She is blacking out. “Leave, LEAVE!” She drops to the ground, motionless. These two words are added to the sheepskin immediately with three exclamations at the end.
The leading oracle stands up and steps out of the stone chamber. The other oracles follow, carrying Bonita between them. They stand in front of the altar, singing and praying. Then they walk out of the temple.
The hill is full of people, stretching all the way down to the coast. Almost everyone in the capital city is here, waiting for the fatal message from Goddess Athena.
The leading oracle’s eyes scan throw the crowd slowly. Then he opens his mouth. “The message has arrived. We have the mercy of Goddess Athena.” He waits until the applause dies down. “But we have to leave. To live under her protection.”
Bonita feels as if she is in a dream. The crowd sounds from far away. Then everything goes quiet.
When she opens her eyes again, her wondering look meets the gaze of Zaak. “How are you, Bonita?”
“Water,” She croaks.
Zaak helps her to sit up, leaning on a pillow.
The cold water seeps into her body like the first spring rain going down a land in drought. She gulps until she finishes the whole pot.
“Take it easy, okay?” Zaak takes the vessel away. Moments later, he digs a spoon into a huge bowl and scoops up a full spoonful of food. “Eat.” He smiles.
Bonita opens her mouth but can only take a small piece from the huge spoon. That’s her favorite: a mix of rice, beans, and meat. She eats and drinks until she is satisfied, Zaak watching over her like a mother bear over her cub.
“So?” She asks finally, sipping a sweet tea.
“The oracle passed the message to the King.”
“He believed it?” She leans forward but drops back to the pillow with a tiny “Ouch”, holding her temples with both hands. A slow grinding headache is building at the base of her skull.
“You okay?” Without waiting for her answer, Zaak begins to rub her temples.
Bonita closes her eyes to enjoy the massage. After a while she opens her eyes and whispers. “I’m okay now, Zaak. Thank you so much. Tell me what happened.”
Zaak smiles, “You know what?”
“What?”
“Everything went well. But when the King heard the word America , his eyes turned this big.” Zaak’s eyes pop out like golden fish.
“Zaak, you’re so funny.”
Zaak’s gaze turns soft. He looks at Bonita and murmurs, “You’re so beautiful.”
“Thank you, Zaak, kiss me.” She looks right into her husband’s eyes.
Zaak leans over. Their lips meet. For a long, long time…
The ground keeps rumbling.
Not every day. But it causes chaos throughout the entire Empire. The King has sent out the government officers to the continents of Europe and Africa. He wants to find a great new land for his subjects. Also, he wants to find somewhere that has not been occupied by local tribes yet.
The Empire is one of the most developed civilizations in the world. They have been trading with the world for centuries. Their sailing ships are the best. Therefore things are going well.
Good news keeps coming back. Many of the lands remain unexplored. The peninsulas along the European continent have some large tribes and towns. Rome and Athens are the largest.
Zaak is trying to convince the King that they should send the army to the west to find the American Continent. And the King totally agrees because this is the message from Athena.
“The land is full of gold.” Zaak uses his imagination to its extreme. He hasn’t been in America himself. But he believes everything Bonita told him. Rich land, great people (oh, well, by this time, not quite anyway.)
Obviously, the King’s eyes are now shining. The word gold did its magic.
“They mix ruby and silver to build walls. Not for the palace, of course.”
“Really?”
“Uh-huh. Bonita saw
R. C. Farrington, Jason Farrington