Chapter Five - Wind

Ali strained his eyes, as to get a better view of the grazing herd in the distance. The sun had begun to set, and dusk fell quickly on the open field and its surrounding hills. The evening star had already come out, and a pale crescent moon was growing brighter and fuller by the seconds. Heavy clouds were gathering in the distance, and it seemed as if it could start to rain any minute now. It was time to head back. Kamir would be expecting them for sure by now.

Ali put on his backpack and reached out for his shepherds cane. It was time. He began to walk briskly towards the still scattered herd, some sixty meters away, Salaam wagging enthusiastically along at his side. The wind seemed to be picking up speed quickly. Could a storm be coming? Ali rubbed at his eyes as to clear them. The landscape was quickly becoming hazy, and the hills fading away rapidly. What on earth was this? Could really a fog be coming in, at this late hour?

Ali froze. Nothing he had ever seen or experienced thus far, could have prepared him for the spectacle that was beginning to unfold in front of his very eyes. Sure, he had heard rumours – impossible rumours, but never in his life would he have thought that they could be true. Salaam sensing his unease and the dramatic change in air suddenly started to bark fiercely at whatever was approaching.

The sky was now completely dark, yet there were no stars, and even the moon had vanished completely. Thick clouds were creeping down the hills, so low that the air felt wet and heavy to breathe. But that wasn't all of it. There was something more. Something very off with the whole thing. Something was very wrong. There seemed to reek about a most strange tension that vibrated with something awfully dark and cold. It was just as if the air was becoming laden with clouds of fear, death, pain and sorrow. He could feel his elbow-hairs rising in response, and a cold shiver ran down his spine. This was strange. The air seemed to somehow vibrate with despair. He instinctively reached for a small lantern from his backpack and lit it without hesitation, holding it up in front of him, as if in defense.

The air thickened even further. Salaams vigorous barking and the howling wind were now the only sounds on the plain. Whatever was out there, it was coming their way, fast. And sure enough, it wasn't before long, that a long, hazy mass of dark green and grayish white could be seen steadily wriggling its way towards them. The herd seemed somehow oblivious to what was happening, grazing sheepishly on as if nothing amiss.

A sharp gust of wind then hit Ali in the face, making him wince and tense up even further in response. Should he try to run? No, the herd was everything. Whatever was a shepherd, without his sheep? And however could he return to Kamir and look him straight into the eyes if anything happened to them, while he lived? Not to mention his own sense of self respect. No, some things were just more important than his own life. He'd much rather face his fears today, than to face himself with shame tomorrow. Whatever this thing was, he'd fight it off, or die trying. Simple as that. Either way was fine.

It was then, that the ominous looking sky suddenly opened up, and began to empty itself, bringing down heavy waves of rain upon them. He quickly broke into a run towards the herd, lantern swinging at his side like a glowing pendulum. Salaam too, faithfully at his side. Nearly there. Just a little further now.

As he ran, he tried to recall everything and anything his teacher had told him about the thing he now was facing. Any sort of hint would do. Anything.

At least once a week, he'd go into the city to meet with Yadgaar, a religious teacher he immediately had felt a strong liking for. He remembered how he had opened up to Yadgaar right away, sharing his innermost feelings and thoughts somehow without any awkwardness. After a recent meeting, Yadgaar had told him about a most curious rumour he had heard. A most ominous wind was supposed to be spreading throughout the land. A wind of forgetfulness, he called it. Nobody knew exactly what it was, from where it came, or how it had come into being. Whatever it was though, it was spreading quickly, and wherever it went, a trail of death and decay was left in its wake. Somehow, it always seemed to come at the hour of twilight. Whole forests were supposed to already have gone to waste, and many towns and villages seemed to also have fallen victim to its strange destructive power. What exactly had happened to the people in those places, no one knew. The towns had simply cut all contact with the outside world. What Yadgaar had heard though, was that were you touched by this wind, you would completely forget all that is good and true. Plants and trees would forget to cleanse the air and make precious oxygen. Instead they would begin to emit poison, killing off all surrounding life, as well as each other. Birds would forget how to sing and how to fly, and drop dead to the ground. Animals would forget their animal instincts. They'd forget to eat. Forget to drink. In mere days they'd topple over from sheer thirst. And humans, they'd forget their own humanity. All that is good. They'd forget to care about others. Forget to love. Forget to smile and laugh. All light would leave their hearts, and eyes. And that's how you were supposed to be able to tell if somebody had been touched. Their eyes would be dull, distant and empty. Just as if that person were miles away, off somewhere far, and looked out on the world through a haze of total indifference. What's more, it seemed that there was no going back. No reverse. Had you first been touched, then there was no return. Having had the light sucked out of them, people would readily turn into thieves, robbers, and even killers. Towns would quickly turn into a mayhem of chaos and conflict. Looting and pillaging quickly becoming the norm. Fires would erupt out of nowhere, and level districts and towns in a night. There would be no police, fire-brigade or public security to the rescue. No one to call for help. On the contrary, the former police would be part of the terror.

