© Amer Hussein

This version is Inga Birna´s correction of the original English translation.

CHAPTER ONE
It is not easy to describe Sami´s character. He was head of the family and combined the traits of two different generations, was dated and conservative, yet modern and open-minded.
He had reached his fifty years. Were it not for the slight puffiness beneath his eyes, he would have seemed younger. He demanded respect to the extent of sometimes intimidating others in conversation. Perhaps his elegant appearance and spontaneous sensibility added to this. Yet, he was in fact quite modest.
He believed in social elegance, adhered to this belief wholeheartedly and demanded it from other members of his family.
Everybody, who met Sami felt, that he was very intelligent. On closer acquaintance they realized, that not only was he clever but exceptionally so. He would have been able to learn a foreign language and speak it with the fluency of a mother tongue, within a period of six months at most. In spite of that, he never made any attempts at learning one, and had no high qualifications, except in his specialized field. He was educated, but not cultured. In recent years, he had become aware of this shortcoming and after completing his research, went about amending this.
Often he would say:
“He, who lives for science, must delay indulging in other irrelevant subjects, to avoid mental disorientation.”
Sami was ardent in his desire to read scientific books. He would indulge in reading incessantly, scarcely lifting his eyes from the text, until he was through. People said, that he understood the theory of relativity at the tender age of fourteen, which is an incredible achievement for such a young boy, not to mention many people with specialized qualifications, who do not make much of this very logical, imaginative scientific theory.
After devouring almost all the books available to him on astro-physics, he switched to organic chemisty, endlessly discussing his ideas with any friend that came his way. His obsession left him unmoved by discussions on any other topic, no matter how alluring they might be. Naturally, someone with this kind of mentality and intensity had many ideas forming and eventually had to arrive to some conclusion.
During the last ten years, his mental data had been activated in constant researches. Noone knew their content, until a year ago, when it was revealed, that his research involved complicated mysteries of nature, beginning with the formation of substance, the creation of the universe and ultimately the secret of life and end of existence, apart from other enigmas, which remain unresolved by human logic.
Sami took part in endless discussions, yet never imposed his views on anyone, regardless of how strong his beliefs were. It displeased him to see people who, no sooner do they learn to utter a few phrases, than they create the illusion, that the world would cease to exist without them and humanity must do as they say.
Sami enjoyed an ordinary family life, without any major mishaps. He had had a difficult start in life, but the harmony between him and his wife sweetened their days, in the course of their twenty five years together.
They lived in a house, they had built with their own hands, without any help from an architect or a constructor.
It was a big bungalow, surrounded by a large garden, unkept at the the patio and corners further away. In the middle of the garden, there was a large hole, which looked like an unfinished swimming pool, which was full of rain water and dead leaves. Along the edges and in it, weeds and various plants grew and streched across a hardened mound. This was mud, dug out while making the pool. Gazelles with their newborn kids often came into the garden. Besides that, their chicken and rabbits went freely around, giving the place a touch of domesticity.
“These animals keep the ground kempt and amuse my mother,” Sami said to his wife, when he bought the livestock. In fact, he bought it especially for his mother, since she was on her own most of the day. She would be waiting anxiously for the couple to come home from work. However, they were always so absorbed in their own interests, that they were unaware of her loneliness.
The old woman was sociable, but careful not to burden anyone. She rarely visited anyone and when she did, she felt uncomfortable after a short while. She felt, that she was a disturbance and thought she might be distracting her friend, so she left in a hurry.
She was of medium height, slim, with two small eyes discoloured by illness and old age. Her snubby nose curved strangely, yet, one could see, that she had been beautiful, when young. There was anger in her expression, but noone knew why and this made her family and friends feel they might have wronged her. Sometimes they pitied her and felt a great compassion for her.
She was widowed at forty and lived with her son Sami, a teenager at that time. She nurtured and provided for him as well as she could, to enable him to finish his education. Her ambition was to see him gain a respectable position in society.
“He was born for knowledge only!” she would say to herself, when she looked at him, while observing his absentmindedness.
This woman was not religious, yet, she was not scornful of religion or prophets. Often, when discussing these she was heard saying:
“Prophets bore the sufferings of humanity. Therefore we must cherish their memory.”
It was as if she were signalling to her family, not to be disrespectful of the holy ones in her presence. She may have read this quotation in some book and been moved by it. Sometimes she would say:
“Any person, who honestly and selflessly endeavors to alleviate human suffering must be a saint or at least a true desciple.”
When her husband died, he left her a piece of land, about two thousand square metres.
“It was as cheap as garbage,” she said when talking about it. The reason for the extremely low price, was its position and distance from the city. It was about four kilometres from any road, in the middle of a vast forest. People felt uncomfortable in this solitude – not an unnatural feeling. Therefore no one ventured to build a house and place themselves in what they considered a solitary confinement. However, as the years went by, the city became cramped with its multiplying inhabitants, so they started building new homes on the outskirts. No one had thought, that the land out there would become as expensive as gold or that the city would expand so fast and soon reach the remote patch, where Sami had built his house.
When his relationship with Mona became serious – he had known her for more than twenty five years – his mother suggested, that they should sell the land and invest the money in something worthwhile, since he and Mona were getting married and the money would come in handy, when starting a new home. But he persuaded her to keep the land.
“Money goes, but land remains,” he said confident, that the price and state of the land would improve in the future. After many discussions, they decided to build their home on this land. He began contemplating the style and making drawings with the taste of an ambitious young man looking at the distant future with an optimistic eye. He planned the life of a family-to-be. This room would be his mother’s, that one for so and so and this corner would be suitable for a study, on this side the lounge with a corner for firewood, as he loved sitting by the fire. The bedroom would be at the rear side. In a corner a large bathroom and somewhere a suitable kitchen with a door and a window overlooking the garden. Alongside the kitchen he planned a storeage room. He also added a lower level structure. For what purpose was uncertain, so it became a haven for cockroaches and spiders and thereafter a den for the livestock. In brief, the house could accommodate at least seven people. However, Sami was unable to carry out this grand project, until many years later, as his financial circumstances were a hurdle. He waited for opportunities to buy bricks from houses under demolition, since these were particularly cheap. They had to be cleaned, because of plaster having to be removed. He cleaned the bricks together with his wife and mother, who assisted them, whenever she could. The first thing he built in the house was the bathroom and then a low fence surrounding the entire site.
“Since it´s spring, the bathroom is our greatest need,” he said.
At the end of the season, they had completed the lounge and his mother’s bedroom. The lounge later became the couple´s sleeping quarters. It was large and quite cold in winter, in spite of the fire, which was left burning all day. This, because the internal walls were unplastered and cold air penetrated through the gaps of the bricks, turning the room into a semi-fridge, wherein food could be preserved for some time. Sami insulated the walls with anything at hand, rags, cardboard, newspaper and plastic sheets.
His mother’s bedroom was warmer. For one thing, it was smaller in size and secondly, now with more time on his hands, he covered the outside walls with a layer of cement, as she found the winter intolerably cold. Sami´s mother prepared their meals in the fireplace. Thus they lived for two years. Gradually the state of their house improved considerably, even though a kitchen and a long corridor linking the lounge and the bedroom to the bathroom, was the only addition. However, this was considered to be of a minor importance compared to painting all the walls. The floors were covered by two worn thick carpets, but nevertheless, they were good as “feet-warmers” and gave a touch of decoration to the bare floor.
Before that, the lounge floor had been covered by tattered old blankets and worn out clothes, carefully patched and sewn together – his mother´s invention. In her solitude, she used to sit and examine her creation carefully, gazing at a ripped patch and mending it immediately. Or sometimes, she saw a small spot of ink, which she tried hard to remove and when unsuccessful, gave a sigh of annoyance, as if this spot of ink had ruined the beauty of the covers.
Their home became their paradise, in spite of its shortcomings. Renting rooms at that time was almost impossible. Their lives kept improving at a very slow pace. However, they reached their goal after a long and hard wait.
When Sami and his wife had been married for five years, they were basically free from hardship, a fact, which made them consider to have children. Before that, they thought it would be a heavy burden and it was therefore delayed, until their lives were settled. This, in spite of the mother’s persistence and promise to nurture and look after them.
“You needn´t worry about that,” she used to say.
When signs of pregnancy began to show on Mona, Sami’s mother waited impatiently for the child’s birth. Sometimes, she wondered about the reason for her yearning to see the new-born, but she felt, that a baby would cure her loneliness. A feeling of compensation for what had been denied her in her own youth overwhelmed her. Her love for children was sacred, yet, she gave birth to only one – Sami. Her husband had cared little for his offspring and played with his son only a few times in his life. He was never cruel to Sami, except for his negligance. His wife loved him in an olden-days way and she was faithful to him, after his death, living for his memory, hoping to meet him again in another world. She was happy during her monotonous wait, until one day a big change altered her.
Ten years ago, she had believed in a judgment day. Now she believed there was no heaven, no flame or a judgment day. The spirits, that leave the flesh, soon settle in a new human grain or some other creature and would continue to do so forever. Such thoughts are ancient no doubt, but now popular in spiritual circles. Science could have a say in this field too. Her new belief made her regret having wasted many years waiting for a never-to-be rendezvous with her husband. No doubt her beloved husband´s spirit was reincarnated in some being, somewhere on Earth, she thought. However, the family avoided discussing this.
Some years later, Sami´s mother went for a walk with her little grandaughter Miriam, who was seven years old. When they came back home, they found out, that her mother Mona had cooked one of the rabbits. This very rabbit had been exceptionally fond of Sami’s mother. It used to puzzle her the way it looked at her and triggered her imagination. She told little Miriam about death and the spirits and described the possibility of her grandfather’s spirit being incarnated in this tame rabbit. They had both kept it as a secret and she had warned Miriam against telling anyone, because people might ridicule them. They had given this particular rabbit greater care than the other animals and it had become incredibly fat. Miriam had attached a thin copper chain to its collar with a tiny bell dangling from it. When they came home and entered the kitchen, the child saw the bell-chain in the sink and a rabbit baked and served on a large plate. She rushed to her grandmother, who had only reached the threshold of the house.
“Hurry! They´ve cooked grandpa!” she screamed.
Sami’s mother was deeply shocked and didn´t want any dinner. At first Sami and his wife thought this was just a joke and began eating the rabbit with a great appetite. This was more than the old woman could bear. She broke into tears.
“I´m not blaming you,” she said to Mona, “but I do blame you Sami. He was your own father…the rabbit carried your father´s spirit, so you should have mercy on him!”
Her remarks surprised Sami and he glanced at his wife, as if wondering, whether his mother had lost her mind.
“Is it fair to spend your life being faithful to his memory and then transform him into a rabbit …. what´s the big idea?” he asked.
“What can I do for you non-believers?” his mother said. “A spirit can enter any living creature. Many people can clearly remember their past experiences and support their views with precise descriptions. No doubt your father’s spirit kept hovering about us all these years and eventually decided to stay with us here in the form of a rabbit.”
“Please stop those crazy fantasies. You´re exhausted, that´s all,” Sami said firmly.
“The elderly,” she said talking to herself, without looking at anyone, “must shut up or else, they´re accused of being senile.”
At this Sami stopped eating.
After that, his mother was quiet. She took the rabbit’s fur, as if it were a treasure, whispering to herself: “the fur smells of the deceased.”
Her husband had had a poorly paid work at one of the rich land-owners´. She had lived with him in poverty, though during his last years, their situation improved slightly, because she found herself a job, that brought in a little extra money. Until then, he had paid all the domestic expenses. That had made him go rabbit-hunting on his employer´s land. The proprietor seemed pleased with this, since he wanted to rid his fields of fast-breeding rabbits, that ruined his crops. So Sami´s father seized the opportunity and started recruitting a group of peasants and their dogs to exterminate the largest possible number of rabbits. The peasants used to share their catch on these outings. The proprietor, greedy and cruel, insisted on their carrying on, even during the breeding season and said, that for every dead rabbit six young ones perished.
Sami´s father headed the campaign. One day he woke up and realized, that he couldn´t take the sight of blood any more and after that, he would often retire on an empty stomach. He decided to stop hunting rabbits. After that, the proprietor didn´t ask him to carry out any more campaigns and anyhow the rabbits were almost extinct by then.
“How many animals and their young have perished, because of my need,” he used to say to his wife, when there was nothing to eat, thereby signalling, that she should not push him to further hunting.
“The Lord will never forgive me my deeds, even though they were necessary. He knows, that when I caught my prey a delicious thrill seized me. I wonder, if the pleasure a hunter gets is a remnant of man´s savagery. The victim is tormented, but the perpetrator is pleased, although it wasn´t really a sadistic deed, as we´re short of food. Even so, regardless of the motive, my pleasure was brutal, especially, when none of us considered the fate of their young. Beings like us miss their young and consider it a crime, when a bullet kills them. I wonder what would become of us, if we lived with more intelligent creatures, who´d depend on our meat for their survival? We´d no doubt live in constant fear and never experience happiness and security as long as we lived. The Lord will avenge weak creatures, that have suffered and continue to suffer, because of man´s injustice. Oh, if only you saw, how a rabbit´s body contorts in pain, before it dies. Disgusting! My Lord, how cruel we are!”
“But our Lord permits it,” his wife said.
“True,” he answered, “the Lord permits it, for he never imagined, that our cruelty could become so barbaric. I think the Lord regrets this and as a deserved punishment must´ve sent some messengers to investigate the injustice we commit against other beings. We keep devouring each other mercilessly. We neither examine ourselves nor learn!”
These ideas created in Sami a feeling of inadequacy at parenting a child, as he wouldn´t be able to be completely honest. He wouldn´t be able to feed, kiss or worry about his child. Being a father would be tormenting. This he confessed to his wife.
When Sami was born, his father showed more annoyance than pleasure and neglected him from then on. He never came close to him or tried to win him. His father’s behaviour was not caused by hatred; he just didn´t want to be attached to his son. He believed that the Lord would take his son from him, if his emotions were noble and loving. He always thought, that suffering awaited either him or his child. He also feared, that a son might become too attached to his mother. The Lord might take the mother and the child would endure insufferable pain from the separation. Sami´s father also figured, that a child’s inclination was independence. This eased his fears somewhat. Such a child would be able to exist indifferent to being orphaned. This feeling brought him pleasure and peace.
—————
After graduating Sami became a university lecturer. His ambition was higher qualifications and a combination of study and work. Then he met Mona, who later became his wife. She was in some trouble, because for the first time in her life, she was trying to be independent. One summer night at about eleven o’clock, Sami was absorbed in thought, his eyes fixed on a twinkling star. His popular pastime was to sit anywhere, at any time, all by himself with his thoughts. As he was in this state, a woman a bit younger than he passed by. She was expensively dressed and carried a big suitcase. She seemed to have been travelling. The train station was a stone’s throw away. She was somewhat troubled, because two young men kept following her from the moment she left the train. She asked Sami, who was absorbed in thought, about the direction to the nearest hotel. At first, he was not interested in her presence and remained sitting so still, that he looked like a dead person. She almost yelled at him, so he started. Then he stood up and smiled gently, bowing slightly towards her.
“So sorry, miss,” he said politely, “did I startle you? I was carried away by my thoughts. May I help you?”
She explained briefly, that she had just arrived to the city and was looking for an inexpensive, yet, decent accommodation for the night. Sami told her about a reasonably priced hotel, giving descriptions and directions.
The young woman thanked him.
“May I ask you a favour,” she said. “I´m so scared of those two young men, who´ve been following me, since I left the train.”
“I´ll keep you company, if that helps. D´you know them?” Sami answered politely.
“Not at all. I´ve never seen them or set foot in this city before,” she said.
“The city´s full of young men like that. They´re idle and don’t know what to do with their time. Never mind, be brave and confident,” he assured her.
“Sometimes courage and confidence betray us, when one comes to a strange city, without knowing anyone. There are many idle young men in the city, where I live, but I´m not afraid of them. Here I don´t know anyone, so my fear is probably natural, don’t you think?” she said a bit unsure.
“Yes, quite natural,” Sami muttered nodding.
Sami and the young woman walked side by side and he offered to carry her luggage. She thanked him gently. Before reaching the hotel, he knew her name and some other details usually exchanged, when strangers meet. This was not because of curiosity, but the need to fill in an awkward silence. When two strangers walk together, any distance seems long and time endless. So, as silence became uncomfortable for both of them, Sami led the conversation and she reacted with ease.
He found out, that she had graduated a few months ago and wanted work as an English teacher, but was not interested in teaching as a career. Now, she wanted a job, because of difficult circumstances. She was willing to take any job, since she didn´t have much money and in a month, she would be broke. Tomorrow she would try her luck in the city and, if applications proved unsuccessful, she would leave. Sami told her, that he was a university lecturer and had graduated two years ago. His plans were to get higher qualifications. He said, he was willing to help her find a job, since he had many acquiantances. It would not be within teaching, but something temporary to help her manage, until something more suitable turned up. They said their farewells and arranged to meet the next day in the hotel’s lounge at four in the afternoon the next day.
The young lady’s appearance suggested a wealthy background. The price of her dress was no less than one month’s salary. Yet, she didn´t seem arrogant or proud. From a distance, she seemed taller than her height on closer encounter. Her frame was not the type to give in to sagging, even in old age; her hair brown, straight and shoulder-long, her brown eyes quite sad. On the whole, she was nice.
She had left her town, because of a misfortune in her family. Her father was famous for his voice, owned much land as well as workshops with twenty workers and a few engineers. For several years, he neglected his business and squandered large fortunes on gambling and women. Suddenly, he died from brain haemorrhage at the age of sixty five. His only son bettered him in decadence and disregard. He resembled noone in the family. He was forty years old, eighteen years his sister’s senior. Anyone´s attention, while talking to him, would be drawn to his larnyx. It resembled a large walnut embedded under his skin with a long green swollen vein cutting across, moving up and down, both when speaking and silent. In the case of the latter, the movement was most likely due to continuous swallowing. He was an ugly looking man with a protruding forehead and cheeks. This made his eyes look sunken, as if at the end of two tunnels. As for his nose – very long and straight – it left you wondering, whether a bird could perch on it. His head was, as if compressed at the sides. His head, neck, shoulders and stomach were grouped to resemble a guitar, seen from the back. Imagine a guitar-shaped torso with two skinny legs.
“You´ve taken to our father´s bad behaviour,” his sister had said to him.
She was afraid of her brother and his evil whims, especially when he was drunk or under the influence of drugs, for he would not hesitate to speak his mind and reveal his decadence, in a way noone had dared before. To give an example, he said, that he would pay thousands for a night with a child no older than five, if only he was guaranteed against prosecution for the action. He was serious. He once confessed, that he had looked at his sister, as a man would a woman.
To him women were pathetic creatures, valuable only in bed. His scornful view of people made him ignore basic human morals and values. He would not hesitate to stand in the middle of a busy road, open his fly and urinate. Once he said he could grab any woman in the street, kiss or grope her breasts and people would interpret his behaviour as a joke, simply because of his wealth. This rich family had squandered all its wealth, but he didn´t hesitate to usurp the remains. As long as he was expensively and well-dressed, he could spit at any pedestrian. His actions were admired at the flashing of a big note.
He also boasted of people accepting his behaviour at the mere sight of a big note, without even taking it. They were even reluctant to accept his money, while at the same time not daring to answer back. He humiliated his parents as well.
“We are rid of one, – when will the time come for the others!” he cried when his father died.
The father, though mean, was generous. He spent his fortune on the family, without a second thought. Therefore, they became selfish and strangers to each other. Father and son went on aimlessly and with complete mockery. After the father´s death, the family discovered, that he had squandered his fortune and mortgaged all his properties with interest payments mounting. His son tried to seize as much as possible of what was left, which amounted to a capital consisting of the workers´ wages and customers´ downpayments.
What was left in the mansion were his sister´s and mother´s jewellery, which he took, leaving them with only their clothing, which he would not have hesitated to take, had it been of any use to him!
The son was not greedy by nature, but the type whose meanness flourishes with much wealth. Being a millionaire, yet, craving for a plate of soup and dying in rags, was beneath his understanding. However, he spent a lot of money on his parasitical, idle and reckless friends. Winning their friendship was not his aim, but his pastime. He felt they were just as useless, vile and vulgar as he himself.
“The civilized world recycles rubbish and refuse, extracting from it useful things. I doubt, if they can find anything worthwhile in you,” he once said to them, when they gathered around him, devouring what was sweet and pleasant and drinking what was free of charge. His parties and invitations continued in full swing and if anything, his circle of friends grew. He hardly knew their names, but when he realized the misfortunes about to befall him, he saw, that in the course of one day he could be transformed into a whining pig, entirely dependent on others. In spite of his vulgarity, he still had some pride, unlike that bestowed on normal beings, but a pride, which turned him into a savage beast abusing people mercilessly, in order to survive. This blind pride, alarmed by danger, destroyed most things around him. It pragued his whole behaviour. Thus generosity and decadence often turns into meanness, bloodthirst and vulgarity.
That was his state, when he heard the bells of bankruptcy ringing in his ears. The first thing he did, was gather his stolen goods and flee, without sparing any thoughts for the fate of the injured, including his mother and sister.
He decided to settle in America, since he could speak English. It was, people said, – the land of possibilities. He had been there several times and liked it. After staying there for a short time, he decided to change his looks. He underwent several cosmetic surgeries. – “It is a face one is not sorry to change,” he said to himself.
A feeling seized him: Everything related to the past would be removed with the operation, the stigmas from childhood and adolescence, because of his ugliness, which made him feel sure that he was not a son of the family and, that a secret lurked behind his existence.
“For me the advantages of surgery surpass this. Not only will it improve my looks,” he said, but it will also protect me from the eyes of the law and from those, who may chase me because of their lost fortunes. – I´ll twist the nose of the lustful American girl, who made my blood simmer, but chose another one without granting me anything. Moreover, when she learnt of my cosmetic surgery, she said mockingly: -
What, cosmetic surgery! You need a head and body transplant.”
After this, there was no news of him, only rumours, that he had been robbed and killed by someone from his gang.
Some days after the financial disaster, his mother was seen roaming the streets, having lost her mind. It later became known, that she had moved to a different city under the protection of a charitable and wealthy lady, who in want of eternal reward, offered her a secluded shelter in a cottage in her garden. Her gardener had lived there, but died from old age.
The charitable lady had recognized her, as they had once met at a banquet held by a wealthy family some years ago. The benefactor was astounded by her fate. She seemed to have aged twenty years in the course of two and half years. The charitable lady was anxious to know more about her and questioned her, until everything was clear. Since then, whenever she glanced at her, she was moved by sympathy and worries about the wretched woman. Who would have believed, that this lady, once elegant, in a good position and constantly smiling, should become such a wretched creature, unaware of her surroundings and barely able to utter one clear sentence!
The benefactor tried to help her return to herself and welcomed her to her to her home, offering her the comfortable cottage and calling in famous doctors, in the hope they´d find a cure for her. But she was beyond cure. She often wandered about or stayed in her cottage at the bottom of the garden, isolating herself completely.
The benefactor consequently asked the peasants in the area to be kind to her and help her, if she asked for something. Gradually the state of the cottage deteriorated, so it looked like a rubbish heap, with a repugnant odour emanating from this woman, who had lost her mind, a descendant of a noble family.
She roamed the city every day, from street to street, rummaging in dustbins, filling her bags with anything: bottles, empty cigarette packets, morsels of dried bread, a torn sock, a horse shoe, a filthy condom and many other inconceivable items.
Recently the peasants who took turns to tend her, had been forbidden entry to her rooms. She probably feared her “treasures” might be stolen. She would lock her door firmly and when hungry, she would secretly wait behind her window for the arrival of one of the peasants to deliver her meals at fixed times. On arrival, they would leave the meal on the threshold, tap on the door and leave.
She would not open the door, before they were out of sight. Getting the plates and pots back from her was impossible. The cook complained to her benefactor:
“If we continue like this, not only do we run out of plates and pots, but the neighbours will too.” he said.
He suggested packing the meals in newspapers and dishing the stew into empty tins. The benefactor opposed this suggestion, insisting the meals being served in a proper way.
Since there was only one key to the poor woman’s cottage, which she carried with her, her benefactor asked the peasants to change the doorlock, without her being there, since she would fight them off and they should keep one of the keys, so they could go in and collect the piled up things. This was carried out in a flash one day, while the poor woman was roaming the city.
On her return, she tried in vain to open the door. A peasant explained that, because of constant use, her key no longer worked and then gave her a new one. She was easily persuaded. She took the new key and hooked it to the other one, already hanging from her neck.
A few months later she died peacefully from natural causes one beautiful summer evening. She had gone early to bed and never woke up to see the dawn. People gossiped about her for some time, but then forgot all about her and a veil was drawn over the remembrance of this family.
——————-
At exactly four o’clock Sami arrived at the Star Hotel, where the young lady was waiting for him in the lounge, with a cup of coffee. He said he had a surprise for her.
“My young lady seems lucky! I´ve found a job for you, suitable and reasonably paid. I didn´t think it could be solved that easily. A coincidence in your favour. After I left you last night, I was on my way home and met someone I know. He has a friend, a journalist on one of the newspapers. I told him about you and he said, that one of the employees working in the archive department was leaving the country and the vacancy was to be advertised. Her ex-boyfriend knew this. Oh, sorry! Why do I get carried away by details? I may have gone beyond good taste. Anyway, I asked my friend to do his utmost to help you to get the job. He promised to do so. I was eager to give you this good news. I don´t want to give you false hopes, but I have confidence in my friend. This morning I asked for a few hours´ leave and went to the newspaper, as we had agreed to meet there and sort the matter out, without wasting any time. Actually, I met both the employee and her employer and arranged everything. The employer is a kind man and very practical. I´m sure you´ll be happy working for him. He said it was important for you to start working at least a week before the employee leaves, to learn from her and avoid future problems. He said the training period would be paid for and included in your first salary. Only there is a slight problem. The job will be vacant a month from now, in which case your first pay will be two months from now. And as I understood from our conversation yesterday, you don´t have enough funds to cover this period… so what do you think?”
They exchanged ideas about various solutions, as if they were old friends, responsible for each other. After discussing the problem from all angles, they were still unable to arrive at an easy and practical solution. He finally suggested, that she could stay at his mother’s flat, where she could rent a room and pay, when she had earned some money. At any rate, she had her savings and hotels were more expensive than a rented room.
His mother’s flat was on the first floor of a ten-storey building. It consisted of one bedroom and a lounge, besides a small bathroom and a kitchen.
Sami´s mother welcomed Mona and felt comfortable in her presence.
“The best thing you´ve ever done, she said to Sami. At least, I´ve got someone to talk to now, since you´re always busy with your books and hardly ever visit me!”
Sami´s mother considered this to be the worst of his sins. He too was aware of it and had sometimes tried to give her time and thought. Usually he failed, for no sooner would he return to his place, before he was engrossed in his books and thoughts and submerged in his dreams. However, the connection between him and Mona became so strong, that they planned to get married. Everything happened so fast. He himself did not realize how. Maybe by chance. Sometimes chance changes people´s lives, else their lives had remained as before.
Now, before moving on to the future, it´s best to introduce a friend of this family. He played an important role in their lives.
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Sami’s mother used to work in a dairy. One day the owner promoted her to supervisor. She declined the post, preferring to remain in her present job. The man was puzzled, since it was an enviable position for any worker, not a physically demanding job and well paid. A payrise is usually appreciated. However, a certain feeling made her reject the offer.
Sami’s mother was popular among the workers, for she was gentle. This is sometimes contrary to a supervisor´s ethics. She was aware of this and felt, that she would have to carry out her duties less conscientiously, than she wanted to and might become unpopular. Indeed, she missed a pending pay rise and some comforts, that would come with the new job, but her peace of mind was of paramount importance to her. Soon her colleagues discovered the reasons for her refusal and she won their admiration and love, as they considered this a sacrifice and a statement of loyalty. As for the owner, he viewed this matter from his own angle and considered her not qualified enough for the job.
Shortly after that, she suffered a slight heart attack and had to stay in bed for some time. Her employer visited her. She had recovered a bit, sitting with her son and Mona, sipping tea. The employer stayed with them for nearly an hour.
In the course of their conversation, the employer heard about Mona’s misfortunes. They found out, that he had visited her family many years ago. Mona was then ten years old. He had been accompanied by his son Kamil.
Kamil was eighteen at that time, a spoilt brat, who had no respect for other people, including his own family and friends. Wealth without refinement doesn´t create prominence. He had wealth, but sought fame. He thought he was better than any of “the empty-headed wealthy.”
He studied journalism at a very early age and was good at flattering intellectuals of some weight. He ploughed his path and proved his capabilities.
Once Mona’s brother had visited his father at their home. After the formalities, Kamil´s father had said:
“Now you boys have a talk and get acquainted. We´ve got some unfinished work at the office, but will be back soon.”
Kamil cast Mona’s brother a haughty look.
“What could a creature like that talk about?”he muttered.
At this insult Mona´s brother sniggered and said to his sister, who was staring at Kamil:
“Don’t you want someone to play with? Go and play with Kamil in the garden … or say… here´s some money. Go buy sweets. Don´t make your clothes dirty. Go on, go!”
After that, they would enjoy insulting each other, never, not even once, talking together and they kept as far away from each other as possible.
Once Kamil went to the horse races and caught sight of Mona’s brother. He spat on the ground in disgust, while staring at him with great malice and walked away.
Mona’s brother seized the first chance to return the insult, also from a distance and without any verbal exchange. He had gone for a walk and noticed Kamil sitting in one of the restaurants and entered. They sat at tables, not far from each other and Mona´s brother stared persistently and menacingly at Kamil for some time. Kamil kep averting his glances, not able to escape and reluctantly met his enemie´s gaze. He felt, that his opponent had entered the restaurant as a challenge. Then he left in a rage. He had not finished his meal.
“Filthy animal,” he muttered.
Such confrontations continued for some time. It was as if these two guys were planning worse attacks. Sometimes they tried to avoid each other. Their hate reached a point, where they could have shed each other’s blood.
Kamil had not lived in this city before, but had visited it occasionally to see some of his friends. One day he met Mona. He had seen her once or twice, since she started working in the archive department, without recognizing her. She had changed a great deal, no longer a ten year old child, but a feminine woman of considerable education and standard. Had his father not introduced them, he might not have recognized her.
Mona felt she had seen him before, but she could not remember where. When she met his father at Sami’s home, she said:
“Oh … I just asked myself where I had seen you before.”
A curious interest made them talk together after all those years, even though little had happened in the past to merit this. They had had nothing in common.
Kamil was eager to find out what had become of the child, who used to play with dolls. In spite of that and his interest in talking to her, he did not take the trouble to greet her. She showed him a similar disinterest and turned her head the other way, but there were some stolen glances now and then. She noticed, that he had not changed, except for a few pounds gained in weight.
When Kamil saw her reluctance, he approached her and said he had recognized her at the office the day before. He invited her to his home on the pretext of old family acquaintances. When he found out about her pending engagement to Sami, he showed no sign of affectation, and invited them both for a visit.
They felt that Kamil was imposing his friendship on them and were not at all interested. They were annoyed by his sudden presence and did not know how to get rid of him. He employed all his skills in making a place for himself in their lives. He himself did not realize why. The day came, when they began to miss him, if he had not visited them for a week. He had become a close friend. Kamil, the once arrogant brat, became attached to Sami and respected him. He said:
“Sami is bewitching.”
When Sami had announced his and Mona’s engagement with a radiant face at a family gathering, Kamil sincerely shared their joy, even though he realized, that his feelings for Mona were more than platonic and he had lost her forever. One could have expected him to be slightly perturbed or envious, while prentending to be happy. Was his high regard for Sami the reason for his sincerity?
Kamil had always feared his weakness for beautiful women? He once confessed, that they were a hurdle on his path to a bright future. Yet, his feelings for Mona subsided soon after and disappeared even from his dreams.
While he was strengthening his acquaintance with this family, he kept hunting for news about Mona´s brother, but noone had had any news of him, since they last met at the racing course and Kamil had won some money, while Mona’s brother had lost all his. Kamil had approached him, prepared for combat, in order to break the silence between them.
“This poor creature has lost everything,” he said to a friend accompanying him and Mona´s brother heard it.
“I could lend him some money to break his bad luck. I hope he can win back what he has lost. In fact, I´ll pay what he needs, if only he allows me to hang my jacket on his nose for five minutes or even half a minute for all to see.”
When Mona’s brother heard this, he became furious and approached Kamil. Kamil’s struck his nose, so his eyes filled with tears from the pain. A sudden silence befell the surrounding crowd, broken by laughter in a group of youths waiting for something exciting to happen.
“His beak is falling off,” one of them said.
“He probably makes love with that beak of his,” a drunkard yelled. More similar remarks came from the crowd around them.
Mona’s brother fled, feeling disgraced and humiliated. Kamil was not an easy opponent. He was just as devious as Mona’s brother. At an early age, he combined cunning and subtlety with talent and intelligence. At work such a person could easily gain promotion, without causing objections. In a short time, Kamil won his superiors´ trust, by exploiting their weaknesses.
A few years later, he was asked to edit a page and gradually he got more work, in addition to his daily column. The topics he chose or was sometimes asked to tackle, had a great influence on readers of various orientations and won him fans, who followed his writings with interest. Some readers bought the paper, just because of his column. One might think, that he was always absorbed in reading and writing. But in fact, he rarely held a book in his hands or read anyone’s writings and as for famous international authors, he knew them only by name. One wonders how a man chose writing for a career and how he was able to create interesting texts, when he didn´t have many books in his household. The answer was: talent, pure talent. A number of writers are uniquely bestowed with a gift, envied by philosophers. Some of them know how to make use of their talent, not only through writing and creating, but also by having considerable influence and weight in society.
Kamil for instance, suceeded in employing his talent to shape and secure his own authority. People didn´t realize this, since he was so successful. The trust he gained from his superiors was unusual and quite special. He became qualified to meet and deal with leaders and chairmen and make profitable commercial and political deals.
Sami’s family had been Kamil´s devoted fans and readers for many years. During those years, Kamil had helped mould Sami and Mona´s daughter Miriam, who was studying journalism. She gained confidence and found her literary independence. Yet, she soon turned against Kamil, not for lack of gratitude, but she found out, that his interest in her was not impartial. She had great literary talents and he introduced her to the literary milieu. He had discovered her fertile imagination, when she was only thirteen years old.
“She has inherited her father´s fertile imagination,” Kamil often said to his friends.
Since then he gradually guided her into the world of literature and encouraged her to go to the bone. She expressed her thoughts and feelings in her writings, but he was the one, who received credit from his friends and acquaintances for having given her advice. Recently she had become so disenchanted by this, that she would deliberately contradict him, if only to prove to herself and friends, that she had a mind of her own and was capable of independent thinking and writing. She felt, that Kamil’s guidance in moulding her talents ought not to mean obedience to such an extent, that she felt separated from her readers. On announcing her rebellion, she once said to him:
“I don´t need your advice and instructions which have become a tool to strip me of my own thoughts and feelings.”
Kamil begrudged these remarks and harboured feelings of blind hate against her being ungrateful with her tit-for-tat attitude: “…and he hath created her to worship him only.”
He wanted her never to write well again, for all to know what she was without him and how she would come crawling to him for guidance and advice.
Kamil’s weakness was a fervent desire to be surrounded by writers asking for advice. He took on the role of a modest genius, as long as his advice was completely and unconditionally followed. He didn´t tolerate any contradictory opinions and was no longer modest.
Now approaching fifty, Kamils behaviour had undergone few changes, but was suitably camouflaged. Some changes had to take place, since he was no longer an arrogant teenager, full of self-esteem.
His age and position now made him adopt tact and diplomacy, when dealing with others, especially the educated and prominent ones and he did his utmost to win their respect. His age and position also demanded self-control, when in confrontation:
“Men of weight and position must always behave in a balanced way,” Kamil said to himself.
He kept to this principle and as he grew old, he rarely lost his temper, but when he did, he tried hard to control himself.
Only of late had he received a deeply wounding insult. A fatal blow wiped out his achievements and reduced him to a mere jester in front of a crowd of friends, to whom he had been careful to project the image of a flawless genius.
“He is done for, a he has fallen from his ivory tower,” Miriam said with glee.
It happened at a dinner party Sami gave one evening, at long last in celebration of the completion and addition to their house – and a good swimming pool instead of a hole in the ground.
The invitation was for eight o’clock in the evening, when the air was refreshing.

