Fiery Ice

There was or there was not in the great desert a young man from a humble Bedouin tribe. One day, while he, Jamil was out riding his horse in the desert, he came across a lady of statuesque beauty, who gave no explanation of why she was there. She merely requested a drink of water and shelter, if he would take her to his tribe.

Amazed at this extraordinary phenomenon, he did as she said and the leaders of the tribe, equally astounded, agreed that she would live among them. As they spoke with her, they were amazed at her wisdom, and soon named her princess of the tribe. They prospered well under her rule.

Her name was Hasna.

She had exceptional beauty, which was only surpassed by her sharp intelligence, and word soon spread all over the desert of her charms, and many a young man came to seek her hand.

However, she was proud, and refused to take the hand of any unless they could answer the following riddle:

“A fiery star is jailed in an icy box—free the star, and bring me the box, and you shall have my hand.”

This perplexed the youths, for who could pluck a star from the heavens, or hold one in their hands?

Jamil, who had the special task of serving the princess coffee spiced with cardamom, saw all of this, and pitied the youths. One evening, he saw the princess slip out of her tent and slowly, O so slowly walk away from the camp. Curious as to where she would go, he followed her, treading softly over the sand of the dunes, keeping both ears open.

Eventually, when the bonfires of the camp were no longer in sight, she lifted her eyes to the stars and cried, “How long, O evil stars, must you torment me? How long will you exile me from your ranks? Do you not remember that once, I had a hall among you—that I once ruled a thousand worlds? But then, O jealous ones, you envied me, stripped me of my power, and locked it away in the icy hearts of men, only to be returned by sacrifice with the sword of the Afreet. So now you leave me helpless in this desolate place. How cruel it is to demand the blood even of icy man, even for all my fiery power! I should almost wish to stay as I am now rather than see any of them come to this. Yet, if it be the workings of God in His divine majesty, I will rejoin you, O stars, and you will be repaid for all the evil you have worked against mankind!”

At this, Jamil was most moved, and he quickly stole back to the camp before Hasna could see that he had left.

In the morning, as he brought her coffee, he said to her, “I am going on a journey, and may not be back for a long time.”

“I shall miss you,” she replied in earnest. “May God go with you, and bless you in your endeavors.”

So Jamil saddled up his horse and went out to the desert, where he knew the infamous Afreet to dwell. It rose up in the glaring sun, terrifying to behold.

“Who goes there?” it demanded.

“It is I, Jamil!”

“For what purpose?”

“I desire your sword, that I may return the powers of Hasna to her,” he said.

The Afreet laughed a demonic laugh. “Do you understand what must be done with my sword to do this, should you even be able to get it from me?”

“I know that blood must be spilt,” he replied.

The Afreet laughed again. “O foolish mortal! Not only must the blood be spilt, but the life must be taken—my sword would have to be plunged into the heart, right up to the hilt, and your very last breath must be breathed into her lungs. Knowing this, do you still wish for my sword?”

Jamil, trembling, replied, “Yes.”

“Very well, then,” said the Afreet. “First you must count exactly ten thousand grains of sand, and bring them to me. If there are more or less than this you will die here, much more painfully than you would with Hasna.”

So, Jamil got down on his knees and carefully, O so carefully picked out ten thousand grains of the desert’s fine sand and brought it to the Afreet.

The Afreet examined them carefully, then he waved his ugly hand over them, and they became a mighty sword, its steel blade flashing in the glaring sunlight. The Afreet gave it to Jamil, who nodded and took it then rode back to the camp, reaching it around dusk.

As he was unsaddling his horse, he saw Hasna walk away from the camp. As before, he followed her out to where she stood before the stars, and made her lament. This time, he came out to her, and gently wiped the tears from her face.

“Jamil?” she asked. “Is that you, returned so soon?”

“Yes,” he replied. “I could not bear to spend another day without seeing your face again.”

She blushed. “As you know, I am given such compliments all the time. Thank you, anyway.”

She turned to leave, but he stopped her.

“It’s more than that,” he insisted. “I love the way you smile when I bring you your coffee—I love the way your voice sounds when you address the men of the tribe, giving us advice that causes us to prosper. I love you, even when I see the tears fall from your face.”

“Jamil!” she exclaimed. “Since when did you start acting like this?”

“When I realized how sweet life truly is, however short,” he smiled sadly, and held out his hand.

She took it, smiling, and they went back to camp.

In the morning, he took Hasna her coffee, as always, this time with the sword of the Afreet by this side. She gave him her usual smile, and said “Good morning,” with more than her usual enthusiasm.

“Good morning,” he replied. As she took her first sip, he added, “While I was on my journey, I got something for you.”

“Really?”

He pulled out the sword of the Afreet. She gasped, but before she could say anything to him, he plunged it into his heart, all the way up to the hilt.

“No!” she cried. “Not you. You were the one who actually valued me as friend rather than an object.”

“Well, don’t make me do this for nothing,” he coughed.

She nodded, then bent down and kissed him as he breathed his last, that last breath filling her lungs. The last thing he saw was a flash of brilliant white light, a blinding burst of energy

Hasna, now brighter than a thousand candles, wept over him, and let her tears fall on him. As she turned around to finish her coffee, she was surprised to see an equally blinding flash of light. She whirled around, and there was Jamil, alive! Better yet, he shone with the same radiance as she did, and he felt more alive than ever before.

O, how they wept for joy! She swiftly took him up on the wings of the dawn, and they reigned justly among the stars to the end of the age.