“Are you sure of this Wahab-allah? There is a new king in Judea?”
“I am certain of it, Sayid,” Wahab said. Unlike me, he was not overawed by the presence of King Aretas. He was his normal calm, collected self. “Kalbu was the first to notice the signs in the night sky and brought it to my attention. After some discussion, we felt it was important to tell you what he saw.”
King Aretas flicked his glance toward me. He knew who I was, of course. My father, Mālikū, had devoted many years of his life to the well-being of the kingdom. As a water engineer, he had designed multiple ways to channel the spring rains into cisterns and reservoirs where it would sustain the population during the long, hot months when no rain fell at all. I had spent most of my life working by my father’s side.
“Explain this to me, Kalbu,” King Aretas said. His voice was sonorous and deep, and when he said my name, he drew out the last vowel: Kalbuuu. While the king was not an overly handsome man, he knew his worth and carried himself with confidence. Wahab told me once that whenever he spoke with King Aretas, he could see the king doing sums in his head, constantly weighing the odds, and I could see that calculating nature now as he talked with me, his eyes gleaming with shrewd intelligence.
I cleared my throat before I spoke. “I sometimes rise very early to look at the heavens,” I said. “Recently, I saw the planet Jupiter and the moon on the eastern horizon, just before the sun rose. This is an extremely rare occurrence to have all three so close at the same time,” I said. “I have never witnessed such an event before. We believe that each constellation in the sky is associated with a different nation, and in this case the constellation of Aries is connected to the country of Judea. Jupiter is part of that constellation. The fact that Jupiter was influenced by the moon and rose with the sun is a clear indicator that a great king has been born in Judea.”
King Aretas shifted his gaze to Wahab. “You are in agreement with this assessment?” he asked.
“Yes, Sayid,” he said. “It is fortunate that Kalbu was awake at that early hour and was watchful, or we might have missed such an important message from the heavens.”
“Hmm.” King Aretas stroked his chin. “A new king in Judea will cause upheaval,” he said. “Herod is not one to share his power. He holds it close to him, like his own shadow.” He stroked his chin some more. “Still, we cannot see the future, can we? Perhaps this king will be able to do great things, things beyond our imagination.” He drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. “We must welcome this new king. It is in our best interests to forge new friendships and alliances with him. One day, perhaps, he will look toward Nabataea and ask himself what kind of relationship he wants with us, and he will be reminded that when he was young and ally-less, we sought him out and welcomed him to the world with fine gifts.” More drumming of fingers. “This must be done delicately, of course. Herod is a vengeful man; we don’t want to provoke his wrath if we can avoid it.” He turned his gaze to Wahab. “Do you know where this new king lives? Is he in Jerusalem?”
“We do not know his precise location, sir,” Wahab answered. “If someone were to travel to Judea, they would have to ask for help in locating him. This would be done carefully, of course.”
King Aretas nodded as he pondered this new information. “I want three of you to go to Judea to meet the new king,” he finally said.
“Only three?” Wahab said, surprised. “Wouldn’t you prefer a full escort?”
“A young king is vulnerable,” King Aretas said. “If we were to send a large contingent to kneel before him, that would only arouse Herod’s jealousy. A smaller group safeguards the new king’s life. A smaller group subtly says, ‘The one whom we visit isn’t terribly important.’” He paused. “I want three of you to represent Nabataea. Wahab, you are an elder in the community. You will represent the past strength of our nation. Kalbu, you will represent our modern-day vitality. And we need a third person, someone young, someone to represent the future promise of our country. Suggestions?” he asked, looking at Wahab.
“Perhaps young ‘Adnun, son of Shalm-lahi,” Wahab said after a moment’s consideration. “He is bright and a quick learner and has an irrepressible zest for life. He would be a good addition, I think.” He looked to me for approval; I nodded my head. “We could leave as early as tomorrow morning.”
“Very well. What will you need for your trip?” King Aretas asked briskly. Now that his decision had been made, he was in a hurry to finalize the details and move on to other business. “Money, I assume. Camels or horses?”
“Camels,” Wahab answered without hesitation. “We will need food, of course, and gifts for both Herod and the new king.”
King Aretas nodded. He gestured to one of his advisors who had been sitting behind him, listening to our conversation. “See that Wahab and Kalbu have whatever they need,” he said. “Gifts for both kings, enough money to travel to Judea and back, camels, anything else they think of.”
“Yes, sir,” his advisor said, rising and bowing slightly.
“I’ll want a full report when you return,” King Aretas said as we stood to leave.
“Of course,” Wahab said, tipping his head in acknowledgment. “We would expect nothing less.”