Part Fourteen
THE ANCIENT MIDDLE EAST

The Ancient Middle East was a section Barbara was particularly attached to, for she’d created many of the Entities herself; predictably, Ancient Middle-Eastern items were scarce in the local thrift stores. She’d glued wings on a toy horse for Tulpar, the legendary horse of Central Asia, stuck fish to a mask to make Yam the sea god, and Marduk she created from a vintage Chia Head. He wore a bandana and probably started life as a hippie or bike rider. She’d left the beard and changed the bandana to a crown; now, the mighty Mesopotamian god Marduk dominated the section. She was proud of him.
But what was this new, brightly colored, and entirely out-of-place creature that had appeared since her last visit? Surely it was the Mermaid she’d placed with the Charms a few days ago, thinking, rather doubtfully, it could count as a lucky charm for sailors.
“What are you doing here?” she asked it. “Go back to the Charms section. These are Entities from the Ancient Middle East.”
“So am I,” said the Mermaid in a reedy sing-song voice.
“No, you’re not.” The Mermaid was probably from California. Her costume, with its bright red bikini top, was at odds with the peace and solemnity of the rest of the region.
The Mermaid swished her tail in a carefree fashion. “Yes, I am. I originated in Ancient Assyria — if you know where that is, and I guess you don’t.”
Barbara didn’t and felt like pulling her long woolen hair. “Did it have a strip mall?” she asked sarcastically. “Is that where you bought that outfit?”
“She does sorta brighten things up,” Marduk said suddenly. “It’s kinda gloomy here.” She remembered that he’d begun life as a hippy, looked over at him, and hesitated, but the Mermaid, hearing what the god had said, clapped her stumps of hands and floated over to Anahit, the goddess of fertility. She pulled her and the Alten Depe votive up to the top of the section and began a rollicking dance. Soon the winged animals, the Lamassu forgetting his shadowy might, and the Tulpar his ancient dignity, joined the trio. The others, without wings and some without bodies, looked on enviously.
Barbara turned to the huge graven face of Marduk and saw how the dancers had brightened his eyes. “I think she’s kinda groovy,” he added. Soon he’d be humming an air from the Pink Floyd. She shrugged and left to visit the Americans, who were just about to celebrate Halloween.