THE RUBY GODDESS

Much to Eylah’s delight, the true beauty of Malfya’s red sand becomes fully visible at the sun’s golden hour.

Elders have different theories on why the soil is red. Some say the redness is because of an old war that happened long ago between the ancient gods and the scorns of the earth, the infidels. They say the infidels terrorized, brutalized and feasted on the flesh of humans, their souls collected and used to build an army for the final war. The gods used the blood of destroyed infidels to seal the earth, protecting humanity against further harm.

Others say the founders of the land were forbidden lovers who were banished from their hometown. In exile, the lovers gave birth to a child. Unfortunately, the child was plagued with a mysterious, incurable illness. The lovers cried, prayed, and sought out various healers and fortune tellers until a young witch decreed their child’s health would be restored. However, there was a catch - the forbidden lovers had to give themselves to the earth and the rivers so their sick child would live and become the greatest leader ever known to man.

But the promise was faulty, a trick by a witch who claimed that a single drop of their blood on the soil and rivers would be the solution. What actually happened when their blood simultaneously touched the soil, and the river was a catastrophic earthquake; the ground divided, and their blood drained into the cracks of the earth until both were dead. The witch had sacrificed them. They say she was eyeing the baby, but the sick child disappeared into thin air. The baby was never found, and the lovers separated in death. Hence, their angry blood turned the earth red.

But time passed, and eventually, no one truly believed in all the crazy old stories anymore.

Eylah, a bright young woman who loved nature and all it had to offer, gazed out at the hypnotically mystical red view. She was on her way back from toiling long hours; she worked for the citizens of Malfya and took on any job she could find to keep her family going.

Her family, the House of the Saharas, were not in the best financial state. Their plight was so dire that other villagers went out of their way to mock and bully the impoverished family every time at every chance, though it never thwarted the Saharas’ happiness. Even so, Eylah wasn’t going to relax and just watch her clan suffer. She vowed to lift them from poverty, and so she found little jobs around the town ranging from farm work to cleaning as a maid. Most of the time, she’d get jobs in other towns where she had to travel a long way, mostly by foot as no one in her family could afford any legitimate means of transportation. She almost always accepted below the minimum wage as compensation.

The mission to liberate her family was both physically and emotionally exhausting, so even the smallest distractions, like setting her eyes on this gorgeous sun, felt luxurious. The view was an escape for Eylah. She appreciated the beauty of life but knew well the hardships that came along with it.

A beautiful young woman with shimmering, golden brown skin and curly locks as bright as the sun, Eylah sometimes covered her hair if the job at hand required it, but typically sported braids or a bun.

“Why is my hair so golden, mother?” Eylah would ask as a child.

“Because you are very special,” her mother would say. She was indeed quite different from her family with such fair hair, a trait her father had told her was inherited from her great grandmother.

Eylah had just found a new job clearing a piece of farmland for one of the most influential men in her town. She was excited, because her employer, Sir Melo, was a popular businessman whose wealth was known far and wide. Sir Melo promised Eylah a huge sum of money to perform this task on a property he’d recently purchased, and he agreed to give Eylah half of the money if she finished at least half of the work that week, the rest to be paid along with a bonus when the job was complete. Eylah couldn’t turn down such a generous offer; it would help her family clear a significant amount of debt, and so she jumped at the chance to get started. The first day of her new job went smoothly and normally. She gave it her all, and actually enjoyed the work she was doing.

On her way back home one day, she found herself at a river which she’d only ever heard about in stories. It was ominously called Poisoned River as no life could sustain itself within the harsh, cloudy red waters; some say the water ran clear when removed from the riverbed, but the deep red tint always remained.

The river was surrounded by rare purple Lagerstroemia, magic shrubs which acted like a garden fence. Eylah gently swept back some of the golden hair that was falling towards her face as she gazed amazedly at the beauty before her. Until now, she never actually believed any of it to exist; she thought it was all a myth like in the tales she’d hear as a child.

“The stories are real?” Eylah whispered to herself as she marveled at the mystical sight.

And from that day forward, any time she journeyed back home, she made a point to catch the sunset on the riverbank, the fading rays shimmering like thousands of tiny rubies on the water’s surface.

One particular day, she approached the river and saw three women laughing on the other side. She was surprised because she’d never met another living soul there before; there were barely any passersby on her entire route, and she usually traveled the path completely alone. Out of excitement and curiosity, she began to approach the women, but before she could even say a word, they hurriedly disappeared into the bushes. With a shrug and a smile, Eylah just assumed the women hadn’t noticed her, and that they were continuing on an alternate route through the bush.

Walking towards the edge of the river, she placed her little bag of necessities down beside her. She slowly slid off her shoes to soak her tired feet in the cool water, for it was an extremely hot day. This was the first time she had ever tried to touch the river.

She mopped the sweat from her brow and released her voluminous curls from her bun, taking the water in her hands and splashing it over her head to cool herself down. She sat and looked around, just as she normally would have done. But something strange began to happen. Her eyes suddenly turned a shade of clear blue, and with a smile, she began whispering:

‘Old friend, how beautiful are you, how familiar are you, I might seem blue, but I’m happy to see you.’

