Chapter 5The Rings
Arthur ran towards the big hill. When he reached the top of it, he found a big Bedouin tent set near the main road. Inside the tent, Saleh, Asem, Malek, and Delmar were sitting. They’d brought food, drinks, and horses with them. They were waiting for him to show up. They had some hope he could soon rescue himself.
Arthur ran towards them filled with joy. They all screamed in horror. “Dear, God, protect us from this genie!” Asem cried.
“It’s me….Arthur. My friends, don’t be scared.”
“It’s Arthur, everyone. Don’t worry, it’s his voice,” Delmar confirmed.
They all gathered around Arthur. “What has happened to you? Your skin, your hair, your ears!” Malek observed.
“A wedding suit!” Delmar added with surprise.
“Yes, and I Just divorced my wife so easy on me, guys,” Arthur replied with a smile. “You got married? Why?” Asem wondered, shocked at the revelation.
“And became a prince too. I was forced to do that. Luckily, I managed to free myself. I’ll transfer back to my true form after a while. So, you guys have been waiting for me?”
“It was Delmar and Saleh’s idea. They suggested we should wait here for you for three days. If you didn’t show up, Delmar was going to leave alone to find a ship to Africa,” said Asem.
“Thank you, my best friends, and... Oh, a snake… Must…drink...its...blood,” Arthur said in a weird tone. Arthur’s eyes became red and his teeth became sharper.
“What’s happening to you? Are you a vampire now?” Saleh fearfully asked.
Arthur didn’t reply. Instead, he started to run after a huge snake moving towards the desert. Delmar and Saleh ran after him and grabbed him tightly to prevent him from moving.
“Will he hurt us”? Malek asked with fright.
“No, he is cursed. Soon the curse will be gone,” Saleh answered.
“Something strange is happening to me. Please, don’t leave me alone,” cried Arthur.
“Don’t worry, Arthur, my dear friend. I won’t leave you alone until this curse goes away,” Delmar assured while he tightly hugged Arthur.
After a while, Arthur was his human form again. Everybody hugged him, all delighted for his return.
“Arthur, I have brought an extra horse for you. You and Delmar will ride these horses and travel directly to the nearest port. I hope you find Hassan in your way,” said Asem.
“We packed your bag with food, water, and money,” Malek added.
“This is too much, my friends. I’ll try to send the horses back,” said Arthur.
“Hey, you got Saleh back for us, my friend. You deserve more than this,” Asem praised.
Saying goodbye to the three nice Bedouins was very hard. Arthur and Delmar mounted their horses and made them run as quickly as possible. They only rested for eating and drinking and for the horses to eat and to drink from any available water sources like wells or an oasis on the way.
They even met Hassan’s caravan on the way. The merchants in the caravan caught a severe flu before they reached the port and stayed in a village for several days, so Arthur and Delmar continued their trip with the caravan. Hassan was very delighted to see them. He was amazed by their story. He gave Arthur his bag.
“At last, I will soon be home hugging my beloved mother, sleeping in my beloved comfortable bed, relaxing in my bathtub, seeing Rosie, Gladys, Frank, and my dear fiancée Charlotte,” said Arthur.
“I am really happy for you, Arthur. I hope that your mother responds to the cure, and I hope you will get marry soon and live happily ever after with Miss Charlotte,” said Delmar.
Oh, thank you. And you, Delmar, will see your family soon.”
“Yes, Arthur, I can’t believe this is finally happening,” Delmar joyfully said.
After nearly sixteen days, they finally reached a forest that was very close to Mersin port. Delmar and Arthur said goodbye to Hassan, who wanted to go to a different direction, and gave him the two horses to send back to Asem when he returned home.
“Let’s go to the port, Delmar, and buy the tickets. Maybe we will have extra time to go to the marketplace after we buy the tickets to buy presents for our families and a cigar for me.
“Okay, Arthur, but I have to see something first,” said Delmar. “What?”
“What is in the purple box, the box that Amajeed gave to you earlier? I took it from your bag,” replied Delmar.
“Did you steal it? It’s not ours, it’s for a wealthy guy in Jackson,” snapped Arthur. “I didn’t steal it, I just want to open it. Curiosity is killing me, Arthur!”
“Give me back the box, now!”
Delmar quickly climbed a tree and opened the purple box that didn’t need a key. His face was eager with curiosity.
“Nooo, its dangerous!” Arthur yelled.
