Second run

This morning, Xia and Muya came to the harbor to present their farewells to the two new gold merchants.

Before, Muya, the old joiner, had often lost a great deal of money when buying gold material from local merchants. Now, thanks to her new partnership with the two merchants, working with gold would become much easier for her. Gold was actually far less expensive in the kingdom of Zimori compared to the empire of Linghua. Muya was already excited as she thought about all the new patterns made of gold she would be able to add to her next creations.

Besides her, Xia, her personal guard, had her mind elsewhere as she looked into Imani’s eyes. And she was not the only one. Our two recent lovers were both unsettled by their last night. Events had turned out to be as unexpected as they were comforting. Their first kiss had just been the beginning of a long night full of sweet words and caresses.

Now, as Imani left the harbor, he was too shy to glance at Xia’s face. But his mind could not think of someone else. Neither he nor Xia was certain about the future of their relationship. Only time would tell. And time passed as our lovers remained far from each other. Xia continued to watch over Muya and her workshop while Imani struck new deals with his father. Yet, even through the distance and the long weeks, neither of them could stop thinking about their magical night. Both were eagerly waiting to see each other again and so it ended up happening.

Three months later, Imani and his father Zano docked once again at Shuijin. Linghua was known to be well-secured. Actually, Shuijin was one of the few cities where foreign merchants could trade within the empire: only true citizens were allowed inland. Those restrictions made the merchants from Zimori hesitant to trade with Linghua. If Zano and Imani had not been in desperate need of new connections for their trade, they would have never traveled this far. When Imani thought about it, a part of him was glad of his past mistake. If he had not ruined his father’s reputation when he healed a sailor, he would not have met Xia.

As their boat drew near the docks, Imani scanned the area intensely, searching for those blue eyes and long dark hair he had not been able to forget. He did not find her as they landed with the merchandise. He consoled himself, knowing he would see her at their delivery point.

Shortly afterward, the two merchants entered Muya’s workshop with the gold material they had sold three months ago. The old joiner paused in her work and joined them to discuss the arrivals from their expedition. As expected, Xia was there, right next to Muya. It was hard for Imani to focus on the discussion while trying to avoid Xia’s gaze. Soon, he started to feel heavy. His father had forbidden him to look into any woman’s eyes. He did his best not to betray those instructions, but his heart wished for the opposite.

Suddenly, Imani understood how unlikely it was for his father to accept this kind of relationship. In Zano’s mind, Imani still had to acquire a lot of knowledge before assuming his position. Trading had to be his sole and unique priority. Only when his son was a renowned merchant could he share his life with a woman. Imani felt lost with all of those constraints and expectations. Yet, he decided to live his love in secret, behind his father’s back. He would not risk losing what he had discovered so recently.

Evening after evening, when pretenses were over, Xia and Imani met in a tavern far from Muya’s workshop. There, the two lovers continued to share wondrous discussions. The disagreements they both had with their families unified them even more.

And so, one night, Xia spoke about her dream of breeding livestock. Surprised, Imani reacted.

“Livestock surely are expensive, but not as you described. I tell you, with what you have already earned as a guard, you could buy a decent number of animals in Zimori.”

Xia could not believe her ears and replied with floods of questions. Imani could not answer many of them; his family was mostly traders and healers, not breeders. And as their discussion faded, a new idea grew in Xia’s mind.

Over the nights that followed, Xia and Imani found themselves confiding more deeply, exploring new hopes and fears together.

One night, another discussion occupied their minds. Imani had explained once again the medical incident on the boat and why his father and he had to come so far from their land in order to continue their sales. Xia could feel the melancholy in his voice. Imani did not really like to trade, it was even worse since he could not practice a bit of healing with his mother. Xia shared his feelings, but it was hard for her to witness Imani’s sorrow. When it was too much, she decided to intervene.

“Imani, why would you not do as I did? You can decide for yourself what you want to do or whom you wish to speak to.”

Baffled, Imani could not answer directly. However, this question continued to haunt him. Some time later, their conversation stopped as they both chose instead to enjoy the warmth of their bodies. In two weeks, they had grown closer to one another. Sadly, the end of the second week came around quickly. After all those moments together, only absence and possibilities remained in their heads before their next reunion. And just as last time, neither the distance nor the long weeks changed their feelings.

As intended, Zano and Imani’s boat returned three months later. It had given our lovers several weeks to think about their future. During those weeks, Xia had made an important choice. Actually, she could not wait long before sharing it. On their first evening, she conveyed her idea to Imani.

“I ran away from my village because it was my only way of becoming a breeder. Today, I have hope and I have you, hope to buy livestock with my earnings, and hope to share my life with you. I convinced Muya to let me leave. She is a model citizen of our Empire and has the right to authorize someone to leave Linghua if she believes it benefits the good of our nation.”

Xia saw the hesitation in Imani’s eyes but continued imperviously,

“I decided to start a new life in your kingdom, Zimori and found a new guard for Muya to replace me. In exchange, she accepted my request and granted me her authorization to leave Linghua. I don’t know if one day I will be able to repay her for all she has done for me…”

Her voice paused. Confusion spread across Imani’s face. How was he supposed to react? While bewilderment kept growing inside him, Xia proceeded with her final words. She had already gone too far and could not turn back now,

“I can’t wait any longer to live my dream. I must leave, but I want to be next to you. Imani, all I’m asking you is to respond to this one question, for me, for us: Will you leave your merchant’s life with your father for a simpler one as a breeder with me?”

