Work Text:
In the reign of King Rim-Sîn I, twenty years after his sack of Isin, you arrive in Ur. It is a pleasant day in Araḫ Āru, the Month of the Blossoming, and all along the river you can see beautiful flowers swaying in the breeze.
"Lamma protect you," you shout in thanks to the sailor who had taken you down the river. Grabbing your clay tablet firmly, you hurry through the busy streets towards the old quarter of the city. Your employer had assigned you this job because she was sure you of all people could swiftly deliver this message, and read it aloud convincingly.
The rising sun illuminates the Ziggurat of Ur like it is made of gold. A fresh spring wind drifts through the streets, and the city smells damp from the marsh surrounding it. Ahhh… the cries of merchants and city folk are so loud, and yet the sun-baked brick is just like the farmhouse at home. You miss the sheep, barley, and the cries of ducks along the river in the morning, but you are far more suited to messenger duty in the big city than you are to farm life.
After asking around for directions, you arrive at your assigned location quickly. Your excellent person-to-person and navigation skills are why you've been chosen for this job, after all. The mud-brick house is just like any other, and in cuneiform the words "COPPER SHOP" are carved into the brick above the door. You duck from the dusty streets into the cool darkness of the dwelling, and wait, blinking, for your eyes to adjust.
There is a small brazier illuminating the entry room, but that's not the first thing that catches your eye. Standing at a counter is a man scratching cuneiform into a still-wet tablet. He wears kohl under his eyes and beautiful jewelry around his neck. Your first thought is that he's beautiful, but you quickly banish the thought from your mind. Your employer Nanni had told you to be careful. This man's reputation preceded him, although you couldn't quite figure out what that reputation was. Nanni really should have told you more about this job, or at least let you read the message beforehand.
"I bring a message from Nanni of Telmun," you say, and for a split second the man's eyes widen.
"Just one moment." The merchant bent over to pick something up, and his short tunic slipped up his legs, revealing a firm, well-rounded posterior. You turned away, blushing furiously. Ah… Ishtar be praised, but you couldn't get involved like this.
All of a sudden, the man was in front of the counter. "My name is Ea-Nasir… and yours?"
You gulp, twirling your hair between your fingers. "Y/N…"
"Y/N," Ea-Nasir said, straightforward, "your beauty is like the flowers blooming along the banks of the Euphrates in springtime."
You set Nanni's message down on the counter. Ea-Nasir could read it later, Lady Ishtar was calling. "And you are like a graceful gazelle in the marsh…" You had always been an aspiring poet. If you hadn't been a messenger, you might have worked in a temple composing hymns to the gods.
"How about I take you and show you around Ur?" he asks coyly, his eyes glinting like polished copper.
"I would love that," you say.
Later that evening, as you walk down the streets of Ur, Ea-Nasir tangles his fingers in yours. "Kyaaaah!" you say, blushing. Ea-Nasir really knew how to treat a Mesopotamian. He had taken you to the ziggurat, the mosaics, his favorite bakery… he'd even bought you a fired clay plaque of a female deity sitting in a chair from a roadside stand. He was as sweet as honey, but you could see a devious side to him.
Ea Nasir smiles. "What do you think about becoming the co-owner of my copper business?"
And you live happily ever after in the beautiful city of Ur.
You did never end up reading that clay tablet from Nanni. Whatever, he could hire someone else to bring Ea-Nasir another message if he wanted to communicate with him that badly. You were too busy in Ur to travel back to Telmun anyway.
The years pass. You retire to the countryside with your husband to start a farm, adopt several orphan children, and at the age of 86, you die with Ea-Nasir at your bedside. As you close your eyes, you think: this was truly a wonderful life.
And somewhere on a floor in Ur, there still lies an undelivered tablet with the following inscription:
"Tell Ea-nasir: Nanni sends the following message:
When you came, you said to me as follows: ‘I will give Gimil-Sin (when he comes) fine quality copper ingots.’ You left then but you did not do what you promised me. You put ingots which were not good before my messenger (Sit-Sin) and said: ‘If you want to take them, take them; if you do not want to take them, go away!’"