Life as the daughter of the sultan should be one of bliss, joy, and happiness, but Princess Naomi battles with her darker aspects. The sultan, concerned with his daughter's deepening depression, seeks for help from every corner of his kingdom. When his ap

Froth and Goblets

By Ted Scott

BALBOA PRESS

Copyright © 2012 Edward David Scott
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4525-0500-8

Chapter One

"No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit." Helen Keller

The palace of the Sultan was an impressive structure, with granite walls and marble staircases, numerous bedchambers and staterooms, a throne room and a feasting hall. The high walls and imposing gates with their turbaned guards prevented unauthorised entry. The palace regally reflected the magnificence of the Sultan. Behind the palace, but still within the walled enclosure, was a spacious garden. Here there were tropical flowering trees, frangipanis and poincianas, and flowering shrubs, such as hibiscus and azaleas. In this arid landscape the gardens were an oasis for birdlife. The air was full of the sounds of a wide variety of species ranging from the melodious twitterings of honeyeaters to the harsh screeches of parrots. There were ponds full of colourful fish and a fountain. This was a truly beautiful place, emanating peace and serenity.

Sitting at the rear of the garden was an attractive young woman with her head in her hands. She had a beautiful face but the weight of depression had made it contort such that its natural beauty was disfigured with sadness. Her eyes were red and she rocked gently from side to side. It seemed so incongruous that in the midst of this beauty and plenty such sorrow could reside. This was Naomi, the princess, daughter of Salazar, the Sultan. Her world was indeed a sorrowful place and seemed to affirm her unworthiness. It had alienated her so much that she now was reluctant to engage it. As a result, she tried to remove herself as often as possible from the day to day exigencies of life. But most distressing was her underlying belief that whatever was wrong, it was really her fault.

The Sultan loved his daughter very much. He was greatly distressed by her depression. When he had first noticed her sadness he had attempted to cheer her by bringing her exotic gifts. He had sought out the most divine confectionaries and lavished her with them. When he gave them to her she smiled and partook of the delicacies but their effect was minimal and short-lived. Soon she was depressed again and her well-meaning father knew not how to distract her from her melancholy. He tried flowers and jewelry, but no matter how exquisite they were, there was never any long-term benefit.

In time, the sultan began to think of other distractions he could provide. He engaged a magician who was vastly entertaining and displayed many tricks that amused her and challenged her thinking. But some hours after his magnificent display she was as depressed as ever.

He engaged the most gifted musicians to come and perform for her. She was greatly engrossed by the music (she herself played the flute) but unfortunately soon after the performance she was again sad.

Whatever the Sultan, her father, did to try and engage her the impact soon wore off and Naomi quickly relapsed into depression. When she contemplated on her worldly circumstances she was convinced that she was inadequate to meet the challenges of her day to day existence. Her exalted position in her society only seemed to magnify her sense of unworthiness.

Whilst she had been a very serious little girl, the symptoms of depression had not become evident until she was perhaps fourteen or fifteen years old. She went for periods of time when she shunned all company and withdrew to her bedchamber, refusing to be coaxed out by her handmaidens. Even her father, the Sultan, could not persuade her to join him for a meal or to meet with friends. She remained alone weeping.

Naomi had an unhappy childhood. She was an only child and her mother had died when she was only seven years old. When her mother died people commented how stoic Naomi had been, how mature and how brave. Indeed she had provided consolation to her father, who was devoted to her. As time went by the Sultan doted on her because she was the loving legacy his wife had left him and the Princess's beauty and love was the prime remembrance and the greatest gift his wife could have bestowed on him.

She learnt to be a dutiful daughter and attend functions with her father where she was often the centre of attention because of her beauty and her precociousness. And indeed she was precocious! She could dance well and play the flute brilliantly. Her father often asked her to perform to amuse his guests. She was very intelligent and could have deep conversations with adults concerning many topics. She was an avid learner and her intellect was well-stimulated, having been provided with the best tutors and teachers.

In her early life there were few children, just adoring adults. Whilst she had many expensive toys, she had few children to play with. She did however, have one friend.

When she was about nine or ten years old, her father inducted a new official into his court. The new appointee occupied one of the senior positions. Therefore, as was his entitlement, he moved into the palace and occupied accommodation set aside for court officials. He was accompanied by his wife and his young daughter, Asma. Asma was of comparable age to Naomi. They were indeed the only children in the palace and therefore it was certain that sooner or later they would find each other. When they did, they became good friends. Whilst they were instructed that it was unbecoming to play in the palace, they met often in the palace gardens. Then just for a little while, Naomi could just be a little girl—not a princess, not someone bereaved from the loss of a mother, not a precocious musician, not someone required to entertain the court. Understandably, these were joyous times for her. And Asma was a lovely compassionate, joyful playmate. Therefore it was not surprising that Naomi came to love her.

But then as she got older, the Princess became more reluctant to engage in such conversations as had entertained her father's guests. She would sit at the table and not converse with anyone at all. She still read and she was still curious when it came to her studies, but it was as if all her contemplation was internalized and that it became too much effort, perhaps too painful, to expose herself to the exterior world. Over time even her curiosity began to diminish.

Apart from her father, the only other person that could seem to reach her was her childhood friend Asma. Because of this relationship the Sultan appointed Asma as handmaiden to the Princess.

Overriding all Naomi's concerns was the desire to please. Even though her mother had departed, she had learnt strong lessons about what her mother felt was "good" or "bad". In all her endeavours, she strived to do those things her mother had impressed on her were "good". She had understood quite clearly what was required to please her mother and her mother rewarded her for being "good". But now as she grew older there was a broader community she felt she had to please and it was not always clear how to please them. Every day became a struggle to be good enough to gain the approval of those around her. Because the task was becoming so ambiguous and the scope of those she felt compelled to please so broad, it now seemed to her impossible to cope. And worse still, her overwhelming sense of pressure and inevitable failure was not even comprehended rationally. It had been subsumed into her subconscious and manifested itself as depression. The only thing of which she was constantly conscious, was her apparent failure. And being the good child...