This was the mood that Apama found them in. At first she cautiously lifted the curtain. But when she was convinced there was no danger of intruding on their guest, she walked in noisily.
“Where have you got the visitor? Where is Miriam?”
She was shaking in anger and agitation.
“They’re in the room alone.”
“Is this how you carry out Sayyiduna’s orders? This will mean your heads! The woman could be giving away secrets to that boy this very minute, and you sit here whinnying like a bunch of fillies!”
Some of them burst out in tears.
“Miriam ordered us to leave them alone.”
“Go back to them this minute! Throw yourselves at the boy and try to get out of him how many of our secrets the slut has revealed to him. One of you come report back to me. I’ll be waiting behind the white rose bush to the left of the pool.”
When they entered the central hall, they were greeted by a strange sight. Ibn Tahir lay motionless and pale like a corpse. Only a blissful smile played across his lips. Miriam was bent over him, gazing intently into his face. Slowly she turned her eyes from him and caught sight of the companions. She could tell from their timidity that something must have happened. She got up and went over to them.
“Apama?” she asked.
They nodded. She shrugged indifferently.
“Did you compose a song?”
“We did.”
Ibn Tahir had woken up. He rubbed the drowsiness from his eyes and looked around serenely.
“With your permission, we’ll sing for you.”
“A song? It would be a pleasure.”
Ibn Tahir was visibly cheered.
They lifted their harps and bells and began boldly singing.
Among the maidens in paradise
Was one named Miriam.
She had been fashioned for love’s delights
Like no single other one.
Her skin was as pale as milk,
Exuding the scent of a rose.
Framed by dark tresses, like a
Golden moon, her face would glow.
With dark eyes and luscious lips,
Full and red as a poppy,
Slender arms and lissome legs,
And a bearing as grand as a queen’s.
But of all the maidens Allah
Singled her out especially.
For as fair of face and limb as she was,
More astounding was her acuity.
She was familiar with all of the mysteries
That fill both heaven and earth.
She was keen on the sciences, fond of the arts,
And found in them the highest worth.
And how does this maiden fare tonight,
The princess of knowledge and wit?
She seems to have been taken by surprise,
And there’s a curious blush on her cheek.
Of course the rest of us know
What’s happened here, what’s gone awry.
Her Pahlavan has laid her low,
He’s stolen her heart on the sly.
And now this princess, this Miriam of ours,
As much as she may show reserve,
Is head over heels, inside and out
In love with this hero of hers.
Meanwhile Apama had sent for Hasan. Adi waited for him and ferried him down the canal to a concealed location.
“Why did you call for me?” he asked irritably.
“Don’t be angry, master. Everything is going fine, except in this garden. Either Miriam doesn’t know, or doesn’t want to know, how to overwhelm an unfledged boy.”
She relayed what she had heard and observed.
“It appears to me Miriam has chosen the right approach. Ibn Tahir is quite different from the other youths. Is that all you called me here for?”
“Chosen the right approach? You say that to me, when you know that there wasn’t a man who could resist me? So I’m a bungler, and Miriam is the artist?”
Hasan suppressed a smile.
“Why bicker? Miriam just has different views about these things.”
“She has views? Merciful heavens! And where would she have gotten them? From her old Jew, maybe? Or from that desert wild man?”
“What if she has them from me?”
“You’re trying to humiliate me. Just remember, I have a sense she’s going to betray you to the boy. She’s fallen in love with him.”
Due to the darkness she didn’t notice the flush that suffused Hasan’s face. But she did sense that she had touched a sore spot.
“They’re kissing and cooing like doves. He’s a poet, you know, and that never fails to have an effect on a woman’s heart. From now on she’s going to worry about him. She intentionally sent the girls out of the room so she could be alone with him. She’s going to warn him to be careful.”
The ground crunched under footsteps. Adi had brought Rikana. She shuddered when she saw Hasan next to Apama.
“Don’t be afraid. What are the two of them doing now?”
“It looks like ibn Tahir has fallen in love.”
“And Miriam?”
Rikana lowered her eyes.
“I don’t know.”
“I’d like to speak with her,” Hasan said.
Rikana looked at Apama, perplexed.
“What are you shilly-shallying about?” he asked.
“How am I supposed to tell her? And what if ibn Tahir goes with her?”
“She has to come. She’ll find an excuse.”
She bowed and dashed off. When she came in, Miriam quietly confronted her.
“Did you see Apama?”
“Yes. And Sayyiduna is down by the water. He’s waiting for you. Think up an excuse to tell ibn Tahir and go see him.”
Miriam went back to ibn Tahir.
“Do you really love me?”
“You doubt it?”
“Prove it. Write me a poem.”
Ibn Tahir panicked.
“How is a wretch like me supposed to compose something worthy of you? Miriam, don’t put me to shame.”
“If you love me, write a poem.”
“How could I? With you around …?”
