'Mother Earth Is Queen'

'MOTHER EARTH IS QUEEN!!!' Kids sang with joy and enthusiasm as they played and jumped and ran around carrying palms and branches and figs. Everyone was happy from young to old and none seemed to bother about a young scruffy-looking man in trunk shorts and kaftan top. I walked down the village as I observed the great wonder of my lifetime. The sheep were all decorated in red ribbons and some wore an extra pink ribbon around their necks. I noticed they looked healthier, fatter, and bigger than the rest in only red ribbons. This ought to be a celebration, even the air around me smelled of meat. The worms in my stomach bit even harder; and I remembered I hadn't eaten for two days. ''Seriously, won't anyone care for a stranger?'' After rounds of walk to nowhere, I stopped at a farmer's pen. A young boy of about seventeen was in the pen. He was looking dejectedly at a flock of dead sheep of about fifty. These flocks were bigger and fatter than all the rest I'd seen earlier. "Hey lad, you are not with the others?" I forgot I was a stranger, and my impulse ran ahead of me. The young boy fixed his eyes on me; no doubt he could tell I was new in the village. A greater part of me expected him to start running and shouting 'A Mad Man!, HELP!.' Rather, he remained sorrowfully calm. "No, I'm not."

"I need to be in the pen with the sheep; our clan's Gathering is in seven days."

" Clan's Gathering?" I asked.

" You mean the celebration out there?" The boy frowned and let out a sigh. Maybe I annoyed him with my naive questions. I became embarrassed. "I'm new in town, you know." I tried to smile but it appeared more awkward. The boy simply shook his head and sighed again. "Yeah, you are new, I know." I became more embarrassed.

" Uhm, So,- you were saying about your clan's Gathering?" I asked. The boy scowled. "Yes, it's a day when my clan will present itself before the Great Mother, and her priestesses and the entire eleven clans to celebrate the mighty increase she has given. The clan with the best increase as determined by the Great Mother will rank higher in the clan and will be worthy to receive her gift in any area of need she desires." The boy finished and looked at me; I could tell he saw and understood the confusion on my face.

"Any area of need, you say? Wow, that's cool." I said. "But you don't look happy about it." The boy looked down at the dead flock and back at me and I could tell he was not sure whether to tell me about It. "For the past two days now, some strange deaths have happened to the flock..." He looked at me again and shrugged. " Someone has been poisoning them, the best of the flock."

That was cruel, I thought.

" And why would anyone do that?" The boy glared at me in a way that told me he was uncertain too. "Someone must be behind this," I said. A loud horn suddenly sounded that made me uneasy. Could it be that the boy made a subtle move to announce my presence?

"What's that for?"

The boy stood up and made a come- with-me gesture with his hand. "The Gathering has started, let us go."

**The Gathering was everything about it. Hundreds of people gathered roundabout a Giant Golden Statue of a Woman. In her left hand were eleven yellowish eggs and in her right, a garden field of vegetation. On the center of her head was a torch of blazing fire and her eyes were white as snow. Two golden breasts plummeted down her bared chest and she had a cloth down her waist of raffia. "She's the Earth Mother, the Great Mother Nature." The boy answered by my side as if reading the question in my mind

"She's huge" I complimented. The boy winked. "She's Mother Nature, the Preserver of the earth." She's a deity worshipped in this community, I concluded. Hope my life is safe here?

"Come, let's go find my clan." The boy held my arm and hurried me into the crowd.

"What in heaven's name took you so long?" A girl in her twenties asked as we came closer. "I met more sheep dead in the pen." the boy answered. The girl's face suddenly changed as she turned to look at me. Her face was almond-shaped, she had green eyes and a fair-chocolate skin. She narrowed her lips and turned towards the boy. "Ethan, who is this stranger you are with?"

Ethan? So that's his name... The boy turned dumb. He scratched his head in a flustered way. "I saw him in our pen, he,- he said he's new in the village." The girl took another look at me. She weighed me from the crown of my head to the sole of my feet. I felt self-conscious. "Ethan's right, I'm a traveler," I said. She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by a loud gong.