She repeated this over and over, and, looking into the river in her state of trance; she was startled to see a different reflection of herself. As the sun finally set and hit the river, it began to glisten more than ever. A sudden sharp wind came, and the shrubs swayed rhythmically from side to side, almost like they were dancing to a tune. The sun continued to sink slowly, and she kept repeating this strange chant while staring at the unfamiliar reflection of herself. Once the sun had completely disappeared from the sky and it was dark, save the brightness of the moonlight, Eylah immediately stopped singing, her eyes returned to their normal color, and she jolted upright.

“What happened?” she thought to herself, for it was as if time had ceased to exist. She knew she needed to hurry home before her parents and sister began worrying about her. On the journey back, close to her house, she saw a group of girls from afar. They were gathered around a single spot looking at something, though she couldn’t make out what it was.

“Maybe they’ve caught a thief,” Eylah murmured to herself. As she approached the scene for a closer look, she finally caught a glimpse of what it was that had captured the girls’ attention.

“Tamara?” Eylah yelled in surprise. She rushed to the scene, yelling, “Get away from my sister!” She broke her way through the crowd, exclaiming “...Tamara! Tamara!” After helping her sister up, the girls immediately fled the scene. Eylah was a no-nonsense girl known to be very strong-willed but with a heart of gold; she helped everyone in the village, even though the villagers often tormented both her and her family. This appeared to be another such instance of bullying.

“Tamara! Are you hurt? What was that?! Why aren’t you at home? What is wrong with you? What did you do to those girls? I told you to stop getting yourself into petty trouble!” Eylah scolded.

“Thank you,” Tamara said, ignoring the bombardment of questions as she dusted herself, avoiding eye contact with her older sister.

“Hey! Didn’t you hear me?! Look at me when I am asking a question, Tam! What happened?” Eylah said as she lifted Tamara’s chin.

Tamara sighed exasperatedly. “There is a new boy at school who spoke to me today, and one of the girls, a daughter of one of the chiefs, got jealous.”

Eylah furrowed her brow and shook her head. “How many times have I told you, Tamara?! You are too young to be involving yourself with boys!” She jerked her sister’s chin up again to re-establish eye contact.

Tamara, who was already ashamed and furious, tried to walk away.

“Not so fast! I am still speaking to you!” Eylah grabbed Tamara’s arm to keep her tethered in place.

“Look, it’s not my fault the boy spoke to me, alright? Don’t tell me off for something I didn’t even initiate!” Her tone was sharp, but it was obvious Tamara was on the verge of tears.

Eylah’s eyes widened in surprise, but she wasn’t ready to let the issue go. “Oh yeah, hot stuff? What did he say?” Tamara looked down, stepped back, and said nothing. “I said, what did he say?” Eylah growled through clenched teeth, but Tamara wouldn’t budge. Realizing her younger sister wasn’t about to cooperate, Eylah finally threw up her hands in defeat. “You know what, it doesn’t even matter. Just remember who you are, what we are. Keep your head down and stay out of trouble,” Eylah said as she stepped out of Tamara’s way.

Tamara stubbornly walked ahead. “Please don’t tell mommy or baba, Eylah. They will kill me,” she pleaded over her shoulder.

Eylah paused, laughed, and embraced her sister. “Oh, so now you’re scared!” But her smile faded as she added, “Just be careful, is all, especially with all these mean girls snapping at your heels. You know how influential their parents are. They get away with everything because of who they are. I love you, and just want you to stay safe.” Tamara nodded apologetically. “Let’s go before mother worries,” Eylah said as she put her arm around her sister and steered them toward home.

Their family lived on the outskirts of town in a beautiful old duplex; it was made of mud and painted bright white, and adorned with red moss growing along the windows and walls. Eylah’s father, Grisine, had told her they’d inherited the home from her grandfather, who was at one time the most successful farmer in the land. “In fact, he was the greatest farmer ever known, the main food provider for this community,” Eylah’s father would often tell the girls, who had never met their grandfather; he died mysteriously and left everything to their father.

As the girls walked into the house that night, they saw their mother and father sitting and waiting for them, the dinner table fully prepared. It was a family tradition to eat together; any time they sat down to a meal, their mother would always say “Agre fadiha meh minska,” meaning “Dine together stay together,” in Grali, the ancient language of an ancient town called Mindise from which Eylah’s mother, Crala, hailed. The town was wiped out, and the language dwindled, but Eylah’s parents spoke it fluently in the home, teaching the girls so it would be kept alive.

“Girls! Where have you been?! Your mother has been very worried!” their father said sternly. “And why in god’s name are you covered in red sand?!” Grisine exclaimed as he caught sight of Tamara.

“Can’t you see it is dark outside?!” Crala chimed in scoldingly. “And answer your father! Why are you so dirty?!” she said as she, too, turned her attention to Tamara’s sorry state.

Distracting their mother with a hug, Eylah pulled out a loaf of bread she’d purchased from a bakery earlier that day. “Mummy, we just stopped to get a few things!”

Grisine looked at the pair quizzically before cracking a smile, but Crala still stared crossly at the girls. “I don’t care what you were doing, just don’t scare me like that again! Promise? And go wash your hands. Don’t think I didn’t notice you never answered my question, Tamara, ’why are you covered in dirt?’”

“She just fell,” Eylah said quickly, dragging Tamara to freshen up before their parents could continue the interrogation.