Page 147 of A Thousand Nights Before Dawn
The two shrieked and laughed, chasing each other through the water. Zahra managed to grab the sandal from Namir’s hand, but he tackled her and took it back. Her other sandal was lost somewhere along the way as they played. Finally, Zahra sat on top of Namir on the beach, holding the lone sandal in the air. “Ha!”
Namir surrendered his arms to the wet sand, defeated. Zahra crawled off of him and looked at the horizon. The sun had dipped just below the Sea, and the last remnants of light and color were disappearing with the rise of the moon.
Namir stood. “I’ll go build a fire.”
Zahra stayed by the Sea, letting it brush her feet as Namir gathered wood. The moonlight shone upon her, reflecting on the water’s surface. She reached into the Sea, plucking out a few small shells from the sand. One of the shells was bigger than the other—a scallop shell—and this was the one she held to her heart as she looked out at the horizon.
Somewhere, beyond where she could see, stood the ruins of Ionia. Parsa had surely made good use of the land Zahra had once called home. Her friends that had chosen to remain were likely numbered among Parsa’s slaves, if they were alive at all. Her heart ached for them and for the people who had been cast from Aur. Here she was, the future Queen, and everywhere else her people suffered. She hoped that, somehow, her people would be freed.
“Zahra!” Fire burned on the hill behind her, and Namir gestured for her to come. “Let’s get you warm.”
Zahra took one last look at the Sea before making her way up the hill.
Namir draped his cloak over Zahra’s shoulders. “Take this.”
She looked up at him as he sat beside her. “You will be cold without it.”
He shrugged. “I am already warm.”
She smirked, noticing he was still wet. “You lie.”
He grinned and retrieved the bag of food.
They ate in silence, watching the Sea.
Zahra held out the shell to show Namir. “My mamá and I used to collect these. We would string them into necklaces and give them as gifts to those in our village we thought needed them.”
Namir took the shell from her hand. “How big was your village?”
“Small, I think,” Zahra said, lowering the last bite of her bread to her lap. “My parents were very involved in the community, what with my father’s role as a physician and my mother as asibyl. From what my father told me, my people relied on her wisdom to plant crops or keep themselves safe from thieves. There were other villages, of course, but ours was a fishing village. We traded with other villages, and I think some of our fish made it all the way to Ionia’s king.”
Namir leaned forward, curiosity in his eyes. “Will you tell me more of your home?”
Zahra smiled at his request. She spoke for hours as the moon moved across the sky and began to grow dim, telling him of her home. She described the times her father took her and her mother sailing, and the games she would play with the other children. She shared her people’s culture, and how she would worship with her mother and father every morning. All the while, Namir listened quietly.
She leaned into his shoulder, letting out a sad sigh.
Namir put his arm around her, rubbing her arm. “What happened that day?”
Zahra watched the Sea move and touch the shore. “It was dark.” She put her hand on her necklace, her forehead creasing as she recalled the memories. “Ash had clouded the sky. I wouldn’t have been able to see anything had the light from the fires not penetrated the darkness. I was lost. I couldn’t find my parents, and everyone I knew was running from the soldiers.”
Her lip trembled as she relived the memories. “One of them came toward me. There was fire in his eyes, and he raised his sword as if I was a threat and not a… achild.”
Tears slipped down her cheeks. “Mamá, she—she stepped in the way.”
Zahra could still remember the sound of her own scream.Mamá!
“With her last breaths, she handed me her necklace, telling me to keep it with me always.” Zahra pulled in a fast breath. “And then she was gone.”
Namir wrapped his arms around her, kissing her hair. “I am sorry.”
“Every moment since then, my greatest wish has been to return to Ionia,” Zahra confessed. “I thought that if I could brave the Sea once again and find the remains of my home, I wouldbe happy. My parents wouldn’t be there. My village wouldn’t be there. But I would be back where things were good and I was happy.” She shook her head against Namir’s chest. “But I was wrong. My time in Ionia has passed. My village is gone, and my home is here. When I tried to leave Aur with my father, I felt so lost, as if a part of myself was missing. But as soon as I chose to embrace my new identity as both an Ionian and an Auran, I have felt whole.” She looked up at Namir, taking his hand. “You were what I was missing, Namir. And I would have never found you had I not lost my home and my mother.”
Namir was shocked by her words. He smiled softly, wiping at her tears. “I am glad you are happy.”
Zahra, suddenly ashamed of her tears, looked down and rested her head against him. “And you? Are you happy?”
Namir chuckled. “Of course I am,ib ib.”