"Here is another day, a day of our Great Earth Mother..." began a female voice with her hands raised towards the sky. She was dressed in white attire. On her forehead was a white symbol, her arms and legs were drawn with the same symbol and on her lips were drawn two, red vertical lines. She held a staff on her right hand and spoke with authority. Behind her were ten ladies dressed the same as her but with no symbol on their foreheads and no red lines on their lips and no staffs in their hands. These are the priestesses, I retracted, remembering what Ethan told me in the pen. The lady in the front must be the chief priestess. "Oh Great Earth Mother, the PROVIDER, the PROTECTOR, and the PRESERVER of us all, we beseech you, come down among us; behold the blessings you have given us and now, we have come to give them back to you, in return for your mercy."

The chief Priestess then bowed toward the Earth Mother and spoke some strange words. The other priestesses responded in the same strange tongue and bowed. They remained bowed for about three minutes then one by one the clans started bowing until it came to us. I watched as Ethan and the girl and the others in their clan bowed as well. I didn't belong to any clan, and so I decided not to bow. After about five minutes, everyone stood up. The chief Priestess then came forward and gestured with her hand to a clan by her left. I watched as a man who I suspected to be the head of the clan stepped forward and behind him were all his substance. They were massive, all the farm produce and vegetation were the best of the best. There was no blemish, no tittle of a spot on them. They were all green and fresh. The whole clan gaped with wonder. The man then ordered that the sheep be brought. A flock of about thirty showed up. These were no ordinary flock. They were so healthy and fat. Everything suddenly made sense to me. I remembered what Ethan said about someone poisoning their sheep. Not just any sheep, the best of the sheep. The good, big, and healthy ones. Whoever was doing that, no doubt wants to have an advantage in the Gathering. Cruel. "Oh Great Earth Mother, I and my clan offer this great offering before you, see the fatness of our substance,

Look on my clan with mercy, for you see that we deserve your gift," said the man. The chief Priestess then uttered some strange words, and every substance disappeared into thin air. I was aghast. I've never seen such raw power. Immediately, everything went wild; shouts and songs broke out and everyone started dancing and singing.

I stood, watching and basking in this wonder that I did not hear Ethan calling unto me until he came closer.

"My dad wants to see you," He said.

I looked up and saw a man in his fifties looking straight at me. Beside him were a woman and the girl that spoke with me and another little girl. I started sweating in my palms. I was nervous. What would happen to me? I don't want to vanish into thin air. I followed Ethan to meet his dad.

"I heard you are a traveler!" Ethan's dad asked. It was more of a question than an affirmation. His eyes were straight at me as if reading my mind. I felt the urge, to tell the truth.

"Yes sir, I am a traveler going to the west. I came upon this village and I thought to stay for some time, gather some supplies, and be on my way again."

" A traveler to the west? Hmm, interesting." The man said as he considered me more carefully. I shot a glance at Ethan but he was staring down, then I looked at the girl, she met my eyes and nodded. What does that mean? Has my death warrant just been signed?

"Does this traveler have a name?" Ethan's dad asked still not taking his eyes off me.

"Handel, I answered. My name is Handel."

"Come with us Handel, you need to freshen up." Did I hear that right? I felt my bones relaxed. I followed them to their home as the faint song of 'Mother Earth is Queen' continued in the background.

**It was the best freshening up I've had in weeks. I was treated like a king. A hot bath, to begin with, then a new pair of clean clothes, followed by a hot bowl of cereal and milk and meat. Ethan's family did well not to disturb me until I've finished eating. The reception was great unlike any I have ever seen in my miserable days of travel. After I was satisfied with my stomach, I laid down to rest. A poor traveler like me undeserving of this kindness.

I slept for hours until I was forced awake by the conversations I overheard.

"Do you think we can trust him, dad?" I recognized the voice as belonging to Ethan's sister. "I mean after two days of trying to figure out the cause of the flock's death, and suddenly a stranger shows up in nowhere but the pen, Our Pen?" I noticed her emphasis on 'our pen'. I could relate to her suspicion. It's a delicate situation they are into at the moment. About a hundred and twenty sheep dead in just barely three nights, only for me to show up from nowhere and appear in their sheep pen? Oh c'mon.