Silence replaced her last words. Xia had just asked Imani a question he was not ready to answer. She understood and waited until they were both able to continue this necessary conversation. When Imani made up his mind, he started to share his fears, and together, they discussed them at length. He, too, had thought about a similar perspective during their absence. And yet, taking the final step was harder. Ultimately, battling with himself and comforted by Xia, he accepted. It was now time for organization and preparation. They both knew it: Zano would never accept any of this, so they had to find a way to keep it secret from him.

Days passed as they planned everything out. Soon, it was already the end of Imani and Zano’s stay in Shuijin. Muya was there with her new guard to wish them well. Their boat was drifting away from the docks, and this time, Xia was aboard.

While on the deck, cleverness was required. Muya had pretended to send Xia to learn Zimori’s techniques in joinery so she could convey it all to her when she returned. For the trick to be convincing, the couple had to avoid each other during the trip. Their plan worked pretty well, and Zano did not suspect anything. It took them one month at sea to reach Gungara, Zimori’s main city. Unlike Linghua, Zimori’s capital was along the coast, right next to the ocean.

Gungara was a large city made of stone houses. The buildings had few decorations; only some patterns emerged from the way the stones were arranged. The truly outstanding things were its conical towers. They were unique in their shape and height. Xia was glad to discover Gungara’s architecture. Quickly, something else caught her attention: its borders. Water protected the entire perimeter of the city. From the sea, you could see the whole area where Gungara expanded; it was much larger than Shuijin. Where the ocean ended, a large man-made river took over and encircled the city. In Linghua, they called Gungara the impenetrable city, a name definitely well deserved.

As they landed in Gungara, Xia and Imani met on the docks. Following their plan, they fled to the market, leaving only one simple letter to Imani’s father. By the time he understood what had happened, his son was already gone.

Once they reached the market, Xia and Imani slowed their pace. Strangely, Xia felt connected to this city. It reminded her of the sensations from her daily meditations. Despite this growing sense of comfort, the empty streets soon piqued Xia’s curiosity. She was startled not to see anyone in this big city. Imani explained it was due to the midday break: three hours in the middle of the day when everyone would rest a bit. Xia had never heard anything like this, such things were impossible in Linghua. Still, according to the mood, they rested in the shade of a long wall where nobody could see them.

Within two hours, people were back. Xia and Imani began to walk through the grand market of Gungara. True to himself, Imani quickly found a good offer regarding livestock prices. With a third of their earnings, they could buy five cattle, ten sheep, and twelve goats. The offer was too good to pass up. Imani even negotiated for an assistant of the seller to accompany them to suitable farming land. They had to venture far from the main city, searching for a small, isolated village with enough open land for their newly acquired animals. After the transaction, another day was necessary to gather sufficient food supplies and large pieces of cloth. Now, they were ready to leave.

Their guide was a nice young man, around their age. He led them far away from Gungara. Imani had never seen such isolated environments in Zimori. Both Xia and he were delighted. On top of that, their livestock listened well enough to their commands, and everything seemed to be going well: they often rested or slept near giant trees, and the weather was pleasant with the dry season ending. Sadly, their luck did not last long.

Waking up on their tenth morning of the trip, Xia could not find their guide. Confused, she alerted Imani, who swiftly grasped the situation. They had been fooled. Their presupposed guide had apparently planned to steal their earnings from the start. At this point, they were in the middle of nowhere with many animals to take care of and nothing to do it properly. Their last hope was to find a small village before it was too late.

For five more days, they walked on their own, not knowing where to go. Supplies were running short and no sign of a village appeared. Xia knew that in desperate situations like this, only stronger forces could help them. So, she asked Imani about rites they could perform from his culture, she knew spirits were not the same in different lands. He seemed startled as he answered.

“We have no meditation nor rite in Zimori, merely fanatics or strange people like my grandmother.”

Not giving up on her idea, Xia insisted.

“Isn’t there anything your grandmother already did to bring good fortune to herself or your family?”

“Perhaps there is, but I don’t like it, and I’m not sure you will either.”

Imani mentioned a sacrifice to Xia. She found it promising; Imani did not. The sacrifice had to be done near a lake as they were known to inhabit spirits. Luckily, lakes were common around here. They found one in no time and began the rite.

The ritual was simple: you had to offer a life in exchange for help from the spirit of the lake. Imani watched Xia as she reassured the animal they had chosen for the sacrifice. It was one of their cattle, the oldest. Then, Xia started to perform the rite with the few clues Imani could give her. She took her blade and killed the animal gently. The blood had to flow to the edge of the lake before merging with the water. Xia and Imani requested help and guidance for them and their livestock. Once the silence came back, they waited and waited, but nothing happened… Eventually, sleep found them, their bodies exhausted from this last desperate act.

The next morning, noises ripped them from their sleep. A crocodile was running out of the lake as their livestock ran away in the opposite direction. In a panic, Xia and Imani took the bare minimum of their supplies and rushed to catch the animals. In the end, four hours were needed to calm each of their animals. Afterward, they paused and rested for a time, drained from the chase. Xia decided to examine her surroundings. She still had a bit of faith in yesterday’s rite. The incident had brought them to a slightly different environment.

To her wonder, behind some distant trees, small huts made of mud and clay were visible at the edge of the plains. Imani followed her gaze and hugged Xia while feeling lucky and reassured. For Xia, this was no coincidence.