CHAPTER TWO
Miriam was Sami’s only daughter. Her outstanding characteristic was challence. Her conversations were frequently filled with obstruction. A rare beauty, unusual in every sense of the word. Her eyes were large and clear, filled with cunning. When addressing her, you felt her eyes saying:
“You´ve not been frank. Come on, speak up, don’t be shy.” Her nose was like that of a tiny tame kitten. Her lips red, natural and always smiling; sometimes you sensed mockery in them. Her hair was jet black, long and thick, flowing over her shoulders.
Although she was fair of complexion, the sun had transformed it to a bronze colour. Her university friends said she had become a Cuban girl, the hot mixed-blood type. Her figure was feminine and very attractive. In addition, she had an elegant posture, without an ounce of surplus flesh. In short, she was a young woman oozing from femininity and beauty. Since birth, she had been brought up by her grandmother, who showered her with tenderness and love. Miriam became so attached to her, that she almost forgot her parents. This was mutual, as her grandmother’s life would have become unbearable without her. This relieved her parents of their responsibility and they were able to be absorbed in their work.
This did though not mean, that they no longer were parental to her. On the contrary, they loved her and made sure, that she got enough care.
When Miriam was old enough, she took her grandmother with her on most of her outings. When people saw them together, they often noticed the great harmony and intimacy between them. It was the grandmother, who increasingly took after Miriam, as if it were a compensation for her own youth. She seemed not to have lived out this phase in her own life. And when deprived of something in one’s lifetime, one is often filled with a yearning. Their differences were compensated for by simple ways. Sometimes, they had disagreements, even quarrels and argued, moments later to be friends again. Sami often said to Mona:
“The difference in age is not important. It´s spirit that counts.”
Since her birth Miriam had a happy life and always got what she wanted. She was a lucky person. Even if her mother Mona was quite busy, she loved her daughter very much.
“Miriam has two mothers,” their friends said. However, if she would have had to make a choice, she would have chosen her grandmother and confessed that openly. This honesty hurt Miriam´s mother, but she managed to hide it. Sometimes she tried to get close to her, but was taken aback by her grandmother’s reaction. She felt, that Mona had no rights over the girl. She said:
“A mother is the one who nurtures, not one, who just gives birth.”
She did not feel threatened by Mona’s closeness to Miriam, since she was certain of the child’s sentiments towards her. They all lived in much harmony under one roof. There was no intention of separation.
A curious notion sometimes entered the grandmother´s head, a kind of a natural jealousy. A conflict can arise between a mother and a nurse, often concealed, when the nurse is a stranger. But, when she is the grandmother and not an outsider, with a definite position in the household, especially a financial one, jealousy and rights over the child don´t have to be concealed. This Miriam´s grandmother had often made clear.
Mona dealt with this with much wit and wisdom. What seemed to have escaped everyone’s attention was the fact, that the girl was growing up and becoming an independent person with her own personality and opinions, no longer in need of a guardian or nurse to treat her, as if she were a five year old. Sami realized this and said:
“My little girl has become a woman, without me realizing it.”
Sometimes, he would drop this remark deliberately in the presence of his wife and mother, as if to point out to them, that Miriam was no longer a child.
The family tried to change the way they treated her, when her heart was caught by a young man she had met through her friend Nadia.
His name was Yousif. Now the family had to let go of little Miriam and consider her a mature young woman.
Miriam tried to pave the way for introducing Yousif to her family, certain of their approval, since he was a very handsome young man – two years older than she – a technician in the newspaper printing department. He was a graduate from one of the technical colleges with a low grade, inadequate for university studies.
“Social and a bit clumsy – but with a noble heart,” was how Miriam described him, after they first met. When their friendship developed, she said:
“His best assets are his gaiety and sense of humor.”
When Sami met him, he liked him instantly and saw in him a very suitable son-in-law.
“He´s not selfish and seems ready to do everything to make her happy,” Mona declared firmly. “They´re a good team.”
Miriam´s grandmother did not hide her displeasure. “Do you really love him? He´s useless,” she said.
“Of what use do you want him to be?” Miriam asked laughing.
Her grandmother made no reply.
However, Yousif managed quickly to win the old woman’s heart. She started taking delight in his visits, when he used to take her aside and discuss something and afterwards, she would be in a pleasant mood.
After Yousif’s second visit to them, he took it upon himself voluntarily to make repairs and buy a few items for the house. He would spend his weekends and holidays with them carrying out all sorts of work.
“If it weren’t for Yousif, the swimming pool would´ve remained a ditch,” Sami said.
“The best thing he did was to wake them up from their idleness,” the old woman announced. A state of idleness had pragued the household. Whenever they considered carrying out some essential task, they did so reluctantly and in one or two days, idleness got the best of them. This could last for one or two months. When Yousif went about the work, they felt inspired and finished one plan after the other, until the swimming pool was finally complete.
Miriam was proud of him. Her love increased as time went by. He reciprocated her love and felt his life had changed for the better and he was completely fascinated by her.
Often she would bury her head affectionately in his chest and yearn for him to caress her hair and feed her with his hands. She wanted him to desire and protect her. Sometimes it made her provoke his jealousy.
On the day the family gave a party, everyone returned early from work. Yousif had pledged to buy all that was needed for the party. Arriving an hour after their return from work and as soon as he had put his shopping bags in the kitchen, he rushed around searching for Miriam and yelled.
“Where is my other half.”
“You´ve got plenty of time to yearn?” Sami said to him. “Your better half is in her grandmother’s room!”
Miriam was in the bathroom having just finished massaging her grandmother’s back and had left her to relax in the bathtub. She used to do this every time she bathed, then staying in her grandmother’s room preparing her tea and as soon as that was ready, Miriam would help her dress up. Sami and Mona would then have come home from work in time to join them.
The old woman’s room was not the same Sami had first made, when he built the house. That room was now the laundry.
She now had a studio of some forty square metres with a bathroom, a simple kitchenette and a window from the ceiling to the floor overlooking the garden and a glass door to it.
Although the building was modern, one felt that the house had existed since the Middle Ages. What made this impression was the very old furniture: heavy red mahogany to be found only in antique shops and long dark, thick red curtains. The table and settee were antique too. The old lady had become fond of this type of furniture in recent years. She was a connoisseur, but not a collector, was Miriam´s word for it.
“Yes, I´m fond of old furniture. I´ve recently been taken in by it; I don´t know why,” she said smiling.
Sometimes when Miriam saw an antique thing in a shop, she bought it for her. A month ago she had bought her an eighteenth century box with the date imprinted on it, a jewellery box meant for brides.
“No doubt this box has many wonderful stories to tell. It must´ve witnessed exciting events. Yet, time has left it intact,”
Miriam said to her grandmother.
“I wonder, if the one who made it lived in this city?” Mona commented. I wonder, what the city was like then. Probably just a small village. What of the family, where are they now? What, if we were their kin and to the girl, for whom this box was made. How valuable it would be to us, if it belonged to our ancestors once upon a time.”
“I suppose it has been haunted for a long while,” Sami said mockingly.
He was startled, when Yousif suddenly entered the room, stared at him and muttered:
“As if it´s a bad omen to whoever possesses it,” but added quickly: “What nonsense!”
Yousif rushed to Miriam, embraced her and swung her around while chattering.
“Here I am, my darling. How I´ve missed you, since yesterday. I never for one minute stopped thinking about you. I can´t stay away from you for one moment. My feelings can´t be described, so pure and romantic. It´s as if I am living in the Middle Ages. I am Romeo with all his passion. His spirit throbs in my flesh. I wonder, are you Juliet? Do you carry her soul? Remember, we died at the same hour, perhaps our souls embraced and after hovering over this mundane world for years, we´ve returned to compensate for the pain we suffered. Don´t you remember, my Juliet?”
“But Romeo and Juliet is only a story,” Miriam answered joyfully. “Do heroes of tales have souls? They both died in the story.”
“That´s true,” Yousif said, “but tales and plays reflect reality. They´re inspired by events of their time. There are thousands like Romeo and Juliet, prepared to die for the redemption of their love. I´m like that. I belong to their kind. I´m of that age. Few in the present world carry such emotions, else I´d have read about them, a lover’s sacrifice or both lovers making that sacrifice. Read any book by a contemporary writer, but you´ll not find such a tale for the simple reason, that man’s priorities have changed. Now writers just describe what they witness in reality, where only superficial emotions are witnessed. I´m your Romeo of the atomic age and you my Juliet and different we are from the first ones. Our feelings are deep and free from the maladies modern man carries with him.”
“Who says that the modern generation enjoys superficial emotions?” Miriam asked.
“Compared to us, my darling Miriam, I mean Juliet or better still Mirialiet. If you compare the emotions of the modern generation to ours, who belong to the Middle Ages, we find them extremely superficial and void of love. Look at the rate of divorce in the modern world, about fifty per cent. What has happened to love and romance?”
“You´ve contradicted yourself, my dear,” Miriam said. “You wipe out the feelings of the people, you claim to belong to and of whom you have often spoken fervently and nobly. Now, you make them superficial like the modern generation.”
“How? Me!”
“Yes, you. What, if we were to compare your feelings about the Middle Ages to those from earlier times? That would be the same kind of comparison? Your emotions about the Middle Ages would´ve seemed equally trivial to your ancient ancestors,” Miriam stated.
“No, my dear, not trivial,” Yousif explained, “for in the Middle Ages, we showed the same commitment to love as our ancient ancestors, our commitment to love in death. That´s the ultimate expression of love. What comes after a suicide? Is anything more definite?”
“Yes,” Miriam said. “Many things are worse than suicide. It seems you´ve forgotten the story you told me about a lover, who was lost in the desert with his sweetheart, almost dying from hunger. He offered his grilled flesh and said it was a rabbit he had hunted.”
“Oh yes, I remember. Listen to the end of it. Where are you going? Don’t go. Wait a minute!” Yousif cried.
“I don’t want to listen,” and she rose grumbling. “Your stories make me sick.”
“Just listen! It has an exciting ending,” Yousif pleaded.
“So, how does it end? I guess you’ll say his lover did what he did,” she said angrily.
“That´s right. I swear it´s true. Now, I know you´re a gifted mind-reader. Ha .. Ha.. You´ve read my thoughts and concluded the story perfectly. The lover cut some flesh from her thigh, making sure she chose the best part. She took slices from it to grill and offered her lover as steaks. Eventually the two lovers ended up devouring each other and all that was left of them were two heads and skeletons, all because of their great love!” Yousif related.
Miriam hid her urge to laugh and just managed to keep her self-control, in order not to reveal her emotions.
“Ha, ha…. very funny,” she said casually. “You´re brilliant at telling sad jokes!”
“It´s as if you don´t believe me,” Yousif answered teasingly, “Very well, I´ll tell you another …”
Miriam covered her ears with her hands and left the room. “Enough … I don´t want to hear any more,” she said. “Please go. My grandmother´s in the bath waiting for me.”
“Is big mother in the bathroom? I thought she was in the garden,” Yousif said with eyes wide open.
The old lady had thoroughly enjoyed their conversation, which she had heard and was drifting in her thoughts. “Anything is possible,” she murmured. “He wasn´t joking. Usually he avoids speaking his thoughts, for fear of being ridiculed. I think we share that mentality.”
A while later she came from the bathroom. Yousif was studying an old book Mona had bought for her in an antique shop.
The old woman went straight to the point:
“You never told me about your thoughts. Did you mean what you said to Miriam?”
“Yes grandma … There´s no doubt about my love for Miriam,” Yousif answered.
“I don´t mean your feelings, but that you´ve had a previous life?”
The old lady wanted to discuss this with him. He wanted to please her, now that she wanted to talk with him. She was enthusiastic and talked about many things she had thought about, tales about reincarnations and events she had read or heard about. Yousif encouraged her. In turn, he also told her about events he had heard of.
The old lady reacted impulsively and showed him the rabbit fur, which “carried the spirit of her husband” and told him the whole story about his hunting rabbits on the proprietor’s land to the moment his sentiments changed and he could no longer bear to see an animal hurt and then the conclusion in the kitchen. When she had finished, her face was extremely relaxed and peaceful, as if she had got rid of a heavy weight from her shoulders. Her expression and gestures seemed to say: “finally I found someone, who believes and feels what I feel .. and, who´s it but a young man, who´s supposed to nourish modern ideas, like those calling themselves realists.”
The old lady was so moved by the conversation, that she rose from her chair and kissed Yousif on the forehead and asked him to love her granddaughter very much and never abandon her. She then did the same to Miriam, granting them leave to go and enjoy their time together.
As soon as they reached the garden, Yousif embraced Miriam, but a sly smile on his face irritated her.
“What´s wrong?” she asked nervously.
“Nothing.” he said, still smiling.
“You sly thing! What nothing?” Miriam asked with raised eyebrows and a sidelong glance. “What´s this smile then? Come on, speak up. What´re you hiding from me or rather, what d´you want to say?”
“I didn´t want to say anything, believe me!” Yousif replied and burst out laughing.
“Cheat! Behind your smile lurks a mean remark. Come on, out with it. What d´you want to say about my grandmother?”
“Really… it isn’t your grandmother I want to talk about.”
“Who then?”
“Your grandfather!”
“And what about him?”
“Nothing!” Yousif said in a sly tone. “O.k., I wanted to say, that your grandfather had a nice fur!”
“Yousif!” Miriam called out. “Don’t spoil our party today. Don’t you dare speak badly of my grandparents.”
She slipped nervously from his embrace, but he clung to her and began pecking her.
“Never … never,” he said apologetically. “I swear never to say it again … but which of them are you referring to, the furry one or the deceased?”
“Very well Yousif, you brought this upon yourself!” she said threateningly and distanced herself from him.
From then on Yousif tried to please her, but her anger, like a cloud in the midst of summer, kept coming and going, as her friend Nadia once described her.

CHAPTER THREE
Before the party, Kamil had to stop at his office for some unfinished business. There the secretary told him, that the chairman had suddenly gone on a business trip with the Foreign Minister for ten days or more, to make certain coverage for the newspaper and, that he had left him his desk keys, where there was something belonging to Kamil. It was just an envelope with a letter addressed to him. From the way this letter was presented to him, he guessed, that the content must be quite sensitive and secret.
“We´re waging a dirty propaganda war,” he murmured, when he opened the letter. “I wonder what my share is to be this time? Anything goes in politics, the art of “polite obscenity.”
The task he was asked to undertake, was the type only entrusted journalists of skillful and outstanding achievements and training. Kamil, the master of journalists like that, lead a team that would obey his instructions, without any questions.
Indeed, there are more such journalists in our modern materialistic world, than ever before. They blow their trumpets, both in war and peace. They think according to theír leaders´ minds and don´t care for their surroundings. Their own economy comes first.
After reading the chairman´s instructions, Kamil folded the letter and put it in his wallet, for closer inspection, when he would have time to make his plans. He left immediately, heading home for some rest before Sami’s party. He was very interested in this invitation and somewhat indecisive about choosing the right suit with a matching tie, avoiding the classic-cut suit, which he thought made him look ten years older. He tried a loose, patterned shirt and white jeans.
“Respect is important, even if it makes me look older, but what to do?” he thought and went close to the mirror with his nose almost touching it, his breath steaming the cold glass. He turned his face to another part, unaffected by his breath and held his breath for several seconds. He was dismayed by what he saw in his face, the wrinkles of a fifty year old face now apparent, especially at the corners of his eyes. He made several grimaces.
“Huh … I ought not to smile or laugh,” he said. “My face is filled with wrinkles, when I smile. A flawless face is preferable to a smiling one, full of wrinkles.”
Fianlly, he chose a suit and a tie.
“He, who is wet has no fear of the rain. Youth has slipped from me, whether I like it or not. So, let me keep my dignity. In dignity a beauty is found parallel only to that of youth.”
In a few seconds, he returned to the mirror for an over-all check. He was unhappy about his tie and took it off.
“Silly wearing a tie in such a hot weather.” And he went on grumbling:
“Besides, it makes me look funny. Undo a button or two – or three perhaps! An open shirt makes me look several years younger, without being respectless. Besides, what woman can resist a man with hair on his chest? I´m sure, that her beautiful blazing eyes will rest on my chest throughout the party. Let´s test her resistance. But, why am I giving this such weight? She is past her thirties, not young enough to be so coquettish. The laws of nature state: “the more you disregard a woman, the harder she´ll try to please you.” That´s a law no philosopher has been able to tamper with or change. To be honest, this is the first time in my life I´m in love. Disgusting! A man, in love! Deplorable! Ha .. Ha. .. Ha. .. Yet, in spite of everything I need love. By admitting my lowliness, my confession erases half of my sin and makes room for love in my heart. I wonder, if I´m really in love. It may be just a passing whim, like often before? Ah. .. time is running out and here I am like a madman talking to myself. Let´s go to mr. Sami’s party. He´s mad too! What fool wastes a quarter of a century just building a house single-handed? Go now! She must be ready. Let´s see, if she can resist me.”
Kamil left his house, parked his flashy car safely in the garage and went to the main road to catch a taxi. He would probably drink some alcohol and be in no state to drive.
Half an hour later, he was on the doorsteps of Sami’s house. The party was a modest one, just a group of friends in open air. The family wanted it to be modest, whereas preparations were made for a grand wedding party for Miriam and Yousif, to be held in a month.
The garden door was ajar, so by the time Kamil rang the doorbell, Sami had caught sight of him and welcomed him smiling. He shook his hand heartily and led him through the long, illuminated passage to the garden.
“Congratulations to both of you from the bottom of my heart,” Kamil said with warmth, “not only for having finished the house, but for your heroic insistence on doing so single-handedly. A statue should be put in the middle of the garden to commemorate your heroic achievements.”
“You´re too generous with your compliments. If you were to count the years it has taken me to complete this, you´d have said, that I´m a very lazy man,” Sami replied. “Someone else might have finished the building in five years. Never mind the gruelling twenty five years I´ve put my wife, daughter and mother through. Had I had the funds, I´d not have chosen to do it with my bare hands,” Sami said.
“Very well, sir. Then let there be a statue for each and every one of you, placed in a corner in the garden,”Kamil joked.
“I wouldn´t mind, as long as it on each one of them said: To the laziest worker history ever kew.” Sami answered laughing.
They stood at the small swiming pool. Every time Kamil noticed something, he issued a stream of praise, which embarrassed Sami. And he kept glancing at the swimming pool, which was lit with soft lights.
“How beautiful,” Kamil said. “A delightful design. I guess you also made the underwater lights. Not only are you a builder, but also a first-rate electrician. Arranging electrical wires underwater is dangerous and difficult, right?”
“D´you really think I arranged them in a pool full of water?” Sami answered gesturing.
“Of course not, but such work requires skill. Any leaks could have disastrous consequences. But tell me! How did you cope with all things? What about the bricklaying? Sewer and drainage pipes alone can be a great hurdle, yet you´ve managed it all by yourself and perfectly. And what about the electrical work and painting, not to forget gardening? In addition to all this, you´re a successful university lecturer, in fact, a scientific mind, whom we may never see the like of again. Your book “The Dilemma of Mind and Machine” is now ready for publication and that proves my words.” Your ideas will shake many scientists and be of wide interest to the public. Chuckling, he added: “Is it a sin to praise a man of your brilliance and distinction?”
By now Sami felt quite uncomfortable and irritated. The flow of compliments and praise embarrassed and agitated him, for he did not know how to respond. He didn´t like flattery at all. At that moment, Kamil expected Sami to react and say:
“Sir, don’t exaggerate. I´m nothing compared to you. Any man can learn how to build and carry out electrical as well as other tasks during a few years, but not everyone can be an outstanding journalist and a brilliant critic, whose words are capable of tumbling a government. Few journalists achieve what you´ve done.” But Sami was useless in this field.
“Let’s leave all that and have a glass of wine,” he said.
“A good idea,” Kamil said, but felt uneasy and put on a wide grin.
“Not only is he stupid,” he said to himself, “but he has no manners.”
And there was the poetess Nadia, leaving the lounge with Mona, carrying empty glasses for the dining table. She was now a helping hand, since she considered herself to be one of the family. She walked about the house without any ceremony, entering any room as she pleased. She sometimes entered Sami’s office, whether he was in or not, heading for the grand library, browsing his books and selecting what she desired. If Sami asked her about a book, she had borrowed, she would immediately say: “Why ask? Have I ever stolen any book from you? I´ll bring it back and put it in its place, when I´ve finished it.”
He liked her spontaneity and sometimes joked with her to start a conversation: “Would you fancy a fresh cup of coffee?”
When she accepted, he would laugh and say: “Well then, go and make some!”
She would reply:
“O.k. if is only coffee … I´ll watch out for your lunch invitations. I don´t like spending my time in a kitchen.”
This kind of humour delighted him a great deal. He continued to apply it to other members of his family, as if they had a silent agreement to play a game, which he had often been a victim of.
He would sometimes ask Mona or Miriam, if they fancied a coffee or a sandwich, to which they would reply: “We accept the offer, if you prepare it.”
Reluctantly, he would go to the kitchen, followed by their remarks and laughter. Mona would say: “I want a toasted sandwich and make it fast ´cause I am starving.”
Miriam would yell: “Make mine weak coffee and bring some milk. Add one sandwich, since I’ll invite Nadia to join us. Don’t forget to make one for my granny. She’ll be up soon.”
Minutes later, Nadia would enter, as she lived in the neighbourhood, saying: “Put a lot of salad in my sandwich, please.”
They would tease each other like this. And when Sami appeared with the food and coffee, he´d say: “Why didn’t you invite our next door neighbours with their university and office friends.”
Nadia picked up the telephone receiver and cried: “They´d indeed be delighted.”
Sami:”Oh!..why not…of course they´d be delighted. Come, sit down, have your sandwich and don’t you dare touch that phone!”
Thus Nadia was treated like one of the family, as if she were Miriam’s sister. They never held a party, without inviting her and usually she helped with the preparations.
When Kamil caught sight of her carrying the glasses, a strange sensation gripped him, like falling in love, which can´t be expressed. An age gap is one of the worst problems.
“The higher my position, the more vulnerable she´ll become and the less barriers there´ll be. Then she´ll be an easy prey,” his heart whispered.
As for Nadia, her impression of him was wavering and indecisive. She had met him before on several occasions and heard his views of her poems. At times, she felt he was encouraging her, but later on, she felt he judged her writings in a way, that gave little room for self-defence. She could not decide, whether to reject or acknowledge him. It hurt, when poems about her dreams and pains were trampled on by his critical assaults. The situation became explosive, for he maintained, that she did not belong to the literary elite and was an intruder in this field of art. His criticism made her feel, that her talent was being trodden on.
“He must be right,” she had said to herself in agony, “since I can´t defend my writings. How am I to defend myself, since his criticism leaves me with no chance to confront him and regain my self-confidence. I feel I´m entering a strange conflict. I always seem to be the loser. It´s I, who sigh and suffer. If, what Miriam said about him is true and she succeeds with her plan, I may recover and the critic Kamil will be ashamed of himself.”
————————

Kamil stretched out his hand to greet Mona, who stood in front of him, bowing with great curtesy, wearing a strange smile.
“How are you, my beautiful lady?” he said.
“Well, thank you.” Mona replied smiling. “It’s been some time since we´ve had the pleasure of your visit.”
“My shortcoming, dear lady, partly due to work, which leaves me little time for my friends.”
He then turned to Nadia, extending his hand bowing, as before to express his admiration.
“It´s an unsurmountable pleasure to meet you twice in one day,” he said.
“The feeling is mutual,” Nadia replied politely. “How are you?”
“Fine in your company,” Kamil stressed.
Yousif and Miriam approached them, having left a corner in the garden, where they had been discussing aspirations akin to beautiful dreams. They greeted Kamil with a handshake.
“I caught sight of you in that poetic corner,” he said, “and wanted to greet you, but didn´t dare to interrupt you.” Then he thought: “Silly of me to say this. I´m overdoing my humility. Modesty is no good, when in the company of young people.”
“Excuse me,” Mona said to Kamil. “I´ll leave you here. Some friends have just arrived. I´ll go and greet them. Your visit is quite a pleasure to us.”
Sami clicked his glass with Kamil.
“You´re both drinking on an empty stomach!” Mona said. “It´s bad for you. You´d better wait till a few minutes before dinner.”
Sami could not hide his annoyance at his wife’s comment.
“It´s only a small glass, dear,” he muttered.
Kamil thought:
“They put their noses into everything,” and by a slip of his tongue he said: “They´re always like that!” but quickly amended his statement, so as not to cause any ill-feelings. The consequence of this reaction was beneath a man of his refinement, so he clarified what he had said with a troubled smile by adding:
“Women are generally very protective to the ones they love. Lucky is the man, whose darling wife cares so much for him!”
But this patchwork did not fit, since Mona’s remark was not only directed at her husband, but included himself. Realizing this, he was lost for words, so he remained silent.
In the meantime, friends continued to arrive. One of them was a very elegant lady about Mona’s age. She had a slim waist, underlined by an extremely tight-fitting suit. She was wearing a short and well-tailored off-white jacket and a skirt reaching below her knee, a style fashionable some thirty years ago. A hat would have fitted this elegance. But then, a hat would not have done justice to her beautiful hair, brown, thick and shoulder long, with natural curly steaks. Her childlike face was a happy one, underlined by her round cheeks. Although her nose was beautiful and well proportioned, Yousif thought, when he saw her:
“Her nose is a bit crooked and in time, it´ll bend and the tip get wrinkled. This will ruin the beauty of her babyface.”
This woman was Mona’s former colleague. Mona had remained in her job at the newspaper archive for only seven months and later became a teacher of English in a secondary school. The friendship between the two of them had strengthened during the last few years. But, until recently, she had rarely visited Mona, even if she lived in the neighbourhood.
When this lady arrived, she met other guests at the entrance to the garden. Among those was a tanned and pretty young girl with her handsome husband, a young lawyer, Nadia´s distant relative, who had come to know Sami’s family through her. His wife 444 Camilla carried herself with pride, obviously selfcentered and had probably spent long hours in front of the mirror, studying her beauty.
Watching her, one instantly felt, that her gestures and movements carried the message: “my husband is madly in love with me.”
For some reason, her friendship with Nadia had become somewhat tense recently. Mona had once wanted an explanation, but her reaction was cold and puzzling:
“What tension? I don´t know what you´re talking about.”
Then she had left without saying goodbye.
Jealousy seemed to be the reason for her tension. Tonight, she greeted Nadia like a stranger, sending her an unfriendly look, when she saw, that Nadia was talking to her husband.
In the meanwhile, another guest arrived, a stout man in his sixties and his wife, both old neighbours. He had once owned a grocery store, which he managed to transform into a supermarket, providing for the whole area.
Sami was one of their regular customers, often on credit. They became acquainted from the first day Sami decided to build his home there. Before that, the man hadn´t had a stable income, living with his wife in a derelict wooden hut several hundred metres from Sami’s site. Sami had asked him to provide cheap old bricks. Since Sami’s financial situation at that time was meagre, this man had volunteered to collect the building materials Sami had bought in the city and deliver them at his place free of charge. He had a cart pulled by a strong horse.
Since then, an intimate friendship had developed between the two families, because of mutual needs.
The man and his wife were both illiterate, a fact he found difficult to accept. He had often dreamt of getting an education. In spite of his recent financial successes, he never ceased to complain about his wretched past and the poverty, that had deprived him of an education. He was eager to meet educated men and deliberately chose them for friends, but was aware of the fact, that no matter how much he might befriend them, he still lacked the qualifications to be fully accepted in their circles. He felt, that learned people were extremely reserved and critical of common people like himself. However, he wanted a friend and a mentor among them. When he met learned people, he would imitate their way of speech and mimic their words, often resulting in some funny situations.
Laila, another guest, was thirty-four years of age, a loud and charming beauty, married to a possessive man, nine years her senior. She called for liberation, but was lost for words, if asked to define it. She had lived in this neighbourhood for a number of years, in a house she inherited from her father. She had had a close childhood friend, slightly younger than she was, who had a bad reputation. Some of what was said about this friend was: “She is a wicked serpent, intolerant with her lovers and practises destroying them.”
This woman had caused many quarrels between Laila and her husband Edwar. Eventually the husband managed to separate the two women, yet his relationship with his wife remained strained.
Edwar, a painter and an extremely sensitive man, couldn´t take the tensions of their married life and took refuge in alcohol to drown his sorrows and gain peace of mind. His psychological condition continued to deteriorate, as a result and the unexpected happened…
Laila had just arrived at Sami’s house. As for Edwar, he was busy talking to an old man ouside of his house and looked extremely vexed and impatient, because of this man and not because of the quarrel he had had with Laila. The old man kept pestering Edwar. The more Edwar attempted to escape from him, the harder the old man clung to him.
“Excuse me, good man,” Edward said annoyed, “talking to you is endless; perhaps you could come some other time. I´ve got a date now!”
Edwar fled into his house, without giving the old man a chance to say anything. Seething with rage he muttered:
“I fear this old guy´ll will drive me crazy. I´m sure something bad´ll happen to him. “I don’t know where he´s from. Unless I put an end to this, I may have to sell my house and flee from the neighbourhood. What a veteran chatterbox at the end of the century. He forced me to be unfriendly, because he has no manners. He even spat. He vexed me so, that I´ll not go to Sami’s party, before I´ve regained my peace of mind.”
And he sat at home with a bottle of iced beer to calm his nerves.

CHAPTER FOUR
The guests had spread around in the garden and were discussing various topics. When they met, they would greet each other, exchange brief pleasantries and leave, as if at a test. If their moods were mutual, they stopped for a while and the conversation flowed from one topic to another. If there was a mismatch of temprament, they separated with great courtesy.
There were eight guests present and there was a new face among them. His name was Jacob. He had just arrived; a young man in his thirties, of middle height, slim with sunken cheeks and thoughtful, wandering eyes.
When he talked, he bent his head, thus making it difficult to see his face. His stooping sometimes stirred the listeners’ sympathy, but then it could also be provocative.
He had recently got acquainted with Yousif. They had met only a few weeks earlier, when he got work at the newspaper. Before that, he had worked at another newspaper´s printing department. For unknown reasons, he applied for work at a paper, which had advertised a vacancy.
He had a brief encounter with the poetess Nadia and seemed to be quite timid.
“A man at his age and so shy! How refreshing to be reminded of something like that in our days!” Yousif said to himself, when he first met him.
Jacob was not talkative. From his abrupt remarks, which he made now and then, one felt his silence was not caused by ignorance, on the contrary.
Yousif had a feeling, that Jacob was secretly in love, a love reflected in his silence and, that he was obsessed with Nadia. He also had the notion, that his application for the job at the newspaper had been a mere pretext to be closer to her. That was why Yousif had invited him to the party, with Sami’s consent, who did not mind at all.
Jacob brought a bouquet of flowers. He had probably spent much time at the florist´s, making a selection of the best flowers and Yousif thought he must have paid his last penny for it.
When Sami and his wife received him, he gave Mona the bouquet, bowed and introduced himself to her in rehearsed words. He said his friend Yousif had invited him and he hoped they had been notified of his coming and, that his presence was not too cumbersome for them. He repeated this to Sami in a pleading, apologetic tone. Sami shook his hand firmly to ease the situation, as if to say: “Take it easy, never mind. No harm done. Don’t worry.”
Sami put his hand casually on his shoulder. “Welcome,” he said. “Your visit gives us much pleasure. It was kind of you to accept our invitation.”
At first Jacob was lost. He went around in circles, unable to communicate. Yousif caught sight of him at the right moment. He rushed over to him to keep him company and felt, that if he did not remain by his side, Jacob might withdraw to a corner in the garden and bury himself in thoughts, until it was time to leave. Then he would probably say good bye and slip away.
Jacob was relieved, when he noticed Yousif and smiled, while saying to himself: “I was invited. Yousif is my friend.”
Yousif led him over to Miriam and introduced them:
“This is my darling Miriam. In two years, she´ll graduate in journalism and fill the newspapers with articles, that will shake the country.”
“Don’t believe the second part of his remark,” Miriam said.
“Articles never ever shake a country. Rock’n roll and discos do.”
Now Nadia came to them with Kamil following her while talking to her. He gesticulated with pretentious vigour, like someone who knows best. When Nadia said something, he seemed to think: “That´s not the point.”
His attitude made Nadia look like a student being tutored by a dean. This annoyed her, so she began to provoke him. When she saw Jacob she said:
“Look who´s here, Jacob! I didn´t expect you. What a surprise! I was just wondering, how come the sun is shining, when day to the darkness crawls!”
Kamil’s obvious displeasure made her happy. He did not think a technician like Jacob was worthy of such a compliment. Jacob was on the other hand elated and unable to meet her eyes, not even secretly. He was about to say, that he was Yousif’s friend and repeat what he had said to Sami. Yet, his confusion saved him, as he was suddenly full of confidence. He felt he had a friend among these people. He shook Nadia´s hand and said:
“Thank you, my beautiful lady. The house was already radiant by your presence …Uhm ….. I mean by you and Miriam….. I mean by all of you.”
He shook Kamil’s hand, who was wearing a faint smile, as if they were old chums. Jacob complimented him for his elegant suit. Kamil found this pathetic and stupid, so he did not bother to reply.
With his hearty handshake and remark, Jacob was proving to himself, that barriers separating workers and writers do not exist. The poet Nadia had proved this. How pleasant it was to address a writer as a fellow worker.
His face was now radiant and unaware of mr. Kamil’s unconcealed scorn. But, Nadia noticed the latter’s reaction and it annoyed her. She began to talk about the benefits of the present company, targeting Jacob in particular. She concluded, that in spite of his usual modesty, he was a cultivated person. Her aim was to lure him into a discussion, which he would no doubt win, thus avenging Kamil’s contempt.
She succeeded in initiating a controversial topic with Jacob now taking part. Kamil kept making cold, abrupt replies, expressing directly or indirectly, that this conversation was out of place, implying, that the present company was unworthy of himself. He said he had covered the subject with Nadia before, not because he considered her an equal or in need of her opinions, but simply to keep her by his side.
The discussion became heated. In spite of Kamil’s pretence of being unaffected by it, he soon felt, that they had formed an intellectual front against him. He must emerge victorious in this debate.
However, their discussion, was abruptly interrupted, when Mona rang a little copper bell at the dining table. She wanted her guests´ attention, who were dispersed all over the garden. They were to regroup and take their seats for the party to begin.
The old woman arrived accompanied by Sami. She was walking at a very slow pace, looking dignified in a smart dress.
The guests saw her approaching, while she was wispering to her son, whose head was bent slightly to her, but when they came closer a deep silence fell on the party. Sami helped her to her seat. She cast her eyes on the guests and addressed them, expressing her pleasure and welcoming them. She said she would stay with them for half an hour, after which she had to be excused, since she was feeling somewhat weak, but they were to continue enjoying themselves regardless of this.
The stout man, who considered himself a representative of the elderly generation, addressed the old woman politely:
“We´re all happy to have you in our presence. Thank you for your kind welcoming remarks, which give us much pleasure.”
Kamil looked at both the old woman and the stout man and grinned.
“What´s wrong with people nowadays!” he mumbled. “Everyone seems to have megalomania. Why did he take the liberty of talking on our behalf?”
Seizing the opportunity of the silence, that followed the stout man’s speech, Kamil said:
“This gives me a personal pleasure. I have no desire to represent anyone.”
He smiled, so as to diminish the obvious criticism implied to the stout man and to avoid making a bad impression. He went on, choosing his words with extreme care:
“It gives me great pleasure to greet Sami´s benevolent and noble mother. Accept my deep appreciation of the gentle welcoming, that has gratified our ears, wishing her a lasting good health and a long life”
He directed his words mainly to Sami and Mona.
The stout man was simple by nature. He blushed a bit and was hurt and for a while, he was absent minded. His wife was aware of what Kamil was doing. Her husband had taken the liberty to speak on behalf of everyone. His remarks had been spontaneous with no hidden intention or malice. However, she was the forgiving sort and gently and affectionately pressed her husband’s hand. He smiled innocently.
“What a learned man,” he whispered in her ear. “He´s quite a writer.”
Kamil continued his eloquent and enthusiastic speech.
“He´s giving a sermon,” Nadia wispered in Miriam’s ear. “I wonder what will be left for the lawyer sitting next to him to say. The lawyer´s wife is slightly upset. Perhaps she´s eager for her husband to take over. She is obviously angry.”
Miriam was about to burst out laughing, but managed to smile instead. When Yousif noticed her stifling her laughter, he oppressed a chuckle.
“What did Nadia say?” he whispered.
“Shush ..,” Miriam uttered, winking. “This is women’s talk.”
Kamil finished his speech by suggesting a toast:
“I raise my glass to you all in admiration and gratitude for your friendship.”
Some raised their glasses taking small sips, while Kamil emptied his in one gulp and said: “The Russians drink a lot and break a lot of glasses too. Like the Russians, I empty my glass, but I´ll not toss it behind me. It is said, that those, who adopt such customs, must own a glass factory to secure their sale and constant profit.”
“As for the Arabs,” Sami said, addressing the stout man and his wife Camilla in an exuberant spirit: “they cook a great deal and throw a lot of food in the waste bins. It is said that those, who adopt such customs, must own supermarkets to ensure continuous supply and much profit.”
The stout man burst out laughing. The lawyer’s wife started saying something, but stopped in the middle of a sentence, for fear of her voice being drowned by another woman´s speech, whose first words coincided with hers. So, the lawyer´s wife hid her embarrassment and remained silent. How she wished people could keeep quiet for a minute, so she could have her say, but they might simply listen to her out of sympathy. Another thought also gripped her: what if her husband didn´t like her comments? He might then patronise her.
Mona lit the dining table candles and said:
“Please go to the dining room and help yourselves.”
Faint humming and wide smiles followed this announcement, while the guests went to the dining room.
The cuisine got many compliments and sounds of clicking cultery and plates took over. Some were content with small triangular pizza pieces, while others filled their plates with a good helping of biryani rice. One of them put a helping from each dish on two plates, filling them simultaneously and carrying them both at the same time.
One of the guests decided to delay his dinner, saying :
“I can´t drink wine and eat at the same time.”
Gradually they returned to their seats in the garden.
The weather was wonderful and the sound of “mon amour” music flowed gently and sweetly in the background, creating a romantic atmosphere.
A gazelle appeared in a corner of the garden, looking at the people, while standing quite still and some rabbits and chicken searched for morsels beneath the dining table.
Then the doorbell rang and Miriam went to see who it might be.
“I wonder who´s coming so late,” Sami said.
“It is Edwar I guess,” Laila replied.
“Oh really,” Mona uttered. “Where has he been? He´s not usually late, especially when there´s wine.”
The garden gate was ajar. Miriam saw a man, his face lit by the street lights.
“Come closer,” she said. “What are you waiting for? You’re not a stranger, are you?”
“It seems your party is already in full swing,” Edwar said.
“Of course, did you think we´d be waiting for you? Anyway, never mind, there’s plenty of wine, so you can have your share,”she said and laughed.
Edwar took the only vacant seat having greeted everyone and apologizing for being late.
“Usually I´m not late,” he said apologetically, “but circumstances sometimes get the better of us.”
“What circumstances, Edwar?” Sami sasked in a teasing way, as he filled a glass of wine for his friend.
Edwar`s eyes watched the wine flow into the glass:
“In fact,” he said, “a man stopped me and kept talking to me, so time slipped by. That’s all there is to it.”
“Dinner awaits you in the dining room. All you have to do is take a plate and fill it as your heart desires.” Mona said to him.
As if just having received a strict military order, Edwar rose and went to the dining room. He did not stay there for long, soon returning with a plateful of salad.
“This is my favorite dish, when I´m drinking,” he said. “I´m very fond of salads.”
“You´re so welcome,” Sami said.
“He´s always like that,” Laila whispered in Mona’s ear. “He must´ve had a drink at home before coming here.”
A light chatter began on salads. Some cursed them recollecting incidents and humorous situations, when having a salad. Edwar remained quiet, somewhat absent-minded.
Kamil was thinking:
“What stupid people I´m mixing with. They keep discussing trivialities, but if one wants to talk about a philosophical subject, they flee to the toilet, as if at a sudden attack of diarrhea.”
Edwar said:
“I´ve never had a bad incident with salads, but an hour ago something happened to me, which I don´t understand.”
“Because of a salad?” The stout man asked gaily. “I´ve never had a bad incident with salads, but an hour ago something happened, which embarrassed me.”
“A salad, sir?” Edwar asked, waving his hand impatiently.
“You said the situation had embarrassed you! Salads alone hardly cause embarrassment,” he added politely. “What happened to me was not embarrassing and it didn´t upset any moral conduct, but it confused me.”
Mr. Kamil, sensing, that time was ripe for a conversation, that did not involve the taste and texture of salads and garlic asked:
“Could you sleep, if an important question still remained unanswered?”
“Not at all. Even now, my mind is attached to what I saw and it will take me some time to let go of it.”
“Come on,” said Sami, “tell us, so we can sleep peacefully tonight. I may be able to solve the puzzle for you.”
“Do you know the young man with the tattoo on his hand? He works at a cafeteria near the newspaper´s office?” Edwar asked and took a sip of his wine.
“Yes what about him?” voices echoed.
Jacob answered before Edwar:
“A month ago he fell off his bicycle and was rushed to hospital. It´s said he suffered a brain haemorrhage. This young man used to be full of vigour. He had the strength of a mule. Today I saw him sitting in a wheel chair with a nurse tending him. I hardly recognized him. He had lost weight during this ordeal and what is worse, he had lost his speech too. His limbs were paralysed. Even his face was dried out and void of any expression. His nose and jaws were crooked to one side, making his lower jaw protrude and dribbling saliva trickled down to his chest. I´m sorry, ladies and gentlemen, for being carried away by such details. I´m spoiling your appetite. At the same time, we must realize, how suddenly one may be transformed into a cripple. Isn’t there a great deal of cruelty or let me say depravity in life?”
“I told you,” Laila whispered in Mona’s ear. “He must´ve had a great deal at home, as he is already drunk after only two sips of wine here.”
“I asked the nurse, if he´d be like that the rest of his life or was there any hope of recovery,” Edwar continued. “She said, that recovery was very unlikely. And I keep wondering what use his life could be after this? Isn’t being alive a sort of constant torture for him? Science, always trying to minimize human suffering, is unable to reduce this young man´s agony. Why didn’t they free him from life, while he was unconscious and as good as dead! Why did they bring him back to life, when that meant misery and torment? Why do we refuse to help a tormented man die because of ethics? Helping people die in such situations is far more merciful than watching their suffering. What bothers me is, that my ideas, though vulgar, are logical.”
“Those ideas have preoccupied philosophers and writers for a long time and still remain unanswered,” the elegant lady said, who now spoke for the first time this evening. “They agree, that such lives are hell, yet refuse to end them. A neutral solution is to do whatever is best to relieve their agonies, knowing, that no matter how hard they try, these lives remain intolerable.”
“I know that, but why does humanity refuse to spare them their tortures?” Edwar stressed further.
“Because murder is illegal and ugly,” the young lawyer said. “Condeming a patient to death arouses guilt, which would bother a good doctor forever. If humanity were to allow doctors or guardians of the afflicted to take control of people´s lives, it would be enough to fill the heart of every man with dread from a constant fear of falling prey to a simple accident, that might make him unconscious and no longer able to choose his destiny. Fear would then haunt many a man. That´s why humanity has never legislated mercy killing, even if death could be a desirebale solution.”
The lawyer´s wife glanced at her husband with approval, while he was expressing his views, then diverting her attention to Sami, who asked:
“D´you mean, that the idea of such a death would torment people in general and, that the ethical stand gives peace of mind?”
“This ethical law is fair,” the lawyer answered, “because the ratio of 444hundred of thousands to a billion is 444one per cent or one to two hundred or even a thousand. For only one to suffer is better than everyone suffering.”
The debate continued for some time, opinions both agreement and disagreement.
Kamil listened with interest, but kept his views to himself. He needed time to collect his thoughts, in order to make a good impression. Besides, having heard their views, he could select what he found agreeable and rephrase them philosophically to give them a personal touch. He was indeed eager to participate in the debate and all ears were focused towards him, when suddenly they heard loud, joyful yells and laughter from the dining area. Then they saw Miriam and Yousif rushing from the dining room. They had gone inside the house, where some of the guests were watching the weekly lottery results being televised. They had won fifteen hundred dollars.
Naturally, the guests´ conversation came to a halt and was replaced by remarks, which continued for some time. Returning to the previous topic was out of the question.
Kamil was annoyed, but he managed to conceal it with a wide grin. The guests seemed happy to have found a more entertaining topic and discussed how the couple should spend the money.
Someone advised them to spend it on a holiday in an exotic country, making use of off-season prices. Another one suggested buying a good second hand car. Others said they should spend the money on their wedding due in a month or two.
Mona suddenly clapped her hands to get the guests´ attention and also to create balance, as she felt the suggestions were overwhelming.
“Listen, listen,” she said. “They know very well how to spend the money. Let’s enjoy our party. Miriam has prepared an entertaining game. Let’s hear the rules.”
The old lady rose from her seat, her face round and flushed, like that of a happy baby:
“Now you must excuse me,” she said. “Please enjoy yourselves and I thank you for your good company.”
She left, heading for her room. Her son wanted to accompany her, but she stopped him.
“Return to your guests, my dear Sami.” she said. “You´ve all made me so happy.”

