This is a short story (apparently it is true, or so was I told). It is translated from Somali to English. I find it very imaginative and fascinating and I thought I might share it with you
Sheeko: Hassan Olol and His Jinni bride
I was a teenage boy of 18 years old. My family, pastoral, lived small town called Jidali in the Far North East Somalia near the Red Sea. At that time, young people of my age were flowing in to the coastal towns in their thousands in search of jobs. Coastal towns, unlike their counterparts in the hinterland, had relatively boom economies due mainly to the export/import trade so they became attracted to young people from the rural areas. I thought I was old enough to join the influx. I easily got the blessings of my parents, and was ready to hit the road pretty soon.
I decided to go to Berbera, a major port town on the Red Sea, where menial jobs were so abundant. Because
there were no transportation services available, I had to go on foot. I set off on a dawn taking with me water and some food to eat on the way. In late afternoon while trekking along the sea, I saw a beautiful girl swimming in the sea alone. She was around my age, with a darkish hair, exquisite eyes and slender body. She was the kind of girl one would find almighty irresistible to ask out on a date, she was thoroughly alluring. I stopped, looked around, saw nobody else and released a long, low whistle indicating how pleased I was. I immediately went towards her.
Oow Allah! I thought, as I walked through the shallow and trite water. This is going to be one hell of an afternoon. She seemed to be in a mood for a bloodstained showdown. Anyway, I put on my voluptuous smile and advanced towards her. As I approached her I noticed that she was exceptionally and principally beautiful. She started moving away a bit without the slightest hint of fear though.
"Stay away from me" she warned, her eyes almost out of their sockets, her face viciously twisted in a wolfish frown. I didn't give a damn about her warning. It in fact reminded me the popular proverb which said "women say no when they mean yes" I blindly made for her in an overoptimistic mood.
She grabbed me by the neck and immersed me deep in the water, keeping me there for a while. Her grip had such power that I thought it was man's, but since there was nobody else except the two of us, I came to the embarrassing conclusion that I was being overpowered by a woman: something I had never thought possible. She released me. I threw myself upwards in utter desperation, gasping for air. For a minute or so I was too dizzy.
"Don't try anything stupid" She snapped, keeping her eyes on my next move.
Recovering the initial shock, I jumped at her finding outrageously unacceptable to be defeated by a woman. She dodged and was once again attacking at my throat. She blocked the windpipe and heaved my body to the bottom of the ocean. The experience was terrifying beyond narration and description. Luckily, she dismissed me again. I instantaneously swum towards the shore without even looking back. "adiguba caqlaad leedahee carar maxaa dhaama".Fleeing was the wisest thing to do, otherwise she would have drowned me. She was in a mood to tame an alligator!! My anticipation of a wonderful afternoon turned in to traumatically shocking, near-death experience.
I was 3 or 4 km away when I first looked back. She was putting on her clothes. No sooner had I turned around than I saw her beside me. I quickly looked back to make sure she wasn't the girl who, seconds ago, was 3 km away from me. I was terrified to the last degree to learn that it was indeed her. I looked at her, then back at the spot where she had been, then back at her, being unable to believe her fastness! "What is wrong with you" she said, smiling brightly with her intoxicating lips and glistening teeth. "You look as if you saw a ghost" If what I am seeing is not a ghost I thought, then it must at least be as fast as one. Considering her portentous power in the Sea, coupled with her astonishingly lightning-like speed, there was no doubt in my mind that she was a rather unique creature!
"Please leave me alone" I said curtly, not wanting to associate with her. "Listen" she said, softening her voice "What happened has happened. Be a man enough and get it over " "Please leave me alone" I repeated with my voice turning rather a afflicted sort of muttering with a pain.
