Sarah by Marek Halter Page B

tunic from the ground and ran to the end of the dais where the women were. Egime was the only one to stand in her way. Sarai pushed her aside roughly. She heard cries, the noise of something falling. She ran through one room, then another. The chanting had stopped. She saw the astonished face of a handmaid. She kept running until she reached the garden. She knew which way to go: across the canals and basins. She could jump from one to the other, until she got to the streets of the city outside the walls of the palace.

    SHE went straight on, without any other aim than to get as far away as she could. The streets between the high brick walls were narrow and dark, sometimes just wide enough to let two or three people pass side by side, or an ass carrying a saddlepack. Under the astounded eyes of the passersby, she weaved quickly between the sacks and baskets of the street vendors.
    She was out of breath by the time she at last reached the great canal that ran alongside the outer wall of the royal city of Ur. Through a thousand branches, it distributed the water of the Euphrates to the temples, the royal palaces, and the dwellings of the lords. Flowing eventually into the river at the western and southern harbors, it encircled the noble city, making it an island, separating it and purifying it of the stains of the lower city, where the common people lived.
    Standing in the shade of a wall, Sarai looked at the crowd to see if among them were any servants or slaves her father might have sent out to find her. But there were none. They must have been taken so much by surprise that she was already a long way away before they set off in pursuit of her.
    Now she must get to one of the gates as quickly as possible. But she hesitated. Would the gods allow her to get through the outer wall?
    What a sight she must be! Her tasseled toga, thrown on in haste, was now in complete disarray; her eyes were still black with kohl, and the diadem of her hair had collapsed as she ran. She was sure the guards, who kept a close watch on everyone entering and leaving the noble city, would be just as surprised as the people she had passed so far.
    For a moment, she thought: What if I returned home? Sililli could help me slip into my chamber. She must be worried sick and crying her eyes out. She’ll be only too pleased to see me. Obviously there couldn’t be a wedding now. She was sure the noble bridegroom her father had chosen for her, humiliated and insulted by her escape, had already left. The house must be echoing to Ichbi Sum-Usur’s rage.
    No, she couldn’t go back. It was over. Ever since she had seen that man, her bridegroom, on the dais, her mind had been made up. Never again would she see Sililli, her sisters, her father, or even Kiddin, whom she would hardly miss. She had made her gesture in front of everyone, and now she was a girl without a family. All that mattered now was to get away from the soldiers, whose task, as evening fell, was to clear the streets of the noble city and make sure that everyone went home. She would find shelter for the night outside the walls. This wasn’t the moment to feel sorry for herself. On the contrary, she had to harden her heart and show how brave she was. Tomorrow she would have plenty of time to think, to think long and hard.
    Walking as naturally as she could, she retraced her steps and plunged into the red shade of an almost deserted alley. While she was running, she had noticed a dead-end street, almost blocked by a half-crumbled wall. Sarai found it now and edged her way in.
    Hidden from prying eyes, she undid her hair, then took out the horn needles around which Sililli had rolled her locks. It would have been preferable to untie the braids, but there was no time for that now, so she simply pushed them onto the back of her neck. With the bottom of her toga, she wiped the makeup off her lips and eyes. Then she undressed, tearing the hems of her tunic to take off the bridal tassels