A month had already passed since that, and the matter was more than
forgotten. But one day, a big wedding was going to take place in Uruk. The
protagonist was a rich young man, recognized throughout Babylon thanks to the
financial contributions of his family. But whoever it was, I wanted to comply
with the law I put in place a long time ago, sleeping with the woman before
marriage.
In the middle of the party, while the music was playing loudly, and the
future wife was getting ready in the company of other women, I appeared to
receive "my right." I was surprised when I saw that one of those women who was
in charge of arranging it was Shamhat, as it turns out that she was one of the
guests of honor.
The boy who was the protagonist of the wedding also quickly arrived,
along with many other people. They began to protest against my presence,
reproaching me for the stupid law I had created.
My pride was so affected that I wanted to kill them all. And just as I
was preparing to attack the boy and the others, a voice was heard approaching.
It was as serious as if a lion were speaking, and commanded so much respect
that everyone present was terrified.
"So you are the fearsome Gilgamesh..." was heard behind a
wall, awakening my curiosity.
-Who are you? —I asked anxiously, although I could already imagine who
it was. Get out of there!
From behind the wall a monstrous figure appeared, stomping on the ground
with such force that it seemed to make the earth shake. It had a human
appearance, but with excessive hair that covered it almost completely. His face
was a mix between a man and a lion; with amber eyes, long nose, penetrating
gaze, a beard that reached to his chest and in his mouth he had enormous fangs.
At that moment I confirmed my suspicion, it was none other than Enkidu, the
terrifying beast that that peasant had told me about.
"My wife Shamhat told me about you," he said, looking at me
fiercely with his powerful voice. The conceited and abusive king who oppresses
his people.
—Your wife? —What he said made me so funny that I started laughing—. I'm
sorry to break your heart, but you don't make a very good couple...
As expected from someone with his animal instinct, he jumped in the
blink of an eye directly at my neck. Its huge hands and sharp claws prevented
my breathing, demonstrating incredible strength. I had never found anything
like it, and I realized that this wild monster was Aruru's creation.
"Shamhat and I are getting married, and I won't let you apply your
stupid law to her!" —he exclaimed as he continued squeezing my neck.
I grabbed his hands trying to take them off, however, I could barely
move them. I decided to kick him hard in the stomach and managed to throw him
several meters away. I am the great Gilgamesh, I could not afford a defeat in
any way.
—I already applied that law hundreds of times with Shamhat in the past!
—I yelled in front of everyone to make them even more angry.
With the roar of a lion, it attacked me again, this time with bare
fists. We exchanged blows non-stop, hurting each other a lot, but neither of us
giving in. In a surprise attack he managed to knock me to the ground, later
jumping on me. It was so heavy that it seemed to crush my bones. I managed to
get rid of him and we continued with the fight.
Seven days passed since the start of the fight, but none of us gave up.
We destroyed the entire city in the process, leaving only the rubble of the
buildings around us. It was so brutal that the inhabitants ran everywhere to
hide. Not even the strongest warriors of Babylon were able to intervene to
separate us, because they knew that our strength was on another level.
We were both fighting relentlessly, but in a moment of carelessness on
Enkidu's part I managed to hit him hard on the right leg, thus causing him to
fall which could have brought him defeat. However, when I saw it on the ground
my decision was different. I extended my hand to him, since I wanted him as a
friend. I always wanted a friend as strong as me, because I longed to have
someone with whom to live great adventures, fight beasts, and destroy anyone
who dares to confront us.
—Enkidu, I don't want to continue fighting with you.
"Why haven't you finished me off?" —he asked me while grabbing
my hand.
"You and I will be great friends, we will have great battles and we
will live many adventures together." I picked him up from the ground and
gave him a hug. And you can rest assured, from now on I will eliminate that law
that I put in place because I was selfish.
The battle against Enkidu made me fond of him, maybe it's because of the
hard blows we gave each other, but for the first time I found someone with my
strength. I wasn't going to end up with someone like that, on the contrary, I
had to appreciate that gift that the goddess Aruru had given me. Although her
plan to finish me off didn't work out the way she thought.
—Do you promise that you will never exercise that law again? —he said
happily.
It seemed that he had also become attached to me, after all, he was a
being who was barely a few months old. It was created with the sole objective
of eliminating me, therefore, I did not know life and the pleasures it offers.
I felt it was my duty to show him everything and take him on exciting
adventures.
We hugged again for our new friendship. His future wife, Shamhat, could
not believe such an image; the proud, arrogant and oppressive king, sympathize
and respect someone other than himself.
"I'll take you to my palace!" —I told him, eager to show him
everything. Also to the city, and then we will go on the best adventure of our
lives.
-Clear! —In his face you could see how impatient he was to do such crazy
things.
That same afternoon I took him to the palace where we ate together the
most exclusive delicacies of my cooks. No doubt he loved it, because he ate
like a hungry animal.
—Do you eat this every day? —he asked fascinated.
"Yes, my dear friend," I replied. And with me you will eat the
best meals in the world every day.
When night came I offered him one of the best rooms in the entire
palace. From now on he would be like my brother, so I wanted him to feel
special. Such was the thing, that I even made my mother come down from heaven
to meet my new brother.
—Mother, this is Enkidu. From now on he will be my greatest comrade.
—But... Isn't he the creation of my sister Aruru? she asked. You know
what was created to destroy you, right?
—Yes, mother.
-I won't do it! —exclaimed Enkidu, interjecting himself into the
conversation—. Gilgamesh has shown me to be a great man, and possesses much
honor. It was only necessary to put aside the pride that stained his heart.
—I'm happy for you, son, I hope you get along well. Now you have a
friend, or rather, a brother. You must take care of each other no matter what.
I am convinced that together, nothing and no one will be able to confront them.
My mother went home again, while we slept early. The next day was going
to be very special, because we would try to find the greatest adventure anyone
could live. We just had to decide where we would start.