BORTE (A Historical Drama)

JAMUKHA: Temujin, come here! Temujin approaches. He, too, freezes at what he sees. TEMUJIN: Is she…alive, dead? Jamukha taps her and the child. Neither shows any signs of life. JAMUKHA: What a horror! Who are they? The child is missing a thumb. Temujin, having guessed who they were, walks away. Temujin, what’s wrong with you? Your face turned pale and froze; do you know them? TEMUJIN: I do. She’s the same age as Borte, the one who saw her off. JAMUKHA: But here lies not a young woman, but a grey-haired old woman. TEMUJIN: She suddenly lost her husband and two children, and her hair turned white in one day. She found this child when he was sucking on the breast of his deceased mother. JAMUKHA: Have you seen them before? TEMUJIN: Yes. As soon as you chased off Toktabek and Ubas, this woman appeared with a child in her arms. She did not want to give up the child, but she didn’t want to stay with it either, and went towards the forest. Jamukha stands silent in thought. JAMUKHA: Then… this land is really becoming harmful to you. Was it not here that you, together with Hasar, killed Behter, the son of Yesugei from his second wife, with a bow? Temujin, shuddering as if an arrow has pierced his shoulder blade, turns sharply to Jamukha. TEMUJIN: Why do you now remember that long-forgotten story? JAMUKHA: After what I saw in there, I remembered him and saw him standing before my eyes. Both stand in silence for a while. TEMUJIN: Well, let’s get out of here. JAMUKHA: I think so, too. We’ll get home and send workers to bury these unfortunate souls. TEMUJIN: Yes, that will be the right decision. JAMUKHA: Temujin, we have been living on this plain for a whole year. I want to make you an offer. I will explain its meaning along the way. Something is restless in my soul. Let’s get out of here, quickly. Temujin’s house. Hoelun and Borte. Borte is not in a good mood. HOELUN: You’ve been preoccupied with something since last night, have you got sick? You have no appetite. BORTE: I don’t get it myself; my head is spinning, I constantly feel sick. HOELUN: What happened? Perhaps something scared you, or is it stress? BORTE: Are we leaving this place? HOELUN; Yes. Summer has passed, the sky

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