Each night passed, and A-in found no shelter wherein he might rest, thus he lay upon the roadside beside other vagrants who had made the open earth their bed. He endured the night's bitter cold as he had so often done in Thebes.
As he lay there, he lifted his gaze toward the heavens, where the stars glimmered faintly against a moonless sky. His thoughts wandered back to the night of his escape how he and the other convicts fled with desperate haste while the guards pursued them with equal desperation, eager to drag them back into chains.
Through the long hours, under a moon strangely brighter than any he had seen before, they ran toward Karnak without pause or rest, driven only by the instinct to survive. Perhaps it was that same brilliant moon which now made the night feel so gloomy, for its absence weighed heavily upon him.
Now that he was free, he knew he must find work to sustain himself, yet days had passed and he had found none. Surely, he thought, the fault must lie within him.
"Hey, young lad," called one of the homeless men beside him. "This is the first time I have seen you here. Are you new?"
"What do you mean by new, sir?" A-in asked, wondering whether the homeless of Memphis kept territories of their own, forbidding strangers from resting within their bounds.
"Every homeless soul in Memphis knows the other." The man replied. "There is not a single soul here unknown to the rest. You must be from another city?"
A-in hesitated. Should he lie? Should he speak the truth? What difference would it make? What would he gain, or lose, by either way?
He opened his mouth and said, "How dreadful of you to assume I come from another city simply because you know every homeless soul in Memphis."
"Forgive me if you are offended," the man said. "It is only that your appearance looks nothing like ours, indeed, it appears far more hideous, if I may speak plainly."
A-in stared at him in astonishment.
From what A-in could see, they looked no different from one another, how can a man like him should speak with such boldness. They were both homeless, both ragged, yet this man, round of belly despite his circumstances, spoke as though he were a noble. What did such a man eat to grow so plump?
"Is there a problem with my appearance, sir?" A-in asked flatly.
"None, none at all." The man replied quickly, and the others seated nearby shook their heads as well. Obviously listening to the conversation.
"Out of all places," a woman asked, "why choose this one? Do you know someone here?"
"No." A-in answered. "Why? Am I not allowed?"
"Boy, you have a sharp tongue." The first man muttered.
"Forgive me if I speak too boldly," A-in said. "I only wished to ask. It is only that I do not wish to be in the same place as those familiar to me."
"And I am certain they wish never to behold a glimpse of you either." The man said with a laugh.
A-in glared at him.
"Say, boy," the man continued, "you seem well-built and strong. How about working with us?"
A-in's interest stirred.
"You have a job?" he asked.
"Of course! Being homeless does not mean jobless! What? Have you no work?"
A-in did not answer.
"How have you lived this long without a work? By stealing?"
"That is a harsh accusation!" he cried, though he had indeed stolen bread twice.
"So you beg in the streets, then! You are not merely homeless, you are a beggar!" The man declared.
A-in clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"I thought you wished to work together?"
"Oh, right!" The man said, returning to the matter at hand. "There is an old man who owns a rice field. He has asked us to deliver rice to Heliopolis. He needs four men, but we are only three. Come with us. The old man is generous. He feeds us while we labor, and afterwards he gives us copper coins as a token. What say you?"
The offer was not unkind having food, water, and a task fit for survival. Labor, yes, but under the blessing of freedom.
"Very well," A-in said. "But ensure that this old man bears no ill intent
"Fear not! He is a friend of mine." The man said proudly, as though boasting of a rare treasure.
"What is your name, lad? Call me Fabian."
"A-in."