Jonah Leaves Home

I

n a land far to the east, there was a man named Jonah. Jonah hailed from the northern Lands of Rash where his soul had become weak and sullen as a child. His mother had left the family and died shortly after. His younger brother left at a young age which left Jonah only with his sickly father, John. Jonah did not work, save for caring for his father’s needs. This was not his only blessing, as when Jonah came of age, his father had gifted him the family’s Oud (It is an old kind of guitar and pronounced like the O's in food.) Jonah’s father, said to him:

“You are not worthy of this my son, but seeing as you are my only living heir, please be taken of this thing and rid yourself of my sight. Do something good with yourself, you lazy boy.”

These were the last words Jonah remembers hearing from his father, though he has not much memory of it regardless. The Oud was passed down to Jonah’s hands through many generations. Jonah’s family had descended from one of the Wise Men who visited the newborn Jesus and the Wise Man’s Oud was said to have lulled the Mother Mary into relaxation easing the pain of her child birth.

Wishing to not disappoint his father, with his black robes and decorated Oud in hand, Jonah struck out from his childhood home. He followed the Jo’ra River south until he reached a city by the Salted Sea. The city was called Market Town. Filled with bazaars and gypsy shops, many prostitutes and entertainers ran themselves as wares in the streets. Each night, the multitudes would join together at the night clubs to listen to the bards play and see the women dance. Many were the drunkards that were entertained in those days. The songs were loud and the people were decorated in the brightest colors with sharp garments dyed brilliant purples and reds. Long sashes swayed from the women’s hips and were as beautiful as their decorated hair and lashes. Full of brash merriment and unsavory behavior, the scenes were loud and debaucherous. A smokey hand rose out from the tavern that dwelt just under the palace. It gathered Jonah up by the cheek and he followed its scent to the main door of the tavern where here would enter the den of the drunkards for the first time.

Jonah had stayed in the town for two days and nights until at around midday on the third day before the night clubs opened, Jonah turned over his time in Market Town’s tavern within himself.

“I will not garner much attention like this,” he thought “My playing is fair but, these people, I can not keep up with their perverted ways. How am I supposed to make any money? How will I eat? How will I release the weight of my Father’s expectation from me? This is no place for any good sacrament or song. Perhaps, there is no place.”

With a heavy heart, Jonah decided he would steal away from the bustle of Market Town and commit himself to solitary practice.

Jonah Communes with God

On the edge of town grew a tree by the Salted Sea where Jonah felt compelled to lay under and rehearse. Under that tree, Jonah communed with the Lord and God blessed him with many wondrous songs over many days. One morning, Jonah communed with God like he did many mornings before by the sea. However, after the last song came to him, a great wind kicked up over the edges of the water and a voice spoke,

“Jonah, play the songs I have given you to the wicked, restless and the drunkards. They know not their left hand from their right but the songs I have written upon your heart are the Holy Elixirs that will cure them of their confusion and bring them to me. If you do not, their confusion will leave a mark on your hands and it will curse you, my prophet.”

“But my Lord, they sully your good name!” Jonah argued. “They have made a mockery of me by not seeing my talent and the wondrous nature of my father’s Oud. I am much better than they are! I am more deserving than they are! And if I am your prophet, my place is with You not with a bunch of drunkards and prostitutes!”

The voice said to him “Your place is with me dear one, but you are also my prophet. A prophet’s place is among the lowly. Place yourself not in the heart of the tabernacle, but among those who are least deserving.”

These words angered Jonah to such a degree that he cast his Oud into the Salted Sea meaning to be rid of it forever.

Jonah returned to Market Town’s tavern and it was night by then and the night life of the tavern was in its fullness.

“If maybe I sold the Oud instead of casting it away,” Jonah said to himself as he sat down at the drink counter, “I could have at least become a stupid but happy drunkard for one moment before I die of misery,”

The tavern-keep overheard this and in mighty voice exclaimed,

“This is no place for a bum! Rid yourself of my sight. You are forbidden from staying here any longer!”

