The Brokenhearted Knight

By Ahlam Maodah

Once upon a time, in a faraway area in southwestern Saudi Arabia, there

were Bedouin tribes residing in a spot called The Empty Quarter. Ralph
Beeno, the Sheikh of the Beeno tribe, was a well-respected and brave man.
He was famous for his generosity, nobility, and wisdom. He was married to
his cousin Bilby, a very beautiful and wise woman. He had four sons:
Zeeara, Baleeba, Anmera, and Balera. They were great knights and
merciless hunters. All were married except Balera.
There was something special about Balera: he was an adventurous man.
He fell in love with a girl named Albella, who was from another tribe.
Viewing Albella while she was filling jars with water at the river bank, he
was stunned by her beauty. He followed her to know who she was, and he
learned everything about her that he could from her father's shepherd.
Baleras parents objected to his proposal to marry Albella because the
customs and traditions of his family obligated men to marry women from
their own tribe only. Sheikh Beeno warned Balera not to make a fool of
himself, and Balera had to obey his father's orders.
Afterwards, Balera spent his days wandering and hunting in the wilds,
and he spent his nights with his friends, but he could not forget Albella. He
preferred to stay single rather than marry someone else.

Three Strangers
One day, three travelers lost their way in the desert. The travelers saw a
group of tents in the distance. They advanced towards a large tent among
them. It was Sheikh Beenos tent.
"We have guests, Sheikh Beeno," the coffee man inside the tent
shouted.
"Welcome, guests! Sheikh Beeno said, as he stood waiting for the
coming of the guests.
After receiving and welcoming the guests, Sheikh Beeno spoke to his
sons.
"Slay a camel for our guests, said the sheikh. We should be generous
and host them for three days, and then we shall know their story."
Hospitality was one of the customs and traditions of the Arabs,
especially the Bedouins. They should welcome guests and receive them
with smiles, incense, and feasts for three days.
A banquet was set in honor of the guests and all men of the tribe were
invited. After three days of hospitality, Sheikh Beeno began asking them
questions.

"What is your story? asked the sheikh. What are you doing in a
faraway and empty desert such as this?
"Our generous host, we are two brothers, Nadeem and Kamal, and the
other one is our friend Waheeb, said Nadeem. We are treasure hunters.
We heard a lot about a treasure buried in the depths of the Indian Ocean. It is
near Suqatra Island.
An old man sitting beside Sheikh Beeno told everyone that he had heard
the same treasure story when he was young.
"A lot of men have gone searching for that cursed treasure, but none have
come back," said the old man. "I advise you all to return to your homes and
families."
The young guests responded that they had already begun their journey
and that it was not good to break their word, that they should fulfill their
plans or else they would be liars. They asked Sheikh Beeno to give them his
consent to leave the next morning. He advised them for the last time to give
up and go back home, but they were stubborn.
"Father, I want to go with them," said Balera.
Sheikh Beeno was astonished, and he refused at once. Then Balera stood
up in his place and came to the middle of the tent in front of his father.
"You will go nowhere, son!" exclaimed Sheikh Beeno, frowning at Balera.
The sheikh could not let his favorite son die in an unknown spot in the middle
of the ocean.
"I am a son of the desert, Father! exclaimed Balera. You brought us up to
be courageous. We hunt wild animals and fight the dangerous ones. We are
used to travel and adventures. But I dont want to go without your
permission. If I go without your permission, I will have no success. I need your
blessing. Let me go and try my fate, which I am sure is somewhere outside of
our tents."
Baleras father lowered his head and thought for a few moments. Finally,
he yielded to his son's request.
As for Bilby, in spite of her weeping for her youngest son's departure, she
could not stop him, nor could she break her husband's word. She felt that
Balera wanted to forget Albella's love.
At the first twinkles of dawn, Balera took his things: a sword, a dagger, a
spear, and some white robes. The group left the camp, along with the
mother's tears and father's grief within it. Their destination was Suqatra
Island.

The Journey Begins

The convoy started its journey towards the south. The travelers were
friendly and cooperative. They spent three days riding their camels and
taking their food on the camels' backs in the barren desert. On the fourth
day, they entered a mountainous area. Needing to take rest and food, they
found a large cave.