"Look" she said, slowing down and looking at me seriously. Her expression soothing with a bit of grimacing twist added to it probably to score a point. "You attacked me, and I defended myself. It was you who was on the offensive, not me. Why can't you forget the whole thing" I was on the offensive, I thought, a valid point in her favour, What an intelligent defence mechanism I thought. Now I started to cool down. By the way I didn't know why I was angry to begin with,. Maliciously attack someone and then get mad at them afterwards. Does that make sense? May be I was mad because she overpowered me in the sea and the fact that she was a lady make everything so startling!
"Where are you going to" she asked.
"Berbera" I said.
"Me too" she replied.
"Really"
"Yes I am serious" she responded without a hesitant.
She told me her name, which was Zahra. We conversed along the way and I must admit, I was being transfixed by her beauty by the minute despite my inopportune or shall I say embarrassing encounter with her earlier. Her extraordinary fastness was quite nerve-racking too. There is no denying about that. But in spite of that, there was something about her that made me calm down and see her again in a romantic eye.
As dusk started to set in she said that she had relations living nearby from whom we could get something to eat and a place to sleep. "Great" I blurted out. Earlier she had told me that she ran out of her Sahay (The food travellers take with them) which meant she would share mine with me. My Sahay was barely sufficient for me: if I shared it with her I was sure we would starve to death. consequently this suggestion of hers was most needed.
Her relations, as it turned out, were many families living in a sort of settlement. A large flock of gaots and sheep were being driven in to kraals after having been grazing all day. There were no any visible lamps, yet everywhere was illuminated brightly. There were people milling around everywhere. Their clothes were very fashionable: in fact too fashionable for a typical pastoral lifestyle. Their houses were exceptionally good with modern designs, which I had never seen before. In a word, their material wealth was beyond my imagination! People, mostly kids, swarmed around me shouting "She brought a human. She brought a human" To be honest, the mention of "human" didn't ring a bell in my mind. I just thought that their clan had had a vendetta against my clan, which literally scared me rather
At any rate, Zahra came and took me to a veranda full of men. In an armchair in the middle of the verandah sat a stocky man around his forties, with athletically built body. He had piercing eyes, which, coupled with his bushy moustache, were the only noticeable facial characteristics he had. To be fair with him though, he had an air of gentlemanly and aristocratic behaviour. He was, as I was to be told, their chief. People called him a "Lion"
Oow Allah ! I thought, what a matching name!
"How are you Hasan, take a seat" he said, stretching his fat hand for a handshake. I was really surprised by the fact that he uttered my name without being told in advance. It in fact, in a sense, proved my suspicion that I was in an enemy territory. I was now convinced that the girl played trick on me to hand me to her clansmen who, as I thought, were at war with my clan. " Then I thought she can not belong that tribe because she was far beautiful". May be I wanted to believe this.
"You don't seem to know "Lion said, as he adjusted his sitting position. His bulky creaking the wooden chair. "but we are Aliens "What" I blurted out, blinking and not being abled to believe his utterances .Zahra, who was sitting beside me, took over. "Yes we are Aliens" she confirmed, patting my hand in a bid to alleviate the shock. "I lied to him to bring him here" she continued, now talking to her fellow Aliens. "Because I fell in love with him, and I want to marry him"
My mind became momentarily too numb to process what was going on. I just stared at them in disbelief. I was, all of a sudden, in a new, unbelievable reality. "Look" I said, then my mind went blank. I couldn't say anything further except fixedly staring at them. Zahra took over. "I know this is too much for you to digest at the moment, but yes you are in a different World " she said, still patting my hand.
The fact that I was seeing Aliens scared me to death. Several minutes passed by without anyone saying a word, probably to give me some time to think about this otherwise imaginary reality: an imaginary reality which would take for ages to come to terms with. But how come I see you guys, I thought. This can't be true.
"The reason why you can see us is because you are in our World, not the human World anymore "Lion answered, as if he was reading my mind. Apart from the fact that they lived in a fancy lifestyle, there was nothing extraordinary about them, especially their looks, that could make me think that they were Aliens.
