The Potter by Mark Gajewski

Author:Mark Gajewski [Gajewski, Mark]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2018-01-13T16:00:00+00:00

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Two weeks later the bands camped together for the last time alongside the river less than five miles north of Badari. Every step of the journey from the pool wadi had been agonizing for Tiaa. Seeing Nebetia and Qar together every day had been almost more than she could bear. Nebetia had taken every opportunity to loudly crow about her good fortune whenever all the women gathered to bathe in wadi streams or small pools. She paraded herself beside Qar as they traveled, practically draping herself on him at times. And so Tiaa spent as much time as she could by herself, walking far ahead of everyone else or lingering behind to glean foodstuffs, always with one eye out to make sure Pay wasn’t lurking in the vicinity. Khuit had avoided Tiaa entirely; no doubt Pay had ordered her to have no further contact. Tiaa wondered if he’d revealed their mutual future to his woman yet. As for Pay, she’d kept out of his way as much as possible, though she’d been unable to avoid his lustful stares at meals beside the campfire. If not for Qalhata, Tiaa thought she might have gone mad. The old woman consoled her as best she could for the loss of Qar. Tiaa dared not reveal to either Qalhata or Ankhmare what Pay had promised; nothing good could result from either of them confronting him. Pay was a problem she had to solve on her own.

The next morning Addaya’s band departed for Badari and Thay’s for a stretch of grassy plains a mile or two farther north in the valley. Tiaa, trailing everyone, turned to look one last time as Qar’s band disappeared into a grove of acacia trees that shaded a tangled section along the river’s bank. She saw him, for once without Nebetia at his side, watching her. Her eyes wet with tears, Tiaa grasped the copper necklace he’d given her, held it up for him, then turned and stumbled unseeing after Addaya’s people.

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