CHAPTER FIVE
The game they were about to play was to strike a match and pass it around by hand. When it went out, the person, who held it, would be ordered by the last player to obey an order. Failing to obey would result in having to tell a joke noone had heard before.
And since Miriam and Yousif had agreed to put an end to mr. Kamil’s snobbery, they did their best for several rounds to make the match go out in the hands of the poetess, who would give him the match. Miriam was the one to give the orders.
“Now it´s your turn, poetess!” Miriam said. “Please recite the beautiful poem I once heard you recite. You sounded like a gregarious ass, didn´t you?”
“A gregarious ass?” the poetess said, winking at Miriam. “This is the first time I hear of such a thing. No, my dear. I shan’t imitate any ass, gregarious or not. I prefer to read to you some serious poetry, maybe the whole collection!”
“We don´t want to hear the whole collection,” Miriam said laughing and winking at her, “only if you want all of us to flee…. ha.. ha.. ha. We only want to hear your latest poem.”
“If you insist on hearing that one, I´ll try to imitate a gregarious ass,” The poetess joked.
“That’s unacceptable. You said you´d recite your poems,” Miriam said.
“I’ve changed my mind. I feel free to choose one myself.”
“If the rules of the game allow a second choice,” Miriam said, “then you can change your mind. So, what´s it going to be? Are we to hear your latest poem or are we…?” Encouraging voices became louder.
“Come on … come on … read your poetry for us!”
“This is a short poem,” Nadia said submissively. “I tried to write in the style of Pusjkin. I decided not to include it in my collection, not because I felt it weak or unworthy compared to the particular poem, that inspired me. I don’t feel it´s a literary theft, as has been hinted or even an imitation. Sometimes one is inspired by a poem and remains obssessed by it. And one may find oneself writing verses in the same metre and perhaps use the same images and mood, without intending to plagiarize the model. Besides, imitation is legitimate. How else could critics categorize certain poets as belonging to one school or the other? At any rate, I wish to belong to the Pusjkin school. As for my poem, I´d like to bring it to the heights of the original poem, that inspired me. I wrote both poems on a piece of paper, I mean my poem and Pusjkin’s, because I wanted to show them to our critic, mr. Kamil and ask his opinion.”
She gave Kamil the piece of paper. His face was gleaming with pride, when he said:
“I didn´t expect you to show it to me, before you´d read it for us. Therefore I´ll only read Pusjkin’s poem.”
Several voices broke out, Yousif’s among them:
“No, please read both poems.”
“Come on,” Miriam said. “Please read both poems, without saying which of them belongs to whom.”
“That´s a reasonable solution!” Nadia said, “but you´ll recognize Pusjkin and laugh at my silly verse.”
“Oh, dear young lady,” said the stout man. “D´you think we´re all poets, who can tell the difference. We listen to sweet words, but we don´t know Pusjkin from Yesenin. Reading between the lines is the speciality of critics like mr. Kamil.”
Kamil was swollen with pride, while studying the two poems and found it fitting to lecture a bit to show his wide knowledge. 444 p.19 Miriam ?? being the poet, now Nadia.
“If Nadia´s poem withstands my criticism and is well received thereafter,” he thought. “the merit belongs to me, because of my evaluation. However, if her poem doesn´t receive my praise, it´ll put me in a bad light. So, I want you all to know from the start, that I´ve seen some weak points in the poetess´s writing, but now I´ll try to be constructively critical. I want her to become independent and good. It´s always a question of talent. What can decent, genuine and selfless criticism do, in the absence of talent?”
This train of thought flashed through his mind. Nadia met the requests from her audience and decided to read both poems, without revealing which one was hers and which Pusjkin’s.
She recited the poems in a gentle and pleasant voice, repeating particular verses and emphasizing certain words. The guests smiled, nodding in admiration.
On finishing her reading, she blushed, because of their cheers. She bowed to them and took her seat.
Kamil´s claps had been the loudest. Twice he rose from his seat in enthusiasm and was the last one to stop. And he thought:
“My applause is an ecouragement for her to continue writing. No matter how harsh my criticism may be; it is for her own benefit- to help her reach a desired level. My job is to prevent poetry from descending to a pitiful state.”
He was eager to discuss the subject, only the opportunity never arrived, for no sooner had the poetess taken her seat again, than everyone returned to the game by passing the match from hand to hand.
“It bothers him not having his say about the poems,” Yousif whispered to both Miriam and Nadia. “He missed the opportunity to impress the party. Look at his face. I bet he´s preparing a speech … ha.. ha… the jackass!”
“Did you see how he clapped?” Nadia whispered.”The jerk!”
“Don´t worry,” Miriam whispered. “Sooner or later he´ll reap the fruits of his extrovert behaviour.”
“I hope he has never read a Pusjkin poem; otherwise our plan fails.” Nadia said in the same low voice.
“Believe me, his likes never read anything. They criticize on the basis of what they may have read long ago. They summarize a few rules and use them to form their opinions. What they publish becomes their law. A critic once confessed something, which made me respect him a lot.
“We, the critics,” he said frankly, “aspire to be creative, but lack the talent, a fact that makes us pour our rage in a fiendish way against creative people, especially contemporary ones. We downgrade their talents. It´s our inferiority complex, let´s call it “our failure complex.”
“May God protect you from what our critic will say.” Yousif murmured. “I think he´s waiting for the right opportunity to bring us back to your poem. His enormous applause could mean, that he has prepared his lashes.”
“How wonderful, if he did,” Miriam whispered. “I hope my mirth doesn´t give me away.”
“Be careful not to laugh, Miriam or you spoil everything. Kamil is quick-witted. We must admit that.”
At this moment, the match went out in Jacob’s hand. And then it was the poetess’s turn to give an order, but she was carried away by her conversation with Yousif and Miriam, so Sami made her aware of it.
“Come on,” he said. “What about stopping your whispers and giggles. It´s your turn and you must say something. We´re all waiting.”
Jacob held on to the extinguished match, his face flushed.
“To our beautiful poetess,” he said lowering his eyes. “I´ll obey all commands, even if she asked me to jump into flames.”
Nadia smiled sweetly.
“D´you really mean that or is it just words?” she cried joyfully.
“Of course!” Jacob was not shy any more.
Nadia looked him straight in the eye.
“O.k!” she said, “I´ll not ask you to throw yourself into any flames, but you´re to jump into the swimming pool now!”
No sooner had she finished her sentence, than Jacob rose and jumped into the pool, to Nadia´s utter astonishment. Noone had expected him to obey her command. It was just a joke. Stranger still, he could not swim. He began splashing haphazardly and screaming from fear. At first, they thought he was joking, as he was not far from the pool ladder or in the deep end. The water level was about waist-deep. However, his cries reached such heights, that people understood, that he was in trouble. Yousif plunged into the water and got hold of him. Jacob’s eyes were red and he had swallowed a lot of water, “enough to water Sahara,” Edwar said.
His clothes clung to his body and had become heavy, drenched and dripping, so a puddle was forming where he stood.
He realized the absurdity of his situation. The guests were still in a state of shock. Some smiled mockingly. Jacob blushed, in his attempt to justify his behaviour. Not daring to look at them, he said:
“Suddenly I had a cramp in my leg …I can swim, but my leg….”
Nadia interrupted him.
“I was joking!” she said apologetically. You shouldn´t have taken it seriously. And even if I weren´t joking, how could you throw yourself in the water like that! … with your clothes on! Oh my God.”
“The weather was very hot” Jacob stuttered, “and I said to myself, o.k. let´s have fun. I thought you would follow me into the pool, but then I got the cramp.”
She was silent and did not wish to embarrass him further. The situation was already awkward enough. Jacob felt his excuses were even more pathetic than his jump. But what more could he say?
“What if somebody else had given this command?” he asked himself later. “Would I´ve made a fool of myself as readily? I wonder what they think of me now? And what about her? What must she be thinking? Something comical for sure. I´m the joke of the season and to her I´m just stupid.”
He went into the house with Yousif to change clothes. Mona went with them and gave them some of Sami’s outfit.
“What a fool!” Kamil said to himself. ” Jacob can´t swim and throws himself into the water. Even if he knew how to swim, how could he obey such an order from a woman! Some men are plain idiots. He spoilt the game for us. He even made me forget what I was thinking…. the idiot!”
Kamil’s anger at being denied his say on the two poems reached a desperate point. He decided to have his say, whatever the cost. Before the interruption of the game, he had decided to make the match go out in his hand and even if it didn’t, he would drop it on purpose, in which case he would be commanded to carry out a specific task, to which he would of course timidly make his excuses and say, that he was incapable of doing it. Then, when urged to do something, he´d express his opinion of the poetess´s verse. He´d have excused himself by saying he had a date and must leave and, since he didn´t expect another encounter with the poetess in the company of such cultured people, he wanted fulfill her request, as she had expressed her need for his honest opinion.
He would do this for the sake of the arts and say, that he did it with modesty, before leaving.
Half an hour later, Jacob and Yousif were wearing dry clothes. Mona wanted to wash, dry and iron their own outfits. Jacob objected, not wanting her to waste her time on him. He persuaded her just to put the wet clothes in the dryer. He felt guilty for spoiling the atmosphere and wanted them to finish the game. Kamil was pleased, since it served his purpose to address the guests:
“Please do sit down. Please go to your seats.” He shouted.
The guests did that and a light chatter began. Kamil directed the conversation to a matter, that gave him a chance to air his literary views and his linguistic skills. Miriam paved the way for him. “What about a literary debate,” she asked, winking secretly to Nadia.
“Perfect,” Edwar said. “We´ve got thinkers and poets in our company.”
“A good idea. I just love literature,” the elegant lady said.
Several voices joined in:
“It´s a party worthy of a literary talk.”
“To literature! To literature!”
“Literature is the nourishment of the soul,” Laila said laughing.
The lawyer´s wife corrected her: “Music is the nourishment of the soul.”
“I know that,” Lila replied, “but now we´re in the mood for poetry.”
Kamil added: “Music and literature nourish both soul and mind.”
Sami clapped his hands to get everybody’s attention.
“Well then,” he said, “let’s get started! What shall we begin with?”
Yousif looked at Miriam. “We´ve already begun,” he said.
“Indeed,” the lawyer said. “The poetess has just recited her beautiful poem. Let´s now listen to the professional critic.”
“I suppose you can analyse poetry chemically?” the stout man joked.”
“I suppose most things can be analysed,” Sami said.
He directed his words to Kamil, who nodded and said:
“Of course, of course. Everything can be analysed like a chemical substance. Poetry, consists of words, useful sentences and an idea. These are a matter for debates and analysis.”
Mona shook her little copper bell.
“We´ve listened to Nadia’s poems,” she said. “It remains for us to listen to your views, mr. Kamil, since you are far more knowledgeable, than the rest of us in affairs of literature and criticism.”
Kamil was quite elated.
“Thank you,” he said, “thank you for your kind words, which make me happy.”
“We´re just being honest,” the stout man said.
“We´re ready,” the elegant woman said. “We´re all ears! Please share your views with us.”

CHAPTER SIX
“Even if I was happy, when this evening turned into a literary event,” Kamil said, “I´m unhappy having to express any criticism of our beautiful poetess´s poems. If I were to begin to analyse them, I fear it would be inappropriate to express the whole thing here. I´m going to simplify my modest views for her own benefit. I believe, that my views can be useful to her, more than to anyone else present here. That makes me feel, that the discussion should be between me and her only, but since you insist, I´ll do my best.”
He then added, as if joking:
“However, it will be an honest feedback, of course with her permission. Nadia knows how straight forward I am, when speaking my mind. I feel she´ll benefit from it and extract wisdom from it.”
“I clapped for you ….” He stared at her, smiling and went on: “In fact, I clapped a great deal, because I sensed in your poem a tiny spark. I said to myself: Nadia is improving her talent. The day may come, when her tiny little spark may be transformed into a forceful fire. And that was what pleased me and made me applause.”
He opened his palms:
“The palms of my hands are still red from clapping, but that doesn´t mean, that I´ll be lax. Allow me first to dissect the two poems and quote what I once read in a magazine. This quotation is for your benefit. A poet was asked what was meant by “savage criticism,” a term he had used in describing critics during an interview with a magazine. This term might apply to me too, according to some people. Yet, I want to defend myself: It´s pure honesty, no more. But a savage critic attacks not only the poem, but also the poet. I´m straight forward in my reviews for the benefit of art and the artist. Once a poet replied and said: “Verse, like love, is a thing in itself. When a poem leaves the poet for publication, it gets its own existence. Then a review is made from various angles and the critic becomes barbaric about an independent creation. A sensitive poem is weak compared to the barbarity applied to it. This is in fact pure honesty, no more, .. A selfless discipline urges an honest critic to analyse, not only the poem, but also the poet… I´m straight forward in my reviews for the benefit of art and the artist. Once a poet reacted and said:
“Verse, like love, is a thing in itself.”
When a poem leaves the poet for publication, it gets its own existence. Then a review is made from various angles and the critic deals with it as an independent creation. It´s true, my dear listeners, that he and his criticism are often savage. Some critics follow rules they´ve leant by heart and think, that nothing should pass, without these being kept. We´re the ones to permit or ban. Some critics become political censors. They create methods to fight ideas they don´t like. If the popular tendency is for democracy and freedom of expression and they want to avoid insulting the intellectual hierarchy, they apply what they call a constructive criticism, in order to undermine a writer and his works completely. They then write their review, in order to attack the writer´s intellectual values and discredit him. If they fail to mutilate a literary work, because of its unquestionable value, they criticize the writer personally and undermine his talents and morals. A writer, like a soldier, is dependent on the authorities. Heaven helps him, who deviates. Furthermore, public relations plays an important role when reviewing.
This introduction is necessary to avoid any misunderstanding. One of my colleagues fell madly in love with a novelist. During their relationship, he was an inspiration to her work and writings, always rendering his honest and caring opinions. Chaste critics attacked her work. Her friend´s sharp criticism had a great influence on her talent. He often published outspoken reviews, which were both beneficial to her and her readers alike. He described her strength and weaknesses and was indeed knowledgeable and refined in the field of literary criticism. Yet, he was modest and often apologized to authors and readers, when he discussed negative aspects of a work, saying, that what he was stating were merely his views, no more no less and, that others might disagree. His views were not dictated by any rules and the author fell in love with him. They decided to get married. Only this was not to be, because his fiancé discovered, that he was involved in another relationship and decided to call the engagement off. He tried hard to mend their friendship, but failed. The novelist could not forgive him. She said to him, that he had destroyed her once so pure feelings, so how could she forgive him. The thought, that he had lied to her meant, that he might do it again. His love turned into hate. He wrote a new review of her stories, publishing it under a pseudonym. This time he wrote an extremely negative review of all her works.
Criticism is a two-edged sword, especially, when made by an experienced hand. Professional literary criticism has a great influence on what books people read.”
While Kamil was speaking, Miriam whispered to Nadia:
“He´s waging an attack, so his prey has no chance to defend herself. He´s going to slaughter your poem on the pretext, that he´s doing so selflessly and for the benefit of pure art, giving the writer a useful lesson.”
“Let him continue or our plan will fail,” Yousif whispered.
“God help him,” Nadia muttered. “Listen, he´s so smart in what seems to be a casual parlour.”
“The critic is like a doctor,” Kamil went on, “the subject being the body. A doctor must diagnose and help maintain a healthy body. There is no room for beating around the bush. Nor must a critic dishonour his profession. Advanced countries nourish young writers, treat and cure their ailments, raising them to heights, proud of them collectively. As for us, I think I´ve said more than enough about that …”
“Goodness,” said the young lawyer, “that’s true. We don´t hesitate to accuse our old philosophers of literary theft and undermine their genius, that has bewitched the world. Thousands of writers all over the world keep writing about love … love is love, no matter how varied the descriptions and images. So, what is a literary theft? A friend of mine said to me: “Read these pages.” They belonged to a brilliant classical author, who described the emotions of a child witnessing his drunk father being assaulted. This incident had also happened to another writer, whose writing I admire. He described his emotions with the innocence and feelings of a child, just like the ancient writer. Another friend who discovered this, laughed sarcastically:
“Look!” he said, “Your favourite writer is a thief.” It can´t be forbidden for other writers to write about similar themes they know from experience. What if the emotions of ten writers were to meet at the point of pain and their descriptions were similar? Have they stolen from each other? How are we to define theft in literature? Anyway, I was shocked having to defend my favourite writer, whose works had touched me profoundly. It saddened me to see him being prosecuted.”
Kamil spoke rapidly:
“Indeed,” he went on, “I agree, that there are many writers, readers and critics, who make you laugh. I myself was about to say that, but you came first. Well, take other examples about readers and critics, who belittle art because they consider it lacks mystique. A colleague of mine asked me, if I had read so and so novel… It´s a great novel, he said. Brilliant! I read the first forty pages three times, but couldn´t make much of it. These forty pages are full of puzzles and codes, extremely difficult to understand. I know many examples of this. I once saw a film about a painter, who held an exhibition. Some paint had been splashed on one of his pictures. As a joke, the painting was exhibited. People crowded around it in admiration. Once an artist made a little sketch of a dove on a white paper symbolizing peace. A very ordinary work, which any artist is capable of. This unknown artist used to be badly received by critics. One of the critics said: “This is not a dove of peace, but a chicken of peace.” The artist then said, that he had copied a Picasso. So, you see Picasso’s dove, which no one dares criticize, was described as a chicken of peace. Sometimes critics go too far, don´t they?”
Nadia looked anxiously at Miriam:: “He knows,” she whispered.
“Probably,” Miriam answered. “How stupid of us. “We´ll apologize to him and say it was just a silly joke.”
“What he´s saying has nothing to do with our plan,” Yousif whispered.
“Indeed it does. He´s not making fun of us, because first he wants to torment us,” Miriam answered.
“We deserve it or I alone, since it concerns me more than any of you,” Nadia whispered.
“The devil´s son,” Miriam sighed: “Nothing escapes him. I´ve been wondering, why he has pestered us with this sermon.”
Suddenly, Kamil stared in the direction of the whispering voices.
“What are my dears conspiring?” he asked. Has my lecture given you a headache? Don´t worry, I´ll finish my speech. I know, that when I start talking, it´s difficult for me to stop, but bear with me. Besides, I wanted to meet our poetess´s wishes and air my modest and honest opinion about her poem.”
“I can’t stay.. I must go,” Nadia said in a low voice. He´s torturing me.”
“Don’t be hasty,” Yousif said. “His words may be a mere coincidence.”
“I hope so, otherwise I´ll feel so humiliated, she answered.”
The renowned critic´s speech had held everyone’s attention. So much so, that the stout man paraphrased his comments in Kamil’s style. Some of his expressions made people laugh, since they were irrelevant to the subject and wrongly pronounced, like the word metaphysical, which he prononounced as metaphorical. And he said:
This chap reminds one of a politician at a meeting against dictatorship. He heard the demonstrators addressed as you audacious fighters. ( the stout man 444 Meaning not clear) One day, when he himself was addressing the fighters, he said: – you atrocious fighters – and continued, without understanding why everybody laughed.
When Kamil finished his speech, which was more of a lecture, he reviewed the two poems, highly praising Pusjkin’s poem and eloquently reciting parts of it. As for the poem belonging to Nadia, he praised what he called a very faint spark in it, which he had referred to earlier, but then attacked every word saying, that art should not be so weak.
“This is not a poem,” he said “and will never be, but if you note my criticism, your future work may improve.”
Nadia smiled triumphantly to him, while in a tone of stinging sarcasm, she said:
“Allow me to say, dear friend, that your review has savagely and cruelly attacked one of these poems. I find this strange. Your speech has been quite a lecture, long and tedious and seems to have been rehearsed, written and summarized earlier. All that talk was to allure us and excuse your actions, as a critic different from others, whom you described as being dishonest. In fact, you were saying:
“I´m not like them and therefore I reject them. Whatever I may do, you must trust me. I speak like this, because I care for literature and writers.” And she continued:
“Isn´t that what you had in mind? Your continuous and dishonest criticism of all my writings has wounded me deeply. I don´t know what you win by playing an intellectual genius. All your jargon is built on a complete intellectual void and pretences and I can prove that!”
Kamil was dumbfounded, his eyes protruding. He had not expected this thunderbolt or did any of those present. He managed to control himself, while preparing a verbal combat and vowed to avenge this insult in a polite way, so as not to offend the whole party.
Some of the guests seemed to be eager for this battle to begin, some sincerely wishing for the critic to lose his temper and strike the poetess as the “striking critic.” There had been an article in one of the newspapers not long ago about a critic, who lost his temper in a heated discussion and had struck a poetess. He hit her right in her face. She, who was quite a cat, dug her nails into his bald skull and scratched him down his cheek.” Kamil said and added:
“Oh, I was carried away. This is how the situation was: Let`s get back to the poetess. She didn´t scratch the man´s face, but she lost her temper.”
Nadia answered in a sad tone:
“Somehow I´ve lost my faith in reviews and critics. We don´t have a healthy criticism. Critics are unsuccessful writers, as a writer once said. They´re unable to write two lines, in spite of their fiery ambitions, driven by envy and a desire to undermine the talented. That makes them aggressive.”
“You´re quite tense, Nadia,” Sami said in a grave voice to calm her.
“Of course I´m tense,” she replied. “Our learned maestro has torn my feelings to shreds. I really don´t know, why I´ve shown him my work! Maybe, because I believed in him or maybe I needed encouragement. Now he says everything I write is pathetic. He doesn´t say – this is a pathetic poem -, but his expressions hint that. It makes me feel, that writing is for the elite, but how they got that status, is not clear. Their guardians, the critics, don´t allow a newcomer to enter their circles. Many a talent has been mutilated and much beautiful work dishonoured by them. Why are the writings of those with high class names always received with good reviews. I´m sure, that famous writers have in the beginning of their careers, experienced what I´m going through now. Their work may´ve been ridiculed, before the spotlight of fame reached them.”
Kamil was preparing an attack. He was sure he could crush her.
“Forgive me, my beautiful lady,” he said. “This isn´t the way to discuss. You find faults in my criticism of your poems.”
Nadia interrupted him, in order to reveal the trick she had laid for him.
“Allow me to inform you,” she said angrily, “that you´ve never read Pusjkin. You praised his poem, because he is Pusjkin. As for my poem, you doomed it mercilessly, because it was mine and not his. So, let it be known, our esteemed maestro, that you praised my poem and mutilated Pusjkin’s. I attributed Pusjkins’ poem to my name and the name of the great poet to my poem. So, what about your review? Isn’t it as insignificant, as the descend of thunder on the seas? Hasn’t it been dispersed like droplets of water scattered by the winds?”
Kamil rose from his seat and banged his fist forcefully on the table:
“This is a premeditated conspiracy. You´ll pay for this hoax. And this one over there, is no doubt your ally. He pointed at Yousif. You´ll pay for this too.”
The stout man´s wife chuckled, as if to answer for her husband, whom Kamil had insulted earlier.
“Punishment?” she exclaimed. “You still go in for that, do you?”
Kamil felt like a wounded animal among a hungry pack of wolves. He rushed out, addressing Miriam, as he left:
“You´re in this too. Wait and see the consequences.”
“What d´you think you can do?” Yousif asked. “He´s threatening us!”
Sami tried to ease the party, when Kamil had fled from the house.
After the excitement, a heavy silence fell upon them, as no one wanted to interfere. Nadia was also quiet. Then she covered her face with her hands and burst out crying:
“I´m sorry,” She stuttered, “I behaved badly. I shouldn’t have done this. I´m very very sorry and apologize. He has made me suffer a great deal… for a long time.”
She rose and addressed them all, without looking at them:
“Please accept my sincere apologies.”
As she was about to leave the table, they were taken by surprise. Without anyone noticing it, Kamil suddenly appeared and posed in front of Nadia, almost touching her. Furious and shaking uncontrollably, he yelled:
“I´m not different from the striking critic! Here´s a deposit?”
He hit Nadia hard on her cheek.
Cries of outrage and astonishment broke out. “Goodness, what a thing to do! He has disgraced himself forever.”
Kamil looked like a raging bull, but disappeared as swiftly as he had appeared.
Yousif ran shouting after him: “I´ll throw you in the pool,” but he returned shortly after:
“He disappeared like salt in water…,the devil! I´d have thrown him in the pool.”
Everyone took Nadia´s side and tried to calm her, emphasizing Kamil’s disgraceful and inappropriate behaviour, especially towards a fellow-writer.
The stout man said:
“If an intellectual behaves like that, then how should a layman behave?”
Edwar, trying to conceal his pleasure:
“When Kamil calms down and returns to his senses, he should cut his hand off and give it to the Natural History Museum or better still, the dinosaur section, since he seems to belong to their kind. A woman should never be struck, not even by a rose.”
“Liar!” his wife whispered in his ear. “Huh, a woman should never be struck!”
“If only he had stayed for a few minutes,” Yousif said, “then I´d have thrown him in the pool.”
Strange enough, Jacob, enamored by Nadia, did not utter a word. He seemed to be absent minded. When the situation eased a bit, he said to Yousif:
“The shirt I´m wearing is very loose, isn’t it?”
Ignoring his comment, Yousif said:
“If only he had stayed one more minute…..”
“You said you would´ve thrown him in the pool,” Miriam said. “Don’t you ever stop showing off? How could you throw him in the water, when his hands are thicker than your legs? Look what he did to her face. His whole hand is imprinted on her cheek. I don’t know how a person can be a writer and be as heavily built as he is. He should´ve been a boxer or a weightlifter or even a 444chef, but not a writer.”
“This is a disgrace.” Mona whispered to Sami. “What has happened in our house is a disgrace, our guests fighting each other. It´s humiliating.”
“Calm down,” Sami whispered. “Let´s not make more of the situation than necessary.”
“But this scandal is an insult to us.”
“Never mind dear, I´ll sort the situation out later. It´s bad enough as it´s now. Try, my dear, to calm our guest down and make amends. I´ll try to talk to Nadia. She has been victim to a great insult.”
Sami walked over to the poetess, who was being consoled by Miriam and Edwar’s wife, who were both quite upset. Yousif and Jacob had joined them.
Smiling, Sami winked to his daughter, who understood he wanted to be left alone with Nadia. So, she left them and took Laila with her. Sami gave Yousif the same signal, only he didn´t understand it and asked: “What?”
“He´s asking you to go,” Laila said with a smile.
Nadia´s laughter and sobs mingled. Yousif was suddenly overwhelmed by a desire to play the role of a stupid clown, pretending not to understand anything and shouted:
“Go! Go where?”
Miriam pulled him by his sleeve and said:
“My father said: “Would you be so kind as to leave us alone, thank you.”
“Oh,” Yousif said smiling. “Why didn’t you say so?”
Nadia’s head was bowed.
“I´m your host,” Sami said very politely, “and I apologize for what happened. I hope my apology can help you recover from Kamil´s insults. We´re just as hurt as you are.”
“I´m so ashamed,” Nadia replied in a broken, timid voice. “This shouldn´t have happened in your house. Your apology makes me feel worse. It´s I, who should apologize.”
“It´s sad my dear, that someone of his intellect and civil stand is so primitive,” Sami comforted her.
“Intellect and civilization,” Nadia replied, struggling to remain calm, “don´t count for this person.”
Sami didn´t give up and said:
“At any rate, he should be made responsible for his behaviour. It´s so far from all decency. Honestly, I want to bring him back and make him apologize to you in front of everyone, so this may be solved once and for all.”
“I don’t want his apology. I can´t stand the sight of him.”
“O.k., my dear. Let´s discuss this later. It was just a hasty suggestion.”
“I´ll not accept his apology. People like him don´t know fair play, unless they´re made face facts. I´m going to file a suit against him.”
“Please don´t do that,” Sami said. “You´re still angry, I´m sure that, when you calm down, you´ll think twice.”
“I´ve made my decision and that´s it!” Nadia said firmly.
“Even if I plead you not to?” Sami asked.
“Oh, you´re asking a great deal. The fraud has often raised his hand and unless punished, he´ll not hesitate to strike again and again. If it isn’t me, it´ll be someone else. Did you hear how he threatened me? And Yousif and Miriam too?” Nadia asked.
“When he calms down, he´ll come to his senses. He reacted at a moment of anger, Sami said.”
“He´ll pay the price,” Nadia answered.
Sami felt the discussion was useless at the present.
“O.k.,” he said calmly. “How about relaxing and help make amends, as the night´s still young?”
He extended his hand. She rose and agreed.
“What an idea!” he said smiling. “He went straight into the trap. You wounded his pride. Such a man would rather be stabbed, than wounded like that. A knife might not have killed him, but your trick could… Weren’t you a bit too hard on him?”
“It was cruel, but he deserved it. He should be fair to others, for others to be fair to him. I didn´t wrong him. He revealed the true nature of his ignorance. A person like that and in his position, is a real threat to art and artists.”
At this point a new and unexpected incident took them all by surprise.