“Don’t be silly, they are just two normal rings. They are very pretty, an emerald ring and a ruby ring.” Delmar put the ruby ring on his finger. “It’s really nice and fits my finger,” he said.
“Be careful, it might be cursed,” Arthur warned.
“You are really paranoid. What happened to us earlier has affected you. See, nothing happened to me. Try the emerald ring.”
Arthur became convinced and slid the emerald ring on his finger.“It’s very pretty. I’ll design a ring like it when I go home. Amajeed really scared me. I guess he wanted to scare me so that I didn’t open the box and steal the rings.”
Suddenly, the two rings disappeared from their fingers, and they heard a loud, strange voice. “You have touched the forbidden rings. You will now lose your lives. The only one who will give you your lives back is the one who gave it to you in the first place.”
“Nooo, Delmar, you stupid man! We will die now because of you, but I will kill you before I die,” Arthur firmly stated.
“I don’t want to die, Arthur. Is this real?” Delmar cried with fear.
“OOOH, SHUT UP! Don’t call me Arthur, I don’t want to be your friend anymore. Frank was right, I shouldn’t have treated younicely. I should have treated you harshly like a real master treats hisSLAVE.”
“Is this what you think of me, Arthur? That I deserve to be treatedlike a slave? I am really disappointed in you, my friend. Sorry, I mean, Master!”
Delmar suddenly fell on the ground as though he was dead.
Arthur ran towards him and desperately tried to wake him up. “Oh, my god! Delmar, my friend, wake up. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean any of what I just said. You know my temper issues, please do—” Arthur too fell on the ground. No movement, no sound.
After fifteen minutes, Arthur opened his eyes. Am I in heaven? he asked himself.
He looked sideways and found an identical copy of him wearing Delmar’s clothes. The copy shouted, “Who are you?”
“I am Arthur. Who are you? You look exactly like me,” Arthur replied fearfully.
The copy looked at his hand. “Oh, my god, I am white! I think that we have swapped bodies,” he shouted, freaked out.
Arthur raised his hand slowly against his face and screamed in horror. “Delmar! Delmar, I am in a nightmare. Please, pinch me to wake me up.”
“It’s not a nightmare, Arthur. We are cursed, again!”
Arthur, who lost control over his temper as usual, jumped on Delmar and started hitting him. “You! You useless, stupid slave. I will kill you now!” snapped Arthur.
“Hey, hey! Get off your high horse, proud man, and look in any mirror you can find around then look at me. I am the MASTER now!”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Oh, yes, I would. We have a slavery document signed from Frank, and it’s approved in every single country in this world, as you claimed earlier.”
“So what? Will you put me in chains now?”
No, Arthur. I would never do this to you. Please calm down and let’s think.” “It’s easy for you to say, you are not the cursed one.”
“What? My color has changed too. I can’t go to my village in Nigeria like this and tell them that I am Delmar! They might revenge on me.”
“Why?”
“They might think that I am the one who kidnapped me, I mean, Delmar.” “I am sorry, Delmar. Yes, you are cursed too, I guess.”
“Let’s go back to Amajeed.”
“We don’t have time, Delmar. My mother is very sick, and we still have the ocean trip ahead of us. Also, I can’t go back home alone now, not like this! You should come with me.”
“Okay, Arthur. We’ll go to New Orleans together, and we’ll give the cure to your mother. Then we will return to Amajeed if this curse hasn’t ended. I think that we should exchange our clothes and our bags, Arthur, you know.”
Arthur and Delmar swapped their clothes. When Delmar found the secret pocket in Arthur’s trousers he used to hide the slavery document, he decided to tease him.
“Oh, Arthur, look at this slavery document, my handsome slave,” Delmar laughingly said. “I am not in the mood, Delmar, okay?”
“Arrange my bag now. Oh, and wash my clothes please. Dry them and spray some cologne over them!” “You can’t be serious!”
“Of course, I am not serious, Arthur. I have been depending on myself since I was ten, I don’t need servants. Lighten up and let’s go.”
Arthur and Delmar bought tickets to the ship that would take them to America.
“I am sorry, Delmar. Be sure that you will return to Africa, I am sure of that.” Delmar smiled and stared at the sea.
When they boarded the ship, some American merchants approached Delmar. “What’s your name, sir?” asked the merchant.
“Ah, Arthur Roberts,” Delmar replied.
“Please, join us to lunch, Mr. Roberts. Is he your slave?” The gentleman questioned as he pointed at Arthur.
“Ah, yes, my slave.”