"As bizarre as it may sound, you are with Aliens" Lion continued his discourse. He was being memoir. Judging from his expression, I could see that he was serious: dead serious. Somewhere at the back in my mind his speech started to make sense, not because I was so effortlessly convinced that they were indeed Aliens--although I was being stirred by the minute I have to admit, but because I could get along with them. Before he wrapped up his discourse he asked me if I was interested in the marriage proposal.
I hesitated for a while, but my reply ultimately came out as emphatic "yes" I knew that by accepting the offer I had nothing to lose and everything to gain: a beautiful doll I had never daydreamed about was on offer without any prerequisite. Besides, I was told that I was under no obligation financially. That was too good an opportunity to decline. I had heard of enough Alien stories to know that anyone who associated with them would be materially rich. This, per se, was too tempting to be declined too. So it was my considered decision to say "yes". As long as I could live with them in their present form, I didn't have much of a problem with their being Aliens.
"Okey" lion said. He introduced me a heavily bearded, much older man sitting beside him who he called Sheekh Abdulahi. This Sheikh seemed to be rather domineering figure in this inexplicable community. The two of them were to delegate us to perform the wedding. The wedding and the wedding ceremony were to held on that very night. Needless to say, it was fine with me. In a matter of minutes a new house was built in front of the verandah. I was really flabbergasted by their dexterity. Even more astonishing was the fact that in fifteen minutes or so I was in my new home with my new bride and being served with specially prepared foods by invisible beings. All I could see was plates and dishes fully laden with every imaginable foods coming in and arranging themselves orderly on a table!
"Who on earth is carrying these dishes " I exclaimed, frightened.
"Don't worry gacaliye " dear soulmate" Zahra responded, smiling."This is our own way of enchanting human guests"
I am easily impressed by a show of wealth. This time I wasn't different. Man! I said to my self, are you in your golden age! You could say I was!
My wife was known "the Bird" because she took the form of bird. Everybody had two names; his/her maiden name and another name derived from the animal his form he/she took of. This is why the chief was called the "lion" He sometimes took the form of lion. "Scary one might though, but this become customary in time"by the way, after a while my wife became pregnant, The funny thing was that I didn't have to take care of her financially; they were far too rich. From dawn to dusk my wife existed in the form of bird, and was away all day. She took a human form from dusk
onward. Usually I had a mat, matress and pillows arranged orderly under a huge shadowy tree, where I was fed on a regular basis.In a word, I was treated like a king, it was too good to be true, I asked myself, Am I dreaming while I am in Jidali valley?!
One dusk when I returned home I found my wife lying on the bed; quite atypical. "I gave birth" she greeted me. "Great" I said, coming over to her side. "Show me" She stripped a sheet that had covered the other side of the bed. There appeared seven newly-born babies! I was overcome by amazement. Power drained out of my legs, and I went down as a result in a daze, my hands being on my head. I said "I take the refuge of God against satan" This is a koranic expression and it is pronounced as follows:
Acuudu bilaahi mina sheydaani rajiim.
As soon as I said that my World (call it imaginary if you so wish:)) disappeared in to vapour. Instead, I found myself crouching on a barren rock, hands still on my head. I could not distinguish whether I had been dreaming in the first place and now woke up, or had been in a real, waking life and was now dreaming of being on this rock. My mind went a complete standstill so I couldn't distinguish facts from fiction. As wacky as it may sound though, I was not dreaming of being on that rock, nor had I been in having that envious lifestyle: both situations were real!!
Surely but slowly, the darkness gave way to dim illumination which, in turn, changed in to the cosy, snuggling house I was in few minutes ago! In front of me was now my mother-in law and my wife, who was sobbing.
"Why did you say that expression" my mother-in law said furiously" In doing so, You hurt my daughter badly" This Alien community was Muslim.