CHAPTER SEVEN
Tonight seems to be a night full of surprises. No sooner is one over, than another is on its way. When everybody was beginning to relax and return to their seats, a loud and dreadful cry broke out from inside the house. Miriam was screaming in her father’s study. Those who considered themselves a part of the household, rushed to find out what had happened. Others remained in the garden, concerned and worried. Sami said not to worry and went into the house. Miriam was sitting on a chair, surrounded by her mother, Edwar’s wife and Nadia.
Yousif had gone out to look around in the backyard.
“It´s so dark,” he said, “but I saw nothing suspicious out there.”
Miriam was still explaining what had happened, repeating several times:
“He fled. He must have jumped over the fence. I couldn´t make out his face or clothes. He pushed me violently, so I almost fell.”
“Who could it be?” they asked anxiously, “and what was he doing here!”
Yousif caressed Miriam’s hair.
“It was probably just a thief,” he said, “We’ll see if he has taken anything.”
Mona was puzzled.
“But how would a thief dare come here at this time?” she asked, “when the house is so full of guests?”
Sami added to his wife’s question:
“And what is there in my study worth stealing? If he wanted to empty the room, the transport would cost him more than the value of the furniture. What a fool!”
“Daddy, come on! Isn´t your library worth anything? What about your book, which has taken you a lifetime to write? Isn´t it worth stealing?”
Sami waved his hand.
“What use could it be to someone else?” he muttered.
Nadia put her hand nervously over her mouth, to keep herself from talking.
“Oh my God…,” she said, “an idea just hit me, but, it´s absurd.. incredible..it..it seems to me…”
Everybody asked: “What?”
“Nothing. What I was about to say is silly. I don´t want to blame him. It can´t be, it can´t be!.”
“D´you mean mr. Kamil?” Edwar`s wife asked. “What would he be looking for?”
“Perhaps your book, daddy.” Miriam said. “He knows you´ve only got one copy. He probably wants a revenge, now that he hates us all.”
“I´m so worried,” Mona said.
Sami, trying to calm everyone:
“Please,” he said, “take it easy. You´re excited and your imagination is getting the better of you. What happened to Kamil today is enough. It´s hard to believe, that something like this could take place the same evening.”
“It wouldn’t have cost you much to make a few copies of your book,” Mona grumbled, pressing her bosom with both hands.
“I´ll do that,” Sami said smiling, “but not before the last touch. It´ll only take a few days.”
Suddenly, Sami remembered, that his guests were still in the garden and said:
“They´re waiting out there. Don’t worry. Things like that happen in many places. The poor thief must have miscalculated his plan. Then he became confused and decided to hide in my study. When Miriam entered the room, he pushed her and fled over the fence, the same way he came in. Come on, let’s continue our party.”
Behind Sami’s house there was a vast area of waste land, stretching as far as the eye could see, ending at a forest, where a road cut through it This road lead to the entrance of their house. The residents of this neighbourhood knew each other and were informal in their communication.
In cities and especially at city centres, people rarely visit each other or even greet each other, when they meet at the entrance of a building or in the street. They often behave, as if they don´t know each other, while people in provinces most often exchange greetings.
A short time after Miriam´s shocking experience, an old man came into the garden. He had a strange appearance and gait. He had entered the garden without asking for admittance.
People kept asking questions and suggesting explanations about the incident. Miriam was the centre of the discussion. She answered their questions and repeated what she had described before, frowning a lot.
Suddenly the old man started talking:
“Excuse me,” he said, “I heard a cry from your house and soon after that I saw a man jump over the fence and flee towards the forest. I was in the area behind your house at that time. I came to find out what had happened and thought of calling the police, but decided to find out for myself, so as not to to raise a false alarm. I was surprised to see, that the house was full of people. “I must have made a mistake,” I said to myself. Perhaps the cries were from the house next door. I heard you talking, as the window was open and knew it was your house.”
“Although I don´t belong to this household,” Edwar said, while studying the old man. “I believe you should have a say, but it´s not for me to interrogate you. Yet, I want to ask you:
“Did you enter here, without anyone inviting you?”
The old man answered:
“I rang the bell, but entered directly, without waiting for anyone. I know I´ve violated some law of good manners, but sir, 444 (before he said he´d heard them talking) what if there was no one in the house, except the crying lady and something bad had happened to her? Wouldn’t you feel grateful, that I let myself in, after hearing some discussion and took the risk to enter, without a permission?”
Sami offered the old man a seat, since he was the only one standing. He pointed to a chair, where Kamil had been sitting before.
The old man sat down.
“I know, sir,” he said. “I´ve made a mistake, I should´ve waited at the door for your permission to enter. There have been many occasions in my life, when I haven´t hesitated to help. The strangest of those was, when I passed a house, where a seventy-year old woman lived. It was a bit like a castle: its architecture and interior reflected her wealth, which must have been woth several million dollars. Suddenly, as I was passing the house, I heard a cry for help and caught a glimpse of high flames in the lounge. I didn´t waste time by ringing the doorbell. Besides, how could the old woman open the door, while surrounded by flames? I kicked the door in. The poor old woman fainted, when she saw me. I looked around. There was no smoke or flame. The old woman was watching a film from a projector and the sound was on full blast. She was obviously somewhat deaf. On the screen there was a blazing hut with a woman screaming inside. Because the room was dark, the reflection of the flames made it seem, as if the lounge was on fire. I didn´t know what to do. I had come to save her and now I had killed her instead, it seemed. I really thought she had died from fright. I was quite confused, but decided to call an ambulance. Soon after, she was taken to hospital. The police questioned me for a long time. Luckily she regained consciousness and they were able to tell her what had happened, explaining, that I had been mistaken and that my aim had been to save her. However, she insisted, that I should cover the cost of repairing the door and she filed a suit against me.”
“It seems,” Edwar said, “that you´re trying to say, that you came here to help, but are afraid of being prosecuted. That seems to be the moral of your story?”
“No, my honourable sir, not at all. I just wanted to verify my honest intentions to save someone. I often visit big cities and, while searching for a street, I may ask someone about directions, only to find, that they can´t take the trouble. In the old days, people took you by the hand and guided you, as they would a child to the right place. What a difference! Doing good, my honourable sir, is an instinct.”
“Have you seen this man before?” Laila whispered to Mona.
“No, never.” Mona whispered back.
Laika said in a low voice:
“He´s been living in the forest for some time. D´you remember the small wooden hut, we once passed. It was empty then. He lives there now. We greeted him once, me and Edwar, when we went for a walk in the forest. He began to talk to us about all kinds of things and was quite a nuisance. When we excused ourselves and went back, he turned up in the middle of the road and accompanied us talking incessantly. When we reached the gate to our house, he seemed to expect us to invite him in, but when he saw how disinterested we were, he left. The next day, he came back, carrying some rose stalks and asked, if we wanted them in our garden. I liked them, but Edwar said we weren´t interested.”
“He seems quite harmless,” Mona said. “Lonely and eager to make new friends. Why´s he living in the forest?”
“He said he was the guard.” Edwar answered.
“The guard! What´s there to guard?” Mona asked.
“The neighbouring house burnt down, so the council thought a guard was necessary, especially in summer,” Edwar said.
“It seems Edwar can´t stand him at all.” Laila said. “He says there´s challenge in his eyes.”
Does it bother him?” Mona asked.
“Evidently,” Laila whispered.
Miriam’s eyes are like that,” Mona said, “not this poor man´s eyes. I think he´s rather sympahtetic.”
“That´s what I said to Edwar,” Laila replied. “I feel compassion for him, but Edwar said: “don´t give in to your emotions. We only met him two days ago. Besides, who says we need new acquaintances?”
Miriam noticed, that the old man avoided looking at the dining table. As soon as his eyes fell on a dish, he diverted his glance, only to return to it. She rose and prepared a fresh and inviting helping. When she returned, she passed the plate to her father.
“This is for our guest.” she said sweetly.
The old man pretended not to have heard the remark, even when Sami put the plate in front of him and did not express any gratitude.
“Would you like a glass of wine?” Sami asked smiling or d´you prefer lemon juice? It´s ready… everything is ready here.”
The old man smiled cautiously, but didn´t reply, as if the question had not been addressed to him, but continued to talk.
“What a strange man,” Sami thought and poured him a glass of wine and offered it to him.
“This is for you,” he said, “if you don’t like it, there´s lemon juice.”
The old man stopped talking and smiled full of gratitude. There were tears in his eyes.
“Is it for me?” he asked. “Is it really for me? It´s too much, really. You flood me with generosity, my dear honourable sir. Please accept my deepest gratitude to you and this beautiful young woman.”
He was referring to Miriam.
“God bless her,” he added. “She has a tender heart. She must be your daughter or related to you?”
“She´s my daughter,” Sami answered.
“Sir, you don’t know how much your sweet daughter stirred my heart, when she passed the plate and said: – This is for our guest – with her melodious voice, – for our guest.”
This provoked Edwar, who was now quite drunk and hostile:
“You didn´t say anything, when the plate was put in front of you, did you?”
“Edwar!” his wife said in a 444 voice.
The guests felt, that Edwar had gone beyond his limits, so even Jacob broke in:
“You´re rude. This isn´t your home. How dare you?”
Edwar managed to control his temper and made as if he hadn´t heard Jacob´s comment. He emptied yet another glass of wine. Sami wanted to put an end to this, but was aware of his role as a host.
“Take it easy,” he said to Edwar. “He´s my guest. If there are any disagreements between you two, since you seem to know each other, I suggest you kindly forget that for now. We want a pleasant evening.”
“I´ll leave, sir,” the old man said to Sami. “I don’t want to upset anyone. I know my presence is not wanted. I´m nobody. I´ve often been humiliated and the world has nothing good in waiting for me. I once was a graduating university student, but circumstances forced me to quit my studies. I was a good student, but something, beyond my control, destroyed my career and left me in poverty. This ruined my ambition for a good job. I became a porter working for the owner of a plastic factory. He was extremely wealthy. One evening after work, he sent me to deliver some things at his palace. It was an additional supply of imported wine. He looked at me with contempt, as he did at all workers. I was only a university student, working to survive. I arrived at his palace on time. I had groomed my hair and wore my only suit, a neat old -fashioned, but well kept suit. It was torn on the shoulder, but I had mended it myself, so it was hardly visible. My boss had invited a handful of wealthy men, their wives and daughters. They were all standing conversing with each other. I knew my place, a mere porter in the host´s factory. I knew I wasn´t a guest or expected to join the party. After delivering the supplies to the cellar, I was on my way out, but my boss called to me:
“Don’t leave, wait – and then he continued talking to a friend. Since I was a university student, I found it quite alright to stay. After a moment he had signalled once or twice with his hands as if to say, with kindness and polite modesty: “Stay, it is rude to leave, when our party is about to begin, 444we must drink to the success of our business deal.”
My pride made me interpret his gesture like that, since I still considered myself a university student and, if it hadn’t been for my circumstances, I´d have, within few months, completed my studies and found myself a good job and possibly that might have given weight to my presence in such company. A young girl kept glancing at me every now and then. As soon as our eyes met, I felt shy and my heart throbbed. She smiled gently to me and lowered her head timidly, only to look in my direction once again. How I wished for her to know, that I was a university student and not a mere porter. Being a porter tormented me. I felt helpless, as my heart throbbed at her mere glance. I thought: “If I were a millionaire, I´d not hesitate to mingle with porters and rich people alike. I´d invite them to my palace, without prejudice. That would give me pleasure. Yet, at the same time, I hated being a porter. Let the most beautiful girl look at me then, as long as everyone thinks I´m a millionaire. Presidents and political candidates do that too, during elections, mix with common people in a friendly way. Were it not for that beautiful girl, I couldn´t have cared less what they thought of me, but that very girl became my first and last love. No matter how humble a man is and how he chooses to live, when in love with a beautiful woman, he wants to be a part of her life. No matter what, he 444gasps at appearances, he once avoided. A poor lover may feel ashamed of his poverty, job, clothes and anything, even the way he walks and laughs, but as soon as love wears out, forgive me for saying this, because love like anything else does wear out, the lover returns to his true nature, no longer caring for appearances. The belly becomes bigger, the smile changes, the sound of his sipping becomes sluttish, his beard grows longer. As for his attire, once carefully ironed, never sees an iron. Such a worn out lover most likely wears dark clothes to hide stains.”
People chuckled, enjoying his sense of humour. In fact, Edwar was wearing dark colours. He blushed and was about to yell: – That´s too much, I´ll not allow him to humiliate me like that, but managed to hide his anger,while the old man continued: I´ve told you this story to clarify the fact, that I wasn´t at all ashamed of being a porter, before I was bewitched by the looks of that young girl. Oh, what a shock, when my pride was trampled on and how despairing I was afterwards. Listen to what happened. I imagined, that I was invited. Gradually I moved closer to the young girl, encouraged by her radiant smile and encouraging glances. I thought of introducing myself to her as a university student in my final year and stood close to her and both of us wanted to talk, but didn´t know where to begin. In the meantime a waiter carried a tray of drinks around. The factory owner wanted to appear very humble and 444rejuvenate his guests, so he took the tray from the waiter and said:
“Give me that, return to the kitchen and prepare the meal. I´ll serve the drinks.”
There was champagne, besides red and white wine on the tray. He went around, his happy smile flattering whoever took a glass, until he came to us. I was standing next to the girl and on my right hand side there was a lady in her forties conversing with a man in his seventies, who said he was a film producer. A few yards ahead of me stood a lad younger than I, handsome and elegant. The factory owner offered him a glass and complimented him with a few words. His face lit up with a polite smile, as he leaned on the hearth by his side. Then he noticed me and the girl. This young man seemed to be waiting for us to take our glasses. He raised his glass to our health or so it seemd to me. I think he really did intend to do that. The factory owner came over to us and offered the girl a glass and said to her:
“For you, my beauty, how beautiful you are.” The young girl blushed and smiled innocently, but lowered her head. How I admired her modesty and the factory owner´s compliments. In fact, he gave each one in the party a due share of compliments. I had imagined, that when he saw me standing next to the girl, he´d offer me a glass and address us together and say: “You don´t seem to have introduced yourselves to each other, even though you´re standing so close and almost touching each other.” We would of course have been extremely embarrassed, yet grateful at the same time for his sensitivity by skilfully removing the many restraints and hurdles ahead of us. I also thought, that he was going to introduce me and add: “I predict, that mr. So and So, the owner of great ambitions is going to finish his university studies in a few months and will get a good job and soon be promoted to a high position. We´ll crawl to him for advice about a venture or for him to facilitate our trade affairs.” How these words would have filled me with glory, boosted my pride and made me bow my head in gratitude. With these feelings, I would no longer have been ashamed of being a porter. I´d have taken pride in this and had prepared to say to him in complete honesty: “My honourable sir, you have elevated me to great heights and flooded me with joy. I am unworthy of your compliments. If your prediction about my future becomes a reality, I will always be at your service whenever you need me.”
Even if the old man´s story was quite long, people listened to him in complete silence, but he stopped talking, as if having to recover from something.
“Oh, my honourable sir,” he said addressing Sami, “sorry, I was carried away. I feel I´ve abused your hospitality.”
The question is, whether the old man had cunningly timed this critical moment, when it was impossible for the audience to allow him to go, before finishing his story or, whether it was a sudden feeling of misery, that overwhelmed him. As soon as he stood up, people asked him to go on with the story.
“Your story is interesting,” Sami said. “Please be seated. You haven´t touched your drink or food. Your dish is cold.”
“Leave?” Mona asked. “How could you leave at this point in your story?”
“My gracious lady,” the old man answered. “I´ve disturbed you with my tale.”
“On the contrary, I´m curious to know the end. We could publish your story in the paper,” Miriam said smiling. “It´s well paid. D´you know, that newspapers pay for stories like that?”
“Of course he knows,” Yousif said. “Wasn’t he a university student once? I bet he studied literature or philosophy. Isn’t that right, sir?”
“No, I studied law,” the old man said smiling.
“So, why leave the university?” the elegant lady asked.
“If we continue like this, the story will end in a muddle,” Mona said. “Please finish from where you stopped. We´re enjoying it.”
“I agree with my mother,” Miriam said.
“But why haven´t you touched your glass,” Sami asked. “Don’t you drink wine? O.k., here´s lemon juice.”
“No need for lemon juice,” the old man replied. “I like wine, but why has no one touched their glass, since I came.”
Edwar thought: “What manners huh… old man pretender. … He´s playing this role to win them and undermine me, as if saying: “See how polite I am?”
In fact, the old man had foreseen this and was excessively polite.
The guests raised their glasses and drank to his health, except Edwar, who lifted his glass to his lips to avoid rebuke from the others, lowering it after the toast.
“Tell me, my honourable sir,” the old man began, addressing Sami. “Can a man, who smiles and laughs wholeheartedly, alter his expression to complete severity?”
“Miriam and Yousif may be able to answer that,” Sami answered.
“When I smile,” Miriam said, “it takes some time for my smile to subside. If a smile is prolonged, it may become painful? Once Yousif begins to laugh, he continues, whenever he recalls why. Sometimes, when walking alone in the street and suddenly remembering something, which made him laugh, he bursts into laughter, regardless of strange looks from people around him. Isn´t that true, Yousif?”
Yousif smiled broadly:
“You´re joking. I never laugh, when alone in the street.”
“Ooh, you haven’t laughed in the street!” Miriam said.. “He says he never laughs in the street.”
“Very well,” Yousif said, “I may have laughed, 444but I wasn´t on my own. Was anybody looking me?”
Miriam said: “O remember, that everybody was looking at you, because once you kept gwaffing in the street.”
“What a trivial discussion,” Mona interrupted.
“Look at the two of them,” Mona cried with astonishment. “They quarrel over something so trivial. I don’t mind if they do, as long as they do it later and preferably in private, so as not to give us a headache.”
Yousif and Miriam stopped bickering, They were about to quarrel out of coquetishness, as they often did. How often lovers enjoy a tiff, that lasts for a week, at times for no other reason than the pleasure of conquetishness, only experienced in the early stages of passion.

CHAPTER EIGHT
Mona had become impatient.
“They interrupted your speech and scattered your thoughts,” she said to the old man, “please continue your story. You were talking about a wholehearted smile. Is there a story behind that? If so, please go on.”
Miriam whispered to Yousif:
“Was I joking? We´ll come back to that.”
Yousif gave her a teasing look and giggled.
“Naughty youths,” Mona said, “Enough is enough.”
“They´re living the happiest and most beautiful days of their lives,” the old man said, “but I´ll continue anyway:
“The long years, my gracious lady, couldn´t erase from my mind the skillful role played by the factory owner. Listen, I´ve told you about the emotions, that overwhelmed me, while I stood next to that young lady and how I wished he would praise me and how I imagined he´d remove the gap between me and her,because he was eloquent and so tactful. He was welcoming all his guests, so I prepared a handshake and taking a glass of wine from the tray he was holding. He was wearing a wide, radiant smile, until my fingers touched the glass. How white his teeth seemd under the chandelier light. But – in a flash of a second, his face became extremely stern. Suddenly, he didn´t see me as his guest, but a worker. He pulled the tray away from my hand, which was still in mid- air. I couldn´t withdraw it empty handed or was I able to help myself to a glass. My wholehearted smile had turned into a painful grimace. Oh, what pain, when pride is humiliated. A 444wailing ghost appeared on a smile close to the throes of death. At that instant I swooned and felt I was a creature, who has no value, a mere zero. I even envied the zero. For, if you were to change its 444juxtaposition it will gain value. As for me, whatever way you moved me I would remain worthless. Eyes were mercilessly scrutinizing me. I imagined they saw the hole I had patched on my shoulder. I didn´t care about them half as much, as I did about my girl, who was still standing next to me. She tried to console me with a very sorrowful smile. “Never mind,” she muttered faintly, almost inaudibly. She meant:”Don’t worry,they´re always like that.”
444″ I had prepared a handshake and taking a glass of wine from the tray the host was holding. He was smiling radiantly, until my fingers touched the glass. How white his teeth were! But, in a flash of a second, his face became extremely stern. Suddenly, he was not looking at a guest, but a worker. He pulled the tray away from my hand, which was still in mid air. I could neither withdraw it nor take a glass. My wholehearted smile turned into a painful grimace. Everybody´s eyes were now mercilessly scrutinizing me. I was sure they had seen the hole I had patched on my shoulder. The girl looked at me with a sorrowful smile.
“Never mind,”she said almost inaudibly.
But her smile was false, a mask.
In a second, the factory owner had changed the scene completely. While I was still in a state of shock, he said:
“Go and help the chef. You can have a day off tomorrow.”
Someone might have become violent and turned the tray upside down, but I did nothing of the sort. Having recovered somewhat, though blushing deeply, I dragged myself to the kitchen in a daze. There the chef ordered me to wash some large pots and plates piled up beside the sink, while he was opening more bottles of wine. I washed the pots, deeply absorbed by thoughts swarming in my head, making me more shameful.
“I should´ve quit,” I thought “and left the house, when he treated me like that.”
I wanted to leave the kitchen, go straight to the factory owner and say, that I quit working for him from that moment, that I didn´t accept his insult in front of everybody, as I spent my whole life studying and didn´t intend to remain a porter and that circumstances had made me become one. I wanted to tell him, that I´d rather die, than be insulted like that. That´s how I wanted to leave his palace, regardless of what would become of me the next day, even though the money in my pocket was barely enough for two days’ food.
However, what I did was this: as soon as I left the kitchen, I headed for him. As I confronted him, he seemed to read expressions of utter confusion and semi-panic in my face. It was he, who spoke first:
“What´s wrong?” he asked. You´re excited. Did you quarrel with the chef? Never mind. Bear with him for our sake. I know he´s domineering.”
Then he laughed, attracting everyone´s attention in the room. “I didn’t quarrel with the chef at all.” I said.
Then he asked coldly: “But why? It´s not nice to leave him alone, especially as his assistant is on holiday.”
The owner of the factory was implying, that I had left my duty. We had nothing in common. To him I was merely a porter working in his factory, one he could order to carry out any task at any time, without expecting me to dare to oppose him and, that he could address me in any way he pleased in front of anyone, as if I were a creature without feelings or pride. How dare such a worthless creature like myself differ with him! Thiat was beyond his comprehension. No doubt, he thought of me as his slave. Can slaves disagree with their masters? He may even have considered himself a very kind man, with a good sense of humour, quite modern and democratic for not spitting in disgust after every command he delivered to me. Nowadays, I see many incidents resembling what I encountered. I admire the new generation, who cares little, if exposed to such a situation. Their pride and feelings wouldn´t suffer. I never forget this incident, as long as I live.”
Now the old man turned his attention to Yousif:
“What would you´ve done in my situation?”
“I´d have said to the young lady, that she´s beautiful and she had put my heart on fire with her glances. I´d have asked her for a date. I´d have invited her to the best restaurant in town and said, that I just had the simple request, that she´d have to pay, because I´d quit working for that simple minded factory owner. I´d have pointed at him, while laughing and I´d have added: – otherwise I´d be spending my weekly wages on one meal. When the factory owner arrived with the tray, I´d have taken a glass and given it to him, while saying: “Allow me to serve the drinks.” I´d have taken the tray from him and kept it to myself. Had the factory owner asked me to serve the drinks, I´d have done that, provided everyone paid first. I´d have collected money enough to make up for my two weeks’ wages working as a porter. My generation does not accept the conditions you describe. The factory owner would´ve understood how stupid he was. Today he´d be happy to serve us wine. He´d know, that if he were to tale the tray from me, it wouldn´t hurt my pride, for I´d follow him, wherever he went. Either he should give me a glass of wine or I´d throw the tray in his face. I´d say: – You´re a clown and everyone’s ridicule. He´d not ask anything of me, as he´d do anything to avoid a scandal …. ha ha ha,” Yousif ended his long response.
The guests murmured and some laughed.
“You´re a great generation, self confident and happy,” the old man said good humouredly.
Jacob replied:
“Not really. This is just your perception. We also have our problems.”
444 who says this: “No matter what your problems are, you´ve liberated yourselves from many inhibitions,” the old man said. “In my youth, the old generation also perceived the new generation the way I do you now. D´you know, that the elderly generation used to praise my reaction, when I quit my job at the factory? They said we were courageous, because had the same happened to them in their youth, they´d have had to challenge your boss in a duel. It would´ve been my duty to challenge him in a duel. What are your generation´s worst problems?”
Jacob tried to collect his thoughts:
“Later generations have had alternatives: either revenge and this is still a common solution in our rural areas or a financial compensation. The latter seems a far more logical and just solution than revenge. Compensation is given in the most developed countries in the world. This is most apparent among the rich and the famous. We often read about a wealthy or famous person being wronged in an article and demanding compensation for the damage. This also occurs among the poor, but then the amounts are far less. Dignity is measured by social standards. This also occurs among the poor, but naturally it doesn´t happen often. As if dignity can be measured by social standards.
The lawyer`s wife broke her silence:
“I´ve heard of two similar cases,” she said, “but the difference was the amount of the compensation. A Western newspaper wronged an actor, when they described him as unpopular and unsuccessful. The court ruled, that the newspaper paid him an incredibly big compensation. Another similar case, also in Europe, involved a magazine, that for some reason had wronged an ordinary man and, when he sued the magazine, the court decided, that the magazine should pay him an insignificant amount for the insult. The sum was almost worthless, compared to the compensation paid to the actor.”
“That´s why,” Mona said, “journalists, think twice, before publishing an article about the famous.”
Sami interrupted: “But the mass media often wrong the famous deliberately.”
“In spite of the losses! How come?” Mona asked.
Sami answered:
“Some people know how to make a profit. Take, for instance a magazine, that wants to find a way to the people, but no matter how hard it tries, it still doesn´t stand a chance against a rival. What does it do? Deliberately it libels a famous person, because by doing so, it attracts public attention, so people flock to buy the issues to follow the details of the case, which may take a considerable time to deal with in the courts. No matter how big a fine, the profit is tenfold. Sometimes, I think, that obscure magazines or newspapers make a deal with a forgotten star to the mutual advantages of both. A forgotten star will shine again among new glittering ones and people will talk about them and recall their past. The whole operation was targetted for fame and fortune.”
“How strange!” Mona said. “What about the star´s reputation? A court may take his or her side, but people may not agree with the court’s decision. So, some may take side with the newspaper and others, who take side with the star. In short, even if the court took the side of the star, still the star who had been wronged, wouldn´t be able to clear his name, because he wouldn´t be able to convince people, who basically enjoy wagging their tongues in gossip. Whether we accept it or not, the star would lose his popularity with at least half the people.”
“If you only knew, dear lady,”Jacob said enthusiastically, “there are those, who seek fame, even notoriety, as long as their name is on every tongue, if good financial profit is gained!”
The old man, who was unaware of what had happened between the poetess Nadia and Kamil said:
“Your words remind me of an incident about two months ago, which had to do with a newspaper, which was not obscure or in need of recognition. It happened without any previous planning by either party. While I´m speaking to you now, I begin to wonder, if it was planned. As far as I know, this newspaper had no need for fame or profit. The incident may have been accidental. Here´s what happened: In literary circles there was a well-known writer. Some talented authors remain unknown, because behind the curtains, there are those, who know how to plough their way through and prevent aspiring talents from finding their way to fame. The twisted methods they apply, when introducing a writer don´t include the merit of the work. A lot of this goes on these days. There was a poet, who wrote two pages and was extremely ambitious. What he wrote was not of great weight, but in a year he was meeting ministers and kings. How did he get so far? Did his work and talent alone bring him there? Not at all. Even if his work was creative and mature, there are hundreds of his likes, but no one notices or hears about them. The writer I´m talking about was quite imaginative. He wrote poetry and critical essays and many other things. You often see his photograph preceding his publications. In spite of all this, I was unaware of him. I never read his articles. Sometimes, I read a part of his column and lost my interest. The fault was mine. I´m a moody reader of a limited knowledge. I look for the crosswords and news about the famous plus the light stuff, which must be brief. I also read newspaper headlines, without interest in most articles. You may think I´m joking, but no. I read the light stuff, which must be brief. I also read newspaper headlines without interest in the articles. I even often wonder why some writers take all that trouble writing their articles, when noone reads them? And why do newspapers go to so much trouble publishing eighteen or twenty pages, when people read only the headlines and do the crosswords. Wouldn´t it be better for a newspaper to be limited to only one or two pages? The first one would contain only the headlines and the second news about the famous, deaths and births along with crosswords. Thus they could be sure, that everybody would read the entire newspaper word by word …. ha ha ha.. Isn’t that true? You may think I´m joking, but no.
Yousif elbowed Miriam:
“What” he said, “about writers and thinkers, who´ve elevated themselves above ordinary people?”
“In fact” the old man said, “they´re the only ones, who read the papers, but they only read what they themselves have written, in which case it´s not even necessary for the newspaper to publish the articles, except for headlines, since the writers can read the drafts they already have in the comfort of their homes, … ha ha ha.”
His listeners murmured in agreement.
“That´s true.” the elegant lady said. “People read only the headlines.”
“I think,” Yousif said, “that the newspapers would save a lot of money, if they only published two pages and used the surplus paper for making toilet rolls – ha ha ha.”
“And they could be sure people would read their newspapers word by word.”
As a confirmation, the stout man repeated what the old man said before.
“What about the writer you wanted to tell us about?” the lawyer´s wife asked.
“I think I know the story,” her husband said, before the old man replied. “It was well covered in the newspapers.”
“I´m sure,” the old man answered, “you are all aware of that example. I didn´t relate as much as I wanted to. Since then, I´ve been looking for the critic´s articles. His image was now imprinted in my mind, also that of the poetess, who received the blow. I became eager to read anything by both of them.”
“I read that too,” Mona said shaking her head. I was interested in who would win. D´you reckon this incident was deliberately aimed at attracting the the readers´attention?”
“Oh, my lady,” the he old man said, “such thoughts are sinful.”
Miriam laughed stamping her feet.
“Congratulations to our great poetess,” she exclaimed, “you´ll be famous overnight and occupy the main columns on the literary pages. Oh, how lucky you are. You ought to sue him. Tomorrow thou shalt be the talk of the town. And on the following day, some writer will write a book about it or perhaps mention you both in a novel, if only to fill the pages. If I were to see Kamil now, I´d provoke him to slap me and thrust me onto the road of fame, so I could enter history through its widest doors.”
“Did you know?” she said, addressing the old man, “that this dear friend of mine is a poet. Just before you arrived, she was hit by a famous writer and critic. As he struck her, he said: Am I different from the striking critic….ha ha ha! I wish you had seen it.”
“Please stop joking,” Nadia said curtly.
“I´m not joking,” Miriam said, “but I´m pleased about the doors of fame now opening for our talented poetess.”
“If the doors of fame,” the poetess said solemnly, “are to be opened with keys like that, I reject them. Please say no more. That’s the end of the subject. I was determined to sue him, but now I´m having second thoughts.”
Surprised and disenchanted Miriam said:
“See how she kicks the gift of fame away!”
“My dear daughter,” Sami said, “your only fault is to insist on making fun, while the other party can´t take it. Leave it be, please.”
Mona interfered to put an end to the discussion and said to the old man:
“You didn´t tell us about your special study at university and why you chose to abandon it. What made you quit?”
“He studied law and politics.” Yousif said quickly.
“My gracious lady,” the old man said, “I started by studying medicine. Two years later I converted to law and politics, but quit a few months before my graduation.”
“You need very high grades to study medicine,” Sami said. “You must´ve been one of the brightest.”
“Yes sir, I was and I also loved medicine, but after two years of studying, I went through some changes that made me take a different direction. I hadn’t thought of studying law and politics before.”
“Is it possible to study medicine for two years and abandon it, without any reason?” Laila, asked somewhat surprised.
“That often happens to students,” Sami replied. “Besides, he said he had undergone some changes, that made him choose a different direction. Isn´t that reason enough?”
“You´re right, sir,” the old man said. “You may think, that during two years of studying, I could no longer take the sight of blood or was disgusted by the dissection of corpses. These are reasons, that often make a student flee. But this was not my reason. To be frank, I don’t know the reason. People often die in wars, accidents or illnesses as a result of economic and social circumstances beyond their control. I took up medicine believing it to be a humane profession, that conquers and elevates human pain. I found out that medicine may ease pain, but it can´t conquer it. The true thing would be to find the causes.”
“I no longer understand you,” Mona said. “How could medicine not put an end to the causes of illnesses? What about health awareness? Prevention is better than cure. Aren´t these achievements of medicine? D´you consider it unable to put an end to the causes of diseases?”
The old man replied promptly:
“That´s not what I´m thinking of, my honourable lady. Millions are infected by diseases due to malnutrition, hunger and bad care. In other words, the disease isn´t always a viral one. The main causes are economical, but they´re not the only causes. Behind those are social structures. In an advanced social system, people´s difficulties are being solved and the main causes of diseases gradually found and cured – not only physical diseases, but social ones too. Only a few countries in the world develop such sophisticated and ideal systems, especially in some Nordic countries, in spite of loopholes and social problems still occurring. When we compare ours with some other systems in the world, we discover, that they´re far more humane.”
“I´d like to visit such advanced countries,” Miriam said, “I´d love to write about these systems, which we´ve often talked about in our home. We only hear about them, but none of us have experienced them. That makes a great difference.”
“Do so, dear young woman,” the old man said. “Do that and you´ll see it clearly for yourself. You might be surprised discovering, that some of their people are still critical. They don´t know what lack of social rights is. He, who has not been wronged, doesn´t always appreciate paradise. I changed my studies from medicine to law and politics, in order to grasp the first link of the long chain of suffering. If the first link is severed, much physical and social pain and ailement could be eased.
The old man suddenly rose and said:
“Please excuse me. I´ve burdened your kind generosity and disturbed your quiet party, forgive me. Please visit me in my hut, whenever you want to. I live in the wooden hut in the forest.”
Without giving Mona a chance to say what she was about to utter, he left. He didn´t give anyone a chance to see him to the door. Sami rushed out behind him.
“Thanks for your visit,” Sami yelled.
The old man didn´t turn around or reply.
“A very strange old man,” Mona said confused. “I wanted to ask him why he abandoned law and politics, but he didn’t give me a chance even to say farewell.”
“He carries a secret with him,” Nadia said.
“There´s no secret,” Edwar commented. “He simply loves prattling and left the same way he entered.”
“That´s not true.” Mona said. “He does indeed have a secret. This old man´s soul is burdened. Why didn´t he thank Miriam for the soup she offered him or Sami for the glass of wine he gave him, while telling us the story about the factory owner? You didn´t notice, but I did. He feared a repetition of the incident he had with the factory owner. He´s insecure and no one’s equal. Before that, he was self confident and showered Miriam with compliments. It wasn’t because of the meal, but because she had treated him as a guest and an equal. If he didn’t thank her at first, it wasn’t because he lacked manners. He told us the story, as if to beg forgiveness for not expressing his gratitude earlier. His soul is tormented and anxious. He can´t take any pain caused by an insult.”
“God praise your logic, mom.” Miriam cried happily.”Dad, now mom is a psychologist.”
“That´s the result of reading so many psychological novels,” Sami said and his face lit up.”
“Wasn’t what I said right?” Mona said. “He´s both educated and learned. He probably reads a lot of books and newspapers. What he said about reading only the headlines and not the articles is just a joke. Personally, I don’t mind him visiting us …, but what a shame we didn´t ask him why he came here. He said something about having seen a ghost jump over our fence. We didn´t ask him, if he recognized him or not.”

CHAPTER NINE
The party didn´t continue for long, after the old man’s departure, for soon the guests began to go. The first ones to leave were the lawyer and his wife. Soon after that, the stout man and his wife left, then the supermarket couple. Edwar had difficulties in standing up, without leaning on something. Laila wanted to stay longer, probably wanting to apologize for his bad behaviour, but didn´t, while he was there. Yousif offered to drive Edwar home, in spite of his stating, that he was sober enough to go home on his own – and return later!
Jacob saw, that it was time for him to leave too, so he stood up, thanked them for the invitation and shook everybody’s hand. Sami felt Jacob didn´t want to leave before Yousif. Sami urged him not to go, but make himself at home, since the night was still young. Miriam burst out laughing, but put her hand over her mouth.
“Are you going to leave just like that,” she said to Jacob. “You´re wearing my father’s clothes. They´re far too big for you. In this collar your neck looks like a chicken’s leg.”
In spite of his smile Sami rebuked her.
“Miriam,” he said. “control yourself, please. He insisted on leaving and no one will see him. The streets are empty at this hour. However, if he wants to spend the night here, he´s welcome.”
Yousif winked to Jacob, as if saying: “Stay.” Jacob accepted.
The elegant lady, Mona’s colleague, was also invited to spend the night with them and the same for Nadia, even though she lived in the neighbourhood.
The temprature was dropping and cool air was now stinging their shoulders and hands, so they decided to continue their party indoors. It was was about midnight and the next day was a weekend, so they could stay up as late as they wanted to.
They became more intimate and warm, some of them having changed into more comfortable clothes. Wanting to put everyone at ease:
“My formal outfit is suffocating,” Sami said.
Gradually their chat turned into a scientific debate. They discussed the ideas Sami was putting forward in his book “The Dilemma of Mind and Machinery.” He had sketched some ideas, without going into details, saying:
“When our race reaches the peak of its evolution, our achievements will mark the beginning of a conflict, our race and its achievements will enter a very hard conflict with the environment. He also said, that our body will become weak and lose most of it`s senses. A conflict between us humans and the environment will arise. Natural defences of the human race will be weakened and as a result, our senses become defunct.”
The elegant lady was quite taken by this idea and eager to hear it in depth. Sami pointed out, that his theory held, if life on Earth were to continue naturally with no great catastrophies, which might lead to a total destruction, as would be the case, if an atomic war broke out or a huge meteorite collided with Earth and annihilated everything. His theory excluded such catastrophies, so they were not taken into account.
“Darwin’s theory of evolution stopped at our race. It doesn´t explain what follows. In my book I discuss the direction the human race is heading for.”
“Can humanity now,” Jacob asked, “or in the future, stop man´s biological wheel of evolution?”
“What d´you mean?” the elegant lady asked eagerly.
“I mean, could scientists make present man remain in his current mental and physical state forever?”
Sami replied:
“I think it´s possible to slow down the process of evolution, but stopping it is impossible. Something beyond our power has made a creature reach the human stage, something, that forced humans to undergo an extremely slow and inevitable metamorphosis. In my book I discuss this mystery and reveal how we, subconsciously of course, planned the fate and lives of our kind and that of other creatures in the past and the future. Were it not for this, man would´ve 444maintained and remained in his old form or as a species of ape or some kind of a beast, that preceded the ape in the evolution. But now the evolution of humankind continues to do so. And now, at the highest point of the crisis, our minds begin to deteriorate, while the body continues to improve.”
The elegant lady and Laila expressed the same words simultaneously:
“I don´t understand,” they both exclaimed.
“I agree the theory is somewhat hard to grasp,” Sami said, “so, to simplify it, I´ve written some of the chapters as science fiction. There I discuss our distant future, instead of our distant past. This is quite complicated, because my theory lacks evidence from the future. I could read one paragraph at a time for you and eventually, you may see the backbone of my theory.” He was silent for a while and then went on:
“You may have read “The Origin of the Species” by Darwin or at least be familiar with the essence of his theory. Fossils were his scientific proof. As for my theory, which is an extension of his, it´s based on imagination alone, which I´ve tried very hard to make logical. But first I want to ask you, if you believe in Darwin’s theory, because unless you do, you will not find mine interesting.”
“I believe in it.” Jacob said. “But sometimes I have my doubts.”
“Yes,” Sami answered, “it does have weaknesses, so in my theory I tried to fill in some of the gaps. Could you explain what aspects of the theory you consider doubtful?”
Jacob had an interesting answer:
“In one of the museums there´s for example a dry battery. Scientists have dated it back to ninr to ten thousand years ago. Our dry batteries and modern technology was discovered only yesterday compared to those. A famous writer, Anis Mansor, said, that man descended from the sky and those who preceded us were far more intelligent than we are. He supported his statement with perplexing examples. So, where does Darwin´s theory stand compared to that?”
“If man really descended from the skies,” Sami said, “and multiplied on Earth, no doubt his mental condition exceeded our current one. Then our ancestors must´ve been able to leave their distant planet and invade planet Earth. In which case genetechnology may confirm, that we are as developed as they were. Even if we consider ourselves intelligent people, reality confirms, that we´re less intelligent than our ancestors, who descended from the sky. So, in that case, genetechnology is inaccurate, unless we can explain why and that´s what I´m doing. For, if we came from the surrounding universe, we would´ve been able to create flying saucers and invade other planets. Let’s say that mankind did come from space, then it must have undergone a great evolution on the original planet. Evolution didn´t involve man alone, but millions of different other living creatures, that are in a continuous transformation. In other words, even if man was never on Earth before, the theory of evolution still remains valid.”
“How d´you explain a thousand year old dry battery?” Jacob asked.
“Let´s figure it came from space, if we believe in flying saucers,” Sami explained.
“In my book I also maintain, that some kind of a human species has lived on Earth before us and has gone through the same mental development and continued, until it surpassed us.”
Does it mean we didn´t develop from being primitive creatures?” Jacob asked.
“I can´t follow you either!” the elegany lady said.
“My theory is divided into the following:” Sami said. “There are two theories, a theory of origin and a theory of 444 ….. The latter one begins with a countdown from a developed mind and is equal to the span of time through which the mind made its actual development. A life cycle develops on Earth: simple creatures develop during millions of years, reach the peak of their evolution, but then they gradually return to their basic form. Thus a new cycle begins. With each cycle some time is lost. The first cycle from birth to extinction may last for two to three million years. The second cycle takes only half of that time, the third perhaps a third of the time. The final cycle may take no more than a split of a second. Life emerges from a simple cell, expiring immediately after its birth. When that happens, planet Earth is no longer suitable for any form of life.”
Sami was silent for a while, but then he continued:
“I´m depriving you of your comfort. This subject is very complicated. Let’s finish here.”
“Please don’t stop,” the elegant lady said excited. “Indeed it´s difficult to follow, but you must finish simplifying your idea for us. I´ll not be able to fall asleep tonight, unless I know the dilemma destined for mankind.”
Sami hesitated and made excuses, but many voices agreed with the lady. Mona and Miriam had both heard this theory before, but were eager to hear it again.
“How can I explain it to you?” Sami said submissively. “It´s so difficult. I feel I have to choose my words with great care to give you the right idea. Let´s begin with a question: Do you believe, that every living being has limited physical energy and limited physical growth and that it´s impossible for any being, be it human or an insect, to maintain endless energy and ability?”
“Of course, it´s not possible,” voices agreed. “There are certain limitations.”
“Great,” Sami said, “so we agree on the first condition. For every physical structure, there´s a limited growth and energy. Dinosaurs couldn´t grow to be a hundred times bigger than their original size. They were huge, but there was a limit to their growth. If we say we have no limits, then we´d have to believe, that dinosaurs could´ve continued to grow endlessly large, so there would be no room on Earth for more than two. That is illogical. So, what if the body, begins to think, before the mind? Mark my words, I said, before the mind begins to think. What if during millions of years, a body, which was constantly undergoing changes from one form to another, what if it reached its limits and could no longer go beyond that stage?”
“In that case,” Miriam said quickly, “it would´ve reached its end and entered a state of conflict with nature.”
Jacob felt there was a contradiction in the idea:
“Why would a body have a conflict with nature, when it has reached its evolutionary peak?”
Mona remembered Sami’s earlier explanations regarding this:
“Because,” she explained, “nature continues its attacks, using various methods. The body would no longer be able to defend itself, for it would´ve used up all its defensive powers.”
The elegant lady, who seemed deep in thought asked:
“Have our bodies reached such a perfect state?”
“It may seem so to you,” Sami said, “that mankind is now at the height of its physical development, but that´s a common and an awful error, because we´re not at the ideal stage. You may think, that one day in the future, our bodies will reach their perfect state. But no, that´s wrong, because the only creature of our race, that reached a physical perfection was a creature from ancient times, who resembled an ape. This creature was created before the first brain cells began to think.”
“Oh,” Laila said astonished, “how could that be? I don´t understand that!”
“It´ll be clearer later on, when I guide your imagination, one degree at a time, closer to the core of the idea. When I read my book, I´m often puzzled by the many things I´ve written. I can sit for hours, trying to understand, what I myself have been trying to say. Once an idea flashed through my mind, when I was considering to simplify the theory. The idea was to apply this theory to a game of chess. Do you know, that a creature’s body and nature keep playing a game of chess. Nature is the strongest possible opponent and shouldn´t be undermined. It´s always the initiator of attacks. The body defends itself with all the weapons it can muster. What happens, when the body has used all its defensive remedies and isn´t able to produce any new ones, when its inventive energy has reached its limits and can tolerate no more? In that case, it loses the fight and becomes extinct. The creature, only seconds from using its brain arrives at the summit of its evolution. It was equipped with all its physical weapons Do you understand?”
As if the idea was now becoming clearer, Jacob nodded in consent.
“Please,” he said, “may I ask you something? Do you mean, that the body keeps on struggling against nature, even if it has reached the summit of its possible development. And are you saying, that, since it can´t develop new defences nature´s fresh attacks will destroy it?”
Sami was on the verge of laughing.
“Yes,” he said, “but, it´s not a mutual struggle. Nature has the upper hand and the creature will therefore expire. What made it possible for the body to take part in this battle, is the same thing, that made the mind capable of thinking and producing new methods of survival. Mind you, it´s a matter of survival and continuity, not development. After this change or this leap, the body will no longer develop. New weapons produced by the mind will be quite advanced, far beyond the body’s natural self defences. subconsciously of course. Nature would conquer and distroy it. As for now, nature keeps attacking, but the body doesn´t defend itself with mind to motivate and protect it. The mind obeys by thinking and developing and subjugating the powers of the body, in order to produce weapons from nature.
“However, the more the mind develops,” Sami added, “and creates ways to ease the body, the more the body loses its natural capacity of self defence, in which it had 444 immersed itself during millions of years.”
“Even if you have explained this to me before,” Miriam said, “I still don’t understand a thing. May I ask again. How come that the more the mind develops, the more the capacity of the body diminishes?”
Sami replied:
“The body doesn´t diminish its capacity that rapidly. You might then think, that as soon as the mind begins to think, the body loses its limbs and form. That idea is ridiculous. The being itself is not aware of the changes occurring to its body. The process takes millions of years. My reply to your question is: – The mind began thinking and mankind discovered fire, started making clothes, built homes and made devices to protect the body. What use was then for the dense hair, that once covered the body? The very elements, that urged and motivated the body in the first place to produce hair, now motivated it to do without. This last point will be apparent to us at the stage of dilemma.”
“Quite clear,” Jacob said. “Many beasts are covered by long hair in the wintertime, but lose it in summer. What is of no use, is best gone.”
Laila stared at them in bewilderment.
“I´ve got an idea about this,” she said, “and that is: Man’s endurance and physical stamina needed, when chasing and hunting animals for survival, gradually lessened, when we began to buy meat in the supermarkets.”
Everyone laughed at her comment and Sami went on:
“Many of the body’s defensive characteristics were deleted in this way, including the ability to fight diseases, that have always existed. Our body once possessed appropriate defences to fight those. The body lost this ability, because it relied on defences produced by the mind, instead of the body and therefore fell prey to disease. Every now and then a new disease appears. Vaccinations are attempts to replace what the body lost, when relying on technology. These changes don´t only affect us, but all thinking animals as well. Hundreds of thousands of species are able to think and exploit nature to their advantage in their own ways. There are also limitations to their mental and physical potential. Even if they develop to their furthest limitations, they´ll never be the same as mankind, even after millions of years, for the simple reason, that they deviated from their course in the process of their development. There are also limitations to their mental and physical potential.
Miriam had become impatient.
“I wonder,” she said, “how we deviated from the original state you were explaining?”
“Sure,” Sami replied,”but such diversions were a must, else you wouldn´t be able to understand why it all happened. I can summarize the essence of the book on one page. But each point needs ten to twenty pages of explanations, for this theory to be understood beyond any doubt. Anyway, where were we?”
You were talking about the mind, that began to develop and the body therefore losing the strength it had developed, after violent struggles with nature during millions of years,” the elegant lady said.
This comment pleased Sami and he answered:
444Sami cried happily: )!!!???)
“You´ve really grasped my theory. Wonderful! I´ll continue, since you are so quick. Let´s go back to my question about the body. What happens, if the mind reaches its full potential, since we agree, that there are limitations for everything.”
“It´ll suffer the same fate as the body,” Miriam answered. It´ll start making a conflict with nature … right?”
“Not with nature alone,” Sami explained, “but with the machine too. While in progressive development, mind also develops machinery at the cost of physical fitness. Then the body exerts less effort to operate complex machinery, which becomes so sophisticated, that it only requires a minimum effort to activate it, the reason being, that the machinery was created precisely for the purpose of compensating for the frailty of the body and reacts to the slightest thought and touch. They would be linked together and bonded. This occurs at the highest level of mental and 444 mechanical development, followed by the lowest stage of depletion of the functions of the human body. Our minds, bodies and 444 machinery should compliment each other as usual, 444 except. that in the past, they were at the early stages of development and diminishing, like us now. Our minds, bodies and 444 machinery compliment each other and 444 reluctantly we´ll continue to develop.”
There was a brief pause and Sami continued:
“I´ve been wondering, if future minds will be able to activate a machine by mere mental signals or a physical urge, when for instance one is hungry or cold etc. Will the machine obey a mental command?”
“Why not?”the elegant lady asked enthusiastically.
Sami answered:
“Today we can activate a machine by voice. We have robots, that are programmed to look after themselves and supervise other machines. A creature, that descends from the human race, will not ask a machine to take her to the cinema or the circus or another city or will she want its friendship. Such things are primitive and will have no place in the future. The more developed humkankind becomes, the simpler our needs. The mind will nurture all needs. It will reach a dreamy state and a deep slumber of hybernation with no worries.”
The elegant lady said with extreme enthusiasm:
“This is incredible and frightening. Please let´s return to the subject and follow the idea, without deviating from it. How will the highly advanced mind, that has reached the peak of its potential and 444an advanced technology both fall out of the dilemma with nature and the enviroment? What will follow? ! Isn´t that frightening, dear God!”
Sami was quite pleased and proceeded:
The mind will nurture all needs. There´ll be no worries. Extremely advanced minds and technology will confront this 444in vain. By then all the motives, that urge the body to reach the summit of development and the mind to think and develop, must progress or all species will become extinct. (444 what does machine mean here?) reveal to both mind and machine to react or all species become exitinct. All reserves will be used in their confrontation with nature during a very long period of time. That´s the “dilemma of mind and machine.” Then in pain and anguish, the mind will force the weakened body and motivate it to rebel against itself and adapt to its environment or else, they both, body and machine, become extinct. Thus the body will reluctantly begin its ascent and improve its self-defence. Then the mind will, reluctantly of course, have to suspend some of its potential and power. And since the machine is a product of the mind, it too will suffer deterioration. This will occur at an extremely slow pace. A future being will, after a long stretch of time, resemble us. The difference is, that we are developing as mind and machines, but our bodies are deteriorating. The new creature will progress physically, while mind and machinery will slow down, until they reach the stage of the ancient homo sapiens, that resembled apes. Thus begins our new cycle, which then continues to descend as before.”
“Does this mean that humankind will lose all its achievements?” Jacob asked in surprise.
“Would you sit in front of a fire on a hot summer day, wearing a coat?” Sami asked.
“Of course not.” Jacob muttered.
“Very well,” Sami said. “The question is, what happens to man´s knowledge, if the body developes compensations for all needs!”
“Indeed,” Jacob answered: “There will be no need.”
“That´s how everything will happen in the countdown of a life cycle, until the creature returns to its first basic form.” Sami assured Jacob.
“Oh, my God,” the elegant lady cried. “This is not possible! It´s not for common people to understand. Is this the future of humans? Evolution can´t go baclwards, can it?”
“No doubt,” Jacob said, “your readers will discover many incredible things. While you were summarizing your ideas, many visions developed in my mind!”
“In fact,” Sami said, “I discuss many things in my book, for example genesis and have tried to add something new to it. What I´ve just told you about the future of humanity is only a summary. A summary can´t fully express the essence of the whole idea. If you were to read the book, you´d see my conclusion. A division will occur in our race´s biological time. This split will mark a deviation of the human race. A new kind of a homo sapiens will survive, not an idler with a developed mind. This type of man will deviate, before his mind reaches its utmost development. The process will take place at an extremely slow pace. This new man will transform into another type and unite with the machine. He will be partly human and partly a machine, linked inseparably together. I hope you don´t think, that one half of him will be a car or a television set and the other a carnal being. From birth, his mind´ll be dependent on a machine, that has programmed his thoughts and satisfies his needs for survival. The machine itself will deviate from its path, for it will be connected to a mind and a body, which will influence it. Besides, the law of a natural selection will change and in due time become a mechanical selection, for the machine will dictate the survival of the fittest. It´s extremely difficult to find appropriate words to explain this idea and it´s not important for everyone to understand it. Philosophers will have to interpret my visions into simpler forms and improve them.”
The elegant lady was curious:
“How d´you envisage the future form of this creature?”
Sami replied:
“The new homo sapiens will resemble a few months old embryo with a big head and no selective sense and will remain in this form, until its extinction. It´s a wretched creature, who´ll remain in the world of dreams. It´ll be completely content in this form, until it expires and doesn´t want to exist in any other way, just as we are now.”
“What about birth,” Laila asked, “upbringing and care?”
“The machine, my dear, will give birth to this being. It´ll have extracted sperm at some stage of development. It´ll provide the foetus with all it needs to survive. As for its food, he or she will not be eating hamburgers or grills and things like that, but the machine will not prepare endless food for them. Everything will be calculated with extreme precision, until it´s time for 444for return and the human body begins to regain its functions. In centuries to come, a small bag will appear in some part of the body, containing a lifetime’s nourishment and there´ll be no waste. I hope you don´t fear, that there´ll be billions of such creatures to fill the Earth, like we do now. There´ll be no organizations, nations, leaders, ministers or countries. There´ll be a few completely insulated factories for making humans. Or, there´ll be some sophisticated and completely protected machinery, constructed by very logical creatures, that program machines to behave like thinking creatures. This factory or, let’s say this nursery, will continue to fulfill the needs of the new being for survival for some time (444 the body can only regain its functions, if it has lived before! – so “rebirth” is a good word here) and will no longer be dependent on machines for survival. This ability will be restored and returned to humankind. If evolution were not extremely slow, we might have discovered creatures sharing our planet, who belong to other evolutionary cycles, perhaps their bodies regaining their functions and their minds undergoing a countdown.”
“Incredible,” the elegant lady uttered surprised, “really incredible! May I reserve a copy of your book now.”
Until then, Nadia had not said a word, though she had followed the conversation with interest, more than once her eyes expressing bewilderment, as if she were about to say something, but refrained from it. The pleasant discussion made them forget about Edwar´s absence, but his wife, Laila, apologized for his bad behaviour. She told them about their encounter with the old man and his attempts to forge a friendship on them and how annoyed and irritated it had made Edwar. This had been the reason for his intolerance before.
“Where´s Yousif?” Miriam suddenly asked. “We´ve forgotten him. He should´ve returned at least an hour ago.”
“That’s true. Where is he!” Jacob asked surprised.
“Our discussion made us forget him,” the elegant lady said.
“D´you think,” Sami asked, “he may be absorbed in conversation with Edwar?”
Laila rose from her chair.
“I don´t think so.” she said. “He must´ve left. I feel something bad is going on.”
“He would´ve phoned, if he had problems,” Mona said.
Yousif appeared on the threshold of the lounge.
“There he is,” Sami called out. “Where´ve you been Yousif? We worried about you.”
“What delayed you?” Miriam asked.
“Nothing special. When I saw Edwar home, we began discussing and got carried away. I left his place, when he fell asleep. I had to help him to his bed. On my way back I met the old man. He was in a bad state, his clothes torn and he was moaning, as if in pain and trembling. It seems someone has attacked him. He needed help. I followed him to his hut. He kept talking to himself all the way:
“The savage beast! The savage beast!” he said. When I asked who it was, he said: “the thief!” Then he said: “No one, no one! I had a quarrel with someone and he tore my clothes. I had to flee.”
“Oh, my God!” Miriam yelled. “He must´ve met the burglar. He said he saw someone jump over the fence and flee into the forest.”
Mona also cried frightened:
“Yes, he said that. He must´ve recognized him. Sami, you must go to him and find out, who it was. Poor old man. He wanted to help us and got into trouble.”
Sami trying to calm her:
“Take it easy, my dear. We´ll find out tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow!” she repeated. Why tomorrow? Something bad may happen to him. We may not see him tomorrow. We must see to him now. Immediately. You should´ve brought him back with you, Yousif, instead of seeing him to his hut. I don’t know why, but I got fond of that old man. Wouldn´t it be best to go and see him now, Sami?”
“We don´t know, where he´s now,” Yousif said firmly. “He can´t bear staying out there. I stayed with him for fifteeen minutes and he said he became claustrophobic, when alone there. When I was on my way to you, he 444also left for his hut muttering, that at his place in the forest he could 444at least listen to the snoring of pigeons and the rustling noise of foxes.”
The party continued their chat for some time, until they retired to their rooms.