They went inside,

put their provisions in a
corner, and began
gathering logs at the
cave's entrance. After
grilling two hares, they
fell asleep.
Suddenly, the men
were awakened by a
scream from among
them. Many snakes had
surrounded them in the
cave! The snakes were
of different sizes and
(Photo by Nina Jiang)
colors. The men could
not move to reach each other. They wanted to kill the snakes with their
spears, but Balera shouted at the others not to kill the snakes. Instead, Balera
ordered, they had to dig holes as deep as they could where they were
standing.
The more the four dug, the more the snakes fell into the holes they were
digging. Eventually, the holes were full of snakes. Finally, the men could find a
safe way out of the cave. They walked cautiously until they reached a foothill
outside of the cave. Then they fled on their camels.
The men were very drowsy and tired when a dark, shadowy clump
appeared in the distance. When they entered the clumpy area they had seen,
they found an oasis. They drank from the water there, led their camels to it,
and then filled their goat-skin bags with it. Then they fell onto the grass from
fatigue.
After a long sleep, the men woke up to find that they were tied tightly by
thick grass! They had slept restlessly, and they had all gotten wrapped up in
the grass from their rolling around. They could not move or help each other.
To the mens surprise, their camels came over to them and began tearing
the grass with their hooves until they were freed! It was a miracle! The men
could not believe what had happened. They hugged their saviors, climbed on
top of them, and quickly went on their way.
The company wandered into the far-stretching desert, depending on the
water in their bags and their hunting. Balera was thinking of his family and
Albella. The other men felt the same way about their own families. To calm
the situation, they began singing Bedouin songs, reciting Bedouin verses, and
solving traditional riddles. After four days of walking, they were tired and
their camels were weary.

They stopped at night, set up their tent, and gathered some dried leaves
near them. Suddenly, the camels ran away fast over a hill behind them and
disappeared. Afraid of what could happen because of the camels escape, the
men followed them.
Brothers or Enemies?
What a surprise the men came across next! They found that the sea was in
front of them, the sounds of the waves breaking what had been a horrible
silence around them. The men jumped out of happiness, hugged each other,
ran around, and shot bullets into the air.
After a short time, the bullets brought something unexpected: people!
Soon people were everywhere, gathered around them.
"Brothers or enemies?" asked a large man holding a gun. It was obvious
that the man was a sheikh.
"O sheikh, we are brothers, and close brothers at that," the men
shouted.
The sheikh took the men to his house. He was very generous and
understanding. The men found out that they were in Yemen. They told the
sheikh that they were brothers and that they wanted to go to Suqatra
Island to bring some medicinal herbs for their sick mother.
The sheikh promised to help them as much as he could. After three days
in the sheikhs house, the men took his permission to leave and asked him
to keep their camels until they came back. He provided them with food,
new bags, spears, guns, and a boat. Then they left the village.

The Ship's Puzzle

Finally, the men reached Suqatra Island. It was marvelous! They saw
many different kinds of fish, sands, trees, fruits, and flowers. They located
the front of the island, and they set their tent near the beach. They all
agreed to dive the next morning.
They could not sleep well because they were thinking of how to get the
treasure. However, they had neither a map nor a skillful fisherman to help
them. They hardly slept.
With the first twinkling of dawn and a fresh sea breeze, the company
began waking up. The sun had risen, bearing warmth and hope for the
island visitors. They ate some fruit in order to dive deeply and smoothly,
and they decided to have a big lunch after returning.
They entered the warm water, diving deeply, then more deeply, and
then even more deeply, but they found nothing. They explored the whole
area around the island, but nothing came up. They did so for three days,
but it was fruitless.
On the fifth night, the silver light of the full moon lit up the sky. The view
from the beach was breathtaking. The men were chatting on the beach and
drinking Arabic coffee. Suddenly, a great ship appeared in the near
distance, moving towards the island.