Just as he was about to arrange slip away into the night, a dark and petite woman clothed in black garments came to his side.

“This one is my friend,” she spoke “he will trouble you no longer."

The barkeep’s face became drained of its color and not another word did he speak to the pair as they left him. The woman grabbed Jonah by the arm and they ascended to a special loft and sat among the decorated pillows that lay in front of a remarkable ornate table.

“Hello dear Jonah,” the mysterious woman said. “My name is Shadia-Asra. I am the inheriting countess of this Market Town. You shall call me Shadia.”

Her deep, brown eyes and straight, black hair truly spoke in a language of beauty that surely gave her the name that means melodious night. Jonah was confronted with a gaze that usurped the nature of the one owned by his own angry father. He felt that her eyes shined a light on every falsehood in him and with such a fervent intensity that he felt like he was naked before the Lord’s angels. But this woman was also incredibly beautiful. Jonah could not help himself, he fell deeply in love in her piercing gaze.

“I have seen this one,” Shadia said. "The Great Wind called to me so I followed Him out to the Salted Sea and do you know what I saw when I got there?”

Jonah already knew what was coming but he was so terrified of the truth he did not want to believe so he said,

“No.”

Shadia leaned in and spoke,

“I saw a great fool cast a sacred gift of God into the sea. Does this one know what I do when I see such a thing?”

Jonah shook his sweaty head and let out a sorry,

“No.”

“I lay my clothes upon the bank of the sea and retrieve such things. Fortunate for this one because this sacred instrument did not sink to the bottom.”

Shadia produced the Oud from her side and lay it on the table in front of them. With her hands over the body of the instrument, she said this blessing,

“This gift is not broken. If it be your will, God, my Father, raise this one in Heavenly resurrection by your true word.”

Jonah was overcome by a blinding light. Once his sight returned to him, he saw that the Oud was now adorned in crystals of salt that ran down in streaks of blue, gold, and sliver so that shined like a shimmering sapphire.

“You must play, Jonah,” Shadia said, “Jonah must play or this one shall never see me again. This one shall play or he will never call me by my true name.”

She said this knowing Jonah had fallen for her but she also had also fallen for him. However, she could never be with a commoner, so she said,

“Make your money but do not hoard your wealth. A prophet’s place is among the lowly.”

and Shadia-Asra left him.

Jonah Plays for the Crowd

His meeting with Shadia-Asra charged Jonah for the first time with a gaze he so desperately craved and would not dare to disappoint, lest he be cast into the shade that never ends. So, Jonah took up his Oud and walked up to the tavern keeper and struck a deal with him.

“If you are so willing,” Jonah started, “in exchange for my stay, I will entertain the patrons with my music and attract many lovers to your tavern.”

Moved by fear, the tavern keeper agreed and Jonah took his place among those in the night scene and played the song that God had blessed him with under the tree the day he cast his Oud into the sea.

"Under this tree I sing sheltered by the sea Keeping the sun from burning my feet When I am gone you shall be like me and I shall shelter you who lay under me Come over to me and hear me sing the bread you need and leave me be Its flavor is rich take what you see For you are my life and you have loved me"

The people were overcome with emotion when they heard Jonah’s singing for the first time.

“He is a prophet!” one man said. “He has the blessings of God,” said the women.

Jonah moved out from the tavern and played everywhere he could. Even the children knew of Jonah and his dazzling Oud. Rumor quickly spread among them about this poor man that sang songs blessed to him from Heaven. He amassed followers who came from every region in the land to listen to him play. While they knew not always what the songs meant, the words touched their hearts in places they had long since forgotten. The playing from Jonah’s adorned Oud and his black, silken clothing enamored and captivated all who heard. He began a campaign of traveling and making good earnings in neighboring towns and cities. The burning heat from the sun had finally started to lift from him and Jonah could finally say,

“I am happy in my purpose.”