[Image Description: A moodboard in the colors cream, sky blue, and brown. The images used are 1. Two hands wrapping an injury on a third hand, 2. A single figure standing at the bottom of a canyon with walls of sand surrounding them, 3. A small sailboat floating down a river. Palm trees and a desert are visible in the background, 4. Two people and three camels walking in a straight line in the desert. The sun is setting and the sky is bathed in pastels pinks and blues. 5. A bust photo of a man. He is wearing a gray head scarf, and his hair is shoulder-length, dark brown, and wavy. He has kind brown eyes and a small mustache. 6. A pile of scrolls and a feather quill sitting on a table. 7. A very narrow and long sailboat. The two sails are red in color, and there are oars pushing the boat forward. The boat also has a small area covered with a tarp. 8. A different photo of hands wrapping an injury, 9. A picture of waves rolling in on the beach. End Image Description.]
5 Song Playlist:
The Beast of Pirate’s Bay by Voltaire
The London Air Raids by Vian Izak
Think About It by American Authors
Soldier, Poet, King by The Oh Hellos
The Best is Yet to Come by Sheppard
Today’s Quote is kind of long (495 words), so I’m sticking it under the cut, along with the Taglist.
Quote:
“Braheem greeted him at the door, roping him into a quick hug. He pulled away and held Jude at arm’s length. Braheem looked him in the eyes.
‘Work hard. Try to remember everything Reseph says. He may seem a little rough around the edges, but buried somewhere in that cynicism are a few pearls of wisdom. And do not tell anyone about your special talent.’
‘You are real,’ Jude blurted out.
Braheem barked out a laugh that sounded more relieved than amused.
‘What gave it away?’
‘That man. I can’t have imagined him. Or this city. It’s very loud. And so is he,’ Jude looked up at him in wonder, ‘You really do know a guy.’
Braheem nodded. His eyes looked sad.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said, ‘I wish I could have brought you here sooner. You will remember, though? That thing we talked about?’
‘Yeah. I got it.’ Jude looked up at Braheem. ‘You’re coming back, right?’
Braheem’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.
‘Of course. Why wouldn’t I?’
Eyes locked on the ground, Jude fidgeted with the hem of his robe.
‘W-well, it-’ Jude paused, feeling the words stick in his throat like glue to paper. ‘The Kingdom and-’ he gestured vaguely. ‘You don’t have to- have to-’
‘I don’t have to look after you anymore?’ he guessed.
Jude nodded.
‘This may come as a surprise to you, but no one was forcing me to do it before.’
Jude still felt entirely unconvinced, and Braheem must have noticed it because he rolled his eyes and carefully pulled his pendant from his neck. Jude had only seen it a couple of times before. The necklace was simple in design- a serpent of some sort crudely carved out of what Braheem told him was the seed of a fruit native to Punt.
Jude had never seen him take it off.
Gaping at the necklace in wonder, Jude almost didn’t notice when Braheem held it out for him to take.
‘If you’re not convinced I’ll come back for you, will you at least believe I won’t leave this behind?’
Cradling the necklace in his hands, Jude stared up at Braheem in shock. Jude nodded. He held the necklace out to return it, but Braheem just shook his head.
‘You’ve made your point,’ Jude insisted.
‘Not yet, I haven’t. Take good care of it until I get back.’
Hesitantly, Jude tugged the cord over his head. The pendant’s weight rested comfortably against his chest. Still, it felt wrong to take something his friend treasured so much.
His real friend. Who existed. Who had always existed. He needed more time to process that part.
‘You’re sure?’ he asked.
‘Absolutely,’ Braheem said, though Jude caught the regret in his voice.
Jude rushed forward and threw his arms around Braheem’s middle.
‘Thank you,’ he whispered.
Braheem ruffled his hair fondly, and though he felt terrified of letting go, Jude knew he couldn’t cling to Braheem forever. He forced himself to step back.
“Triumphantly, Braheem lifted a roll of paper from the dirty sack.
‘Aha! Here it is.’ he held the scroll out to Jude. ‘Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor,’ Braheem informed him. ‘It’s about-’
‘Punt?’ Jude asked knowingly.
Braheem seemed to deflate a little.
‘Well, yes, but- look, there’s a giant talking snake in it, and most of the stories don’t include Apep.’ Braheem said quickly. ‘It’s a shame, really. The sea monsters aren’t at all interesting to talk to.’ looking down at the scroll, Braheem barked out a short laugh. ‘And this ‘Ahmose’ person didn’t even get them right! Apep isn’t some wise prophet,’ he scoffed, ‘just incredibly overdramatic. But, I digress.’
Jude looked up at him quizzically.
‘What’s a snake?’
Braheem stared blankly at him for a moment, as if he hadn’t registered Jude’s words. His face fell.
‘Right,’ he said to himself slowly. ‘You’ve never seen one.’ shaking himself out of his stupor, Braheem said, ‘Well, imagine a lizard without- no, wait, you don’t know what that is either. Um, well, it’s like a rope. Yes! A living rope! A living rope that hisses!’
Jude reached up and accepted the scroll, looking down at it curiously. Although he was loathe to entertain the idea of visiting Punt, reading about it still brought him happiness. Besides, the talking snake sounded interesting. Jude began to hastily unroll the scroll.
‘Hey, kid.’
Jude looked up.
‘Bed first,’ Braheem said sternly. ‘You can read when I know you’re not in danger of killing yourself by trying to walk two feet with a broken leg.’”
Braheem lead him to a long road filled with people. Short buildings full of colorful or otherwise delicious looking objects lined either side. In passing, Braheem informed him the place was called a 'market’.
(For context, this is Jude’s first time being anywhere that isn’t a cave or empty desert)