“Don’t worry. I won’t get in your way. I’m going out to the gardens to pick you some flowers. In the meantime, you write a poem about your love.”
She turned to face the girls.
“You stay here with him and play him some music.”
As she left, she whispered to Rikana.
“Don’t let him out of the hall. You’re all responsible.”
With her coat on, she hurried into the gardens.
Near the boats she caught sight of Hasan. He took firm hold of her hand.
“Does he believe he’s in paradise?”
“He’s in love, so he believes he’s in paradise.”
“That’s not an answer. You look different to me somehow. You know there will be no mercy if the boy doesn’t prove himself.”
“I guarantee he will. Now tell Apama to stop lurking around like a ghost and interfering with my work.”
“It would be better if you’d kept cool. Be careful you don’t lose control of the reins.”
Had she heard right? Hasan felt hurt? So he did care about her, after all.
“Don’t worry, ibn Sabbah. I have the reins firmly in hand.”
“I expected no less. How did you excuse yourself when you left?”
“I gave him an assignment. I told him to write me a poem.”
He took her by the arm and led her a few paces away from the shore.
“Do you think he’s fallen very much in love?”
“Absolutely.”
“And you?”
“Does that matter to you?”
“Probably not. Otherwise I wouldn’t have asked.”
“Ibn Tahir is a gifted youth. But he has a long way to go before he’s a man.”
“Go back now and put him to sleep as soon as possible.”
She
couldn’t help giggling slightly.
He kissed her on the forehead and rejoined Apama.
“It looks like the master is jealous.”
“Maybe. In any case, less jealous than Apama is.”
He waved to her as they parted and then ordered Adi to ferry him back to the castle.
“When I’m back in the tower, I’ll give a sign to the trumpeters. There’s been enough excitement for tonight.”
Something was weighing down on his heart. He remembered Omar Khayyam, lying amidst his pillows in Nishapur and drinking wine, a beautiful girl serving him while he writes poems and laughs at the whole world. He was free to contemplate and perceive. To enjoy perfect tranquility. At this instant he envied him.
“Yes, he drew the best lot of the three of us.”
The girls noticed that Miriam had returned smiling. She brought in a whole armful of flowers and strewed them around ibn Tahir, who was leaning over a tablet covered with writing. They immediately felt relieved.
“Did you write the poem?”
“I tried, at least.”
“He already read us some of it,” Sit said. “Your head will spin.”
“I’m dying of curiosity.”
She picked up a pellet and held it firmly in her fist. She dropped to her knees beside ibn Tahir. She leaned up against him, looking over his shoulder at the tablet. She imperceptibly dropped the pellet into his cup.
He read:
Oh, how could I, like some new Farhad,
Sense how fast, how fast love comes.
How could I guess
How strong its power is,
That it could dwarf my feelings for
the Prophet and Sayyiduna,
And for the martyr Ali,
Who till now was closest to my heart.
Allah, who sees into our soul,
Who fashioned Miriam more beautiful than Shirin,
Who sees and knows and understands us all:
What should I do now,
That love has overwhelmed my heart so,
That all I see and hear and feel is her,
The one you’ve placed in heaven—
Miriam, dearest, soulmate of my soul?
Allah, please, reveal if everything that fills my heart
And soul is just some test.
Will I then like Adam, father of us all,
Be expelled from heaven too?
Perhaps you wanted me to see the prize
In store for when I set my sword aside forever.
What should I do to merit
This great bounty now, without delay?
My dearest Miriam! Till now I’ve been a blind man.
My heart thrashed with its longing,
My mind stalled with its thoughts.
Now everything is clear.
My heart has found its peace, my mind its goal.
And unimagined bliss enfolds me, Miriam,
When I look into your eyes.
Tears glistened in Miriam’s eyes. To hide them, she quickly kissed him. It hurt so much, she could have died.
Poor boy, she thought. So sincere, so good and so young. There’s no place in his heart for lies and deception. And I’m the one who has to get him ready to be Hasan’s sacrifice.
“What’s wrong, Miriam?”
“You’re so young and so good.”
He smiled and blushed.
He had grown thirsty. He emptied his cup.
Suddenly he felt weak. His head began to spin. New vistas appeared before his eyes. He grabbed his head and fell backwards.
“I’m blind! Allah, I’m blind! Where are you, Miriam! I’m sinking. I’m flying through space.”
The girls were frightened. Miriam embraced him.
“I’m here, ibn Tahir. With you.”
“I can feel you, Miriam,” he said and smiled in exhaustion. “O Allah, everything is changed. I was just dreaming. Allah, I’m flying back the same way. Before I just dreamed I’d arrived in the holy city of Cairo. Do you hear, Miriam! I entered the caliph’s palace. It was dark all around me. Oh, the same darkness is around me now. Hold me tight, Miriam, so I can feel you! It was dark in the great hall. If I looked back toward the doors it was perfectly light again. But when I looked toward the throne, I was blinded. I heard the caliph’s voice. It was Sayyiduna’s voice. I looked toward him. I was blind. I looked back toward the entrance and the hall was brilliantly illuminated. All-merciful Allah! Such weakness! I can’t feel you anymore, Miriam! Give me a sign, bite me, bite me below my heart, hard, so I can feel you, so I know you’re still with me.”