CHAPTER TEN
The old man´s story kept Mona awake. She couldn´t understand the strange emotional attachment she had for him right from the beginning. She kept thinking about him and spoke to Sami in a very soft voice, even if he had already fallen asleep:
“Sami you should go and see him tomorrow, better still, invite him here. Poor man, no doubt there´s a secret behind the assault tonight. Sami, he must’ve met the thief!”
She was quiet for a while, trying to imagine what had happened to him, when he left the house? She was sure the burglar must have noticed the old man and returned to threaten him. She felt sure, that something very strange must have happened, after he left their house.
Indeed, something strange did happen, when the old man left the party. An idea had occurred to him, before leaving them, when he heard Miriam mention the thief, during their discussion. She had said:
“Unless the burglar stole the only draft of father´s book, Kamil may have thought of avenging himself by tormenting my father and stealing his ideas.”
Miriam was angry, because of her father´s reaction, when he said: “Enough of this nonesense. I don’t want you to talk about him like this. We must not accuse him of something we´re not sure of. That might embarrass us in the future.”
The old man knew about Nadia´s case. Miriam had mentioned Kamil. So, he took the opportunity to find out about more to fill in the mysterious gaps, in order to carry out his plans. When he left them, he headed straight for his target, careful not to be seen by anyone. He knew Kamil, who didn´t know the old man at all.
He hid in a dark corner in Kamil´s large garden, watching the lounge through the window. The lounge was vast, but dimly lit.
“How quiet,” the old man thought, “he must be asleep.”
A while later, he left his hiding place and walked directly to the front door and rang the bell steadily.
“He could break my neck in one blow,” he thought, “but I can turn myself into a frightened mouse. If only I could make him listen for two minutes, but come what may, I´ll not change my mind. It´s a godsend, a chance to hit two birds in one throw,” he thought.
The old man became tired of ringing the bell and concluded, that noone was at home. He decided to wait for him in the dark corner, where he had been before. In fact, Kamil came home, before the old man arrived, but had left for a stroll to ease his nerves. He wasn´t sure, whether the conflict with Nadia or the letter from his boss had vexed him most. 444 For the first time in his life, (???) he thought of exploiting the whole thing to his own advantage. It´s a dear treasure buried in the depths of the seas and in need of a clever mind. Abusing this opportunity was quite a risk and might put him in jeopardy. The thought of exploiting the letter made him tense, even dizzy. He trembled and was somewhat absent minded. He headed for his room sluggishly and stood in front of the mirror, staring at himself, not noticing how plae he was or a piece of fluff, that clung to his beard. He kept pacing up and down, a blanket he had snatched from his bed on his shoulders. He knelt on the floor, touching it with his forehead. His trembling turned into a shiver.
“It´s fever,” he said to himself. “How come it´s so cold in here in mid-summer. I´m freezing. God, I´m scared! If I stay indoors, illness will consume me…What!… what illness?… Am I ill? I´m only shaking! It´s those thoughts. The golden opportunity. Never mind. This is a gold fever, a fever of sparkling thoughts. Our world favours the clever, but I need a partner. Where can I find one? How can I be sure he wouldn´t give me away? I´ll worry about that later. First I must finish the article I´m to write. That I´ll certainly do. I need complete peace for clear thoughts… Isolation is a must, at least at this stage. What a golden opportunity… I just need more courage and .. and …. impudence.”
His fever and shivering left him as quickly as they came. He rose, threw the blanket on the bed and returned to the mirror to check his looks, now noticing the piece of fluff, that clung to his beard. He smiled and removed it.
“I´ll go out and celebrate,” he shouted. He left the house, walking leisurely, taking a few short cuts through the side roads to get to the city centre in an attempt to forget the insult at Sami’s house. Each time his thoughts went back to what happened at the party, he became angry and tense.
“I´ll pay her back tenfold.” he grumbled. “Not only does she deserve a slap, but real beating.”
He entered the first bar on his way, but left a few minutes later. The atmosphere in the bar was bad, where a discussion was about to turn into a brawl. The argument was between a tourist and the waiter. The tourist said he had given the waiter a hundred dollar bill. The waiter insisted, that it was only a ten dollar bill. The tourist kept yelling, trying to prove his point.
“If I had given you ten dollars,” he said, “why would I ask you to give me change at the black-market rate and why did you agree?”
The waiter, who also kept yelling, called him a liar. The tourist, who was about fifty years old, turned towards Kamil, who had just entered and addressed him.
“Sir,” he said, “you must´ve seen me giving him a hundred dollar bill.”
Kamil replied arrogantly:
“Don’t bother me with your problems.”
“But your words mean a lot, because…” the man said.
Kamil interrupted him:
“Please, you´ve got no right to talk to me. You were already quarrelling, when I entered. I haven´t seen anything.”
The tourist repeated with incredible persistence.
“Sorry bothering you, but I´m sure you saw me give him the hundred dollar bill.”
Kamil turned his back in obvious contempt and said:
“You´re being rude,”
The waiter cried in a challeging voice:
“You say you gave me a hundred dollar bill and in spite of my doubt, I was about to believe you and give you the change, but now I´m not going to, because you´re bothering a gentleman and trying to force him to be your witness. Leave now or I´ll call the police!”
The tourist yelled in Kamil’s face:
“See, sir! You´re to blame for my loss.”
Kamil rose grumbling and on leaving the bar, he said:
“You´re impossible. Shame on you”
The waiter said angrily:
“You drive my customers away. Get out now or the police´ll take care of you.”
He picked up the phone, but the tourist left the bar in a fury shouting:
“I feel sorry for this country. You make it rotten. Thieves, scoundrels!”
As soon as he left, he started searching for Kamil, who had entered a night club. He was sitting at a table in one of the corners, where the dance floor was visible. The place was flooded by blue, green and red lights, but was rather dark, even the dance floor. The club was not crowded. Most of the tables were empty. The guests used to come after midnight. Kamil ordered a glass of whisky and asked the waiter to choose a light snack for him from the puzzling menu. In order to figure out the names of some of the dishes, you needed a dictionary. Usually the customers sufficed with a boiled egg, a salad or some meat, all over-priced.
Kamil lit a cigarette and smoked it with pleasure, blowing the smoke slowly towards the flame of a candle on the table. He was absorbed in thought, when the tourist from the bar appeared, standing in front of him and without asking for permission, pulled out a chair, faced Kamil and stared him in the eye with complete insolence. Kamil jerked from fright.
“You again!” he cried. “What d´you want? D´you want me to send you to hospital!”
“Beware how you address me, the tourist grumbled. “You´re quite aggressive and impolite, aren´t you!”
Kamil got furious:
“What about your trespassing my table. Is that polite?” he snorted.
“I´m not trespassing. I came here to demand my rights, the stranger said.”
“Rights? What rights? What business do I have with you? What´s between us, for there to be rights?” Kamil snorted.
“Ten minutes ago, I had nothing to do with you and I don´t owe you anything. But now, the situation is different,” the tourist said.
“How! When I don’t even know you?” Kamil asked.
“You met me ten minutes ago and now you owe me something,” the man said in a low voice.
Kamil interrupted him, but was slightly nervous:
“Listen sir,” he almost yelled, “if you don´t leave my table now, I´ll have to deal with you in a way you´ll regret.”
The tourist rose and lowered his eyes:
“I´m sorry for having bothered you.”
He was obviously trying to be polite and added:
“But if you listen to me for just a minute, I´m sure you´ll change your mind. You look like a learned man and able to understand, unlike that rude waiter. Besides, I´m puzzled, because you appear to be educated, but can´t listen. And I don´t understand the extent of your anger. Good behaviour is always attributed to the learned.”
Kamil was about to explode from rage, but then a sudden calmness came upon him. He stood up and with an outstretched hand, he invited the man to sit down, a friendly smile on his face. He even considered offering him a glass of whisky.
“Take a seat, please,” he said. “Make yourself comfortable. I apologize for my harsh behaviour. But I may be excused somewhat. I´m exhausted and was trying to relax, away from the problems of work and people and you simply took me by surprise. We´re not even acquainted, so I became somewhat confused.”
The tourist introduced himself:
“I am José from Spain. I came to your city only two days ago and am staying at a pension next to a little bridge. It´s on the other end of the bridge.”
Kamil introduced himself:
“I am Kamil,” he said with pride, “a writer and critic. I work for a newspaper and have lived in this town for a long time.”
“Wow,” José said, “so my guess was right, mr. Kamool. Sorry, is my pronounciation right? It´s Kamool isn’t it?”
“No Kamil, not Kamool,” Kamil said laughing.
“Yes, yes, forgive me. What I wanted to say, mr. Kamil is, that man, any man, from any background, can with one look, even from a distance, see, that you´re a man of intellect and knowledge. Everything about you gives that impression.”
Kamil’s face lit up in a smile and José saw, that he had reached him. So he said:
“What I´m saying is the honest truth. I´m just describing what I felt the minute I saw you. Your appearance, looks and posture, even your frown, it all shows an extraordinary man, a very special personality. One can guess your occupation.”
Kamil pretended being modest on hearing these compliments and said:
“Your words are very sweet, but I must say, that you´re exaggerating.”
The waiter arrived with the snack, which turned out to be a bowl of soup with a strange taste and colour. There was a little brown chocolate-like cube in the centre of the bowl. It resembled a legless beetle. This with a glass of whisky would be sure to turn any stomach. Kamil stared at the bowl:
“What is this?” he asked.
“A soup,” the waiter said.
“O.k., o.k., take mr. José’s order, please. What would you like, mr. José?” Kamil asked.
“Thank you, sir, it´s extremely kind of you. I´ll just have a chilled beer,” his guest said.
When the waiter left, Kamil said to him:
“You speak English fluently. You must’ve lived in England.”
“Yes, sir, I lived there for ten years in my childhood. I still go there for visits. English is the language of the future. I often wonder what it´d be like, if man was to become so civilized, that all international barriers were removed and people of all races and colours, like birds, could move and live wherever they want. This´ll happen in the future. If all dialects faded out, only one language would be left, the one that is most practical and bright. If that happens, English will be the universal language,” José said. ” A new language may emerge from English, since it keeps changing.”
“I agree with you,” was Kamil´s reaction. Old languages change or are replaced and therefore lost. D´you know, that one of the oldest one is Arabic. Many other languages are derived from that, maybe the international ones. But see what has happened to the Arabic language, mother of many languages on Earth. It´s not important and will never be so. A woman, who gives birth to children, can never return to being a a young girl again. It´s against the laws of nature.”
“But Arabic remains a literary language, if we exempt a few unpronouncable letters, in which case it is no longer Arabic.”
“Indeed it is,” José said. “Languages tend to drop difficult and heavy accents, in order to improve and maintain their vitality. If it weren’t for this, man would still howl like a beast.”
Kamil looked at him steadily:
“I hear you´re interested in languages. You speak fluent English and seem to be well versed in Arabic. You seem to have some knowledge of languages, their history and development.”
“As for my knowledge of the Arabic language,” José said smiling, “that´s natural, since I´m Spanish. The roots of many Spanish people are Arabic. But I know little about the history of languages. Now and then I read some articles published in newspapers about this.”
“Even so, you must´ve acquired a reasonable education,” Kamil said and then suddenly changed the subject: “By the way, what d´you do in Spain?”
The tourist replied in a matter of fact tone:
“I´ve got no special occupation, but do many things depending on the circumstances. One day I´m a worker, the next a grocer and sometimes you´ll find me working free lance as a teacher or a helping hand in an office. Each year, as soon as I manage to save enough money, I enjoy my favourite pastime, which is travelling. That doesn´t mean I´m rich. On the contrary, I´m quite poor, else I wouldn’t have quarrelled with the waiter because of a hundred dollar bill. Confrontation degrades one. A rich man doesn´t allow himself to be undermined and ridiculed by people for a trivial sum of money, but being a poor man, I took the risk. Then I followed you to this place, knowing quite well how unwise it is to drag you into my problems. But, dear sir, I´m a stranger and strangers, like drowning people, cling to a straw to stay afloat. I shouldn’t have clung to you. In my ordeal I myself have become like a straw. Forgive me, I take back what I said in the bar.”
Kamil answered calmly:
“I didn´t see you pay the waiter. When I entered the bar, the quarrel had already broken out, otherwise for sure, I´d have taken your side. Nevertheless, I may be able to help you now.”
“Honourable sir, I´m so sorry. Forgive me for troubling you. In fact, what made me behave like that is the fact, that I don´t have much money with me. So to me a hundred dollars is a great sum. My budget is now all wrong and I don’t know what to do? If you please, my honourable sir, could you lend me some money? I can give you my watch as a guarantee, until I´m back home and can send you the money. My watch isn’t worth much, but I have nothing else to offer. You may consider the watch a token of gratitude, as I´ll not ask you to return it to me, when I´ve paid my debt.”
“Keep your watch, please,” Kamil said laughing, “I´ll lend you what you need in complete confidence. Anyway, it´s not a great deal.”
“Then I have nothing to offer you, but my friendship,” José said and extended his hand, while adding: “My house will always be open to you, should you decide to visit us in Spain. You´ll not need a pension or a hotel. My house is your house. That goes for your friends too.”
Kamil opened his wallet and gave José the equivalent of one hundred dollars and then they exchanged addresses. Minutes later, José was about to leave, when Kamil asked him to stay and said he´d pay the bill. He was buying his way to José, for some later requests he had in mind. This person seemed to possess all the required characteristics needed for carrying out his plan, besides being a total stranger. However, he decided to delay talking about the plan to a later date. He thought: “I´ve got his address and we can meet again, when my plans are complete. Now, I´d like to celebrate this opportunity. My alibi is found and the idea is in the making.”
He started emptying one glass after the other, so he was soon quite drunk. He asked the waiter to get him a taxi. Soon a car was waiting outside. He bade José a warm farewell and left.
———–
In the meanwhile, the old man had left his hiding place in Kamil´s garden and was waiting impatiently in a dark corner near the gate. When he saw a taxi approaching, his heart began to pound. Kamil stepped out of the car and took his wallet from his back pocket to pay. He seemed to have tried to take out the wallet, while he was in the taxi. He gave the driver some notes and took a shortcut through the garden, swaying as he walked. When he reached the main door of his house, he searched some time for the keys, leaning on the wall to support himself. The old man had sneaked behind him and waited for a while before suprising him.
“He is quite drunk,” he thought, “barely able to stand on his feet. Lucky for me. I can break his neck with my two fingers, if I have to.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN
Kamil opened the front door and entered, but before closing the door behind him, was taken aback by the old man´s presence.
“Who are you?” he yelled in his fright. “What do you want? Go away, you beggar or I´ll call the police!”
“Calm down, sir,” the old man said with self restraint. “I´m neither a beggar nor a robber. I was just passing by, when I noticed you paying the taxi driver. You dropped a note, which I picked up. I called you, but you didn´t hear me, so I followed you to give it to you. Count the money in your wallet to find out what´s missing.”
Kamil regretted his hasty remark.
“Oh,” he said, “Is that it? Sorry.”
“You wealthy people are like that,” The old man interrupted him tensely, “always expecting the worst from God’s creatures. You think the poor are all thieves and beggars.”
“I´m sorry, but…” Kamil repeated.
Again the old man interrupted him:
“If I were a dishonest man, I´d have run away with your money. It would´ve been the price for insulting me. You may think, that people like me don´t have any feelings.”
“All right, o.k….for the third time, I´m sorry.”
“Listen to me, honourable sir, although I´m sure the note belongs to you, I´ll not return it to you, unless you count the money in your wallet and tell me what´s missing. You must know how much you had.”
Kamil laughed and said:
“Why, when you´re so sure the money is mine?”
“Because I want to return your insult. I also want you to know that I don´t trust you, unless you tell me the truth. Otherwise, I´ll consider you a thief, wanting what´s not yours and then I´ll go.”
Kamil laughed and took this as a joke. He felt, that old people are sometimes childish. He decided to offer him half of the money he had found. He leaned against the doorpost, took out his wallet and began counting, swaying slightly in his drunken state. Suddenly the old man snatched the wallet from him, pushed him inside the house and thrust him to the floor. Kamil, trying to keep his balance, instinctively grasped the old man’s jacket, ripping it, as he fell to the floor. The old man slammed the door with his foot, took a knife from his pocket and pointed it at Kamil’s chest.
“What d´you want?” Kamil yelled in his fright. “Who are you, what…?”
Before he could finish the sentence, the old man put his hand over Kamil’s mouth and swung the knife against his face.
“Calm down,” he said. “I only want to talk to you, but you bastard tore my shirt and jacket. Don’t worry, you´ll pay for it.”
While saying these sneering words, the old man felt a strange pleasure. Noone would recognize him as the man, who appeared so sympathetic in Sami’s house. Now he looked like a monster, his body strained and his eyes sparkling with malice.
“What a day!” Kamil mumbled. “Everyone I´ve met wants to talk to me and I don’t even know them. What d´you want from me? Have we ever met before?”
“If you don’t recognize me, it´s your problem,”the old man answered. “But I know you. You know me too, only your memory would let you down, even if I told you who I am. There´s an old debt between us, mr. Kamil, which has to be settled. I´m warning you. Don´t yell or do anything disagreeable. I can silence you forever with this knife. So, don’t be stupid.”
“What´re you talking about?” Kamil asked in a dizzy tone. “Have you all gone mad? Have I seen you before? What a nasty day. The problems of the whole world have fallen on my shoulders.”
“Shut up,” the old man hissed. “Listen! I want to talk to you about something. You must think carefully, before answering. I´m not at all interested in your wallet. You can have it back. But, first I need your identity card or a document with you signature. I can knock you out, whenever I´d like, if you don´t obey me. I´m no thief. Let´s not waste more time. Take a seat on that chair over there. Don’t lie on the floor like an idiot.”
Kamil just managed to rise upon his feet and take a few hesitant steps towards the chair and then he collapsed on it. His exhaustion and astonishment were apparent. He stared dumbfounded at the old man, not understanding what ws happening. The old man pulled a chair to himself and sat down on it about a metre from Kamil. He stared steadily at him and smiled maliciously. He passed the knife continuously from one hand to the other, signalling to Kamil not to make a stupid move. Then he stopped fooling with the knife and began feeling the wallet.
“Your wallet is full!” he said “Of course.. of course .. If your wallet weren´t full, who else´s? Now, tell me: Did you squander your fathers’ fortune? Oh, I don’t think you´re the type. I´m sure you saved it, when you stopped gambling? But tell me, how come your father’s factory burned down? I heard a long time ago, that your father died in the fire. I felt the factory couldn´t have burnt down on it’s own accord, without somebody having planned it. Did you count on the insurance money, which you would inherit, but only if he died in the fire?”
The old man made this story up on the spot. It was true, that the factory had burnt down some ten years ago and Kamil´s father had met his death there. Kamil received a large sum of money from the insurance company, but he didn´t have anything to do with the accident. An investigation proved it was an accident. During the first year after that, Kamil squandered a great fortune on races and bribing intellectuals in power to plough a path for himself, until he had reached a perfect position and gained authority. He then built himself a modern house and drove expensive cars to fit into his new social position. He deposited the rest of the money in a bank.
“I´ve got used to life in luxury,” he had said to himself. “In spite of my good salary, I don´t have much left. What am I to do, when I´ve spent it all?”
He therefore began to economize a little. He thought of investing what was left of the fortune in shares. He was prepared to invest in any venture, even illegal ones, as long as profit was guaranteed and his reputation remained intact. Reputation is capital for those in authority, he often told himself. Any little scratch and he would be thrown out of the ivory tower, he had spent his whole life building.
Kamil now trembled all over.
“You´re lying,” he said. “You´re an old liar, trying to blackmail me.”
“No sir, I neither need your money nor am I trying to blackmail you.”
“Then what d´you want ?”
“I told you. I want to talk to you.”
The old man looked cautiously at Kamil, while checking his wallet.
“Let´s see, what are these papers?” he mumbled. “Oh, your identity card. Great, lucky me…a good thing. I may need this. And here´s a letter. I wonder what it says? Is it from a sweetheart? Huh… I don’t think so…. I don’t think the likes of you have a sweetheart. It could be a letter from a married woman you´re having an affair with.”
He sniffed at the letter and continued:
“No, no feminine fragrance. Alas, if so… how I would celebrate and your whole life would then be at my mercy. Anyway, even if the letter is not 444 WHAT?, your entire reputation still rests in the palm of my hand. I could splash it, as if it were a tomato. Imagine what your future´ll be like, if I ruin your reputation. Mr. Kamil, a good name is necessary for men like you. Let me see what’s in this letter. Are you aware of that? I guess you agree with me, don’t you?
He opened the letter and began to read slowly to himself.
“You keep torturing me, but you´ve not told me what you want,” Kamil said. “If you´re not trying to blackmail me, what d´you then want? “If you need a favour, I´m ready to oblige… go on, out with it.”
“Don’t rush me pal,… don’t push me,” the old man said. After a short silence, he whistled.
“What a letter! I hoped it was the needle to prick you with, but now I see it´s a sharp sword I can slaughter you with. What a time-bomb I can throw at you and the company your pen serves. I´ve become powerful… ha.. ha.. ha.. My dear mr. Kamil, I didn´t expect anything like this. I didn´t even dream of it. With this, I can overthrow a government, ha..ha..ha.. What a treasure! For the first time in your life mr. Kamil, you´ve been both careless and foolish. D´you realize the importance of this letter? Didn´t you read the chairman´s warning, insisting, that you burn it, after reading it? My dearest dear, due to you, the government is done for. Any opposition party can now take the power, simply by publishing this letter. What a goldmine! Mercy on our government. Until a few minutes ago, I expected the government to win the elections, but now I doubt it. I can sell it to the opposition, ha..ha..ha!”
Now Kamil realized, that he was caught in a trap. Trembling he attacked the old man and tried to snatch the letter from him. The old man managed to avoid him. Kamil lost his balance, stumbled and fell on the floor. The old man stooped over him, pointing the knife at his throat.
“Don’t make me do without the favours I was about to ask from you,” the old man said. “I could cut your throat and send you into oblivion, without a rocket or NASA´s knowledge.”
He pulled Kamil up by his collar and dumped him on the chair, while saying: “This is my last warning. Pull yourself together.”
Kamil pleaded:
“Please give me the letter. I´ll do anything you ask. I´ll pay you any amount, one thousand, two, even three thousand dollars. I´ll write a cheque now.”
“What a fool!” the old man said. “This letter! Only worth three thousand dollars? The fate of a whole government depends on it, so does your reputation and future. Three thousand dollars! Listen, forget the letter! It´s a treasure you can´t afford. It enables me to bargain with the opposition parties and they´ll pay me two million dollars instantly, because it´ll help them crush the present government. Three thousand dollars! Huh…, how generous of you. With three thousand dollars, you´d just have turned me into a pickpocket, since those, who steal such trivial sums, are thrown into prison and labelled dishonourable thieves. He, who steals millions, is not called a thief, but an honourable businessman. Forget all about that. The furthest star in the sky is more within your reach than this letter. You´re not getting it back. Tell me, did you ever think of using it for your own ends? Just an idea I got! Then we´re partners! If you haven’t considered it, then you´re honourable and that would leave me in doubt as to your intelligence. But leave that for now, something I didn´t consider. mr. Kamil, when good fortune descends on someone like rain, it soothes him. Now I can bathe in my good luck. The wind is blowing in the right direction. With this letter in my hands, I feel powerful enough to tell you what I want you to do for me. The initial plan I had in mind seems ridiculous now that I have this letter. It gives me both authority and power. But, let´s forget the letter and discuss the subject I came for or say, let’s forget the letter for a while, because that takes a sober mind. It gives me both authority and power. I want to tell you about my plan. This mainly for my amusement, since it´s not very late. I can still use that plan as a simple strategy, if you try to disobey me. See for yourself how much damage the letter would do to your reputation and power. It´s a kind of an atomic letter ha..ha..ha. Listen to my beautiful plan, mr. Kamil.”
Kamil was broken and dazed.
“Concentrate a little,” the old man said. “Don’t let the letter distract you. D´you want the story from the beginning? I think it´s best. Very well then, listen! The whole story, my friend, is like this:
“I was walking near the forest, which is east of the city.This was only a few hours ago. I heard a cry and noticed a ghostlike figure jumping over the fence and running away from Sami’s house. You know him. He´s your friend. You were his guest. I noticed the ghostly figure heading hastily for the forest. He had dropped his wallet. I went to Sami’s house to tell them about the thief I saw flee. We got carried away in a conversation and eventually I left, without telling them about the thief because, let’s say, a sudden fear of the consequences overwhelmed me. While I was sitting there, I heard about a quarrel between you and the poetess. What´s her name? Anyway, you hit her hard in the face. I saw the red spots on her cheek..ha ha ha.. You know the story, for you´re the main hero, but you don’t know what happened next. I came to tell you. A short while after you left, the ghostly figure entered Sami’s study to steal something. But what was there in the study worth stealing? Nothing, except the only draft of his scientific book. All suspicion points towards you. Sami disagreed with this idea, but I´m certain, that he also thought the thief came to steal his only draft. Now, who would be interested in this draft? Some say you wanted revenge on the entire family by destroying his book, knowing that it was the essence of his life’s work. The devil took you and inspired you to yield the cruellest blow, that is, destroy or hide the manuscript. If I were in your shoes, I´d arrange for a horrible accident and get rid of the entire family, wait for ten or fifteen years and then produce the book, claiming it to be mine, after having made some slight adjustments and additions to the text. Isn´t that a devilish idea? Yes, also quite vulgar and vile.”
Kamil’s eyes were drawn to the blade of the knife, thinking that the old man was insane. He ventured to say:
“I don´t understand any of this! Explain what you´re getting at? Why don’t you go straight to the point?”
“O.k., my dear, seeing how eager you are to know what I want from you, I´ll get to the point. Honestly, I only came to you, because I wanted you to do something for me. But I can only make you do that by putting your life, reputation and all your assets at stake, only then will you carry out my request. An intelligent man like you doesn´t want to be humiliated and wouldn´t sacrifice his future and soil himself for someone else. Your likes are prepared to kill not only one innocent being, but hundreds. Don´t be astonished by my words. We understand each other perfectly.”
Kamil answered:
“Please talk to me without all these insults?”
“Why? Do insults hurt your feelings? Have you forgotten how you showered me with insults, when we met? Isn´t it my right to take my turn and insult you as I please, now that I´ve got the upper hand?” the old man asked.
“But you´ve invaded my home! How can I talk to you?” Kamil whimpered.
“Shut up! Humans have a language with which they are supposed to communicate,” the old man retorted.
“Very well, let’s say I made a mistake, but I´ve apologized to you,” Kamil said and added: “I´m extremely bored. Insult me in any way you like, but just tell me what you want. What d´you want from me?”
The old man answered:
“Then don’t interrupt me. I´ve just told you, that someone guessed, that you were the thief in Sami´s house. But they have no proof at all. I´m sure they´ll come to me tomorrow to ask me about the the thief´s identity and whether I recognized him or not. I thought of confirming their doubts and testify it was you. I thought of describing you to them and that would´ve been the end of the matter. Your reputation would be ruined forever and you´d become a sensation in every newspaper and magazine. Your credibility would be lost forever. A single word from me would cause more damage to your name, than the blow you gave the poetess. The blow may not damage you in all your readers´ eyes, as there are still many savages around, who enjoy hitting women, including me. For your information, my dear Kamil, I could involve you, without any tangible proof, but now the evidence in my hand is your wallet with your identity card in it. I could say, that you dropped it, while running away. Besides that, in one hand I´ve got this and in the other the letter from the newspaper´s chairman. I knew you´re drunk, otherwise I wouldn’t have dared come that close to you. You could´ve broken my spine in one blow. That´s why I´d have been content with stealing any document belonging to you and making several copies, in order to come back and threaten you. But now, that you´re in this state, I have no fear. I don’t even need my knife, because I´ve got the upper hand. You could call the police, but that wouldn´t be good for you, because if you said I had broken into your house and stolen your wallet, I could prove the opposite. You´d find yourself dragged into a scandal. I could break your back with the newspaper chairman’s letter. So, huh…, what d´you think? Are you going to obey me? By the way, when I go, I´ll make a copy of your letter, identity documents and whatever. I´ll leave it with more than one person and tell them them, that if anything bad happens to me, they´re to follow up the case. So, don´t try to betray me. These are precautionary measures I must take, otherwise you could slaughter me with your bare hands, before dawn, that is, if you are sober enough by then. But now I must leave. As for what I want you to do, we´ll discuss that, when you´re sober. You must come to my hut. It´s isolated in the forest. Don´t do anything stupid. In half an hour, I´m no longer alone in this operation, as I´m involving some crooks, who can finish you off, if necessary. Be sure to show up at my hut. You and your future´s in our hands. Till we meet again, my dear ally.”
Before leaving, he whispered something in Kamil’s ear and with few cautious steps he headed for the door, chuckling.