"He doesn't look dangerous Evah, Ethan's dad began. Yes, he's odd to be in the village at this moment but what's happening to our flock is not his work." I felt emotional hearing that from him. No one has ever had such confidence in me. I almost cried right on the bed.

"It isn't written in the face, dad!" Evah responded. What's her problem? She's been too hard on me. Frankly, I tried to remember if I had done or said anything that offended her, I remembered none.

"Evah, your dad's right," Evah's mum said. Really? two witnesses vouching for me? I'm a hero, already. I fought the urge to get up and give the both of them a big, fat kiss. I let down a tear of joy.

"Handel, has nothing to do with the deaths, whoever is doing this, is an enemy trying to bring us down, to bring our clan down." Exactly what I had imagined. The enemy is in one of the clans, someone with an evil intention.

"I think I know who it might be, but I'm not sure. The enemy has been crafty, able to avoid my traps for two days. We need to be very smart to beat him."

" But how do we do that, Zahr? Ethan's mum asked. The Gathering is in six days; the flock is our only best shot." I was hit in my heart hearing that. These people have been kind to me, if there's one way I could repay them, it is to help them find the intruder and expose him, and help their clan, with the Gathering. I could tell it meant so much to them. I didn't know when I got up until I came to where they were seated. "I will help you find this enemy and expose them"? I said with confidence. I stared right at Mr. Zahr so he'll know I was damn serious.

"What are you talking about, Handel?" Zahr asked attempting to cover it up.

"It's okay, I told him. I heard everything, and I want to help."

Evah laughed. Was she laughing at my audacity?

" I'm sorry Handel, but how do you want to do it,? You don't look like the fighting type," she mocked.

" You do not know a lot about me," I answered. "You all have shown me kindness, this is the least I could do to show my appreciation." The whole house fell silent.

"Since you want to do this, it's fine. Said Mr. Zahr. But I warn you to be careful. May the great Earth Mother, protect you." I used the remaining hours planning my strategies. 'Great Earth Mother, I want to believe, you hate injustice. And so if you are up there, help me get this enemy and expose them.' I whispered a final prayer.

**In just six days, my disposition towards the Earth Mother changed. She has now become someone I have come to respect with reverence fear.

Maybe that was why she helped me; to prove a point that she existed and not an idol I had made her be.

This was the Zahrs clan Gathering day. Everywhere was lit up with excitement and enthusiasm. This was not just a celebration of a clan's Gathering, it was a celebration of good and justice, triumphing over evil and injustice. It was a celebration to show gratitude to the Earth Mother for exposing darkness. I was right about one thing; it was a clan responsible for the deaths of the flock. The Zahrs were all happy and asked me to stay a couple more days but I turned them down because I didn't want to overstay my welcome.

"You sure you don't want to stay till after our Gathering?" Evah asked me as I was tidying up to leave. I sensed a bit of sadness in her tone which made me almost yielded. "No, I would've loved to, but I can't. I have stayed beyond schedule already. I have to get going." I told her.

"I understand," she said. Then she did what I never expected. She came over and kissed me on my cheek. "Thank you, Handel, I hope you come over again, some time." I couldn't resist those beautiful green eyes but I had to go. "I will never forget this community," I told her. And that was how I left that very morning. As I was moving out of the village, I was being cheered and clapped for by the villagers. But deep down, I knew that the Earth Mother made the victory possible. The celebration has begun, dancing and singing were all over the place. The children came forward singing that same old song; "Mother Earth is Queen..." I turned around to catch one last view of the Earth Mother. There she stood with all majesty and beauty. She's not just a deity worshiped by these people, She is the life and heart of the village.

Whatever you would want to call her; Earth Mother, Mother Nature, Mother Earth, She is totally who she is to these people. I took a final look at the village now behind me. I could hear the loud horn, the Gathering has started. I smiled. Indeed, Mother Earth is Queen here.