“Commissioned,” Ali said. “We’re commissioned by the star. We can’t go home, Ben.”
Ben pointed behind them. “The king’s lying, that’s all. Didn’t you see his eyes?”
They left the city gates and passed a lively market. Shouts echoed from the stone walls. Produce cluttered the pavement―melons, onions and pomegranates. They steered their donkeys away from the crowds.
A third man, Saba, stroked his white beard. “He’s right, Ali. The man’s poison, but we don’t have to obey him.”
“He’ll kill us, Saba!” Ben sliced his throat with his finger.
Saba nodded. “So we travel at night.”
Ben spread his arms and shrugged. “Yeah, with the lions and bears and bandits. You’re nuts!”
Ali grabbed Ben’s shoulders. “Come on, Ben, let’s get this thing sorted. We’ve come a long way. We can’t turn back now. And anyway, don’t you want to see him?”
The cobbled road followed a ridge through sparse forest. Here they rested in the afternoon, letting the donkeys graze in the shade. They waited until the stars grew fat and journeyed on, reaching the village at dawn.
Roosters crowed. Dogs slunk into the shadows. A flock of young girls, chattering like sparrows, carried water jars on their shoulders.
“How do we know which house?” Ben asked.
Saba pointed to the sky. “Still present.”
Ben looked up and nodded. “I didn’t expect that. Not here.”
“Commissioned,” Ali said.
They turned into a narrow alley, the donkeys’ hooves kicking dust.
Saba coughed. “I think we’re here, gentlemen.”
A small crowd clustered around an adobe and thatch house. In the doorway, stood a young man, grinning. A teenage girl emerged, holding a newborn child. Her face shone.
The crowd fell silent. They stepped back.
The three travelers knelt in the dust and bowed, their faces to the ground.