Amanda in Arabia: The Perfume Flask (5 page)

Mohammed walked in front of them holding the ropes from both camels in his hands.

Amanda was getting used to the movement of the camel beneath her. “Where are we going?”

“Today I will take you out into the desert to see what it is really like here. Our country is made up of 60% desert and most of my people, the
Bedu
, lived in tents in the desert for many years. They could live for long periods of time without food and water.”

“Kind of like camels, I guess,” said Amanda. “Is it true that camels store water in their humps?”

Mohammed laughed, “No, so many foreign people think that, but it is fat that they store in their humps, as you call them. Camels can go for up to 20 days without eating food as they can live off that fat.”

“These camels have just one hump. I haven't seen any two–humped camels since I've been here.”

“These are Dromedary camels and they are all you will see in Arabia or in Africa,” said Mohammed. “The two–humped camels are the Bactrian. They are found in Turkey and Mongolia.”

They were leaving the camel ranch behind and were entering an area of sand, rocks and a few wisps of withered, pale–green grass. There was one huge, lonely tree that looked to Amanda like a giant umbrella.

“Why are the lower branches on that tree in a perfect straight line?” Amanda didn't think that people would be pruning trees out in the desert.

“That is a
ghaf
tree,” Mohammed glanced in the direction of the lone tree. “It is the camels that nibble the leaves as far as they can reach.”

‘Hmm, so they are the pruners,' thought Amanda.

Mohammed handed Amanda the reins to her camel. The sun's heat seemed to increase by the minute. She felt hot and sleepy as she looked ahead over the waves of sunburnt sand.

“How are you doing?” she asked Leah who was in front and still led by Mohammed.

“I'm fine,” said Leah. “This camel is very gentle.”

“Yes, you will always be safe with Sheba,” said Mohammed as he turned to see if his passengers were both alright.

Amanda wondered how he knew where they were going as there was no trail that she could see. Then she realized he hadn't really answered her question. “Where are we going?”

“Oh, just for a little walk across the desert to a special place.” He waved his hand in the direction they were headed. “You will see.”

All Amanda could see was oceans of sand everywhere. The only sound was the slap of the camel's padded feet on the carpet of sand. She had no idea how long they had been walking in the desert. Soon they were surrounded by honey–coloured hills of sand. They rode up one side and then down the other. The dunes got bigger and bigger. Sometimes the camels would kind of slide down the dune, if it was steep; leaving a deep trench behind them, which quickly filled with sand leaving no trace that they had ever been there.

“Most of Arabia is desert like this,” explained the proud young man once more. “The
Bedu
lived in tents in the desert and followed their food and water.”

“They lived a hard life. Some say it is much better now,” said Mohammed and after a pause added, “but I am not so sure.”

Amanda wondered, ‘How could living in tents in the desert, not knowing when you will eat or drink next, be better?'

The sand and the heat from the sun mesmerized Amanda and she must have drifted into a light sleep when she was suddenly brought wide awake. Ali Baba's head jerked up, he gave a loud roar and started to run. Amanda leaned over his neck and hung on as tight as she could.

He ran past Leah and Sheba. He ran past Mohammed who dropped Sheba's reins and started to run after him shouting in Arabic. Ali Baba just kept running. In fact, he galloped and Amanda felt that her body was being jerked every which way.

“Whoa!” cried Amanda as she hung on for dear life.

She wasn't sure if camels knew that word but it was the only one she could think of. It didn't work. The runaway camel didn't slow down a bit. He went faster and soon left Mohammed behind in a cloud of sand dust. Amanda looked behind her. Her friends were two specks in a sea of whirling sand.

“Where do you think you're going, you crazy camel?!” she shouted.

She thought she could see something green in the distance, but then it was gone. The sand and the sun were playing tricks on her. She had heard about mirages in the desert. She was starting to feel dizzy and she didn't think she could hold on much longer. ‘Ali Baba, what are you doing? I thought you were my friend!'

That was her last thought before everything went black.

Sand was everywhere. It was in her hair, in her teeth, in her ears and nose, even in her underpants. She was afraid to open her eyes in case sand went in them, too. Maybe she was buried in sand. No – she wasn't buried. She could feel the sun on her skin. There was a pain in her left leg and what was that terrible smell? Something wet and slimy washed over her face.

“Yuck, you have awful breath, Ali Baba. Get away from me.” Amanda brushed the sand off her face and sat up. She was lying at the bottom of a dune with Ali Baba standing almost on top of her. Amanda averted her face as he tried to lick her again.

She pushed his face away. “I'm mad at you. You stupid camel. You ran away with me for no good reason and made me fall off. It's a good thing this is sand and not pavement or I could be dead. Now what are we going to do? The others are far behind and will probably never find us. I don't know where we are. Do you, smarty pants?”

Of course the camel didn't answer but stood slowly chewing and pawing at the ground.

Amanda started to cry. “Why did I ever want to ride this camel again? Why did I think it would be a good idea to help the Princess? Why did I ever come to this country in the first place?”

She wished she was back home, in Canada, with her parents and her friends. She could be shopping in an air–conditioned mall or swimming at the leisure center. All she could think about were cool, safe places. She wiped at her tears and knew they must be mixing with the sand. ‘Great,' she thought, ‘now I have mud pies on my face.'

She struggled to get up. Where were her glasses? She felt around on the sand and saw them just as the camel was about to place a huge hoof over them.

“Don't you dare step on my glasses, you stupid animal!”

Ali Baba's foot landed just beside her twisted glasses. She grabbed them, shook the sand off them and put them on. One side was higher than the other but at least they weren't broken.

She wanted to get the water from her saddlebag, but it was a long way up on Ali Baba's back. When she tried to stand on her leg it hurt so bad that she fell down again onto the burning sand. Now she was really angry.