CHAPTER TWELVE
It was eleven o’clock, when Sami’s family and their friends woke up. The sun was spreading its rays over the garden, making its way to the lounge entrance and windows. Pets were hovering around the dining table, some climbing the chairs. They devoured the leftovers. The old woman had woken up early as usual. She was sitting in a corner in the garden. Next to her was a small table, where she had a glass of tea and her knitting kit, for she had promised to knit jumpers for Miriam and Yousif, before the winter. Gradually, the house bustled with movement in every room. Cleaning and tidying up after last night´s party had begun. Mona and her elegant friend were busy in the kitchen, preparing breakfast for everyone. Although Mona looked radiant, she was hiding her anxiety about the previous night’s events. Almost half an hour later, the table in the dining room was laid for breakfast, filled with various kinds of cheese, butter, jam, fried and boiled eggs, tea and coffee. Sami went to ask his mother to join them. Seconds later, everyone was sitting around the table enjoying their breakfast in silence. Yet, Mona was no longer able to hide her anxiety. She passed Sami a cup of tea.
“Are you going to him, my dear?” she asked.
Sami had forgotten about the matter.
“Whom?” he asked.
She answered him in bewilderment:
“Whom? The old man of course.”
“D´you think it’s necessary?” he asked.
“Of course, my dear. Don’t you feel something´s going on, which we should know about?”
“Don´t be afraid, dear,” Sami answered. “I´ll go and see to him later.”
“I´ll join you, dad,” Miriam said eagerly. “Yousif, d´you want to come with us?”
“Yes, as long as it doesn’t clash with my meeting with Jacob. By the way, Jacob has found me a first floor flat in a house shared by three young men. It´s not far from here. It´s large and old, but probably comfortable enough.”
“The you´ll visit us every day?” the old woman asked happily.
“Of course, I do that already, don´t I?” Yousif answered.
“It’s only the last three days, you started visiting us daily,” Miriam said. “Anyway, you´re excused, as your present place is so far away.”
“Huh..far,” Nadia said. “How can it be far, when it´s only thirty minutes away by bus?”
“I don’t know what you see in that pinhole you live in,” Sami said.
They all smiled.
“What?” Yousif asked. “Is my place a pinhole?”
“No, dad,” Miriam said gaily. “He doesn’t live in a pinhole. It´s a hermitage.”
“Have you forgotten, Sami,” the old woman asked in a low voice, “how we spent many long years of our lives in a pinhole?”
Sami turned to his mother.
“Not at all,” he muttered. “How could one forget such a thing. Whenever I see Yousif´s face, I remember the days of my youth. I often used to get impatient and mourn our fate. That´s why I´m so attached to Yousif. He leads the same kind of life I used to live. The difference between me and him is patience. He never complains the way I used to.”
“You too were patient,” his mother said. “Only sometimes did you lose your patientce.”
“Most people live in pinholes,” the elegant lady said. “Happy is he, who has ambition and patience, who would otherwise end up spending the rest of his days in holes.”
The family and friends would have expected anything but Kamil. While enjoying their breakfast and lively chat, the doorbell rang. A while later Kamil came into the dining room. They were quite surprised and forgot to offer him a seat, so he remained standing, his face ashen, his insomniac eyes red. He was wearing the same clothes as last night and seemed to be beside himself. He hadn’t expected to see any of the guests there, except for Nadia and the elegant lady. Finally managing to compose himself, he said:
“I don’t know how I managed to survive last night. I´ve never been through anything like it before. It was so terrible, that it made me decide first thing in the morning to apologize for my conduct here last night. Nadia wasn´t at home, so I figured she must´ve spent the night here. So, I decided to come and see you, if only to apologize to you all for what I did. I think everyone is basically human and fallible and can lose control sometimes. My behaviour was absurd, especially towards you, Nadia. It was foolish and inappropriate and I was driven by an insane reaction. I´ll always feel guilty and ashamed and never forgive myself. I´ve also had my share of insults, which I deserved. Maybe I can learn from it. I beg you all to forgive me.”
Feeling humiliated, tormented and ruined, he uttered these words and was slowly turning around to leave, when Sami rose from his seat and stopped him. He called Nadia forth and made them shake hands. Nadia was on the verge of bursting into tears, but managed to control herself. He shook her hand and turned around, once again to leave.
“My dear,” Sami said, taking his arm, “wait a minute. You don´t look well. Besides, I don’t see a great problem between you two. It was simply a misunderstanding at a moment of anger. Come on, our house is yours and you are a friend of the family. Join us and have breakfast.”
However, Kamil´s spirit was so broken, that he could not bring himself to join the group. Sami sensed that and as Kamil seemed to want to say something, he took him to his study to talk and have their breakfast there. Sami excused himself and went to his study, carrying a small breakfast tray.
Mona looked confused at the elegant lady.
“Is that possible?” she said in a low voice. “Was he so affected by yesterday’s incident? I don´t believe it was the same Kamil, who spoke to us just now. He seemed to be so humiliated. He probably fears the breaking out of a scandal, that will injure his reputation and make him the talk of the town. He´s very protective of his reputation and quite rightly so. A man of his position and reputation strives hard to keep his name as good as gold.”
“I feel so sorry for him, mam,” Miriam said in a sad voice. “I feel I´ve wronged him, but he made me do it. He should´ve known, that we´re also vulnerable.”
“Am I to understand,” Mona asked annoyed, “that what happened yesterday was planned? Answer me, Miriam? Did you have anything to do with it? You must´ve planned it with Yousif. Don’t play innocent. Did you take part in a conspiracy? Oh, my God! It can´t be true. If that´s the case, I´ll expect anything from you, when you´re together.”
Until now Sami’s mother had been unaware of what was going on. She was about to ask, when Nadia said:
“It´s my fault and mine alone.”
She couldn’t finish her sentence and burst into tears.
“Tell me what happened,” the old woman muttered.
“Miriam and Yousif had nothing to do with it,” Nadia added sobbing. “It´s all my mistake and I take full responsibility for it. I shouldn´t have gone to him, when I know what he´s like. It´s my fault. I encouraged him to be critical of my writings. I should´ve listened to him, without opening my mouth. I shouldn’t have asked for his opinion and end up losing my temper.”
She hid her face in her hands and cried.
Indeed, the night before had wounded Kamil deeply and even made him feel ashamed and undignified, but not to the extent of a complete breakdown. He hadn’t considered for one minute to apologize to Nadia or anyone else, if it weren´t for the old man’s demand. In spite of his high position, Kamil was now at the old man’s mercy.
About two hours, before going to their house, he had a fit of panic and when he sobered up, he thought what had happened was a dream, so he began to search for the chairman´s letter. When he couldn´t find it in his wallet, he realized the situation. He left his house immediately and chose a side road to avoid being seen. He reached the forest, walked between the trees, instead of on the main path. He remembered clearly the old man´s description of the hut and was familliar with the area. He had often gone there for a walk.
Before confronting the old man, he tried to foresee what might face him and thought of possible actions. He could for example attack the old man and take the letter and the wallet from him, without leaving any traces. – But what if the old man had carried out his plan? he thought. – Then I´ll walk straight into a trap, with no way out. The old tramp may´ve blocked all my chances and could ruin me. He said my future, my life and reputation were at his mercy. Those were not false threats. He meant every word and I must accept it. But what favours does he want from me? Would it free me from this dilemma, if I obeyed him? I must think logically, so as not to make a mistake, that could be my end. I´ve got two choices: either to take my fate into my own hands or obey a lunatic. Perhaps the most logical thing is to meet the old man´s demands. –
In the hut, the old man was sitting calmly on an old wooden chair in front of a primitive fireplace made of boulders. The fire had just been lit.
There was a small dark table next to him with pieces of dried bread and cigarette butts in a sardine can. On the right hand side of the fireplace, there was a large table, also somber in colour and three wooden chairs like the one he was sitting on. They were dusty. Obviously, no one had been sitting on them for a long time. The room ran through the entire hut. It was large, almost bare, except for the furniture already described and a bed on the left hand side of the fire place. The floor was covered by hay mats, which creaked, when walked on. The hut was dark in spite of its two windows. The trunks of tall trees blocked the sun from the area, making the hut claustrophobic and depressing, especially at sunset. The kitchen and toilet were in a separate hut, some metres away, a wooden path joining the two huts.
When Kamil reached the hut, he thought: – This place would drive me crazy. –
The old man was not surprised by his arrival. He had expected him. “Come in,” he said. “What´re you waiting for? I left the door open for you. I thought you´d be here earlier. It´s already nine o’clock. You must’ve slept soundly, after I left you. Great nerves. Did you sleep well?”
Kamil studied the old man savagely: – He´s in power now, – he thought.
As soon as he stepped inside, the old man grasped some papers:
“These are copies of the contents of your wallet,” he said, “notes, identity documents and the letter ..ha…ha. Here´s the letter, that can overturn the government. I´ve given my partners copies of this, because I fear your recklessness. To be honest, there are no loopholes in my plan. I strive for precision and perfection. That´s how I keep strong and in control. I think and decide, without opposition from anyone… I see you´re deep in thought, mr. Kamil. No use thinking. You just exhaust yourself. If only you´d listen to me, I could spare you a lot of agony and put your mind to rest. You´ll be able to relax, when I tell you about your future.”
“May I sit down?” Kamil asked.
“Sure, sure, so sorry, I forgot. Please sit down. Pull up that chair and sit down in front of me by the fireplace, unless you dislike fire. Incidentally, I love lighting the fire every morning, even on hot summer days. I´m so fond of watching the flames. I sometimes wonder, if I´m made of fire,” the old man chuckled.
“D´you know what I´m thinking about?” Kamil said, almost exploding from anger.
“No doubt of the judgement encircling your neck,” the old man retorted.
“Yes, I was thinking about the trap you´ve laid for me. Yet, at this very moment, I´m not thinking of that, but.. but..but…”
Kamil kept repeating his words, gritting his teeth.
“But what?” the old man asked coldly. “You´re probably dead scared.”
Kamil ‘s face tensed.
“Before coming here” he yelled, “I made up my mind to grant you your wishes, all of them, even if they were to annihilate humanity. because I know you want to exploit my authority. Yes, I´ll grant you your wishes, but before that, I´ve got an irresistable urge to give you a good thrashing or else I´ll be consumed by rage.”
As soon as he had finished the sentence, he attacked the old man and gave him a loud slap, like the one he had given the poetess the night before. He showered him with punches on his head and all over his body. In a swift movement, the old man pulled out a gun, he had 444 (in his pocket?)under his arm. Kamil was startled, when he pointed the gun at his temple.
“One move and I´ll send you to the other world,” the old man growled. “You´ll get tenfold in return for your bad behaviour. Don’t you dare annoy me more. I´ll empty the gun into your head and burn your body in my fireplace. In one second, I can destroy everything you´ve created in your whole life. I could make you weep from shame for the rest of your life, that is, if you´ll not be thrown in a prison first. You´re a savage. Sit and shut up!”
The old man’s lip was swollen and bleeding. He wiped the blood off with his sleeve. “Stupid savage,” he mumbled.
Kamil was panting from aggravation. A long silence remained between them. Having pulled himself together, the old man broke the silence:
“Never mind what you just did. Try to control yourself in the future.”
Kamil´s lips trembled:
“I could rip your throat out with my teeth and, if by slaughtering you, I stood any chance of being freed from this dilemma, I wouldn´t hesitate for a second,” he said.
“I know and that´s why I´ve taken the necessay precautions. Do you take me for a fool? In fact, only yesterday I thought about it. I know you and your thoughts. In fact, I´ve known you for a long time. I used to make plans as how to amuse myself with you. But circumstances made me choose this plan.” He placed the gun on the table, rose and said: “I´ll make some coffee, just relax.”
He deliberately left the gun on the little table in front of Kamil, as if saying:
“You can´t harm me, for if you do, it means your own destruction. See how perfect my plan is. Our lives are linked together. Therefore, it would be best for you to protect me, which is also your own protection, since my allies would do away with you, if anything bad happens to me. They´d accuse you of having arranged the plot.”
Soon he returned with the coffee and the sternness of a commanding officer:
“Understand one thing, mr. Kamil, I´m the one in command and it´s for you to obey, without any objections. I know what I want and how to get it, understood?”
“I don’t know what your plans are,” Kamil said. “What d´you want me to do for you? I don’t know what goes on in your head. All I know is, that you want some favours and, if I object, you´d kill me. My future is at your mercy in return for some favours. That´s all I know. I´ve also gathered, that you think you know me. Besides that, you know that I´d not sacrifice anything for anyone and that´s probably why you´ve chosen me. Could you tell me what you want from me? You whispered in my ear, before leaving my house, that you´re the one, who broke into Sami’s house. So, what´s my role in all this?”
“Quite right, my friend,” the old man explained. I also think we should begin our work, but one step at a time. The first thing I want is for you to mend your friendship with Sami’s family and their poet friend. What´s her name? Never mind. Make amends quickly and strengthen your friendship, even if it means compromising.”
Kamil was dumbfounded.
“It´s not fair,” he cried out, “You´re not to meddle with my personal affairs. What´s in it for you?”
“I don’t like your tone. Calm down, my friend. Understand, that from now on, I must interfere in all your affairs, be they trivial or important.” The old man chuckled.
“This is unbearable,” Kamil stuttered.
“I know that, but it´s according to my plan,” the old man explained, ..otherwise I´ll not succeed. I know, that my goal is of little importance to you, but it matters to me and you´re going to help me reach it. And…, I´ve got the upper hand. No objections or debate, please. Never forget that.”
“What´s the next step?” Kamil asked surprised.
“You´re to obey and leave now. Time is too valuable to waste it,” was the old man´s answer.”
“And then?” Kamil asked.
“When you return home, fill your bathtub with warm water and relax in it, because I want you to empty your head and forget your problems, so you can carry out the newspaper chairman´s instructions. In one week, I want your newspaper to be filled with lies and conspiracies the editor in chief commands you to produce. I want your articles to be the talk of the town. You´re to urge your colleagues to sharpen their pens and participate in this campaign. It´s a war for power. Don’t be shy, my dear Kamil, baseness is permitted in politics. People are used to being misled by your position and appearance!”
“Don’t deviate from the issue, if you please,” Kamil responded.
“But, my dear, we´re discussing it. We´re at the core of the issue. Listen to what attracted my special attention in the letter.”
The old man pulled out a copy of the letter and searched for the lines:
“I´ve read it, so what´s the point of reading it to me?” Kamil asked wearily.
“Repetition furthers understanding. And…, I enjoy reading it to you. Where is it now?” the old man mumbled, heh… here it is… what a fox! What a shame and disgrace! Listen, listen to your lowliness, my dear Kamil, indeed, king of the bottomless pit. Listen…, here the chairman of the newspaper says:
“The most important thing you must stress is sexuality. Write in details and fear nothing. Write, that he likes seducing children. We´ve agreed with the child´s father. He´s the presidential candidate´s acquaintance. After a down payment of a very large sum, we agreed to support what you are to write in the newspaper; that is, that the presidencial candidate is homosexual and has seduced his son, who is only eight years old. Children cannot keep secrets and that´s how the child´s father discovered this. The presidential candidate threatened … 444 ??? We alone were able to confirm the truth….”
Here the old man burst out laughing, saying: “What scoundrels you writers are! D´you realize these lines alone can damage the present government and cost them a lot of votes? Listen to the rest of the letter, dear mr. Kamil, imagine the candidate’s wife having a secret affair. It´s best to choose a dead person as her lover, someone, who died in an accident, an opponent, our presidential candidate being involved. You can buy witnesses to support your news. Listen, listen to these lines.”
Kamil snatched the letter from the old man’s hand and thrust it in his face.
“Enough is enough!” he yelled, “I can´t take any more. Who d´you think you are? I´m sure you´d crush you mother’s scull for a dollar.”
“What do you think my mother’s scull is? An onion bulb? The old man said. “No, my dear, I´d never crush my mother´s scull for a dollar, but I might do it for the right price. Let’s drop that nonsense.”
“Tell me what you want from me,” Kamil insisted. What favours do you want?”
The old man answered: “Forget about that for now. This letter has extended my initial plan, so I decided to make a new plan, precision and perfection dictate that. If, my friend, I haven´t yet decided anything special for you, it´s because I want to exploit the perilous, urgent and informative task the chairman gave you. And I want a great profit,” the old man said, but was then silent for a while, until he continued:
“And I want a great profit. Life is an opportunity which, unless exploited, is lost forever.”
“After begining my journalistic part of it, I want to know the basic task you came to me for,” Kamil said.
The old man answered promptly:
“Not now. Only, when I´ve read your colleagues´ articles, whom you give instructions and, when you´ve filled the newspaper with all sorts of scandals and the opposition´s lies about the government, especially against the presidential candidate. I´ll give you further instructions. Now, dear man, finish your coffee and leave. I don´t have more time to entertain you. Dear man, be sure noone sees you leave my house. Ignore me. Should we meet somewhere, make as if we´re total strangers. This to our mutual advantage.”
Kamil rose, but noticed some dust from the chair clinging to his trousers. He glanced at the other chairs and saw they were covered by a thick layer of dust.
The old man noticed Kamil’s astonishment and asked:
“What´s on your mind? Your eyes show, that an idea just flashed through your head. Let´s hear it. I think I know what you´re thinking.”
Kamil remained standing behind his chair and said:
“I want to ask you about something. You said you had an alibi from some people. When did you last meet them? Did they come here or did you meet them somewhere else?”
The old man put his hand before Kamil´s face.
“Period,” he said. “No more questions. Leave now and carry out what I´ve told you to do. We´ll meet again in a week. Here´s the copy of the letter. You may need it. Don´t come here again. I´ll visit you in due time.”
Then his lips relaxed in a smile.
“Sometimes, I´ve thought you´re a clever man,” he said, “but you´ll never be as clever as I am. The reason why you asked this question, was simply by noticing the dusty chairs. You thought, that if I had any alibis, they must´ve come here for half an hour or so. Then they must´ve sat down and the chairs wouldn´t be so dusty. You must also have thought, that I just said this to frighten you and save my life, because right now, if you were sure I had no alibis watching and studying our every move, you could finish me savagely and leave my body in pieces. Then you´d have left here completely relaxed and at ease with yourself, having taken your belongings with you. Wasn´t this the idea flashing through your head, when you noticed the dust on the chairs? ..ha..ha..ha..ha”
Kamil turned to leave.
“Sly, smart and a crook,” he said in a low voice.
“Listen Kamil,” the old man yelled, when he reached the door. “The operation I´m preparing, I mean exploiting the letter, will only cost you letting your seniors down and only temporarily. It´ll be a tense phase in your life, but gradually you´ll regain your peace of mind. I´ll give you one third of the profit. A saint would sell his honour for half of that. I have the feeling, that you were thinking of exploiting the letter for your own benefit, in return for a large sum of money. To hell with your superiors´ trust. Everything in life has a price and you, mr. Kamil, are clever enough not to waste such an opportunity. I order you to mend your friendship with Sami`s family and the poetess immediately. Go home now and fill your bathtub with warm water and relax in it. In a week´s time, I´ll come in disguise and visit you.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Kamil stayed in Sami’s house for about an hour. While alone in the study, they probably discussed the previous night’s incident. When he left, he seemed to be far more composed, than when he arrived.
When he came to his house, he thought: 444 – Regardless of the old man´s words, I really need a hot bath to relax. –
After filling the bathtub, he slid into the water and began thinking about the letter in the old man’s possession, weighing the possible consequences of the operation.
“I´ve got an idea,” he said to himself. “I agree to drafting a new plan and will say, that I´ll tell the chairman, that I´ve kept his letter in the safest place, for a closer study on coming home. Then I´ll tell him how stunned I was, when I realized my wallet had been stolen from me by a professional pickpocket. And.., that I had got a letter from the thief, followed by a telephone call, demanding a large ransom or he´d sell it to the opposition and that would mean the end of our deal.” This had actually been Kamil´s first idea, after having received the letter, before the old man pinched it. His problem had been, how to find a reliable partner, who´d not run away with the money. He´d had in mind to involve the Spanish tourist in the operation and was going to test him as to his loyalty. But now, when the letter had fallen into the old man´s hands, this wasn´t possible. The question was, whether he could make the old man his partner. That would put him in a safer position than being an obedient slave as now. As he lay relaxing in the bathtub, he thought of offering his friendship and services to the old man and his partners, if they wanted to join him. In turn, they´d benefit from his contacts and influence and he would meet their wishes, without threats or conspiracies. The old man was bound to accept a deal like that, to avoid loopholes in his plan, through which a counter-attack could be made against him. This thought eased his mind a bit. He decided to discuss this with the old man. He also thought of getting rid of the old man and his partners. By killing them, he would get rid of the whole problem.
“Let me clear my thoughts and begin to carry out all the instructions stipulated by the chairman in his letter,” he thought. “I´ll have time for Nadia later and avenge the humiliation she put me through at the dinner party.”
Kamil remained in the bathtub for a long while, his skin gradually becoming porous.
——–
Soon after finishing their breakfast, the friends staying at Sami’s house left and the family was able to relax after a very eventful day. Sami was relieved, but Mona wasn´t. Again she pleaded Sami to go to the old man and find out about the thief, whom he might have recognized.
“My dear,” he said to Mona. “I´ll go and see the old man to find out about the burglar. Then I´m going to town to make a copy of my manuscript and give it to Edwar to read and make a suitable design for the cover. I´ll come straight home after that.”
“That means you won’t be back before tonight.” Mona replied.
“I shan´t be late,” he promised.
“What about me?” Miriam asked. “Can I come with you to the old man’s hut, dad?”
“Why d´you want to go there?” her mother asked. “D´you want to arrange a new conspiracy? Did you know, my dear Sami, that our sweet daughter was behind what happened yesterday. Your sweet daughter was the mastermind behind the entire happening, she and the robot Yousif, who obeys all her orders? If she ordered him to commit a suicide, he would do that, without a moment’s hesitation. Worse still, he has a friend, who is the exact copy of him, as if one isn´t enough. Did you see, my dear Sami, how Jacob threw himself in the water, simply because Nadia told him to! I don’t know how these birds of a feather get together. To be fair, there´s one difference between him and Yousif and that is the fact, that he is quiet, almost mute, while the other one talks incessantly.”
“Oh, Mother, please stop. It was just a happening and it´s over. Must we talk about it forever?”
“No, we´ll not do that,” Sami said, “but I too want to talk to you about the same thing and afterwards, we´ll forget all about it, because I feel you had something to do with the so called happening yesterday.”
“But dad, he deserved it. Did you see how he downgraded Pusjkin’s poem, just because he thought it was Nadia’s and how he praised her poem highly, thinking it was Pusjkin’s?”
“I said to discuss it later. I have a lot of unfinished things to deal with for the time being. If you want to come with me to the old man’s hut, you´re welcome.”
Miriam could not help herself, but laughed heartily. Sami laughed reluctantly, as he understood her reason for laughing.
“Why are you both laughing like that?” Mona asked. “Is what was dreadful last night funny today? I tremble, when I think about it.”
“It was a fatal blow for him, wasn’t it?” Miriam chuckled.
“It´s you!” Mona cried. “My dear Sami, who has spoilt our child? You and your mother,” but before finishing her sentence, she joined them in their laughter. Then she said: “Yes, it was very embarrassing for him, especially after his long sermon. But worse still wasCamilla, when she said: “Are you still blabbering.”
“She said this,” Miriam cried, “to avenge her poor husband, whom Kamil indirectly insulted for no reason at all.”
A little while later Sami and his daughter were on their way to the old man’s hut. He was sitting on his threshold, looking straight ahead, deep in contemplation and oblivious to his surroundings. When Sami and Miriam came closer, he suddenly noticed them and rose to greet them with a wide smile.
“So happy to see you both,” he said. “Please wait a bit. My house is in such a mess. I´ll bring some chairs out; please wait a minute.”
When he had brought two chairs out, he began to dust them with a piece of cloth, the piece from his jacket Kamil had torn off the night before. He asked them to sit down.
“This is the first time I´ve got visitors,” he said. “The forest is illuminated by your presence.”
“We came to check on you,” Sami said. “Yousif told us about last night.”
“Oh, last night, yes, of course. I wasn’t well last night. How pleased I was to bump into him. He´s such a decent man in every way. He didn´t leave me, before being sure I was safely inside my hut.”
“What happened to you?” Miriam asked. “Your lips are so swollen?”
The old man hesitated before replying:
“Nothing at all, my little beauty. All there´s to it is, that I saw some drunken young men chasing a beautiful girl like yourself. She begged me to help her, so I took a deep breath and confronted them.. ha .. ha.. forgetting, that I´m an old man. I thought I was still young. Oh, see what they did to me. They tore my clothes and kicked me all over, but as soon as they saw me put my hand in my pocket and scream: “I´ve got a knife!” they fled. One of them was like a wild beast, very frightening… Anyway, after the beating, I looked everywhere for the girl, but she was nowhere to be seen. She must have fled, while I was fighting with them.”
“What a girl!” Miriam said. “How could she leave you, after what you did for her?”
“What could she do?” the old man answered. “I was glad, that she fled. I remember calling out to her, while the blows were hitting me: “Run away!- Hide!”- I wanted to save her from them and succeeded. The kicks I got were not in vain, after all. Had she stayed with me, they´d have attacked her, after finishing me.”
The old man improvised this story further.
“I deserve being a writer,” he thought.”Since yesterday, I´ve been making up stories.”
Sami felt proud of the old man.
“People like you are very rare,” he said. “You´re a very decent man. If these young men had chased Miriam, my God, I couldn´t take that. For you suddenly to appear from nowhere and endure all those blows for the sake of the girl, is great. I´m proud of you.”
” It´s I, who should be grateful, my honourable sir,” the old man replied modestly. “You´ve showered me with more praise than I deserve. What I did was ordinary. In such situations, one is prepared to be thrashed to death.
“Dear sir,” Miriam said, “chivalry is one of your assets, not only as shown by this incident, but also by your visit to us yesterday to offer help, after hearing my cries. That is also a proof. So is your story about the wealthy old woman, whom you heard screaming and you thought had caught fire, so you broke in to save her. Wasn’t that a beautiful story, dad. And funny, in spite of its seriousness?”
The old man laughed:
“Yes, it was funny. Whenever I think about it, I feel rejuvenated. I entered the house to save her, but frightened her instead. So, imagine how I must’ve felt, both ashamed and confused, not knowing what or how to explain the situation, especially, as she had lost her consciousness. I felt like a fool. Excuse me, I didn´t offer you anything to drink. I have grape juice I made yesterday. Quite delicious. Or would you prefer tea?”
“Never mind. We had tea for breakfast. We woke up very late this morning.”
Suddenly the old man changed the subject, addressing Sami:
“I´ve heard, honourable sir, that you´re a scientist of genius and have written a unique book sure to shake humanity with its new theories.”
Sami answered:
“I really don’t know what to say about shaking humanity with my theories. I don’t know, if I´m a scientist or not. I don’t even know what a scientist is, if he´s overwhelmed by exceptional feelings. If I´m a scientist, then scientists are like the rest of humanity. Anyway, I feel this scientist business is an exaggeration in my case. All there is to it is, that I´ve written a few theories, the nectar of my thoughts and by doing so, I´ve tried to explain some complex mysteries in nature. That’s all.”
“But this is not an easy matter, my honourable sir,” the old man said smiling. “You´re worthy of being called a scientist. Why do you think it an undeserved title? Besides, are there any scientists better than yourself?”
“Thank you.” Sami replied a bit shy. “I hope my book is good enough, as writing it has been hard work and it has cost me many years of my life. I was so preoccupied in research, that I forgot my darling daughter, Miriam. I hope she´ll forgive me. I first became aware of Miriam, when she turned into a young woman and now she´s about to get married.”
“I suffered no neglect from you, father,” Miriam said, “I´ve always been proud of you.”
“When I think of the years I spent in my thoughts and research, I feel this neglect. I was hypnotized, unable to have any awareness of my surroundings, until the last page of my book was complete.”
“I´ll be the first one to buy a copy,” the old man said enthusiastically. “I love science and like reading about new ideas. May I ask you a question, sir?”
“Of course, please do,” Sami answered.
The old man was silent for a while. Then he said:
“Most often science and religion contradict each other. Did you have any conflict with religion, while writing your book?”
“Sami replied:
“Certain equations and explanations are bound to conflict with divine teaching. To be honest, I have no religious faith… and…”
“Well,” the old man cried out, before Sami could finish his sentence. “In that case, my honourable sir, you must beware… be extremely cautious of offending some of the religious organizations and thereby risking your life. They slaughter any philosopher, whose ideas contradict theirs and their religious beliefs. That kind of mental terrorism has become common in recent years and is quite frightening. I hope you´ll give it your due consideration sir.”
This hadn’t occurred to Sami.
“D´you think they´d kill me, if I discuss something, which contradicts their ideas?” he asked frowning. “That would be idiotic. What business do I have with them and their ideas. I write what´s in my head. No one should force me to think in others´ terms.”
The old man looked at him sympathetically.
“I´m sorry having troubled you with this talk,” he said, “but what would you do, sir, if they wanted to harm you? Would you sacrifice your science or yourself?”
“I´m prepared to sacrifice myself, without compromising,” Sami said without hesitation.
“No sir, you´re a scientist and the world needs you. Don´t sacrifice yourself.”
“What use would it be, if I were a scientist with a non-functional mind? That would be intolerable. I refuse to let any organization decide my destiny,” Sami said readily.
“Really dad?” Miriam interrupted. “We´d not have to consider that a problem, if not for this kind warning. Isn’t that madness? What would become of man with his mind confiscated and forced to think only as dictated by others?”
Sami had become tense, but smiled and pretended to be calm.
“What would you do, if you were asked to decide?” he asked Miriam. “Would you sacrifice me or my mind?”
“I´d not sacrifice you or your science, which you´ve spent the best years of your life researching, but if I had to, I´d choose you and sacrifice your science.”
“Is that decision not self-motivated?” Sami asked smiling.
“It´s a difficult choice and I have the right to be selfish in making it.” Miriam answered.
“Would you respect a father, who had been deprived of his mind and left distorted, just struggling to survive?” Sami asked surprised.
“I´d accept anything, as long as you remain with me.” Miriam said and turned to the old man:
“Dear kind man, you leave us with a question, we´ve not taken into account. Be our judge. My father said, that he had shortcomings in relation to me, while he lived for his research and neglected me, until I became a woman about to get married. Now, that he has become aware of my presence, he says he´d sacrifice himself or be thrashed to death and vanish from my life, if need be. My sentiments, my honourable sir, still belong to the age, when helping others was considered a duty and an act of chivalry, that must be performed. Isn´t that selfishness too? Yes, now I´m a mature woman and no longer need being looked after. Am I wrong in becoming a selfish girl, prepared to sacrifice all his achievements and pride to keep him for myself?”
“I don’t think your father is wrong,” the old man said. “Nor do I think you are wrong either. You´re both right. It´s a dilemma. What is the solution, when we have no choice but to sacrifice someone? There must be a struggle of thoughts, until a winner is found. Anyway, no damage has been done so far.”
“We´re not going to wait for something bad to happen. I already feel, that my father’s life is in danger, as a result of his research,” Miriam said.
“I don’t deny the danger of what I´ve written,” Sami assured her. “I´ve even questioned the existence of God in a very scientific manner, which is certain to anger the theological organizations, but I´m sure the police will protect me and my family.”
“But dad, the police can´t protect you twenty four hours a day. How can they protect you, if a human bomb decided to throw himself at you, like they´ve done to politicians and philosophers? Are you going to hide yourself? Nowadays, they murder scientists and anyone who thinks independently.”
“We still have a lot of time to worry about this, my dear, so stop worrying.” Sami said.
“We haven’t got much time, dad. The burglar, who broke into your study last night is not a thief. He must´ve come for your book.”
‘That´s very unlikely, my dear,” Sami muttered.
Then, addressing the old man, without giving the matter more attention, he said:
“I´d like to ask you about something. You said yesterday, that you saw someone´s shadow jumping over our fence, fleeing and heading for the forest. Did you recognize him?”
“No, honourable sir, I couldn´t make anything out. It was pitch dark. Besides, I was so far behind, that I didn´t recognize him. I´m sure he´s an idle, penniless guy. I don´t want to point anybody out, as I´m not sure. In fact, I felt I had imagined someone, but that´s very unlikely, perhaps less likely than one per cent. Therefore, I´ll not permit myself to point at anybody, before being sure. In any case. Things like that happen every day, almost by the hour, but have no fear, even if things like that happen almost every day. Don’t worry. He probably wanted to find something to sell. You should lock your doors in the future, especially in the night.
In order to cheer Sami and Miriam up, he added: “The most important thing is not to keep a lot of money in your home. That attracts thieves.”
“A lot of money!” Sami and Miriam said laughing at the same time.
The old man remained smiling and said:
“You´ll get the Nobel Prize.”
Sami laughed out loud and felt elated, while Miriam clapped her hands.
“Wouldn´t that be wonderful, dad,” she cried, “if you got that prize?”
Sami was still laughing and said:
“I´ve won the debate with my daughter, because the Nobel Prize would make her forget our differences. Terrorists would tear me into pieces, so let me sacrifice myself by publishing the book.”
Miriam blushed and felt a pain in her heart.
“I´d never sell you to anyone, dad,” she said, “but I was carried away by my dreams. Forget the Nobel Prize, if it would put your life in danger.”
“How I hate violence,” the old man said. “It destroys humanity´s most noble dreams.”
“I wonder, if violence will ever come to an end in this world of ours,” Miriam said in a sad voice. “Ours is a dying world, torn by wars, poverty and racism. Whenever I open a newspaper, I´m disgusted by the horrors I read about, so I quickly fold it up and put it away.”
“I´m like you, my little beauty,” the old man muttered, looking exhausted, “whenever I æisten to the news, my mind drifts away and I feel just like you, when you fold the newspaper up in disgust. I feel you ought to have used the word disgust for your deep sentiment, because of the tragedies of this world, which they call civilized. If you want the truth, modern tragedies and disgraceful events are nothing compared to what awaits humanity in the future.”
“How come?” Sami said, “the threat of atomic wars, that terrorized the human race in the past, no longer exists.”
The old man said in a low voice:
“Those threats are not over, because they´re still valid among the capitalists of the world. If they did not fight each other in the past, it was because they had a common enemy. It´s an eternal struggle for the survival of the fittest and the strongest, but least honourable. Smartness and dirty business are the main characteristics of a strong man. Do you realize, sir, that a new conflict will at first appear to be limited and in various forms, but will then turn into a monster, which will devour humanity mercilessly. I think that will happen soon. I´m not talking about one or two or even ten years, but we sense the beginning in the future. What progress some nations have, will be taken away from them little by little, without their noticing it.”
Miriam was appalled by the old man’s words and said:
“These are strange ideas and not realistic.”
“Listen, my child,” the old man sighed. “The best systems in the world are gradually declining, which will have perilous consequences for the rest of us.”
“Perilous consequences? How?” Miriam asked.
The old man´s eyes sparkled from eagerness and he spoke, as if in a trance:
“They endanger the interests of the extremely wealthy, of those who have power and money. The countries in the extreme North, for instance, are quite developed, as a result of their structures. People there manage to maintain their democratic rights for some time now, but their rights and security will be taken away from them in the future, without their being aware of it. Anyway, this is my opinion. If you ask me why, my answer is, because the population of other nations start demanding the same security, as the countries of the high North, where you don´t find any hungry persons, in spite of social differences. The demands of people of other nations are not be at the expense of the interests of the very rich. In short, we must win time.Those in power control the entire economy of the world. They´re like a giant octopus. What will the rulers of the world economy do? Invisible and uncontrolled, they´ll strip common people of their rights, security and welfare. They´ll do this through their representatives, the media and spindoctors throughout the world, even within political parties representing the general public. Today, for instance, a patient pays a part of the medications, he or she once received for free. Tomorrow and the day after, they´ll be paying an even larger part. In the future, they´ll end up by paying for the entire prescription. This will also happen as to unemployment benefits and it´ll happen ever so gradually, without people being aware of it and all welfare will be abolished over a period of few years. There´ll be no council estates or homes for the elderly, nor will there be a national health service and such privileges achieved by countries, that have become famous for their humane laws. International plotters of politics aspire to make the entire world a copy of their own country. They´ll tell the poor, that this is the way of the world and, that people can never be equal. There´ll always be the poor and the rich and poverty is a mere consequence of idleness and stupidity. They emphasize, that life is for the fittest. They´ll ask the poor to provide just one example of a developed system in the world, which has managed equality. At that time, nobody will remember the privileged life of the Northern countries, because by then, the media will have erased all data about that. And, when the world reaches this unilateral stage, when the poor have become poorer and the rich richer, there´ll be oppressions, persecutions and limited freedom, in order not to endanger the interests of excessively rich minorities. Since majority rules and has the ultimate say under democratic laws, this would have to be adjusted to prevent the majority from gaining power. The powerful and excessively rich will then have a conflict. A war will be the result. Nations will be led like lambs to the slaughterfields of war. The world, my girl, will not recover, as long as there is greed.”
“This sounds awful and frightening. Do you really think the mass media can erase data about legislated and applied laws in the interest of the general public?.” Miriam asked.
“They can, my beautiful girl,” the old man said slowly. “The media is capable of anything. They could even make people believe, that the Scandanavian countries are a brand of biscuit.”
“Biscuit!” Miriam yelled.
“Yes, biscuit, the bad ones with no cream,” the old man said smiling.
“What could be done to prevent this?” Sami asked.
“Prevent?” the old man echoed.
“Yes, a method of preventing this and protecting us from a grotesque situation like that?”
“Those in power spend a lot of time settling people,” the old man answered. “Since the end of the cold war, they´re making plans that´ll come into effect during a period of several years, before people notice what´s going on. This danger now confronts the Northern countries, which will be destroyed along with their achievements, regardless of whether the people wish it or not. And, eventually, they´ll transform in people’s memories to a mere bad quality biscuit, that has no cream.”
“So, you expect the economy of those countries to be destroyed along with their achievments, regardless of the people´s taste, you know, like giving people bad bisquits instead of good ones? Is that your metaphor?” Miriam asked.
“Yes, my young lady, and this happens so slowly, that people hardly notice it. Countries with advanced standards of living, will be compelled to descend to the standards of other nations,” the old man said assuringly.
“That would be madness,” Miriam said.
The old man looked sharply at her and said:
“I´ve got evidence of the madness of the world and its decline, which supports my motto: Those with influence, wealth and power, will not allow poor countries to improve their standard of living and take after the Northern countries.”
“What proof?” Miriam asked.
“Take for instance the assassination of the Swedish Prime Minister?” the old man said.
“Yes, committed by a madman.” Sami said.
“That was announced,” my honourable sir, but the hidden fact is, that the Prime Minister Olaf Palme, was supposed to lead the United Nations. He was going to improve the world. It´s true, that one man can´t change the world, but he was going to build a healthy basis for a positive change in the world. People of authority and plotters of international politics got rid of him. I believe in plotting as a means for future destruction of developed countries; it will be 444 the assassination of the symbol of humanity on earth. D´you really think, that the men behind international politics aren´t aware of human vanity and how to abuse it? They know this very well and how to create a different policy, but that would require a great deal of compromise, which would affect their own interests and that´s what they don´t accept. Any man, who attempts to alter their strategy is being exterminated.”
“But we heard,” Sami said, “that the minister was murdered for nonpolitical reasons, by the hand of a crazy alcoholic. That´s what the mass media said.”
“That´s because the plotters are clever enough not to soil their own hands. Other hands and organizations are prepared to carry out their dirty business. Political plotters kill with those hands and later follow the funeral procession, mournfully deploring the nature of crime. For instance, they assassinated many scientists, when they felt that some scientific discoveries threatened their own interests. (444 When???Where??? Some examples could be interesting here.)
Suppose your book contains something, which worries them. Then they may find a way to destroy it, before it has a chance to be published and thereafter get rid of you, while they would hail your memory,” the old man said, but stopped talking and there was a short silence.
“What a disgrace,” Miriam said frightened.”One can´t tell a friend from a foe any longer.”
Sami was also surprised by the old man´s words and said:
“Maybe you´re right. I understand everything yo´ve said, but I have a question:
You 444said the solution is to win time.What d´you mean by that?”
“I don’t know, sir. It was just an idea.”
While saying this, his face became worried, saddened and fatigued and he lowered his eyes to the floor. They were all silent for a while.
“I apologize for Edwar´s conduct yesterday.” Sami said. “What made the situation difficult was the fact, that he was our guest, so we couldn´t be unkind to him and he was drunk. D´you understand our position?”
“Yes sir, I understand and I´m sorry having caused that situation,” the old man answered. “I was the guilty one. Mr. Edwar didn´t offend me, even if his words hurt. I deserved it, because intruding your party was rude of me.”
He turned to Miriam and said: “But my child, I broke into your lives against my will. I rushed to your help, because of your scream. My chat was an attempt to mask my embarrassment. In fact, I would have entered your home, even without that excuse. This may astonish you and you may want a convincing reason for my extraordinary behaviour, but I can´t give you any. I may have reasons, which gave me the right to behave like that, but they may not be convincing to anyone else. I myself was convinced, before the fleeting moment, when I made my intrusion. My chat was an attempt to mask my distress. Some hide their embarrassment with chatter and not silence, which is what we are used to.”
Sami sensed the old man´s distress and pain.
“What´re you talking about?” he asked. “Did anyone ask you for an explanation. We enjoyed your company. You added joy to our party. You make too much of this.”
“444This is a crucial issue, this behaviour might imply -not deliberately – that you are nothing.
“But that doesn´t excuse my entering your house, without a permission, but you received me with kindness and helped me, instead of leaving me to Edwar, who´d have thrown me out.”
“Let’s forget the whole thing,” Miriam said.
The old man´s face was still sad, when he said incoherently, as if lamenting an unbearable pain he could no longer hide.
“Yes, my child. Since yesterday, it has tormented me and filled me with shame. I must forget it, but first I want to explain why I was so rude.”
Sami tried to ease the old man´s mood:
“I´ll listen, if talking about it helps.”
“My solitude hurts,” the old man said to Miriam.
“Are you in a solitary confinement?” she asked.
“The life I´ve lead is a solitary confinement. Few people can take isolation. Many people live in solitude and exile, but they don´t suffer like starving people, because in spite of their loneliness, they know, that some day someone will visit them. I have lost that hope, so my solitude will never be healed. The hope of meeting some people keeps one alive. Else, one is little more than a corpse. A dead man is free. But he, who lives without hope, is a miserable creature, neither alive nor dead. The lonely one, my child, who possesses the hope to meet someone, is not alone. The amount of hope we carry is the amount of our hardship… Oh, my child, if only you knew how one who lives without hope suffers, as if grilled slowly. Here I am, having been grilled more than enough by a slow flame. My intrusion into your home was an attempt to dress my wounds. My utter loneliness destroys my soul. No human being, who feels so lonely, has survived without going insane. It makes a man talk to himself, which leads to insanity. My child, I´m worried about myself. I talk to myself when I walk the streets, completely unaware of my surroundings. And I´m ashamed, when I become aware of it. While I´m talking to myself and someone passes close by, I jump startled and try to pretend, that I´m just singing and begin to whistle a tune, because it´s common meeting someone whistling a tune.”
Miriam pitied the old man:
“I´ve never lived alone or felt the pain of loneliness, but I´ve read about it. Now, you´ve made me aware of it. Is it true, that no human beings have suffered complete solitude, without becoming insane?”
“Yes, my child, that is so.”
Sami muttered to himself:
“Poor mother, no doubt she has suffered, but we didn´t notice it.”
Then he said to the old man:
“Our house is open to you, whenever you like. Your visits would give us great pleasure. This is no charity. We´d love to talk to someone as knowledgeable as yourself and I personally welcome your friendship.”
He rose and they all shook hands.
“Now that our minds are at ease,” Sami said, “we must go. We expect your visit some day.”
The old man watched them, as they disappeared in the wood.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Within ten days, Kamil succeeded in persuading the government´s newspaper to create a great public outcry against the new candidate nominated for the next presidency. The newspaper 444aggravated its supporters, after the publication of the first article. Soon, the candidate lost many supporters. This dirty propaganda war helped to strengthen the present government’s position and keep it in power for an extended period of time. The political analyst had expected this, even if the election campaign was still in its early days.
The old man had specified a suitable time for events to take place, in preparation for his second move, which was to force the government to pay for his silence.
In the meantime, Kamil had managed to win the old man´s alliance, who said he would not release his share of the payment, before Kamil had carried out his part of the operation. The money was to be deposited in a Sviss bank account, which the old man had opened some time ago under a pseudonym and a secret code. Since Kamil was the weak one in this operation, he had no choice, but to accept the old man’s conditions.
Kamil started carrying out the agreement with the old man two days after the return of the newspaper chairman from a business trip. He chose the right moment to give his boss the letter he got from the thief and said he had received it annoymously. The chairman was deeply shocked, when he read the letter. The relevant authorities were immediately put on the alert. This he did in secrecy with only a few officials and the president of the country. They realized, that their efforts to stay in power were now seconds from being ruined, because of the disgrace such a scandal would be.
Kamil saw, that the government had fallen for the bait and the operation was certain to succeed. In spite of the reprimand he got for putting the government in this situation, he was delighted. His only worry was, that the old man would become reckless, after having received his share of the money. He might even reveal their plot. His only worry was, that the old man might fall prey to sudden recklessness, after receiving the ransom and might decide to amuse himself by exposing everything. After all, the old man was not without cunning.
This thought confused and worried Kamil a great deal, because the blackmail letter the old man had written and sent to Kamil was sarcastic enough to scare him. This was the contents of the letter:

To whom it may concern,
c/o The esteemed mr. Kamil
Honourable sirs,
I want to introduce myself. I am a man, who chose theft for a profession. All my life, I have been compelled by circumstances to live in infested places, suitable only for cockroaches. I survive on morsels and steal to ease my hunger. I once dreamt of marrying and having children, but how could I undertake such a commitment, when I am unable to fill my own stomach. I´ve had to forget this dream. It broke on the rock of circumstances. Aren´t my words literary? Incidentally, once I almost became a writer, but I broke my pen and I shall never allow anyone to force me to think in his terms. I cherish freedom of thought.
However, I do not want to deviate from the message of this letter. I only mentioned the above, because you are people of poisoned pens, so you will understand my saying this.

