Chapter 2
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The girl was hiding behind a large rock. She put a hand over her black eye and stared at the wavy patch of sand nearby.
"Baba, Baba!" Tulsi was
calling out in his irritating,
mosquito voice.
She put her hand over her blue eye and squinted at the patch. Hmm, still wavy. Odd. She hadn't seen sand like that before. It looked like the heat waves that shimmered over the desert on a very hot afternoon.
"Baba," squawked Tulsi.
"Oh, go away," she murmured
under her breath, "you stupid
boy."
As if obeying her command, like the
ever-faithful servant he was, Tulsi's whining voice started to recede, fading into the distance.
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He was probably going back to the camp
for reinforcements.
With a sigh, Baba stood up, smoothing down the front of her golden smock, and stepped towards the wavering patch of sand. All around her was the usual desert: rocks, gravel, sand, the occasional cactus or spindly tree. Overhead was the usual creamy blue sky.
One step, and the soft leather of her sandal
touched the wavy sand. Nothing
happened. Not that she was expecting very much
to happen, but still . . . Disappointed,
Baba turned around to go back to
the camp herself. But now, instead of the usual
rocks and sand, there was grass: long, luxurious
grass.
The girl gasped. She turned around on
the spot. She was standing in a field of grass that stretched away to the horizon. Not a horrid cactus in sight. And over there — what was that?
Baba shaded her eyes with her hand.
White buildings.
"Ha!" she cried.
She was about to rush towards the
buildings
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know how to ggghdfghfgh get back to the
desert. Looking around,
she found a trampled circle of shivering grass. That must be where she came through — like a door, of sorts. Baba whipped
off her red silk scare
and looped it around a bunch of upright grass. There — she'd be able to find that again.
Baba set -off at a trot, her golden tunic flapping in the breeze, the grass slapping at her soft trousers.
A blank, smooth wall of pale stone
rose up from the ground
ahead of her. Beyond were the roofs and windows of buildings. Panting, she slowed to a walk. She had never seen anything like it. Not even at the market town
where the desert prince
lived.
Who would live in such a place? What
kind of people? She hoped
they would be friendly. But
then, she was Baba, the leader of her people — others might not have heard
of her, but that didn't
matter.
She was closer now — and approaching an
arched entrance way.
Through the arch she could see
a beautiful yellow tree. Baba stood with her
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ands on her hips, looking up. A single
word was etched into the white stone: Petronas.
Baba held her breath and took a step forward. Despite herself, she was listening hard. If she heard a shout or a cry, then she would
run very fast back to the
desert.
But all was silent. Not even a bird
sang.
The girl stepped into a large courtyard and looked up at the tree. It was so lovely. Trees
like that did not grow in
the desert. Now, something else
caught her eye. Could it be?
Baba gasped, then laughed out loud.
It was a miracle — a dream come true.
Tulsi ran
back to the camp in a panic. "She's
gone, she's gone," he
cried to the first person he
bumped into, who happened to be Baba's aunt.
"Calm down, Tulsi," said
Aunty "Tell me what's
happened?'
"We were playing hide-and-seek,
up there around the big
rocks?' The boy, his skinny frame shaking with anxiety, pointed further up the
valley where enormous rocks were scattered like giant marbles. Once, many years ago, a mighty river would have flowed through here. "And now I can't find her."
Aunty patiedjulsi's shoulder.
"Don't worry, she'll just be hiding."
"But
I've looked everywhere," he wailed. "What's up?" asked Jad, Tulsi's father. "Tulsi's lost Baba," said Aunty, smiling
thinly.
Jad
nodded sagely. "Baba will come back when she's ready."
"Don't worry about Baba," adsed Aunty. "Come and help
us with the cactus."
Tulsi sighed and followed her over to
the makeshift kitchen. Others
were already sitting around
on mats, cleaning and slicing the cactus pads. They wuld be cooked into a stew that night for dinner. It was one of Tulsi's
favourite meals. Not that
he enjoyed dealing with the prickly
cactus.
He sat
on the mat next to his sister, Ming. She
was a year younger than Tulsi, but she was still able to clean and slice up a cactus pad in
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valley where enormous rocks were scattered like giant marbles. Once, many years ago, a mighty river would have flowed through here. "And now I can't find her."
Aunty patiedjulsi's shoulder.
"Don't worry, she'll just be hiding."
"But
I've looked everywhere," he wailed. "What's up?" asked Jad, Tulsi's father. "Tulsi's lost Baba," said Aunty, smiling
thinly.
Jad
nodded sagely. "Baba will come back when she's ready."
"Don't worry about Baba," advised Aunty. "Come and
help us with the cactus."
Tulsi sighed and followed her over to
the makeshift kitchen.
Others were already sitting around
on mats, cleaning and slicing the cactus pads. They would be cooked into a stew that night for dinner. It was one of Tulsi's
favourite meals. Not that
he enjoyed dealing with the prickly
cactus.
He sat
on the mat next to his sister, Ming. She
was a year younger than Tulsi, but she was still able to clean and slice up a cactus pad in\
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15
less time than it took
him just to remove the spines with a sharp knife.
Ming gave him a sideways look.
"Lost her again, have you? What's that
Baba done now?" she asked.
"Nothing," muttered Tulsi.
He didn't
understand why some of the girls
didn't like Baba. Jealous of her special treatment, he supposed. There was no chopping of cactus or gathering of herbs or
milking of goats for Baba.
For himself, he was proud to be her attendant. All of the Babas, stretching back through generations, had had their own attendant.
Baba's cousin, Tai, who was cutting up a cactus pad on a flat rock, laughed. "Maybe
she's back in her tent,
eating sweetmeats."
Tulsi
blushed. She was talking about the last time he had lost Baba, only to find she had
double-tracked back to the camp without him.
But what if something had happened to her and he wasn't there to help? A
snake could have bitten
her. Or she could have fallen into a hole and hurt her leg. It was his job to
look after
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Baba. Though she didn't make it easy for him.
Tai jumped to her feet. She started
mincing up and down,
flipping a pretend scarf over her shoulder. "Look at me," she simpered. "I am the great Baba. Seehow beautiful I
am!"
The other girls were falling over
themselves laughing.
Tulsi's blush deepened. "Stop
it," he muttered. "She's
not like that."But the girls just laughed harder.
Then somebody said, "Shush — she
is coming!"Ming hiccuped and hid her face in her hair.
At the edge of the camp, Baba had
appeared. Had she heard
them? With her chin in the air, the girl walked through the camp. She did not even look at the girls
around the cooking area, but
went straight towards her tent.
Tulsi hurried over. At the tent flap,
he gave his usual cough.
"May I enter, oh Baba?" No
reply. He crept in through the flap and knelt on the soft mat. Baba was sitting cross-legged on a cushion at the back of the tent. Quirt was nestled in her lap. "Call the elders," she said, not
looking at Tulsi, "I
have found water:'