Under the cover of darkness, at the mystic hour of twilight, the wind would fall upon them, seemingly out of nowhere, and disappear again just as suddenly as it had come. It was supposed to be the colour of a venomous dark green, and wriggle its way towards its unsuspecting victims much like a snake on the hunt. But there would be no sound. In total silence, it zig-zagged low, hugging the ground, leaving a brown trail of withered vegetation in its wake.

Ali felt yet another violent shiver run down his spine, as he recalled the final words Yadgaar had told him that night.

“Pray that this thing be nothing more than a creative rumour my friend. For should even part of it carry some truth, then truly I say to you, God bless us all.”

That last sentence kept ringing in Ali's ears as he closed the final distance to the herd, the wriggling green mass a mere stonethrow away.

“God bless us all.”

Ali took up position in front of his sheep, the small lantern held out straight in front of him, unwavering. Salaam still at his side, barking madly. Clenching the fist of his freehand, Ali so braced himself for impact.

“God bless us all.”

Those were the last words in Ali's mind before everything he held dear was engulfed by the green, hazy mass all around.

I that very moment, something began to vibrate, and feel hot around Ali's chest. Suddenly, a wild flurry of perfect thin, pale blue streaks of light shot out from his tunic, throwing the green mass back several meters. The pale blue light beams so went on to rotate like a spinning whirlpool, before slowly forming a perfect luminous sphere of pale light around him. Ali looked around him in bewilderment. He could see Salaam, most of the herd and himself gently illuminated by the blue protective sphere that now surrounded them. The rain kept pouring down, and he could feel his chest suddenly hot to the touch.

“Whatever was this?...Could it possibly be...?”

Ali quickly reached under his tunic and withdrew a small heart-shaped necklace made out of a simple gray stone. He gasped. The necklace had been around his neck as long as he could remember, his whole life. Even when he took a bath, he'd never even once taken it off. Together with the woolen blanket, it was the most precious thing he was fortunate enough to be looking after.

The caretaker at the orphanage had told him that it had been around his neck the day they received him as an infant in a basket. And also, that it was his only possession. He figured it must have belonged to his parents. It seemed to be made out of some dull and common gray stone of no apparent value, yet to Ali, it meant the world, and more.

That gray, lifeless stone now shone a bright blue and vibrated with life and warmth. The green mass repeatedly tried to force its way through the lightsphere, yet to no avail. Time and again it was thrown back, like a fly throwing itself on a shut window. It so changed its course and spread out on the field, touching a few stray sheep that were too far from Ali and the herd to be within the sphere of light. Then as quickly and suddenly as it had appeared, it somehow dispersed into the evening dusk, leaving a moon-struck seventeen year old boy, dozens of drenched sheep and a dog on a now muddy field.

Even in the dark, it didn't take long for Ali and Salaam to gather the herd and head home.

Back at the farm, Kamir greeted them with a casual nod, as was his habit.

“I see the sudden rainshower came as surprisingly on you as it did on us.” Kamir smiled, gesturing towards Ali's still dripping tunic. Ali however wasn't smiling.

“Kamir...” he began in the most respectful and serious tone he could muster. “...we were....we were attacked. It was the....” he paused, searching for words. Kamir too wasn't smiling anymore. Ali sensing he now had his full attention continued telling the story: “The sky went dark. Rain came suddenly. The wind picked up speed, and then, out of nowhere, a green hazy mass came on us from across the field. It was like the rumour Yadgaar had told me about. The wind of forgetfulness or something he called it.”

Kamir simply looked at him, clearly bemused. A long silence stretched out between them, and in the end Kamir simply shrugged and said: “Well, at any rate, I'm just glad you are all alright.”

Ali looked at Kamir intently, willing him to make some sort of remark that recognized the truth of what they had just experienced. It never came, and Kamir was already turning away and making his way back towards the house. Shaking his head again in disbelief, Ali just stood there for some time. He had never felt so lost in his entire life. Had he just imagined it all? Did Kamir actually believe him? Would anyone else do if he told them? Would Yadgaar? It didn't matter so much, yet it somehow gnawed on his usual peace of mind. Time would tell. It always did. First things first, the herd must be put back into their farmhouse.