“Okay, he can eat with the sailor. Will you join us to lunch?”
“No, thanks. I’ll eat here with my slave.” Arthur looked at him and smiled. Delmar was a precious friend.
The ship stopped once in Malaga, which was adjacent to Africa, then continued its long trip across the Atlantic Ocean back to America. Delmar then became tearful.
“Goodbye, Africa.”
Arthur was sitting near the edge of the ship, looking sad and worried. Delmar sat near him.
“It’s unbelievable, Delmar. I traveled to the faraway desert to cure my mother from a curse but I ended up cursed as well. Twice!” Arthur spoke.
“Everything happens for a reason. You told me this, Arthur, right? And you told me that we should always think positive,” Delmar reminded.
What is the purpose of me swapping my body with yours, Delmar?”
“We’ll figure this thing out, Arthur. Please don’t lose hope.” After a long trip in the ocean, the ship finally arrived at the Gulf port. It was a very long trip from the port to the Mississippi river where they sailed by a steam boat to the cotton plantations.
Delmar was standing at the edge of the boat, deeply breathing in the fresh moist breeze and enjoying the view from the boat. The view he didn’t enjoy six years ago when he was taken from his home and family in chains. Arthur sat at the edge of the boat too, resting his cheek on the palm of his hand while drowning in misery.
“WOW! The view of the Mississippi River from here is amazing! The river curves like a shiny sword hanging over a beautiful green dress.”
“Whatever!” Arthur replied.
Delmar knew Arthur’s grumpy behavior was because of their current situation. He put his hand on Arthur’s shoulder in comfort.
“Will I see my mother today, Delmar? Is she alive? Will I hug her? Will the cure work? What do you think?” Arthur asked.
“Yes, Arthur. I believe you will see your mother today and you will hug her. After she is cured, you will have dinner with her too.” Delmar was trying to ease Arthur’s worry. He had no idea what they would face today.
“I am sorry, Delmar,” Arthur added. “Forwhat?”
“For giving you a hard time… For everything.” “Hey, don’t worry about it.”
After leaving the boat, Arthur and Delmar had to walk near the cotton plantations to reach to the Roberts’ because they couldn’t find any carriage to take them. It was noon, and the weather was very hot. August had arrived and the plantations were full of slaves picking cotton. It looked like the clouds had fallen over hundreds of acres of the land.
Arthur walked behind Delmar and covered his face with his hat. Feeling unsafe in your own home is the biggest injustice ever.
Arthur and Delmar were praying no one saw them on their way to The Roberts’. However, their prayers were not answered. They met Frank on their way. Frank was standing with some farmers near a neighboring plantation, talking and smoking tobacco.
“Arthur, oh, my god! We thought you were dead, my friend!” Frank exclaimed before he hugged Delmar thinking he was Arthur.
Arthur stood behind Delmar frozen with fear.
“Ah… I am alive, m-my dear friend, a-and I got the cure too,” said Delmar.
“Thank god! Now we can save you mother. Oh, Delmar, my boy, you came back too! Thank god you couldn’t escape,” said Frank before he released an evil laugh. “You arrived in the perfect time, Delmar. You know we are now in the cotton-picking season.”
“Frank, can I take Delmar with me to see my mother first? He really wants to meet her,” Delmar asked.
“What? No, Arthur,” replied Frank. “I need Delmar now. Go to your home, Arthur, now! Ride in my carriage, its right there in front of my plantation. Tell the driver to take you to your house immediately. Me and Charlotte will see you in the evening. Go!”
“Please, Frank, let me take him with me. He really wants to see my mother, please!” Delmar begged desperately but he failed to find better words to convince Frank.
“Are you out of your mind? Arthur, your mother is dying and you are thinking of taking my slave to see her? No, Arthur!”
Arthur completely lost his mind when he heard Frank say his mother was dying and started running towards his house. Frank and the farmers quickly ran after him and seized him. Arthur fell on the ground screaming while Frank removed the handcuffs from his pocket and secured them on his wrist.
“Are you crazy, Delmar?” Frank shouted. “Do you think that you became one of us? You are not going anywhere. Today you will work! Do you hear me? And you, Arthur, leave now for god’s sake,” snapped Frank.
Delmar watched what was happening to Arthur in horror. Seeing Arthur like this broke his heart. Arthur was desperate to see his mother, but Delmar couldn’t do anything. He had to leave for the Roberts’ immediately. He walked to Frank’s carriage and went to the Roberts’ alone, leaving Arthur to his unknown fate.