Saturday, July 17, 2021

AN APPOINTMENT IN SAMARRA


There’s a mythological story which speaks to the reality of, and certainty of death.

Years before Gabriel spoke to the Virgin Mary, or Moses rolled back the Red Sea, a powerful king named Zaidan ruled and reigned in a faraway land. The king was proud of his country and his people, and though he fiercely rendered justice to whom justice was due, he was also known as a man of rich compassion.

And as you might expect, the good king’s palace and its adjoining grounds were populated by a multitude of loyal servants. And as you might also well imagine, the ruler of this great land enjoyed the services of a few selected stewards whom had proved their loyalty, and who had ministered to his daily needs over the course of decades.

One servant, in particular, a man named Abdul, had from time immemorial fulfilled a brief, but (at least from the king’s point of view) necessary task. Outside of that singular, daily task, he was “given the run” of the palace, and little else was expected of him.

Oddly enough, when the waning shadows on the sun dial registered the 6th hour of the afternoon, all activity in the inner sanctum of the palace ceased, the king mounted his throne, and a nearby eunuch slammed a mallet on a great silver cymbal. Three times. And as the last echoes of the great gong ceased to reverberate, a great door in the back of the massive room opened, and Abdul appeared, attired in blue and crimson, and marched down the long aisle which separated him from the ornate throne.

The king’s servants, male and female, lined each side of the aisle; soldiers on his right. Handmaids on his left; as Abdul navigated the fifty feet which separated him from the monarch whom he had grown to love and respect.

Pt. 2

Having reached the foot of the great throne, Abdul stopped, slammed his arms against his side, drew his left foot against his right, silently cleared his throat, and shouted the words,

“Remember, oh king…one day you must die!”

Having uttered those eight fateful words, he executed a military about face movement, and retraced his steps down the aisle, and out the main door of the inner sanctum.

And with this, the king stood and made his way out a side door, and into his adjoining study. As the door closed behind him, the assembled soldiers and handmaidens drifted back from whence they’d come; Abdul’s poignant message having impacted not only their beneficent ruler, but they, themselves.

“Remember, oh king…one day you must die!”

Abdul might as well have shouted,

“Remember, Hakeem, Remember Ayishah…one day you must die.”

The message simply never got old. It was simply too ‘there there.’ And if the king was hyper-sensitive to the message, Abdul the more so. It seemed to keep him and them focused on the gravity of life, and the priorities, good, better and best, which surrounded life.

And, dear readers, as I previously inferred, having completed his dreary daily task, Abdul marched himself out of the ornate throne room, and retreated to the servant’s quarters.

Having fulfilled his appointed daily task for several years, the time came when Abdul began to feel a bit unfulfilled. And one morning, after breakfast, he approached the king’s viceroy, and requested an audience with his beloved master.

Pt. 3

Abdul lost no time in explaining himself, and the viceroy lost no time in approving his request to meet with the king.

And as quickly as his wish was granted, Abdul was escorted into the king’s bedroom; (for he often had breakfast in bed). His monarch smiled, and greeted his favorite servant with,

“And to what do I owe the pleasure of your company so early in the day, my dear friend?”

Abdul cleared his throat, and spoke.

“Oh king, as important as I count my daily task, I sense the need of something more, an additional role to take my mind away from this dread, and dreary subject with which you have invested me; (but which both you and I believe is so crucial to your life and kingdom”).

To which the king replied,

“Abdul, you have been a faithful servant and a true friend to me. But if you feel you need some added task, I will allow it. You know my aged servant, Mohammed, just recently stepped down as my Steward of Royal Food Stuffs. I had been planning to procure a younger man to assume his place. But since this role only requires two days each week in which he mounted his camel, visited the local market, and ordered the necessary foods and wines, I will allow you to assume this additional role.”

And though any outward change in a solemn countenance in the king’s presence was considered disrespectful, Abdul could not contain himself, and a great smile lit up his face.

But since the king sometimes dispensed with formalities, and since he was alone with his dear friend, he could not help but emit a resounding laugh; which seemed to rise up from the depths of his belly.

Pt. 4

 And while, Abdul continued to march down the aisle of the throne room, and shouted the words he’d shouted so many times before, he assumed the secondary role as the Steward of Royal Food Stuffs, and made his way to the market on a bi-weekly basis.

A few weeks had passed since the faithful Abdul had assumed his added duty, and as he was leisurely strolling through the marketplace, and as he had begun to dicker with a local merchant for three bushels of dates, and ten kilos of olives, he happened to cast his eyes to the left, and what he saw caused an involuntary shudder to run up his spine.

Death Incarnate

What, (or perhaps the word is ‘Who’) greeted his eyes was none other than the Death Angel; (whom, as it fell together, was, apparently invisible to everyone, but Abdul).

The hideous creature was robed in black, (but contrary to our modern caricature, he held no scythe or sickle in his hand). As Abdul looked up at the magnificent being, (for he stood head and shoulders taller than the steward, and he was built like a proverbial bull) his black and threatening eyes caused the hair to rise on his arms.

For all his daily proclamations, Adul had never encountered the subject of his exclamations. Death. He immediately forgot about the dates and olives, and for that matter gave no thought to his mode of transportation; the camel which stood three paces away. But rather, he turned and ran as quickly as his feet could carry him away from the market, and into the desert. A full hour elapsed before he slowed, and began to walk. Another hour passed before he noticed the spire of the king’s palace, and he strode wearily through its main gate.

Pt. 5

Abdul lost no time in approaching the king, nor did he seek permission to do so; another breach in royal etiquette. But there was simply no time for etiquette.

He found the king just outside his royal harem; as he stood interviewing another potential concubine.

Falling down before him, Abdul exclaimed,

“Oh king, forgive my insolence; just this once. But allow me to make my plea. As I was in the marketplace today, and busy with the culinary affairs of my master, I saw something almost unspeakable. I saw the darkest, most evil creature you can possibly imagine. I saw the Death Angel. And dear friend (may I call you, ‘friend’) his gaze was absolutely penetrating, and great fear permeated the recesses of my soul!”

(and)

“Oh king, I gave no thought to the royal camel, but found my way out of the dark Angel’s presence, and crossed the desert on foot. Dear king, if I have pleased you, if I have done those things, and more that has been expected of me, loan me your best camel, and allow me to flee to the City of Samarra!”

As Abdul looked up from his place on the floor, he noticed something he had never seen throughout the multiplied years he’d served the king. A tear ran down the royal cheek, and anger suddenly registered on his countenance.

“My friend, of course you may borrow my prize camel. Lose no time! Make haste! Do not delay!”

And with this, Abdul kissed the king’s feet, rose from the floor, and made good his escape.

Afterward

Needless to say, the king was incensed, and immediately ordered a garrison of soldiers to accompany him to the city in search of the interloper.

Arriving at the marketplace, the king cast his eyes among the hundred or so booths and stands which greeted him. Suddenly, he spotted the horrible creature; lingering near the place where his faithful servant encountered him.

Accompanied by his soldiers, he approached the dark gruesome beast, and exclaimed,

“Oh Death, my faithful servant, Abdul, was here just six hours hence, and he told me he saw you, as I see you with my own eyes now. And my faithful steward and friend, Abdul, claimed you glared at him, and threatened him with your gruesome countenance! Please give an account of yourself.”

To which the dark Angel of Death bared his yellow fangs, but spoke, it seemed, rather softly.

“Oh good king, I did not threaten your servant. I was only surprised to see him. For you see, I have an appointment with him tonight

…in the City of Samarra.”

by William McDonald, PhD. Copyright pending

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