Having finished with the usual routine and counted them all, he felt a little more at peace. Thank god. They were all there. Still, he recalled some of them having been touched by that green wind thing, and sure enough, exactly those sheep seemed a little more...well, “sheepish” than usual. They didn't even drink, or lay down to rest with the rest of the herd. Well, at least they were all there. Reassured by their presence and calmed by the steady rhythm of performing routine tasks, Ali retired to his room with Salaam and a bowl of hot lentil soup from the kitchen.

Over the next couple of days, Ali kept more or less entirely to himself. He did his work with the herd and chores around the farm, but didn't speak to anyone, not even Kamir. Especially not with Kamir. His apparent lack of faith in his story had made Ali feel a distance between them he had not felt before. It felt somehow impossible to breach, so he decided not to try. Ali looked down at the heart-shaped stone-necklace around his neck. He had been looking at it time and again ever since that night on the field, as if willing it to start glowing and emit that strange blue light, just one more time. It would have been some sort of confirmation to Ali that what had happened that night, truly was real. Somehow he was beginning to doubt it a little. It was then, still in the early wee hours of morning that Kamir suddenly knocked on his door.

“I see you're up already, lad.”

“I'd like you to come with me to the farmhouse. There's something strange with some of the herd.”

“Something strange..?” Ali replied sheepishly through the door.

“Just come with me lad, and you'll see for yourself.”

It didn't take long for the two to cross the farm over to the little farmhouse on the hill. Most of the herd was already up, and at first glance it all seemed normal to Ali. Kamir then pointed out a small group of maybe four or five sheep that seemed to be still asleep, huddled up together in the corner of the room. Ali too saw now what probably had alerted Kamir. Sure enough, they seemed to be peacefully asleep, yet their eyes were wide open, terrified and distant, just as if they were long gone or facing some dreadful nightmare inside that only they could see. Shivers ran down Ali's spine. Following Kamir's lead, they crossed over to them and Ali put his hand on the closest one. It was ice-cold to the touch. Kamir too copied his action. He froze on the spot, as if unable to move, then turned to Ali. The dim lit room was without any form of light, except from the small lantern Kamir held in his free hand. In complete silence they let go of the sheep and turned to face each other. For some time they simply gazed into each-others eyes, and then finally at last, nodded in mutual agreement, as if a great truth had just been spoken. Without another word, they strove out of the building, out into the fresh air and pale morning sun.

That night Ali had the most strange and vivid dream. He was sitting by the fireplace in the little room that Yadgaar and Ali used for their meetings. Only this time, Yadgaar was not there. In fact, he seemed to be all alone. Then all of a sudden, the window burst open and a powerful gust of wind blew out the fire, leaving Ali sitting in total darkness by himself. Then a voice began to speak, and somehow it reminded of Yadgaar's voice, but it was hard to be sure. It sounded much harsher and way more anxious than he had ever heard Yadgaar sound.

“There's not much time.” The voice began.

“The wind of forgetfulness is rising, and it will not cease by itself. Not this time.”

“When the four corners of the world unite, when the four hearts beat together as one, first then will it subside. Only then will it perish. Four must become one. There's not much time...”

The voice then seemed to slowly fade out, before disappearing completely out into the black night.

Ali woke with a start, the last words still ringing clearly in his head. “Four must become one. There's not much time...”. “Four what...?” Ali thought to himself. He rubbed his eyes sleepily. “Four hearts...unite...four corners of the world...hmmm...” He couldn't quite make sense out of it. But Yadgaar's room had been there, and maybe his voice as well. Perhaps that could be a lead of some sort. Either way, he had to meet up with Yadgaar and tell him about his dream, and maybe also about that night on the field. Unable to fall asleep again, Ali got up, dressed and walked out into the cool night air.

For a while he simply stood there, wrapped up in a sheepskin against the cold, gazing up at the clear night sky above. The stars somehow always seemed to calm him. He took some comfort from their quiet presence and timeless calm. Whoever could feel lonesome under the stars? Whoever could feel lost or in the dark under so much light? Life down here often seemed filled with uncertainty and change. Yet the stars and the night sky, it remained much the same. No matter what big changes hit his own life, the stars would remain totally unaffected. The sky would be much the same as a week ago, even though for Ali, nothing was the same. That simple truth brought him much peace, and he could feel the worries of the world slipping away, leaving him calm and happy, with a soft smile on his face. There would be a meaningful lesson from all of this. He felt sure of it.

He looked down at Salaam, standing quietly next to him. He had followed him out of the room, without Ali even noticing. He rubbed him affectionately between the ears, to Salaams great pleasure. Salaam would follow Ali so quietly around wherever he went, that Ali sometimes wondered if he wasn't really one of those quiet stars above, reborn as a shepherd dog. He liked that thought. It made him feel even closer to them.