Then a great explosion shook the sea and the island! All of a sudden the
ship seemed to be burning and sinking. Dumbfounded, the men took off
their clothes and swam towards the ship to see what had happened and
save any passengers. They reached the area of the explosion and upon
diving found that the ship was already a shipwreck.
Neither passengers nor crew were there. The wrecked ship seemed very,
very old. Its wood was broken into pieces, and sea plants covered most of
it. Schools of fish moved among the wreck, and sponges had spread around
everywhere.
The men were astonished. What was going on? They could not decide
what was happening. They insisted on discovering what had happened to
the ship. Every one of them went in a different direction. They were
supposed to come back to the starting point after searching. All of them
except Nadeem came back to the starting point.
The other three men waited for a while, but Nadeem did not appear. They
began searching for him, but uselessly. When they came back to the starting
point again, Kamal had disappeared. Then it was Waheeb's turn to disappear
after Balera came back to the starting point. So Balera found himself alone
under the darkness of the night and the darkness of the sea.
Afraid that something bad had happened to the other men, Balera took
out his knife and moved around slowly and quietly. Balera stopped behind
the shipwreck to look around but found nothing. The water was cold and the
sea was scarily quiet. Balera began losing his patience and hope. Suddenly, a
huge and terrifying octopus appeared in front of him!
"O Allah, what is this thing?" Balera exclaimed.
Balera had no knowledge of the sea or its creatures. The octopus stretched
its tentacles to catch him, but he escaped their quick movements. The
creature tried again, but it failed. Annoyed, it ran after him. Balera evaded it,
hiding among the shipwrecks.
Annoyed and tired, the octopus swam off. Balera waited a few minutes
and then came out of the wreck. He looked around him but nothing was
there. Suddenly, he felt something wrap itself around his body. It was a
tentacle of the octopus!
The octopus held Balera tightly and forcefully. He tried to slip from its grip,
but he could not. He was sill holding his knife, but at first he could hardly
move his arm. When he was finally able to free his arm, he raised it and then
stabbed the tentacle around him twice.
The octopus left him because its tentacle was bleeding. Balera seized the
chance and stabbed a second tentacle.
Then the octopus attacked Balera, making him drop his knife. Balera
caught the knife as it fell and then made a twisting movement to stab a third
tentacle. The creature became very furious and swam off. But Balera
followed it to kill it.

The octopus entered a very large rocky cave with water from the ocean
waist deep inside. Balera waited for the creature to come out, but it did not
appear. When Balera entered the cave, he found that Nadeem, Kamal and
Waheeb were there!
Suddenly the octopus appeared and grabbed the three men, holding them
in its tentacles. Balera was about to free them when one of the creatures
tentacles grabbed him from behind, making him fall into the water. Balera
noticed that the tentacle was very weak, and that the creatures movements
were slow because of the wounds Balera had made on it. Balera used his
knife to stab all of the creatures tentacles to stop their movements
completely.
The animal grew weaker and weaker. Finally, Balera stabbed it in its right
eye. As it struck the ground with its bleeding tentacles, Balera repeated his
attack, but now on its left eye. The blind octopus was struggling as it tried to
find Balera, but it tried in vain. After Balera made sure his friends were freed,
all four men took their knives and spears and stabbed the creature
repeatedly. The water was turned red. Unexpectedly, the octopus exploded
and everything turned yellow.
The men were stunned. The creature was a magical one. It had appeared
once a year in the shipwreck, making a false explosion and waiting for men to
try and kill it.
The rays of the sun were spread out, penetrating to the depths of the sea.
The men laughed and hugged each other. They began collecting the treasures
they found in the cave. There were gemstones of different colors and shapes,
necklaces, earrings, rings, and small golden coins. Then they returned to the
island. After having a delicious breakfast and taking a nap, they divided the
treasures among them equally. After that, they left the island.
Upon returning to the coastal village where they had left their camels, the
men were received warmly by the large sheikh. They thanked him and gave
him some golden coins. Then they took their camels and left.
Eventually, Balera and the company reached Baleras tribal camp. The
coffee man shouted among the tents, announcing the return of Sheikh
Beenos son. The celebrations and banquets lasted for a week. After that,
Sheikh Beeno told his son and the guests that Balera 's marriage to Albella
would occur after two days. Balera was astonished.
After Balera's departure with the other three men, Bilby had begged her
husband to accept Balera's love for Albella. Bilby had cried and refused to eat
anything until her husband yielded to her request. Day after day, Sheikh
Beeno began thinking seriously of his wife and his absent son. Finally, the
sheikh accepted the situation and took his sons and other tribesmen to
Albella's father to ask for her hand in marriage. Everyone had been eagerly
waiting for Baleras return to begin the marriage ceremony.
Balera distributed his part of the treasure among his family and other
tribesmen, but he kept some of it for his wife. Balera married Albella in the
presence of his parents, brothers, the three travelers, and other members of
the tribe, with everyone congratulating the married couple and wishing them
a happy life.