She drew his coat aside and bit him below the heart. She felt unspeakably miserable.
“Now I can feel you again, Miriam. Oh, what vistas! Look! That city beneath me! Look at that golden cupola and those green and red rooftops! Do you see that azure tower? There’s a thousand banners fluttering around it. Nothing but long, colored flags. Oh, how they flap in the wind. Buildings and palaces are flying past me. Oh, how fast! Hold on to me, I beg you, hold on to me!”
He fell over and groaned deeply.
The girls were terrified.
“Misfortune is going to befall us,” Sit said.
“It would have been better if we’d leapt into the river,” Miriam murmured.
Ibn Tahir was in a deep state of unconsciousness.
“Cover him with his robe!”
They obeyed. Miriam lay back and stared, dry-eyed, at the ceiling. When Abu Ali and Buzurg Ummid had been left alone atop the tower, they looked at each other questioningly. Then they looked out over the battlements for a long time.
Finally Buzurg Ummid asked, “What do you say to all of this?”
“We’re in a net from which it’s going to be hard to disentangle ourselves.”
“I say, ‘As Allah is Allah, so ibn Sabbah is insane.’ ”
“A dangerous companion, at any rate.”
“Do you think we should stand by with our arms crossed and just watch? What does a tiger do when he runs into a wolf snare?”
Abu Ali laughed.
“He bites through it.”
“Well?”
“So bite through it.”
“Aren’t you afraid he could send the two of us to some paradise like this?”
“If it’s a good one, we won’t resist.”
“We won’t resist even if it’s a bad one.”
He stepped right up to Abu Ali.
“Listen, Abu Ali. Tonight there’s still time. It’s just the three of us on top of this tower.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“May I confide in you?”
“One crow doesn’t attack the other. Better the two of them take on the eagle.”
“Let’s wait at the entrance for when he comes back. I’ll strike him over the head from behind with my sword handle, to knock him out. Then we can throw him over the battlements into Shah Rud.”
“And the faithful?”
“We’ll make them believe he never returned from the gardens.”
“But the eunuchs will know that he did. We won’t get out of here alive.”
“By the time the truth comes out, you and I will already be God knows where.”
“There isn’t a believer who wouldn’t risk his life to avenge him. The net really is drawn around us tight.”
“All action requires risk.”
“It would be less risky for us to wait for the succession.”
“Hasan is insane.”
“Not so insane he couldn’t guess what we’re thinking.”
“Are you afraid?”
“You aren’t?”
“It’s exactly why I’d like to be able to breathe easy again.”
“I know he already senses our thoughts. Keep as quiet as a tomb. The eunuchs are a terrible weapon.”
“The fedayeen could be even worse.”
“All the more reason for us to keep quiet. They’ll be a weapon in our hands, as well as his.”
“You could be rig
ht, Abu Ali. Hasan is a fearsome master. There’s no going back for us. We’ve been initiated into his secret, and any deviation could mean death.”
“Let’s just follow nicely in his footsteps.”
“Listen! He’s coming back. I’ll admit, this experiment of his tonight is really unusual.”
“More than that. It’s extraordinary.”
At that moment Hasan came gasping to the top. He cast a quick glance at the grand dais and smiled.
“I hope you haven’t been too bored, my friends. You had quite a bit to talk about, and I trust you didn’t lose any time.”
“We were worried about how things were progressing in the gardens, ibn Sabbah. What did Apama call you for?”
“Feminine jealousy. The old and the new philosophies of love had come into conflict down there. The dangerous question of how best to seduce a man had to be decided.”
The grand dais burst into laughter. They felt a pleasant relief. The crisis was over.
“I think you prefer the new theories to the old ones,” Abu Ali said.
“What can we do. The world is constantly evolving and we have to give up the old to make way for the new.”
“I assume ibn Tahir fell into the grip of the new theory?”
“Well, look at you, Abu Ali. You’ll become a great psychologist yet!”
“You’re an odd lover, by the beard of the Prophet! If I cared as much for a woman as I do for a torn robe, I’d sooner kill her as let another have her.”
“You’ve already demonstrated that, dear Abu Ali. Which is now why you have neither the old nor the new ‘theory.’ As far as my case is concerned, you must bear in mind that I’m a philosopher and value above all what’s tangible. And that is not going to change in the slightest in one night.”
Abu Ali laughed.
“Also a good point,” he said. “But I believe that principle holds for you only in matters of love. Didn’t somebody say this morning that he planned to build his institution on pure reason?”
“You’re after me like a hound after game,” Hasan heartily laughed. “Do you really think those two opposites are irreconcilable? How could body and spirit go hand in hand otherwise?”