Dear sirs,
The hardships I´ve suffered, since my early childhood, have compelled me to lead the life of a petty thief, until I succeeded in stealing mr. Kamil´s swollen wallet. Before that, I was just dishonest. But, after reading the extremely sensitive letter, that fell into my hands, written by the newspaper chairman (I´ve enclosed a copy), I decided to become an honest thief and get a share large enough to change my life.
I think, my reverend sirs, that anyone, who found himself in my position, would do the same. Human nature is weak in front of treasures. Life has taught me, that only the cunning survive. For the first time in my life, I´ll be cunning. I´m disclosing to you the price of my silence, a small and trivial sum. I demand only two million American dollars, which isn´t much, considering the consequences you´ll suffer, if I expose you to the public. It´s truly a very insignificant sum, compared to the gravity of the scandal and the money spent on election campaigns.
I´m certain, that a candidate, who else would lose a lot of votes, is willing to pay this amount with gratitude, as it secures his popularity. Otherwise, the shock might let him commit suicide, since he would be left defenceless, unable to fend off the lies you´ve fabricated and bombarded him with from every direction. You know the story. There´s no need to relate it to you.
Imagine your position, if the nation were informed about the conspiracy you´ve woven against this candidate. The chairman´s letter doesn´t go into the details of the conspiracy, but it says enough to provoke people´s disgust. That´ll pave the way for your opponents to leave you in the dustbin of history.
I´m very sorry, esteemed sirs, about the tone of this letter. Nevertheless, I wish to express the core of the idea, to be sure you don´t underestimate the awful crisis you find yourselves in. I´m certain, that you´re aware of the gravity of the situation and will not hesitate to pay the amount required.
I have a personal account in one of the banks under a pseudonym, so you can deposit the sum according to my account number. Later, it will be transferred to a Swiss bank.
You may ask, dear sirs, how you can be be sure, I´ll not betray you and sell the letter to your rival candidate, once the money is paid. You´re right in your doubts, but you must realize, that I´m the one in control and you have no choice. I can promise something, which you must believe and accept. Consider it the piece of straw a drowning man holds.
And to assure you further, I´ll not sell the letter to your opponents, as it´s in my interest to see you continue in power, for me to renew my demands, once or twice, for a sum of two million dollars. However,oweverH if your new candidate wins the election and stays in power, I´ll not make any further demands.
I´ve revealed all this to you knowing, that I´ll be cursed by you, but you´ll relax, when you realize, that all you need is to arrange for a further payment or two in the course of the next four years. You probably also realize, that it´ll cost you nothing, since it is the nation´s money, which you keep helping yourselves to.
Dear sirs,
I think Kamil brings me luck. If it weren’t for his wallet and the letter it contained, I´d have spent the rest of my life in dungeons. Therefore, I´d consider any measures taken against him to be against me.
I don´t want to waste your time. You´ve got three days to deposit the money or I´ll have to take other measures.
I may contact you by phone for assurances.
NB: Don’t bother wasting your time. I haven´t left any fingerprints on this letter. Any attempt to uncover my identity will not be in your favour. I´ve got partners, who never forgive. Better still, appoint me a minister, after settling the payment, in order to pacify me.
I´ll not hide from you, respected sirs. For several days, I´ve had the urge to expose this letter to the public and make a scandal, for no other reason than amuse myself, while watching your red faces on the television screen. Wouldn´t such a moment be worth more than two million dollars?
Indeed, this urge overwhelmed me for a few seconds and I was on the verge of carrying it out, but somehow I managed to take hold of myself. If I were appointed a minister, that desire would be cured forever. Don´t you agree?
Respectfully yours,
—————-
After intense and secret discussions between the relevant authorities concerned, they decided to buy the letterwriter´s silence and avoid a scandal at any cost. They decided to appoint some special secret agents to investigate and uncover his identity and that of his partners and to execute them all simultaneously. Before the deadline of the letter, the payment required was put into the letterwriter´s anonymous account.
At this stage, the old man thought it best not to meet Kamil, since that might attract the special agents´ attention, who were investigating all Kamil’s contacts, including the newspaper chairman and Kamil himself, as they thought, that the entire plot had been arranged by one person or a number of people within their organization.
Nevertheless, the old man was not able to keep away for more than a few days. He wanted to alert Kamil via a person he had seen him with.
When it became dark and the streets emptied, the old man crept into Kamil’s garden and watched the windows, to make sure that Kamil was alone. The lounge looked empty and there was no movement in the bedroom, although all the lights of the house were lit. Kamil had a habit of leaving all lights on, even when he was out. The old man rang the doorbell. At that moment Kamil arrived home in his car. The old man jumped to the side and hid behind some bushes and branches, when he saw, that somebody was with him in the car. He did not have time for a closer look, for Kamil drove into the garage. The old man kept waiting, expecting them to go into the house through the back entrance. He moved closer trying to see the passenger, but suddenly the curtains were drawn. He still managed to look into the lounge through a gap between the curtains.
————–
Kamil was standing in front of Laila, Edwar’s wife.
“I can only stay for half an hour,” she said. “I´ll come again another day.”
“I´m happy to be blessed by your flesh, even for only half an hour,” Kamil said.
He took hold of her shoulders and drew her to his bosom, embracing her and kissing her warm lips, then descending to her neck. He squeezed her breasts. She surrendered to his touch. They lay down on the floor, undressing each other, throwing their clothes in all directions. Their bodies united. She gasped beneath him and Kamil seemed to be about to devour her. She encouraged him to penetrate her with all his power, crying for him to continue and never leave her. Sweat bathed their bodies, much to their mutual joy. Her panting turned into a loud cry of extacy. Kamil reached his climax, roaring like a raging bull and was about to separate himself from her. Realizing this, she grasped him, encircled him with her arms and legs and moved in spasms underneath him, screaming, twisting her body and trembling violently, still screaming, until they were both exhausted. They remained motionless for a while, but then they woke up lazily, their faces content and happy. She left for the bathroom and quickly returned to dry herself and pick up her scattered clothes. She put her clothes on in a hurry, looking now and then at her watch. Kamil tried to assure her,that there was still time, but she preferred to leave instantly.
“I´ll call you and come to you, if possible.” she said.
She wasn’t five minutes gone, when the old man rang the doorbell. Kamil thought Laila had forgotten something. He put on his dressing gown and opened the door, only to meet the old man´s eyes glaring at him with a sly and malicious smile. He entered the house and shut the door behind him. Kamil stopped him.
“What d´you want?” he shouted angrily. “Didn’t we agree not to meet, before the situation had calmed down? We´re both under observation!”
“Calm down, my dear,” the old man said. “D´you take me for a fool? I wouldn’t have come, if it weren’t urgent.”
Kamil was scared. Then he said:
“Did you take precautions? Did anyone see you?”
“No, dear partner,” the old man said laughing. “No one saw me, but I saw someone come here.”
“What d´you mean?” Kamil asked.
“Nothing, my dear. You remind me of my youth. Did you enjoy yourself with her? She´s fire! Living fire! She scalded not just you, me too ha…ha..ha… at my age.”
“Obscene creature! Were you prying on us?” Kamil grumbled.
“Never mind, every minute of waiting in your big garden was long and boring, until the two of you came. Then I forgot all about time, so it passed like seconds.”
“Enough is enough,” Kamil snorted. “What did you come for?”
The old man did not answer, but continued, as if he had not heard the question:
“This is probably why her husband is so bad tempered. He´s no doubt aware of her whims and games. I´ve met him several times and thought he worshipped her, but obviously she doesn´t care at all. She may have liked him once. I´m sure he knows about your relationship. Like me, he may have hidden in a corner of your garden watching you devouring each other. He may cry like a child and beg her not to leave him. He has only two options: either to pour a gallon of petrol over both of you and burn you together before your climax and after that he´ll go mad. The alternative is to continue to keep his suffering in his heart. He´ll never be able to win her back and is unable to leave her. In that case, he´ll eventually go mad. Anyway, the likes of him are fatally linked to insanity.”
“Have you finished your sermon?” Kamil asked drily.
“Not yet,” the old man repied and seemed to enjoy the situation.
“Subject closed!” Kamil yelled, “You´re deliberately provocative, for no apparent reason. From the unlucky day I met you, I´ve felt you take pleasure in tormenting me. I don’t want to hear another word. Why are you here?”
“I came to warn you about a person I saw walking with you today. D´you know him? How did you meet?” the old man said.
“What person?” Kamil asked.
“The person you were walking with between eleven and eleven thirty today, before you went into the newspaper house.”
“Oh, he´s just a Spanish tourist. I thought he had left the country a week ago, but he took me by sirprise and said he was staying a bit longer. He paid me some money he borrowed from me, since he had received a cheque from Spain,” Kamil explained.
“And then what?” the old man asked.
“That´s all. Kamil answered. “He invited me to supper in two days’ time, as he is leaving soon.”
“What´s his name?” the old man wanted to know.
“José. He is Spanish,” Kamil answered readily.
The old man stamped his feet on the floor.
“What a fool you are,” he said laughing.
Kamil was quite angry by now: “Watch your mouth,” he shouted. “You idiot.! Don´t ever talk to me like that.”
The old man was greatly amused.
“Never mind, never mind,” he said still laughing. “I´ll watch my words. Sorry, my friend! Sorry, my partner! So, his name is José? Ha ..ha ..ha .. Mind you, the crook you met is not Spanish and no José. His name is “Toma,” who was sent by a certain group to do a job. For some time, he has been in search of a fool to live off and doublecross, as much as possible. He does anything for anyone, who pays. You can use him as a bodyguard, but don´t trust him, I know him well. He´s a thug, who may pick your pockets today and return tomorrow with your wallet, saying he found it and, if you offered him ten per cent of the money in the wallet, he´d refuse. He´ll make you think he´s a poor honest wretch. He´ll bewitch you and win your trust. Then he´ll choose the right moment to harm you.”
“Oh, then he´s no different from you,” Kamil responded. “Yet, thank you for the warning. You alone have managed to upset my entire life. What happens with two of a kind?”
“Are you saying that I´ve confused your life?” the old man asked. “No, dear Kamil, “I bring you luck. And so do you me.”
Kamil was astounded:
“Tell me how you found out about José or whatever his name is?”
The old man answered readily:
“Don’t worry, my friend. The same way I found out about you, but your question comes too early. I´ll ease your mind in due time. What´s important now, is to be on your guard. Avoid him. He wants to get closer to you.”
“He may want to rob me, but I don´t think he´s a spy. I met him by accident, before meeting you that unlucky day.”
“D´you still think the day we met was unlucky, in spite of almost half a million dollars I´ve in mind for you?” the old man asked.”
“Didn´t we agree,” Kamil asked, “that my share should be one third, about seven hundred thousand?”
“Yes, but I was worried, that my partners would expose us, if I didn’t shut their mouths with some money,” the old man explained. “As you know, money can silence a man’s conscience. One of my partners´ conscience was stirred, when I said his share was only a hundred thousand dollars. I´d have murdered him, hadn´t he been so dear to me. I decided to spare his life and kill his conscience instead. However, I agreed with the four of them for each to have a quarter of a million. My share´ll be six hundred thousand and yours four hundred thousand. Isn´t that fair? And, when the government wins the election, I´ll blackmail them again, threatening to publish the documents. Then I´ll get a similar sum over the next year or two, of which, my dear Kamil, you´ll get the lion’s share. That is, of course, if I´m pleased with you and you have carried out the task I´m here to tell you about. You can get the four hundred thousand any day you want, but after the job has been carried out. My hands and yours are united. We´re linked by a mutual interest, but your life´s in my hands to secure my own safety,” was the old man´s answer and he added:
“There´s no need for reminders. Each of us knows, where he stands. There´ll be no conspiracies or betrayal.”
“Leave me alone. Go now and take care, that no one sees you leave,” Kamil said.
The old man answered:
“Your warning means, that our fate is mutual. No conspiracies and plots between us. I may come to you in a few days to tell you what more to do.”
Before leaving, the old man smiled maliciously, looking at Kamil with glowing eyes:
“D´you love her?”
“Who?” Kamil asked, staring angrily at him.
“That firy chili, Edwar’s wife?” the old man asked gleefully.
“I couldn´t love a woman, who betrays her husband … listen…, get out of my sight!” Kamil hissed.
“Dear friend,” the old man said, but hesitated, before leaving and continued: “Life was made for people like you.”
“And you too,” Kamil retorted.
“Till we meet again,” the old man said smiling.
When he was a few steps away, Kamil called him back. The old man`s eyes were still gleaming with malice.
“I thought you had had enough of me,” he said sarcastically. “Missing me already? What can I do for you?”
This remark nauseated Kamil.
“Sometimes I feel like retching at the sound of your words,” he said sighing impatiently, “but never mind, I´ll carry on…Listen, you said you´d return in two days to tell me what you want me to do. Since I want to get this over with quickly, why not discuss it now instead of coming back? Your visits are too risky. I want to know it now, because I don’t know your plans.”
“O.k.,” the old man said, tightening his lips,”but it´ll be a blow to you, so I think you´ve got to be in good spirits.”
“Enough nonsense, get to the point,” Kamil retorted:
“What demon controls your mind?”
“There are no reasons to delay telling you about the operation,” the old man said, tightening his lips. “I can tell you about it right now, if you´re ready to listen.”
“I´m ready.” Kamil said.”Or I´d not have called you back.”
“Alright,” the old man said, “but I thought, you weren´t psychologically ready to hear it, because it will be a blow to you… I think you need to be in good spirits, but today your mood is somewhat sentimental because of…”
“Enough nonsense,” Kamil interrupted him.
“Get to the point, You irritate me.”
“The fact is, that if you´ll be shocked by what I say, never mind, your reaction will only be temporary. I took that into account. After some pondering, you´ll easily accept your job… Aren’t you going to ask me to sit down? You´re not being polite, since you invited me in again.”
After this remark the old man took a seat in the rocking chair. He rocked gently back and forth, but after a short pause, he said:
“Your posture, the way you stand there, resembles that of a police officer. That won’t do, my friend. You ought to pull up a chair, fetch a glass of whisky and sit in front of me, so I can see your face clearly and read your mind, while I´m talking.”
Kamil turned around instantly, without uttering a word and brought two glasses and a bottle of whisky. He poured whisky into the glasses. Without waiting for Kamil to sit down in front of him, the old man went directly to the point:
“You are to kill Sami.”
Kamil was stunned. He dropped the bottle of whisky, which shattered on the floor. He stared at the old man, his eyes almost popping out and gasped:
“What did you say!”
“I said you are to kill mr. Sami. You´re to do it within a week or two, at the most.”
“Kill Sami?!” Kamil yelled panicstricken and bewildered. “Have you gone mad, old man or are you hallucinating. Why kill Sami? You must be raving mad!”
“No mr. Kamil, I´m not mad. You´ll obey my command, whether you like it or not. However, I´ll tolerate your anger to ease your conscience, although I doubt, if you have any!”
“Shut up, old scum.” Kamil hissed.
“D´you know, mr. Kamil, my friend,” the old man said calmly, which infuriated him even more, “why I´ve so far taken your insults so patiently. Here´s why. You´re sure to lose control of yourself, but don´t overdo it. Silence your conscience. You have no choice. What I´m asking of you is simpler than you think. Here´s why. I know your emotions are tender and sensitive today and such a request will undoubtedly make you lose control of your behaviour and language. But be careful not to go beyond the limit. What´s important now, is for you to silence your conscience right away. You´ve got no choice but to carry out my demands as soon as possible.”
“How I wish I could bang your head into the wall, kick your arse and throw you out.” Kamil said angrily. “You want me to murder Sami! Why him? What has he done to you?”
The old man answered calmly:
“Nothing. In fact, I haven’t met a kinder person than him. He´s worthy of everybody´s respect. Everybody likes him, but we must get rid of him, as soon as possible.”
“A mad logic! I don´t understand a word!” Kamil shouted.
“You don´t have to understand anything,” the old man answered. I know it sounds strange, but he´s a very lovely man, who has done us no harm.”
Kamil was still surprised:
“I expected anything but this. Why did you choose me to carry this out? Aren´t you worried, that I might tell on you, since Sami´s my dear friend?”
“Not at all,” the old man said, “because you´re clever and farsighted enough not to pay dearly with your life and your future for the sake of principles or friendship. Besides, you´re not to kill him with your own hands. It should preferably be done by an extremist group. It must be quite easy for you to find such a group through your position and contacts. You could provoke them in a newspaper interview with mr. Sami, where you discuss the ideas of his book, Dilemma of Mind and Machinery.” Before you know it, he´ll be gone. They´re very quick about it. They may even boast of it in public and say they had to save humanity from a blasphemous scientist, who offended their sacred beliefs and denied the existence of God. It´s not out of the question for a member of a religious organization to strap dynamite on himself, hurl himself onto the pavement and detonate a bomb, where mr. Sami is walking. Mr. Kamil, you could do it with precision and speed, that is, if you´re realistic and quieten your conscience. Believe me, I´ll be thoroughly shocked by his sudden death. He´s a genius, but he must die for the sake of humanity. That´s what they´ll say.”
Kamil asked:
“Has Sami offended humanity? The world should be proud of such a genius. Someone like that is born only once in a century.”
“You´re right,” the old man answered,” but certain necessities dictate human behaviour and make men act and control other people´s destinies.”
“What necessities,” Kamil wanted to know, “have urged you threaten a genius like Sami?”
The old man answered readily: “Certain scientific results must remain secrets. No one, no matter how important, should reveal them, because it´ll cost them their lives.”
“Who are you to judge this?” Kamil asked.
“I´m not the judge, but the judgment has been made. I was chosen, just as I have chosen you,” the old man said smiling.
“You´ve lost your mind,” Kamil uttered.
The old man had an answer to this:
“In America they´ve got unique data about flying saucers, documented on films and photographs, filling about nine thousand pages. It´s all veiled and only a few have been revealed to the general public. The data has been disclosed, not as facts, but as probabilities. Professors and scientists have distributed this and book after book has been written about spaceships, but the professors have not explained anything or added even one new page to the few hundred, that have been revealed to them. An American president believed in flying saucers, because he saw one with his own eyes. He decided to use this in his election campaign. He promised, that were he to become president, he would reveal scientific mysteries about flying saucers. But he didn´t keep his promise. Imagine how dangerous these secrets are, that the president of a great country, with all his power, did not tell the truth. It´s said, that had he revealed anything, he would´ve been exterminated.”
“Who would have carried that out?”
“A certain organization.”
“What does the organization have to do with it?”
“I don’t know.They don´t know what´s going on, but an octopus spreads its tentacles everywhere in America and the whole world. It shies at no means to carry out its plans, just as we´re a part of a sectarian extremist organization, in order to get rid of mr. Sami. The organization itself doesn´t know what end this operation serves and neither do we know who gives the orders and how they´re to be carrried out. The president himself doesn’t even know the answer. Any person, that deviates from the general plan, will be killed, by whom or how, no one knows. We´re governed by invisible demons. The American Space Agency (NASA) knows this and they spend billions and billions of dollars on their scientific space programs. However, the scientists know just one per cent of its discoveries. Those closest to the employees and the learned professors don´t know the secrets, except for some prognostics. Who is qualified to know the answers? That´s a mystery. Noone can break down this barrier. In fact, if any of the elite scientists revealed anything, he´d perish. He´d never know why! He might be locked up in a mental asylum, in order to discredit his words. This has happened to a great many scientists. As for Sami and his book Dilemma of Mind and Machinery, his theories reveal some secrets, that are guarded by some prominent American scientists. That´s why Sami´s book must be destroyed. The organization has a copy of the book. I don’t know how they got hold of it. The decision about Sami´s fate is made and sealed and that´s all there is to it.”
“Who are you? What is your connection to them?” Kamil asked.
“Answers to your questions are of no use to you,” the old man said.
Kamil didn´t give up:
“Isn´t it a waste to let him die? Couldn´t they buy his silence and turn him to their side and make him promise not to reveal those secrets?”
The old man had an answer ready:
“No doubt they´ve studied that possibility, but are left with only one choice. Had I written such a great book, I´d have preferred death to not publishing it, even if publishing it meant complete insanity or destruction. I´d still be determined to publish it. It would´ve been my mind´s offspring. They must know about this tendency in some scientists.”
“Have they tested his intentions and concluded, that depending on him to keep the secrets is in vain?” Kamil asked.
The old man rose to leave:
“Everything is possible. You ought to consider carefully what I´ve said and ease your conscience. I know the problem called conscience.” Sometimes it suddenly wakes up, even in the most brutal and cowardly criminals and turns their minds upside down. Sometimes a person like that, suddenly sacrifices his own life to save a child from being crushed in a traffic accident. Your mission is not difficult, if conscience is left out of it. I hope your conscience doesn´t destroy you. Remember, I owe you four hundred thousand dollars. Dollars are more beneficial to human conscience than a big morphine injection. You´ll get the money on completion of the mission. Remember, that I could slip away from this operation and out of the country quite easily, but you´d pay the price. In fact, I´ve warned mr. Sami about an extremist attack because of his book.”
“You´re a weird person, without a conscience. No one knows what goes on in your mind,” Kamil said.
The old man smiled that familiar fiendish and rude smile and left.
“But you´re smart,” Kamil said to himself.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Something seemed to unite Nadia and Jacob. Jacob was more daring than usual. He went to outings with her the following ten days. He found her in the newspaper printing department, when he wanted to see her. Clearly encouraged by Nadia, who wanted to liberate him from his insecurity and cure his timid behaviour, which was inappropriate for his age. If it weren’t for this encouragement, he wouldn´t even have dared look at her. Yousif often thought of him as a clumsy soul.
During his visits, Jacob had often met Yousif and Miriam at Nadia’s flat at five o’clock in the afternoon. Jacob left his home on time and saw Yousif and Miriam catch a bus to the city. Miriam shouted to him to go to Nadia’s place, where they would see him later. When Jacob arrived at her flat, someone else had already preceded him by twenty minutes.
Nadia was expecting them, but when she opened the door, she was surprised to see Kamil on her front steps.
“I hope,” he said, “that my visit isn´t inconvenient.”
This was the first time he had come to her flat. For a moment, Nadia was frightened. Weighing her words carefully:
“Come in, you´re welcome.”
“While I was on my way, I hoped for your forgiveness. I hoped you would receive me with your usual generosity,” he said.
Nadia’s flat was quite small, suitable for one person. It resembled the old woman´s studio. Like hers, it had one big room with a built-in kitchen and a small bedroom with a bathroom next to it. The flat was modern in style and comfortable with its high ceiling and large window to the street. The furniture was modest and simple, but tasteful. The colours of the furniture and curtains were coordinated and harmonious.
After taking a seat on the settee, Kamil asked:
“Are you still angry with me?”
“I´ve forgotten it,” Nadia answered. “Please forget it. Both of us made a mistake.” She said.
“Dear mamselle, it was not your fault. I´m to blame for what happened-”
“Let´s close the case.” Nadia interrupted him, “Talking about it doesn´t help.”
Kamil went on:
“If talking about it doesn´t help, you have not really forgotten about it yet… You´ve got the right, all the right. If I were you, I wouldn’t have forgiven it as long as I lived. But, Nadia, if only you knew how I felt and what made me do what I did, you´d have seen it in a different light. I´m not trying to undo anything. Now I´m here by coincident. I was passing by and found myself standing in front of your place. Maybe that´s because of regret. In fact, Nadia, my conduct was disgusting. It has become a burden. That´s why I decided to confess the truth to you, even if you were to lose your temper and throw me out. Nadia, for some time I´ve deliberately criticized your writings to undermine you. Don’t be surprised. I feel you´re an admirable personality and that made me look weak by comparison. In spite of my position. I felt unequal to you. Whenever I looked at you, I saw you as a mountain high above me.That made me try to humiliate you. My aim wasn´t to dominate you nor was it envy. I wanted to belittle you, the way I felt next to you. Only then could we be equal. Then I would no longer fear you or suffer in your presence.”
“I don´t understand you, mr. Kamil. You confuse me. I´ve never had any power or authority, so how could I be that towering a person and you so belittled?”
“Forgive me, I´ll explain what I mean,” Kamil answered.
She interrupted him angrily:
“Your expression…., perhaps it wil make you, make you……”
“Say it please,” Kamil said, “belittled.” Never mind, because I really feel like that. Don’t let my authority fool you. I´m nothing compared to you and not only you, but anyone. I´ve felt like that for a long time, This made me avoid you. I don’t know why I feel like that. I don’t know how it came to be? Maybe it´s the twenty years age gap, twenty years, a great barrier I think.”
“What are you talking about?” Nadia asked surprised.
“Who am I in front of a mature woman so many years my junior?” Kamil continued, “besides someone extremely sensitive. Your beauty can make any young man kneel at your feet and say – Your wish is my command.” Nadia, I don´t know how to say this. I´m confused and dumbfounded and unable to think… my confusion is caused by what separates us. I´ve been in love with you for some time. I´ve never felt such love and reverence before. It makes me little in your presence. This made me try to underrate you. It made me act in a deplorable way. I´m inferior and unable to reach you.”
“Even if your logic is very strange,” Nadia said, quite excited, “I now understand your reason and don´t blame you. As I said, bygone is bygone and I´ve turned a new page. I wonder how a man like you could find it in himself to make us a laughing stock because of love. Huh, if you´re really in love or know what love is. I´m bored talking about this, so please don´t go on, but let’s keep up a mutual respect. Your visit to Sami’s house a few days ago and your apology made me feel ashamed of myself. It hurt seeing how cruel I had been, but your strange logic now destroys whatever respect there might be between us, but let´s not be enemies at that.”
Kamil had not expected this answer and withdrew, feeling he had misjudged her. He was about to say something, when the doorbell rang. Nadia left to open the door and much to Kamil’s astonishment and disappointment, Jacob entered the lounge. He became pale and felt idiotic. He rose, shook Jacob’s hand sluggishly, also stretching his hand to Nadia.
“I´m sorry, I´ve got to go,” he said in a strange tone and walked to the door.” Nadia saw him out and he said to her:
“I was hasty revealing my feelings and worse still, I did it in such a stupid way. ”
“No harm done, forget it,” she said.
He left and while walking slowly, he mumbled:
“What a fool I´ve made of myself.”
Adter this, he devoted himself to writing offensive articles against the new candidate nominated for the presidency and his wife. He fabricated lies and tales, thus compensating for the humiliation he felt towards Nadia.
His friends were disenchanted by his aggressive articles, which resembled unscrupulous reports more than journalism. Even if these articles were published under a pseudonym, everyone knew who was the author.
Nadia’s reaction continued to burn his soul and as time went by, he became scornful of women and was ready to pour revenge on any of them. The night Laila left him, a malicious idea entered his mind. He would contact Edwar and inform him about his wife having been naked in his arms. Yet, he delayed it, as it might turn out as a scandal for himself.
When Laila had left, the old man broke in and they had had the hard discussion. In the meantime, Laila, who met Miriam on her way home, invited her for a cup of tea.
Miriam told her about the verbal exchange between Nadia and Kamil some days before. Even if Laila knew, that her relationship to Kamil was a passing whim to him, the news angered her. She was careful not to show this, but she was furious, especially when Miriam kept talking about it and describing it in detail. When they entered the house, they found Edwar standing in the garden with a glass of whisky in his hand. By then he had drunk almost half a bottle or more. Laila was startled, as he was not supposed to be at home. Miriam felt, that he was in a bad temper. Laila was also in a bad mood having heard the story about Kamil and Nadia. It wasn’t long before they were having an argument, so Miriam went home quite depressed. She told her father what had happened, adding to it a great deal. Her father decided to meddle in it straight away, when Miriam said:
“Their quarrel was different this time. Edwar accused her of having an affair and no one knows what happens now. He´s so furious, he may lose control and do something horrible.”
Sami reached their house. He stood in the doorway of the lounge looking at them. By then they had stopped quarrelling. It had risen and subsided instantly like an explosion. Edwar was sitting on the floor, his back to the wall with his head bowed. Laila was sitting opposite him, relaxed and calm. She was staring at something. The lounge was in a complete chaos after their fight. A flower vase was in pieces and the earth scattered on the floor. Plates were scattered haphazardly, some broken, others whole. The glass of a picture frame hanging on the wall showing two women walking on the seashore, was broken, presumably by a tea cup, that had landed on the floor beneath it. Its effect was visible on the two ladies in the picture. Edwar must have aimed at the women in his rage. He had probably not dared raise his hand to his wife, but had instead destroyed furniture and plates and the picture. Half a bottle of whisky was lying on the floor. The silence in the room seemed strange in the middle of the chaos surrounding the couple.
Sami said:
“If we could tidy up and groom Edwar’s hair a little, your pose would seem rather romantic, as if two lovers had only just met after the first exchange of glances and were left lost for words.”
Annoyed, Edwar raised his head and said in a slow, drunken tone:
“Come here, my dear friend…. come and sit next to me, right here next to me and make yourself comfortable.”
He waited, while Sami sat down next to him and then he said:
“Tell me, dear Sami, answer my question:
“It´s about the creation of woman. Why did God create woman? It´s a very important question. If the answer is to maintain the species, then there are thousands of other possibilities. Is he not almighy?… He should´ve made a copy machine for us to keep man from extinction and thereby avoided making a female. Wouldn´t that be a better idea and more agreeable to men? No quarrels, no problems.”
Sami looked at him smiling and said:
“I have a question for you. It´s not a philosophical one.”
“Go ahead, my friend Sami,” Edwar said. “Ask. I´m listening, provided your question is not about the same subject. The subject, that has occupied my mind… women. Go ahead, ask, I´m all ears… I´ll answer to the best of my knowledge… but to the best of my abilities.. As you know I´m a man of limited knowledge and…”
“Take it easy, take it easy,” Sami interrupted him. 444 (who says this)My question is not philosophical. D´you think I´m asking for a speech?”
“That´s what he´s like, Laila said. “When he drinks, he becomes talkative.”
Edwar glanced at his wife with tired red eyes.
“Thank you my wife,” he said, “for respecting me. I thought you´d say, that I´m a prattler.” She´d have said something else, had you not been here. Anyway, dear Laila, I´m grateful, because you didn´t humiliate me in front of my friend Sami.”
Then he addressed Sami:
“She wants to prove to you what a decent woman she is, never hasty with her words and doesn´t say, that I alone am the cause of the chaotic state the house is in and, that I´m a clumsy fool, not to be tolerated by anyone.”
Now turning his words to his wife:
“Isn´t that what goes on in your head? You´re clever, as you behave, while Sami is here.”
Now to Sami:
“Forgive me, my friend, you wanted to ask me a question, but I didn´t give you a chance…. Go ahead, I´m listening, go ahead.”
“Honestly, tell me,” Sami asked, “how much you´ve had?”
“Forget it,” Edwar answered, “what d´you want to ask about?”
“That was my question.”
“God be my witness,” Edwar yelled. “I´ve just had a small can of beer.”
“Beer?” Sami repeated.
“I mean wine,” Edwar said.
“I don’t think a bottle of wine would make you wonder about the creation of woman, to use your own words?” Sami said.
“A bottle of whisky then!” Edwar explained.
“You don’t even know what you´ve had!” Sami said.
“No, my friend, I´m not even drunk yet. I know what I´ve had, but didn´t want to say it´s whisky, because I´ve so often promised not to touch it, but each time it´s because of her. If not for her, I´d never give in. I had a whole bottle of whisky.. no not a whole bottle. Laila had a small shot… a very small one. Ask her. No sooner…. no sooner, my dear friend, had she had it, than the whole place was turned upside down.”
“You wretched thing!” Liala cried. “So it was I, who made all the mess! So this is the way to behave in front of a guest, even if he´s our friend Sami. I warn you, you shouldn’t talk rubbish or I´ll no longer bother with niceties. Don’t make your drunkenness an excuse for insulting me, pretending you don´t know what you´re saying.”
Edwar raised his hands to heaven.
“O, lord of man, what logic and eloquence! You must be drunk. I´ll sever my tongue, if I say anything about you again. I really thought you were drunk from the little glass you had, but I´ll disscuss general topics. Don´t think I want to harm you.”
Edwar turned to Sami and went on:
“You still haven’t answered my question. Why do you think God created woman? To torture us?” He turned to his wife:
“This has nothing to do with you. Nothing at all. I´m speaking about a general topic.”
“Listen,” Sami said, “you´re very tired. I´ll answer you tomorrow, but now you should get some rest.”
“Wait a minute! I don’t want to go to sleep now. My senses sharpen, when I drink, especially my tongue. It is liberated, when I drink.”
Edwar uttered this last remark nodding to his wife somewhat humourously and added:
“But, if you don´t want to answer my question, I´ve got another one, which you must answer. It´s very important. It´s about the reason for the fight between me and my wife. It has been going on for a long time, but my wife has never exploded like this before, like dynamite, my friend…dynamite! The damned little glass she drank was the ignition thread…I mean, it was the explosive and my… my question was the match. Is my story clear? I mean clear… Quite apt. Yes, my dear Sami. All explosions need three elements… a scientist like you understands that. Is it clear?… Is it clear? Even the universe was created by an explosion…. you´re a scientist… so, when it culminated, the woman exploded and the planets and stars were scattered… the whole lot, my friend, each to its own orbit,” as the saying has it or is there no such saying?”
Sami stared at him almost hypnotized, except for the smile on his face.
“No, there is no such saying.”
“Then it is a verse from some holy book,” Edwar said.
“I don`t know,” Sami said.
Edwar continued:
“Allow me, dear Sami, to describe how the fight began. Let me explain it, before she sobers up. See how she stares at me now. She wants to devour me! She has sobered up!”
Liala observed him coldly and said:
“Be careful. Don’t make me say things!”
“Oh, what d´you want to say, my darling wife?” Edwar asked. “Speak up! Drop the mask. Repeat what you said to me, before Sami came.”
“Impudent rascal! “Laila thundered.
“Is that all?” he asked. “I thought you´d say more. Impudent? Yes, because I´m honest and speak the truth, no matter what. You, who fear the truth describe an honest person as impudent.”
Laila was no longer able to control herself.
“What truth are you talking about?” she hissed. “You´re a cowardly rat.”
Edwar reacted:
“Listen, my friend Sami. Listen with your own ears to a woman who´s trying to look respectable. See how the mask falls from her face. What kind of a woman is she? I´m sad having to talk about my wife like that, but dear friend, she makes me do it. She has insulted me in every way, even if I didn´t say one unkind word. I was only discussing matters logically. A wise person would have replied differently, without insults. The fact that I didn´t answer her insults, doesn´t mean I´m a weak person, not at all. I just respect democracy.”
“What a way to talk!” Laila said surprised.
Sami burst into laughter and asked:
“What has democracy got to do with it?”
Edwar proclaimed: ” I believe a human being has the right to say anything… understood? I´m not a weak person. Strength of character, my dear Sami is reflected in ones extreme modesty, but one has to combine extreme modesty and extreme dignity, for without it, modesty in man would be a kind of… a kind of educe.”
“A kind of idiocy.” Sami corrected him.
Edwar implying his wife again:
“People like her have no respect for modestty, but consider it a weakness. All they want is to dominate and oppress others, thereby hiding their own insecurity. In fact, women are the dominating sex. They´re oppressors, just like dictators. Did you see the film -Women of the Amazonas. I saw it long ago. My wife is one of them, always imitating them. She´s more hostile to men than the Amazons 444as themselves. My dear friend, they suffer from an inferiority complex, even when liberated. They continue to oppress men, which is the case in the developed countries. They couldn´t rid themselves of the inferiority complexes they´ve had for centuries. Let me tell you about something, that happened, while I was courting Laila, when I was in love with her. Something like that keeps happening in various ways and will continue to do so, unless woman is able to liberate herself from her historical complex.
Listen, my dear Sami, the woman in front of you, has never stopped throwing threatening glances at me, even when I´m passive. Ten years ago, she was in love with me, unless I´m wrong. I used to read in her eyes a persistent request to reveal my love for her. She was unable to express her love, even if she was certain, that I couldn´t live without her. Yes, dear Sami, in spite of her passionate love, she couldn´t bring herself to confess it to me, because then, she´d have broken the laws of inferiority, deeply rooted in women. She’d do anything but confess her love face to face. Her twisted methods were a bloody war. I resisted and didn´t give in. I used to say to myself:
“Simple and ignorant girls don´t appeal to me. I´m a democratic person. I wouldn´t think less of her, if she confessed her love. I tried to encourage her and be cool. What patience, what endurance! One night I was trapped in her net, like a fly in a spider’s web. One beautiful clear night the breeze caressed our faces, making our bodies quiver from a delicious delight brought on by our togetherness. The whole atmosphere compelled me to reveal my feelings, which she clearly enjoyed. She was waiting for that moment.”
While Edwar was talking and Sami was listening, an unexpected change of mood came over Laila. A ghost of a smile adorned her face, her memory going back in time. She began to add details to Edwar’s story, interrupting him now and then. Edwar continued to talk, his words burdened by his drunkenness:
“Yes, my friend, what girl wouldn´t be encouraged by an unveiled passion, especially when she´s in love? Wouldn´t she be happy?”
“What about the man?” Laila asked, addressing Sami. “Shouldn´t he look back to such moments with joy?”
Sami said spontaneously:
“Of course, of course… Who wouldn’t be happy about such eternal and memorable moments?”
Edwar continued:
“I agree. It must be embedded in one´s memory forever and ever…that is… for her. As for me, it´s embedded forever and ever for the simple reason, that our meeting was not coincidental. It was arranged by the enamoured and blessed passionate wife of mine to entice me to confess my love.”
“Here his lies begin,” Laila said and laughed coldly.
“O.k.,” Edwar said, “don’t be embarrassed. We both planned the date, without saying anything to each other. Our feelings were mutual, just like that, as if an invisible force had guided my legs at that special moment, the same one that guided yours with an equal force and made you stroll into the garden next to the entrance to the big forest. There was a full moon that night.”
“No,” Laila corrected him.”It was almost at its crescent.”
“Yes, yes, that´s true. It lacked a couple of days. Its silver rays were pouring over the wet Earth, turning it into magical mirrors,” Edwar said as if dreaming. “The distant trees seemed like silver streaks pressed together, like a beautiful, breathtaking painting. You said to me: “If the leaves were silver instead of green, it were even more spellbinding.” I disagreed with you and said: “If the trees were silver, the beauty of this moment would be denied us, unless the moonlight were green, so the merit goes to the moonlight and not to the silver of the trees.”
“It wasn´t like that!” Laila interrupted. “We didn´t talk like that then, but a year later, when we were married.”
Edwar answered:
“You´re more precise about time, dates and events. It´s true, no doubt…so true.”
This made Laila happy. Eager for more compliments, she was now on the watch for Edwar’s slips of memory about exact events and dates and nearly went overboard, when she specified the timing of events in minutes and seconds.
“Now she´s getting too clever,” Edwar muttered. “When I ask about events, she says she remembers, but she just makes them up.”
Embarrassed by this remark, Laila didn´t say anything.”
Suddenly Edwar changed the theme:
“I´m being rude and a bad host. You´ve been here for some time and I must´ve given you a headache with all this silly talk and I haven´t even offered you a drink. Prattlers are indeed rude, especially the likes of me. When chatterboxes indulge in their chatter , they forget the simplest rules of etiquette…What does etiquette mean?”
Sami smiled and patted Edwar’s shoulder in a friendly way:
“Don’t worry about the drink. I´m going home.”
“No,” Edwar insisted: “Don´t go, before having a drink with me.”
“But I don’t want you to drink any more than you already have,” Sami replied.
“I won’t drink much, only to be polite. Have as much as you want. I´ll just take one or two small glasses.”
“Please stay a bit longer,” Laila said to Sami.
Sami said he´d stay, but not for long.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Sami took a seat on the settee, while Laila went about tidying up, hastily removing the evidence of the fight. In a short while all was fine. The chairs were now in their usual places, the little table in the centre of the room clean and an unopened bottle of whisky on it. Next to it was the old bottle, which still had some liquor in it.

