Harem Girl by Phebe Bodelle Read Free Book Online

meal
we all sat chatting under the stars until one by one they started
to disappear off to bed.
    Much later Beth
and I were left alone until she declared, “That’s it I can’t keep
my eyes open any longer I’m off to bed.”
    “I’m just going
to finish this off,” I said holding up my glass, “and I’ll join
you.”
    All alone I
marvelled at the millions of stars up there in the black sky.
Mohammed wandered over and started to collect the empty bottles and
dirty glasses.
    “You okay
Mohammed?” I asked.
    “Fine thank
you,” he replied. “You are enjoying this experience?”
    “Wonderful, I
can’t believe there are so many stars up there.”
    “There is light
here madam. Come with me there is a wadi not far where there is
total blackness; there you will see the sky truly as Allah meant it
to be seen.”
    “Really?”
    “Yes, it is a
wondrous sight.”
    Just for a
second it crossed my mind that it would be crazy for me to wander
off into the desert with this Arab, but hey holidays are all about
doing different things.
    “Why not my
man, lead on.”
    “It is not far,
perhaps three hundred metres.”
    Mohammed
switched on a torch to lead the way. At first the going was easy,
the sand was hard packed but after a hundred yards the sand
softened and turned to powder, my feet dug in with every step.
Eventually we came to a kind of cliff with a gap in it we walked
through and along the length of a small valley.
    Mohammed shone
the torch on a flat rock. “Sit madam.”
    I sat down and
he switched the torch off.
    “Now you can
see Allah’s sky.”
    I looked up and
here in the total blackness the sky was alive with a million, no a
billion stars. It was a magnificent sight, one that I committed to
memory and then a hand was clamped over my mouth, my arms were held
to my side and tape wrapped around me. I struggled but three or
four strong men held me fast. Tape was fastened over my mouth and a
heavy cotton bag that stank of onions was put over my head. Finally
my feet were taped together and then I was bodily carried off. I
tried to wriggle free but it was to no avail, there was no escape.
I was carried like this for perhaps half an hour and then
unceremoniously dumped into the back of some sort of vehicle. It
set off and all I could hear was the droning of the engine.
    I hadn’t felt
any fear up until this moment but suddenly got very scared, where
was I being taken and why? If this was for a ransom of some sort
they were out of luck, I was a working girl along with everybody
else I knew, nobody was about to pay for my return. I was lost, why
had I been so stupid to walk away from the campsite, nobody would
miss me until the morning and by then I would be miles away.
    The ride was
very bumpy, my head banged against the metal floor of the vehicle
every so often, I was finding it very difficult to breath inside
the cotton laden air of the bag and on top of that I wanted to pee,
desperately. Every bump of the vehicle increased the discomfort
until in the end after a particularly harsh jolt my bladder let go,
the relief was instant but the shame came on immediately. I hadn’t
pissed myself since I was three and here I was my crutch soaked and
nothing I could do about it. I tried to scream but the gag and bag
prevented me. The journey dragged on so much that I even felt a
hint of boredom it was so monotonous.
    Suddenly after
what seemed like hours the vehicle stopped and the engine was
switched off. It was very quiet for a few moments and then I could
hear mumbled voices in Arabic. I tried shouting again and then
heard laughing, bastards. We waited there again for an age and then
I heard another engine in the distance and eventually recognised it
as a plane. It got closer, louder and then the sound stopped. Next
thing the tailgate was being opened and once again I was picked up
and carried a few yards and once more dumped unceremoniously into
another vehicle which I assumed was the plane which was confirmed
as the