“This is a fine mess you've got us in.” She kicked sand at the camel with her good leg. Just then she heard a humming noise in the distance. “What's that? Sounds like a vehicle? Maybe some help is coming.”

The sound was getting louder but she still couldn't see anything. All of a sudden a white jeep flew over the rim of the sand dune, slithered down the side of it and made an abrupt stop in front of Amanda. Two local, young men got out of the steaming jeep. Amanda noticed that they were not wearing traditional Arab clothing but jeans and T–shirts.

Ali Baba started to act weird. He made loud, angry noises and snapped his teeth at the man in a blue T–shirt with a hooked–nose and a scraggly beard.

“Hold on there, you,” shouted the man.

“Is that her camel?” asked the taller man wearing a white T–shirt and a dark frown.

“I think so,” replied the other.

“And who is this?” he said as he pointed to Amanda lying helpless in the sand.

“What are we going to do with you, little girl?” said the man in the blue T–shirt as he bent over Amanda. She noticed he had a freaky scar which ran from the side of his nose to his jaw. He gave her a mean smile and she could see that he had some teeth missing. A cold fear went through her overheated body. She squeezed her eyes shut as she waited for him to hit her.

Instead of hitting Amanda, he picked her up. He carried her to the jeep and tossed her onto the back seat. She yelped when she landed as pain shot along her injured leg.

The other man bound Ali Baba's mouth shut with a piece of red cloth and then tied him to the back of the vehicle.

‘Now what is going to happen to me?' thought Amanda as the jeep drove up and down the dunes pulling Ali Baba along behind. She didn't know if the funny feeling in her tummy was because she was afraid, car sick or hungry. She wished she had the lunch Aunt Ella had packed for her. ‘What time is it?' she wondered. She had no idea how long she had been out of it before she came to at Ali Baba's feet. She could hear the men talking in English and tried to pay attention to what they were saying.

“If this is the camel of the Princess then she must be near. We must find her quickly so we can collect the reward.”

“Quiet, you fool. Speak Arabic if you must speak.”

“Don't worry about that one,” said the first speaker. Amanda could hear his body shift as he turned in his seat to look at her. She kept her eyes closed. “The sun has made her sleep,” he laughed. Then he said, “She knows nothing.” She recognized the voice of the man in the blue T–shirt. He had a nasty laugh like a bad guy in a cop show. He couldn't be trusted, that was for sure.

“We must make some plans to get to the Princess before Mohammed does or he will get the reward money.”

Amanda couldn't believe what she just heard. Was Mohammed using her to get a reward for finding Shamza? Who could she trust? This day was just getting worse and worse.

The jeep came to an abrupt stop in front of two striped tents surrounded by sand. The taller man in the white T–shirt carried her to one of the tents. When he put her down on a pile of pillows a pain shot through her leg, her eyes popped open and she cried out.

“You have hurt your leg badly haven't you, Miss? That bad camel must have thrown you off. He can be very mean that camel. He once almost bit my arm off.”

Amanda wanted to say no, he is a good camel. He is only mean if he doesn't like you or if you were mean to him. Instead she said, “How do you know Ali Baba?”

“I used to work for the father of the princess who owns him. That camel would only be kind to her and no one else.”

“Where are we and what are you going to do with me?”

“Ssh, be quiet. You ask too many questions. Don't try to walk on that leg.” He got up to go. “You are our guest. I will bring you some food and water.”

He soon returned with a plate of dates and rice and some water. Although she was still scared, she ate everything on the plate. She started to feel better in the cool of the tent. Her eyes had become accustomed to the hazy, dim light and she noticed that the furniture consisted of multi–coloured pillows that ran around the sides of the tent. The floor was covered with Arabian carpets. Through the open tent flap she could see Ali Baba, still tied to the back of the jeep. He didn't look happy. From the other tent she could hear laughter and voices speaking Arabic.

Amanda rolled up her jeans and looked at her sore leg. A huge bruise was starting and it hurt to touch it but she didn't think it was broken. She tried to stand up. There was a sharp pain when she put pressure on the leg but she forced herself to take a couple of steps and decided she could manage.

Now that she had something to eat and drink she could think more clearly. She knew she had to get away. She stuck her head out of the tent and looked around. The laughter and talk came from the other tent. No one was outside and the flap of the tent was closed. Amanda made a quick decision.

She took a deep breath, gritted her teeth and hopped on her good leg across the sand to the other side of the jeep. She sat still for a few minutes until her heart stopped thumping. There was no movement from the other tent and the talking and laughing continued. No one had heard nor seen her.

She looked at Ali Baba. ‘How can I get on him?' she thought as she untied the knot in the rope connecting him to the jeep. As if he could read her mind, the huge animal slowly and quietly crouched down.

“Thank you, my friend,” she whispered as she climbed on top of him. They crept away with Amanda checking behind, but no one came out of the tent. ‘They must be busy making plans,' she thought. ‘Those guys probably didn't think a helpless little girl like me would have the courage to sneak away.' Soon girl and beast were behind a sand dune. With a sigh of relief, she untied the red cloth from around the camel's mouth.

“Ali Baba, you will have to lead the way now because I have no idea where we are or where we are going,” said Amanda. “I'm going to have to trust you again.”

***

They rode in silence for a long time. The sand changed to a red–brick colour with cafe latte streaks as the sun dropped lower on the horizon. The never–ending, cloudless sky had been clear blue all day, but was now a warm, rosy colour. The yellow sun blazed red as it dipped behind the dunes. The girl and camel were briefly silhouetted against the bronze Arabian sky before they disappeared below the rim of a burnt–umber dune.