They were pious and frequently read the Koran. Thus they always said the expression. "How come you say it but I can't" I asked, puzzled. "We can, but humans can't while being with us. If they say it we can no longer live together. Also it hurts us very badly" she explained, still indignant. "I am sorry, I didn't know that" I said "I offered my apologises"
Slowly they calmed down. I was warned not to say that expression ever
again especially while being with them, otherwise I would see the last of
them. I habitually say the expression whenever I am absolutely astonished. I even don't notice when I am about to say it. I just say it automatically: it is a natural reaction that I can't control. So when I promised not to say it ever again I wasn't too sure whether I would keep that promise. Oow May Allah! I thought, don't surprise me to this degree if you want me to keep the promise:)
At any rate, that episode passed peacefully and things got normal
afterwards. A while later I decided I wanted to visit my parents (call them my parents in Planet Earth if you like :)My Alien in-laws gave me so many gifts to them. However, my parents were not to be told that I had had an Alien family, which meant that I had to make them believe that I had been working hard in Berbera and bought these presents for them. My father was never convinced. " he was a well known leader of my clan, people use to call him the wise man of Ergavo, a man like him was too adamantine to induce to this sitiutation. He had stubbornly clung to the belief that I had stolen them. Because of that he wanted to keep clear of them. As he was a clan chief so protecting his reputation was of paramount importance
to him
"I am a man of character. I don't want my name smeared by this loot" He said to mom. "Keep them untill their rightful owner comes" he added. I told him over and over again that nobody would claim them but he, unlike my mom, who believed in me right away, remained unconvinced. I felt bad about the fact that these presents, so badly needed by the family, were to
be kept indefinitely. Feeling sorry was all I could do: nothing more. I told them I had to return to my work in Berbera and left for my Alien
family.
After a while my wife got pregnant, and subsequently gave birth to seven more babies. Now I wasn't surprised one bit: I became aware of the birth patterns of Alien women. Believe it or not I had now 14 kids at the age of twenty " something which is rather bizarre in Human Earth" Later, I decided to go to Yemen. I was seen off and wished well. Life in Yemen absorbed me. I found myself staying there for several perpetual years. One afternoon, while chewing Qaad(stimulant twigs that are used in
> East Africa and South Eastern Arabia) with friends, a lady, after quickly changing from a bird-like figure to a human form, appeared in the doorway. My friends looked at her with a fixed stare, being stunned by her beauty. Guess who? She was my wife Zahra. I suddenly felt guilty for being away from her and the kids so long. I thought she would get mad at me for that.
"Hasan, I am here to tell you that your oldest daughter has been
betrothed, and you are wanted for that reason......."
"My seven years old daughter" I blurted out, astounded to the last degree. "Itake the refuge of God against satan" (Acuudu bilaahi mina sheydaani
rajiim) She abruptly disappeared from view, and I immediately realised why: I said the expression I was warned not to say while being with them. I waited in vain for her to come back and be excused. She did not come back to this day. Although I learned many aspects of Alien culture while I was with them, I had never seen a female being married at the age of seven. So, needless to say, I was so taken aback to be told that my seven years old daughter was to be married.
There I was, lost in the streets of Eden .I have lost 14 kids and their mother to entirely different beings. Man! I said to my self, they are gone for good.
You had better forget them. The question arises Can I? Answer is an obvious one, every parent knows it! it is big NO NO,NO,NO,NO,NO,NO,NO,NO, NO,NO,
The END
NB: This is a real story. The full name of the lead character is Hasan Olol Jama. He lived in a small town called Jidali, near Eragavo North East of Somalia. I did saw this gentleman 1991 and he himself told me the story. It was rather stimulating. I have also, saw one of the men who saw the lady in Yeman while they chewinng Qaad with Hassan. He verified and swore to the Allah's name that he saw lady and when mr Hassan said A'du billah, she promptly vanished their sight.
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Illumination is man’s release from his self-incurred Ignorance.
