apart- the true meaning of "qdus"-holy- something special.
He didn't want to be special. He just wanted to be Anbessa.
His laughter died away at the sight of their "family". He paused. They really were his family. He felt a cloak settle on him. Not one of responsibility. That of kinship. None of them had normal lives. Ibrahim, an urchin who had survived for years on the streets alone and scrambling for anything and everything. And yet he'd never become a predator. His optimism, his playfulness and idealism were undiminished, his spirit intact. This was his younger brother.
Rohama, deep compassion and pain hidden in her dark eyes. Her parents had named her true. "Rohama" was the female version of "Rahman" in Arabic. It meant 'compassion'. Despite her...solitary nature, one could not help but feel some sort of understanding. As if she were trult listening, truly feeling.
Maryam was a new addition. But already her bright wide smile, rare as it was, was not completely absent. In those moments of laughter, she seemed startled and then ashamed, pulling her hijab down. They all respected that, moving on as if nothing had happened, though the comforting hand of Sesuna or Rohama made it clear that she was safe to let go. Ibrahim and Anbessa did not press. It would take time for her to feel free.
And Sesuna, his baby sister. A girl who's life was anything but normal. That did stab at him, because he knew he was the cause. Despite knowing where the real source lay, it was hard to shake the guilt that if it were not for him, maybe their father would have loved her.
But he knew she loved him. And her jokes were only to remind him who he was. He was not Idris. That was an image. He didn't want to be an image. He was just Anbessa. And that was enough for him.
He looked at her, thankful he could just be her brother. With an innocent look in his eyes, he answered. "Well, they know you're my sister...and that you move slower than sap in winter at the best of times. And they DO have other customers." The smile showed in his eyes.
He looked at the others. Odd. Their eyes on him did not make him fearful. No. He wanted to allay them of any concern. He could carry that for them. "The Negus has called us to her. I do not know what this means." He paused. Eritrea was free. Al Janyar was on the run. The Legion supported the local state and governmental authorities. "I hope this is just a short visit. Maybe more Qdus G'brim have manifested." He caught the looks of the others. They were comfortable, now. At peace-- finally. Change was the opposite of that.
He felt his own weakness. But they needed strength. His voice firmed as he looked at Ibrahim and Rohama, at Maryam and Sesuna. "It is God who is behind us. We cannot see the path until we can look behind us. But whatever challenge we face, we do it dedicated to protecting the weak and fighting those who would prey on others." He realized he wasn't mouthing platitudes. He knew that. He did indeed believe it and his face showed it.
A few more words and a gathering of a few bags- Axum wasnt that far- and he and Sesuna were off.
Somehow, facing down another g'brim or soldiers or rakshasas never struck him with fear. So why did this trip?
He wondered what his life would have been had he not been caught up in all of this. Existence in a society that kept themselves cloistered from others. A double life of secrets and other worldliness.
Asmara was cosmopolitan, Little Rome. He could have gone to Secondary School, pursued a career in...he paused. It was sad. He had no idea what that could have been. What could he have striven for had his life had not been decided before he had ever been born. Lawyer? Doctor? Teacher? Social Worker?
A world of normalcy. He imagined the most banal of things and they sang to him. Hanging out with friends after school. Playing video games together. Going to dances. Shyly taking a girl for a coffee and thrilling at the touch of her hands.
All things he didn't know, even now. He didn't know how to begin. How to be...human.
And yet...the power of the g'brim flowed through his veins. The mark on his palm said he was set apart- the true meaning of "qdus"-holy- something special.
He didn't want to be special. He just wanted to be Anbessa.
His laughter died away at the sight of their "family". He paused. They really were his family. He felt a cloak settle on him. Not one of responsibility. That of kinship. None of them had normal lives. Ibrahim, an urchin who had survived for years on the streets alone and scrambling for anything and everything. And yet he'd never become a predator. His optimism, his playfulness and idealism were undiminished, his spirit intact. This was his younger brother.
Rohama, deep compassion and pain hidden in her dark eyes. Her parents had named her true. "Rohama" was the female version of "Rahman" in Arabic. It meant 'compassion'. Despite her...solitary nature, one could not help but feel some sort of understanding. As if she were trult listening, truly feeling.
Maryam was a new addition. But already her bright wide smile, rare as it was, was not completely absent. In those moments of laughter, she seemed startled and then ashamed, pulling her hijab down. They all respected that, moving on as if nothing had happened, though the comforting hand of Sesuna or Rohama made it clear that she was safe to let go. Ibrahim and Anbessa did not press. It would take time for her to feel free.
And Sesuna, his baby sister. A girl who's life was anything but normal. That did stab at him, because he knew he was the cause. Despite knowing where the real source lay, it was hard to shake the guilt that if it were not for him, maybe their father would have loved her.
But he knew she loved him. And her jokes were only to remind him who he was. He was not Idris. That was an image. He didn't want to be an image. He was just Anbessa. And that was enough for him.
He looked at her, thankful he could just be her brother. With an innocent look in his eyes, he answered. "Well, they know you're my sister...and that you move slower than sap in winter at the best of times. And they DO have other customers." The smile showed in his eyes.
He looked at the others. Odd. Their eyes on him did not make him fearful. No. He wanted to allay them of any concern. He could carry that for them. "The Negus has called us to her. I do not know what this means." He paused. Eritrea was free. Al Janyar was on the run. The Legion supported the local state and governmental authorities. "I hope this is just a short visit. Maybe more Qdus G'brim have manifested." He caught the looks of the others. They were comfortable, now. At peace-- finally. Change was the opposite of that.
He felt his own weakness. But they needed strength. His voice firmed as he looked at Ibrahim and Rohama, at Maryam and Sesuna. "It is God who is behind us. We cannot see the path until we can look behind us. But whatever challenge we face, we do it dedicated to protecting the weak and fighting those who would prey on others." He realized he wasn't mouthing platitudes. He knew that. He did indeed believe it and his face showed it.
A few more words and a gathering of a few bags- Axum wasnt that far- and he and Sesuna were off.
Somehow, facing down another g'brim or soldiers or rakshasas never struck him with fear. So why did this trip?