(444: the following passage about tidying up is incredible, even ridiculous, because of Edwar´s drunken state. An angry, drunken and exhausted husband sitting on the floor, doesn´t break the glass of a picture, rationally thinking that it´s o.k., because he has a spare one in the storeroom. Besides, there was a guest in the house, Sami, whom they were having a serious discussion with. And – Edwar becoming sober in a few minutes, is just as incredible. The re part below ruins the well described passion and communication in the above. The philosphical teaching following it , is not in accordance with the theme. We- Amer and the proofreader- agreed, that the author´s ego should not be displayed in the text. Besides, both the vocabulary and syntax are a mess, as most ofl Tai´s translation. Repairing this part doesn´t help much. The “red” below should therefore be deleted, – according to the proofreader)
(The inevitable snacks were in small bowls.Other objects, like cups, marble statues, vases and some small things, often littering houses, without taste or harmony, were all collected and returned to their proper places. As for the picture of the two women walking on the seashore, Edwar removed the broken glass and replaceed it with a new one the same size, which he had somewhere in the house. He wouldn’t have dared to break it, if it weren’t for the spare glass he had in store.!!! The following is more credible:)

Edwar took a little sip from his glass.
“Dear friend, don’t take me seriously. Life is not normal without demons, I mean the fair sex,” he said.
He pecked Laila on her forehead and added:
“What´s life without them? No doubt it would be hell and I prefer to live in hell with a woman to staying in hell without her.”
After a short pause, he continued telling his love story:
“And thus the yearning flowed in my heart. I used to tremble and shudder, not because of the weather, but because of my confusion, because suddenly I lost my courage and became hesitant, wanting her to have courage enough to reveal her love for me. If she were the first to confess, I´d kneel and pray to God in gratitude for his gift and say to her:
“I´m yours and my life lies in your hands.”
But I knew, that a woman wouldn´t make the first move, just signal a green light, as if this were eternally mandatory for man, since the beginning of creation. I was confused and searched for words to beak the silence. Any subject, except love would do.
The silence continued for a long time, every second like eternity. As for her, that beautiful demon, she kept encouraging me. Her timid eyes, panting breath and pounding heart encouraged me. Everything in her screamed at me:
“I love you. Come on, coward, speak up. Say you want me or you´re not man enough?” Yes, dear Sami, I read her thoughts and was ashamed and felt she was just saying: “You´re not man enough.”
The truth is, that I wanted to show her how much of a man. But I also thought she´d say: “Is that all you want from a woman. Dirty man, when alone with a woman, you´re about to explode from animal lust.”
That was no doubt what she was thinking… women have a way of thinking, which makes the best of men feel disconcerted and confused. In spite of everything, I confessed my pure love to her. I extended my trembling hand and touched her wayward lock of hair to sweep it to the side. This was how I began my move. My fingers caressed the lock of hair, that touched her soft forehead. She trembled and I became confused, so I instantly moved my fingers and gently touched her cheeks saying:
“Why are you so quiet?”
She bowed her head in silence, while I added:
“Life without you is meaningless. I´ve loved you for a long time and I´ve been waiting for a chance to say it.”
But before I had finished my sentence, she said in a low voice, as if talking to herself: “Please take me home?”
I stammered: “Of course,” so as not to make her think badly about me and I added:
“I love you and shall do my best to make you happy.”
She gave me a cunning look. “Forget it,” she said.
I asked: “Is there someone else?”
“You´ve misunderstood my feelings.” she answered. “Please don’t be sad. I had no idea.”
I didn´t give up and said:
“You need time. I´ll wait a lifetime, because I´ve only felt alive, since I met you.”
She said:: “Forget it, don’t think about it at all.”
I lowered my head and said:
“I´ll try. I hope I haven´t troubled you. Let´s just be friends, since that´s what you want.”
She answered: “I think you still belong to the last century. That´s fine, because young men at that time were more courteous and romantic, than young men of today. But never mind, I still respect you.”
Edwar continued his story:
“That´s how the night ended. As the days passed, I used to meet her, sometimes alone and sometimes with friends. Everything was fine. Somehow I felt our friendship was o.k., but, whenever I´d look in her eyes and feel her breath and watch her every move, I sensed the same thing. I felt she loved me. She must both love me and fear me. Now, that she was sure of my sincerity and romantic nature, she must´ve reconsidered her decision and found me suitable. This thought pushed me to take another chance and repeat my confession, but she refused me again. I wondered: Why did she do that to me? Is it an inferiority complex? Did she want to humiliate me, before giving in? I became very frustrated. Was she playing with my feelings? No, not at all. She loved me, but she wanted me to crawl, to enslave me and satisfy her pride. Again I left her with much courtesy. Women with such a sensitive mentality make the lover step back, in spite of being loved. What do you think, my dear Sami, happened next?.. Her 444′call’ kept beckoning me and with much more determination, than ever before. I became very confused. Should I open the conversation again? It would´ve been stupid, so I didn’t opt for that, even if she were sincere. Gradually my stance and insistence made her resent me and her feelings turned into disdain, because my pride had wounded hers or so she felt. She had expected me to crawl to her, to enslave me and satisfy her pride… a complex … a complex, they´re born with, since the creation of life…”
“But you did come crawling on your knees to me later on,” Laila interrupted.
Edwar replied:
“Yes, after sensing you were about to die from insanity and jealousy, whenever you saw me talking to a girl. One of your friends told me,that you were in love with me and your initial refusal was so as not to appear cheap in my eyes. Some women think, that if they accept the advances of a man readily, they´re cheap. I don’t know who put these ideas in her head, but I think it´s still so in our society. She must´ve felt she was losing me and asked her friend to tell me about her feelings.”
Now addressing his wife Edwar added:
“That´s why I came straight away to you.
Yes, my friend Sami, I went to her and said:
“Has time not come for you to have mercy on this slave, who has no life without you?”
I said this with passion and fervour, thinking I had won her admiration and she would embrace me or at least let me embrace her and whisper words, that had been suppressed for too long, words of love. But, dear friend, d´you know what she said to me?”
Edwar pointed at his wife.
“She said in a harsh tone: “I told you before, that I don’t want to think about you… you´re a pest.”
I was left in disbelief, especially, because she used this word, pest. Even her friend was puzzled by this remark, though in fact they´re all the same, the devil only knows what they really think and plan. I told her what had made me confess to her. This time it was for my self-gratification, because I didn´t want her to think of me as a ‘pest.” She became hysterical and spat out: “Disgusting bastard!”
I just said: “You´re free to choose your words.” I was and still am a democratic man.
When Laila heard this she shouted:
“You fraud, you liar, hypocrite! You´ve changed my words. How dare you speak like that in front of me! Disgusting bastard!”
Clearly, she hadn’t expected to be criticized in front of Sami. She had forced herself to wait for Edwar to finish what he was saying, but everything he said was a blow in her face.
Edwar rose at this offence.
“There´s a limit to democracy, dear Sami,” he yelled. “I must teach her some manners. She calls me a disgusting bastard. Now, leave her to me.”
Sami oppressed a laugh, that had shown in his face. He rose and took hold of Edwar, while Laila picked up the half empty whisky bottle.
“Leave him alone!” she screamed. “I´ll show him how democracy can be put into practice!”
Edwar sat down 444 ! on his own accord.
“Bless the poet, who said they´re lacking in mind and faith.”
Then he asked Sami in a low voice: “Isn’t there a verse like tha?”
When he did not get a reply went on:
“Not only are women lacking in mind and faith, but in fidelity too. I can prove, that it goes for all women, including Shakespeare’s Juliet.”
Sami tried to calm Edwar:
“This isn´t how to solve problems. Besides, you two have no problems, but just create them… I still don’t know what caused your quarrel! You kept remembering the past and quarrelling about it, instead of enjoying it together.”
Edwar banged the little table with his fist.
“You´re right,” he said. “We´ve got no problems, but we must settle the past. She must know, that I crawled only to save her pride and this is what I get in return. She says I´m a bastard. I feel sorry for her, because she´s not educated enough to discuss quietly or she wouldn’t have used insults. I wonder what would´ve happened, had she married a vulgar man.”
Sami tried to control himself, but a chuckle slipped out.
“Come on,” he said, “you´re both cultured. I also think Laila is quite clever, very clever, indeed.”
“I have my doubts about Edwar,” Laila said. “How can a man be cultured, when he makes false accusations? How can he be cultured, when he doubts his wife´s fidelity? What about men? Are they all faithful? A truly cultured man wouldn´t judge so harshly, for there are as many faithful wives, as faithful husbands. But, why should I bother and get a headache because of this? It´s common knowledge to schoolboys and should be so to someone like you, who claims to be cultured.?”
Edwar turned to Sami:
“I don’t blame her, dear friend. She´s a victim of nature. Cruelty in life and society has made women become dreadfully complex. They cause increasing infidelity. I didn´t say all men are faithful, that would be rubbish…”
Sami was about to say something, but Edwar spoke first, so as not to lose hold of his theme:
“Listen to my honest opinion. In fact woman is honest and faithful to the end, kind and warm. Woman has always been faithful, regardless of her man´s faults and sins. Women are faithful, even if they are aggressive and resembling my wife in character. They´re all faithful and remain companionate to their husbands all their lives, as long as they don´t meet a new admirer, especially, if he offers marraige. Then a woman abandons her husband like dogs are abandoned in Islamic countries. Yes, only in Islamic countries, because dogs in Christian countries are respected and have a place in society. They´re never left in the streets. But women abandon their husbands, even if they married for love. They´d even leave fine guys like us for a new one.”
Sami burst out laughing, while Edwar smiled and carried on:
“You and I resemble each other, because we truly possess good qualities. I admire you. Don’t laugh… or laugh as you like, I´m a democratic person.”
“I didn´t laugh sarcastically,” Sami said cheerfully, “but the whisky has made me happy, so I laugh.”
Laila had been smiling, but her smile vanished.
“Here,” Edwar carried on, “exactly here, a woman’s fidelity melts like metal in acid. When she stops being faithful, she starts searching for faults, slips and errors her husband makes, which she didn´t even notice before. This to make it easier for her to abandon him like a dog and join her lover, who promises her marriage. Woman is like this. No place for fidelity in her heart. She´s only faithful to her whims. Or, why then, Sami, why didn’t she throw him out like a dog, before falling in love? Why does she cling to him with all his bad behaviour and the injuries of her pride? Women, generally, and everywhere, my friend, are capable of nothing in life other than betrayal and blowing their noses. Yes, believe me! For women blowing their noses is a pleasure. If you were to seat ten women together and one of them happened to have a cold, the other ones´ll begin to trumpet into their tissues to the tune of the first one, 444???in envy and jealousy, orchestrating to passers by. When their meeting is over, piles of dirty tissues are left behind, solely for the benefit of the owner of the tissue factory.”
Sami looked amiably at Laila, after having released a laugh, he couldn’t suppress.
“Don’t take his words seriously,” he said. “Edwar is joking. You know how he loves joking.”
Edwar interrupted him:
“No, I wasn’t joking. I meant what I said. It´s a law, that applies to all women everywhere… No fidelity in female hearts, ever…ever. They´re all betrayers.”
Sami signalled to Laila and said:
“Take it easy, I´ll defend women. I have a wife and a daughter. This mindless talk is not an offence to you alpne, but to every woman and every family. Let´s ignore it, because he´s drunk now and will apologize tomorrow.”
Then Sami said to Edwar:
“I don´t agree with you. Let´s not make foolish accusations or judge women alone. Many men betray their wives and many wives betray their husbands, just as there are faithful husbands and faithful wives.”
Then Sami changed the subject, when he saw, that Edwar was trying hard to keep his eyes open:
“You are very tired. Let´s discuss this later.”
Edwar could barely open his eyes.
“I´m sober,” he mumbled. “Please continue. I like your philosophy. I probably agree with you, no matter what you say. My friend, you´ve got a scientific mind.”
Edwar put his lips close to Sami’s ears and whispered:
“May I spend the night at your house?”
“You´re welcome.” Sami said in a low voice. Then addressing Laila:
“I must leave. I hope you don’t mind, if I take Edwar with me to finish off some business. He´ll return in the morning.”
“What business can he finish in this drunken state!” Laila muttered.
“D´you mind?” Sami asked.
“Not at all, because then I can sleep in peace,” she said.
“Goodbye, then.”
“Good night.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
It was still early, when Kamil came to Sami’s house. He found him in Edwar and the old man´s company and tried to hide his discontent at their presence. They were in the study. Edwar was realaxing in a comfortable chair, as if slumbering. Sami insisted, that he should go to bed, but he didn´t want to.
“I´m wide awake.” he said, “I´ll go to sleep, when I want to.”
The old man and Sami were discussing the ideas in his book, Dilemma of Mind and Machine. The old man kept debating, arguing, objecting, flattering, much to Sami’s pleasure. Sami’s mother, Mona and Miriam were in the sitting room, watching a romantic tv series. Miriam showed Kamil to the study, when he had greeted the old woman and Mona politely.
When the old man saw him coming, he thought he had come to inform Sami about the conspiracy. Perhaps his conscience was pricked. Then his fear subsided and he relaxed. Again. He greeted Kamil:
“Are you the famous journalist Kamil?” he asked. “You must be him. How happy I am to make your acquaintance. I´m the forest guard and came here two months ago. I recognize you from the photos at the top of your articles. I think I´ve met you once, mr. Kamil, somewhere. I can’t be mistaken about that. I saw you with a beautiful woman. Where and when I don´t remember. Common folk like myself are always eager to know about the private lives of the famous. Pardon my enthusiasm and curiosity.”
“Yes,” Kamil said, without looking at anyone, yes, that’s right. I think I´ve seen you too, probably in the forest. You´re the guard? Yah, I take a stroll there every weekend. I´ve heard you live in that charming little hut, don´t you.”
“Then you´re not the only famous one,” the old man said. “I´m famous too. Fame is not only for thinkers, artists and politicians, but also for common people like me. But our fame doesn´t bring us much respect. In the city, for instance, there´s a man everyone, young and old, knows. He sells cheese. You must know who he is. Everybody talks about him. He rocketed to fame in a few weeks, because he slashed the price of cheese in the supermarket and sold his cheese at a much much lower price. Yet, people don´t seek his company or autograph. What a contrast there is between a famous cheese grocer and a great and famous journalist!”
Sami liked this joke, while Kamil looked the old man straight in the eye:
“You´re funny,” he said, “quite a joker.”
“Thank you, sir,” the old man said drily.
Sami ushered Kamil to a chair:
“Please have a seat or are you going to remain standing?”
“My dear Sami,” Kamil said and sat down. “I´ve come, because of some business. Since I´m always busy most of the day, I felt like visiting you in the evening. Mr. Sami, I want to interview you for my paper and discuss the ideas of your book, Dilemma of Mind and Machine, which I want to introduce in a series of articles. As you know, I´ve studied your draft and prepared some questions for you to answer. There´ll also be some personal questions, since our readers, as our friend, the forest guard has confirmed, like to know something about the private lives of people, who deal with contemporary science. Besides, my articles will be a big promotion for your book, before it´s published. They´ll make the learned await it eagerly. However, I´ll postpone the interview, as you´re having guests.”
Kamil´s invitation made Sami happy and grateful. It would make amends for the 444tarnishing he had suffered.
“It´s my pleasure,” Sami said. “to accept your invitation,”
“I´ll go now, if my presence is of inconvenience to you.” the old man said to Kamil.
“Personally, I don’t mind your presence, but it might disturb mr. Sami, Kamil answered drily and added: “I´ll tape his words and transcribe them with some minor adjustments. Sami will be entirely responsible for his words. Scientists will study his opinions and no doubt wish to discuss his ideas. Discussions may take different forms in the future, in case of a second interview. Professors of science will be following the discussions up. And that should not be taken lightly. That´s why he must make his replies in complete clarity of mind, without anyone disturbing his concentration.”
“Leave it then for another time, not because of your presence,” Sami said turning to the old man, “but because I want to study the questions and prepare my anwers carefully. Therefore mr. Kamil, I´d be grateful, if you could give me the questions on a piece of paper and give me two or three days to prepare myself.”
Immediately, Kamil gave him some papers.
“These are the questions,” he said, “there are about forty of them. Study them in your own tempo. There´ll be some more during the interview and I´ll give them to you in due time.”
“This elderly gentleman gave me an idea, before you came,” Sami said suddenly, “but I didn´t grasp it fully.”
“How´s that?” Kamil asked.
“He maintains, that there´s no material reality at all or any tangible and concrete reality. What we see and feel in our lives is purely a figment of our imagination. Matter has no role in it.”
“What are we then?” Kamil asked.
“If I understand him right, we don´t exist, but imagine ourselves having bodies, that walk on Earth and there´s no sun, stars or planets.”
Kamil gestured impatiently:
“Save us from that, for goodness’ sake. I´ve heard ideas like that before and I don’t think there´s any logic in them…”
“What could such logical ideas be?” the old man interrupted.
Kamil bit his lip and looked at the ceiling for a moment, before saying:
“They´d have to be based on scientific results. Take the idea about the first defect in genesis, which Sami wrote as a law, which allows scientists of the future to test and develop sound scientific theories. The concept of selfproduction hasn´t yet been set down as a law, so as to allow further experiments. Scientists don´t know this law, although I`m certain Sami has succeeded in formulating it. What about the selfproduction law, Sami?.. I think I put it on the question list… Please give it to me. I want to check it”
He took the papers from Sami’s hand and studied the questions:
“Here it is, listen to how it´s formulated in a simple sentence. It says, that where any point in non-existence is absolutly void of external influences, matter will exist in its most basic form at that very point. This is your law about the first defect, isn’t that so, Sami?”
“Exactly.” Sami answered. “Matter can´t be created in space.-Remember I said in space. I didn`t say in absolute non-existence, 444that means no self- production between the Earth, and the Moon or on the Sun or in space, that is influenced by other planets and stars, no matter how subtle the influence may be. But, at some stage of its development, the human mind can make absolute non-existence in a completely isolated area, out of reach of any external influence and we find matter appearing in its simplest form. The process of production continues, until a balance is reached between non-existence and existence within a completely isolated area. Balance is gained only after the interaction of the newly created matter with the surrounding space.”
“This theory,” Kamil said, “can become subject of experiments and a scientific theory may develop from it, if scientists were able to specify with extreme precision the time and space of the birth of the stars. If they found out, that stars were born in remote space in the galaxy, absolutely free of external influences or among special planets capable of absorbing external influences and creating absolute void, then your theory would be hundred per cent accurate. In fact, it would be the key to a number of other complicated mysteries and give good answers.”
I was there and saw it with my own eyes…. she will give…,” Edwar said and opened his two red eyes, but closed them right away and slumbered on.
The old man looked maliciously at Kamil and noticed his anxiety.
“What was mr. Edwar talking about? And what did he mean by saying… she will give?” he asked.
“He must be dreaming,” Sami said. “Excuse me, I´ll go and make his bed and be back to help him to it.”
When Sami had left the study, the old man mumbled:
“Some time ago, British newspapers wrote about a jealous Englishman, who poured petrol over his wife and her lover and set fire to them the moment she was giving in.” In fact, that woman was a giver.”
“Shut up,” Kamil whispered.
“I hope,” the old man whispered back, that our friend wont burn both of you.”
Kamil blushed:
“I said shut up,” he whispered. “I´m going now. If we were somewhere else, I´d beat you up.”
Edwar opened his eyes sluggishly:
“What´re you saying?” he said. “I was there… in the flying saucer.”
He closed his eyes again.
Minutes later, Sami lead him to the guestroom. When he came back, the old man tried to return to the scientific subject:
“Dear sir, if matter can be created from nothing, it can be destroyed too. Now, it seems to be the 444impossibility of creation and destruction and becomes no longer applicable to the laws of the universe of which we know so little. Isn´t that right?”
Sami answred and said, that destruction takes place in the following way:
“The planets, that were pushed away by the “big bang,” return to their original point. Their time of return is equivalent to the time of their departure. When a violent collision occurs, some matter at the centre of the collision disappears, while other matter becomes extremely dense, resulting in a new explosion, due to amalgamation.”
“I think,” Kamil said, “that the volume of matter in the universe remains constant, regardless of creation and destruction of matter itself, like the water on planet Earth is constant, never increasing or decreasing, whatever you do. What goes out of the sea, returns to it. What´s taken away from Nature returns to it.”
“No, but matter in the universe oscillates between a constant maximum and minimum. Without an equation, no creative process or destruction can take place,” Sami said.
“Do you realize,” the old man said, “that the most enjoyable of discussions is, when wondering about and trying to reveal the secrets of nature. The whole of humanity, including the ignorant, have yearned for thousands of years to know the mysteries surrounding us, but dear sir, I´ve got a question. I´d like to know what is beyond our universe. I can´t imagine infinity. Is there an end to our universe, a wall or a barrier enveloping it like a bubble? There must be something. A bubble would´ve something around it, or what?”
“Listen,” Sami replied. “Let’s say I could make miracles. Let´s say I´m about to penetrate a steel armour. Or let’s say, that I´m in front of a huge thick, extremely solid wall of steel. D´you know how I´d cut it, without destroying it? I´d place a flying saucer, billion times faster than the light in front of the wall and have you manoeuver it on this flight. I´d cut the size of the saucer, with you on board and make it infinitely smaller than an atom. Because of my miraculous abilities, I can see the space ship with you in it. Then I´d order you to take off towards the wall. What´ll you meet on your way, before hitting the wall?… Infinite atoms of the air you breathe, but you´ll not feel it as such. You´re flying in a vast space and penetrating atom. From a distance, you´ll be watching electrons around nucleus. When you get closer, you´ll see it growing bigger and bigger in front of you, becoming one of the stars or one of the planets or a galaxy with millions of stars and planets. With the instruments of your flying saucer, you´ll discover a planet resembling Earth. You head for it, only to discover, much to your surprise, that it´s populated by people like us, but perhaps more developed or less developed. You´ll continue in your spaceship, passing stars and you´ll find thousands or maybe millions of various creatures living on millions of planets. However, you´ve not yet reached the steel wall you´re to penetrate. You´re still in one of the air particles and you must travel through billions billions of such particles, before reaching the thick steel wall. What will you find, when you reach it? You´ll not see it as a firm wall, for it´s also made of particles. What you saw in the air particles, you´ll also see in the particles of the steel wall, increased or decreased, according to the number of stars, galaxies and space. You´ll continue your difficult, yet pleasant journey from one particle to another, until you reach the last particle of the steel wall. There, you´ll find me waiting on the other side. And with one of my miracles, I´ll return you and your ship to your natural size and ask: “What did you see?” You´ll wonder and think you invaded our Earth or passed by the Milky Way, the Endromeda or other galaxies.”
“Are you saying,” the old man asked astounded, “that the universe in which we live and whose vastness we admire,

has boundaries we don´t know anything about? 444 (the meaning of the following doesn´t make sense!): Are you saying, that it simply is a particle in a piece of a chalk, that has been cast out somewhere at some time. Certain creatures writing with this piece of chalk, which constitutes one of the particles of our universe, the same kind used to write on blackboards, which a troublesome student might crush on the floor with his shoes and walk away!”

“Yes,” Sami answered.
The old man continued:
“Does it mean, that the piece of paper on your desk, which is also made of particles and… Are you saying, that it may contain worlds resembling ours?”
Kamil´s eyes were wide open, but he remained silent, because he had never heard a conversation like that before.
Suddenly, the old man held his head with both hands, rocking back and forth repeating:
“Oh, my God… if I keep thinking about this, I´ll go mad. This can´t be true!”
He took a paper from the desk and said:
“Sir, if I burn this paper, would I be destroying beings within it?”
“Of course not,” Sami answered laughing. “You wouldn´t be destroying anyone.”
“Would they remain what they are unaffected? Great, wonderful! Then noone can destroy our universe. Do you write about this in your book?”
“No,” Sami said. “I don´t mention it in my book.”
The old man rose and smiled:
“Then, mr. Sami, your book wont make anyone mad. Talking with you is nice and beneficial, but I must leave now, so you can prepare the interview. I´ll be waiting for it and the first one to read it. No doubt, it´ll be of much interest to learned circles. But, mr. Kamil, don´t make it a religious issue. The modern wave of terrorism and religious fanaticism is frightening. We don’t want anything to happen to you, mr. Sami.”
“Are you saying that writers should accept censureship?” Kamil asked in not too friendly a tone. “Huh, what a stupid farce! No one has the right to make anyone think according to orders. Your advice shocks me. Remember, that we´re free to think and write any way we want to and no one can change that!”
“Kamil was not encouraging me to challenge any authorities and start a discussion about credos and taboos,” Sami said and looked at the old man in a friendly way: “Take it easy, dear Kamil. The gentleman is just warning us for our own good. He was being kind. I appreciate that, but I agree with you. Nobody will ever force me not to think independently. My mind is free to think about anything, which comes to it. I´m prepared to pay my freedom of thought with my life.”
“Of course,” Kamil agreed nervously, “otherwise life would be a farce.”
The old man was on his way out, looking sadly at Sami, as if he wanted to ask about something.
“I fear for you,” he muttered almost inaudibly.
He meant this at that moment. He wasn’t acting.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
At two o’clock a.m, Edwar woke up with a burning thirst, after the night’s drinking. He tiptoed to the kitchen to get some water and suddenly he felt a yearning for his wife and was sorry for the pain he had caused her.
“She knows how much I love her,” he said to himself, “if only she understood my feelings, she´d be more gentle. I wouldn’t get angry fits any more. I´m emotional and stupid. How can I be so jealous, when I know she loves me? She has done nothing but speak with haste. Perhaps she wanted to make me jealous, so I´d be more attentive. God, how I love her. I can´t live without her. We were created for each other. I must go home and slip quietly into our bed, sleep next to her and see her face, when I wake up. She´s so beautiful, when she’s asleep. She often looks exhausted, like a tired child, after a long day of playing and fooling around. I´ll caress her ruffled hair, while she is asleep. If she wakes up, I´ll embrace and kiss her a hundred thousand times. I´ll apologize for my behaviour. Now she must be suffering in her dreams.”
Edwar slipped quietly away, so as not to inconvenience Sami’s family, who were asleep. When he came home, he was careful not to disturb his wife. At the bedroom door, he heard a man´s whispering voice. He froze in his steps, straining his ears. His body trembled, but he thought she might have forgotten to turn the radio off, before falling asleep. He said to himself:
“How destructive jealousy can be! How could I think, that my wife?.. I´m both pathetic and unjust!”
Before his hand touched the doorknob, the door opened. First he saw Kamil, then Laila, who yelped from fright. Kamil stepped back with wide eyes and went pale. The three of them remained staring at each other for some time. Edwar staggered and sweated. The thought of betrayal had seized him now and then, but he had suppressed it. Now it was a reality. With tears in his eyes, he looked at his wife in despair and stuttered:
“You should´ve asked for a divorce.”
He felt, as if a great grinding stone was pressing his body and then he fainted.
Kamil recovered and said:
“Let’s put him in bed. When he wakes up, you´ve got to tell him he was feverish and imagining things. Deny what he thinks he saw. Then ask Sami for help…Behave naturally, when he wakes up. Treat him as a patient, but remember, I don’t want a scandal. D´you understand? I´ve got enough problems as it is. I´ll not have my name and position ruined by such a pathetic incident.”
“What!” Laila cried in his face, extremely nervous. “You only think of yourself. You´re a bastard. I didn´t think you´d be so low. You´re no good. We were happy, before you came into our lives. Psychopath, you cheat and destroy my life.”
“Did I force you to betray him?” Kamil yelled back. I despise you!”
Get out!” she wailed. “Leave! If you ever get in my way again, I´ll kill you!”
Her affair with Kamil had begun more than a year ago. At a party, after discussions about various subjects, she had admired his ideas, especially about women. She didn´t know, that he didn´t mean what he was saying, but felt the need in front of people to show off as a modern man. Laila had become enthusiastic. She was strikingly beautiful. Kamil was attracted to her face and elegant body. He trapped her with his eloquence. Every sentence he uttered was designed to impress her. Before she knew it, she was in his arms. He used to entertain her with sayings like:
“Man and woman can only be liberated by fulfilment of physical needs. Only then, can a person feel his worth and be liberated from the oppression of laws, customs and conventional commitments.” Such ideas impressed Laila and she repeated them to her husband like a parrot.
“Nonsense,” Edwar once said. “Enough of such silly talk! I’d rather we separated, than accept such ideas.”
“Who says I want us to separate?” she said. “All I want is my freedom, which you´ve confiscated. I used to love my freedom. You´ve got no right to take it away from me.”
“The kind of freedom you´re talking about isn´t even accepted in the most developed countries,” Edwar had argued.
“I know,” she said disgusted “because men are men everywhere in the world. The conflicts between man and woman are eternal. Women will though win to some extent and gain freedom. I´m not ready for any compromise right now.”
“You don’t know what you´re talking about,” Edwar said.
“Huh…why?” Laila answered offended. Because I`m a woman?”
“No, because you`re just stupid.. You suffer from an inferiority complex,” Edwar said. Tell me, my dear, what are the limits of the freedom you are so eager to have?”
Laila had an answer ready:
“I want freedom to the extent, when there´s a complete equality between the genders.”
Edwar sniggered:
“What would you do with that?”
“I´d do exactly what a man does,” she answered.
“What man do you mean?” Edwar asked. “There are corrupt men with no moral values and there are those with moral values and ethics.”
“I want to be like the men, who possess complete freedom,” Laila said.
“Listen!..” Edwar said irritably, “People, who place freedom above all relationships, commitments and moral values, have no relations to human beings or do they possess any deep emotions. If you think I´m completely free, you´re mistaken. After marrying you, I compromised a great deal, because of my commitment to you. It made me kick much of my freedom away. Can I for instance be away from you for a day or a week, without telling you where I am or what I´m doing? Of course not, because I´d be keeping you waiting anxiously. Before we married, I went freely wherever I wanted to. Now, I have to consult you, before deciding for myself, but I don’t feel my freedom has been taken away from me. O.k., could I go out with another woman and go to bed with her? Of course not, because such conduct is considered wrong, since I should take your feelings into consideration. So, where is my freedom? Didn´t I compromise for your sake? The same applies for you or would you rather give me complete freedom to go out with other women!”
She answered, regardless of the consequences:
“What’s wrong with that! Of course you should be able to do that, because, if you really love me, you´d always come back to me. This is trivial. You could say it would fulfil physical needs, because of the variety, just like variable food. You´re free. I don´t want you to sacrifice your freedom for me. Otherwise, you’re trying to tell me, that when you are out, you´re constantly looking at your watch and thinking: “My wife´s waiting for me, I must go home. Perhaps you think I´m at home preparing your dinner, looking at the clock and saying to myself: “My darling husband´s coming home from work and I´m waiting for him? Huh, what a boring life. If you really like such a conventional life, you´re uncivilized and not modern at all. Then you´re a stoneage man. Honestly, I´m a woman, who wants to be liberated from suppressing traditions and degrading commitments. I can´t accept a life like that. But I know we´ll never agree about this, never ever.”
“Ever!” Edwar cried. “Who says we´ll last that long? You´re hurting my feelings.”
“I´ve got the right to express my feelings,” Laila shouted back.
“You must´ve lost your mind! What woman encourages her husband to go with other women.” Edwar sounded hurt. “If you´ve got courage to speak up so frankly and be so rude, why not ask for a divorce? Aren´t you saying, that you no longer love your husband and are in love with someone else, though I doubt, if you know the meaning of love, not to mention dignity.”
“I know the meaning of love and I´ve got dignity. You’re not the only one who does,” Laila snorted.
“My God,” Edwar said. “I can’t take these insults and decadence.”
Edwar was angry now:
“You want me to unchain your sickly freedom and say, that as long as you love me, you can go and stay away, as long as you want to. You´re actually saying, that you should be allowed to enjoy whatever you desire and vary your men as you do your meals, as long as you always return to me! How pathetic!”
“You´re the pathetic one,” Laila hissed. “Be careful not to insult me more.”
“I confess,” Edwar growled, “I´m pathetic, because I´m weak and yet passionate. I can´t even help loving someone as decadent as you are. I should´ve ignored my burning heart right from the start. I should´ve kicked your arse and thrown you out of my life. My gentle feelings are worthy only of a woman, who knows the meaning of love and loyalty, someone, who knows how to give and not torment. You´re a sewer, smelling of waste!”
Laila was now furious and said at the highest possible pitch of her voice:
“Get lost! Find a female, who likes being a slave, who cooks for you and waits for you to come home from work, who forgets her friends and happiness for your sake. Plenty of stupid women agree to living as slaves to men and have to ask permission for everything. Such worthless masters, the likes of you, are a majority these days. They´re in Europe and everywhere. Modern times have not changed them. All men are like that, all over the world, from the North to the South Pole, all the same. Deep inside you´re savage beasts. If you were to give freedom to women, these beasts would lose their power. I don’t know how saints manage to emerge from you men. Mr. Kamil is one of them, a great defender of modern woman.”
Laila´s outburst clearly shocked Edwar. It was as if he had woken up from a slumber and he said in a clear and slow voice:
“I should´ve known, that something lay hidden behind your ideas. You´ve always been a stupid woman. No sooner have I saved you from a harlot, than you fall for another one. I could crack his scull with my fist. I´ll break his scull, if ever I see you speak to him again. Yet, he´s not to blame. It´s your scull, that needs cracking. He´s always talking everywhere and about anything. Only stupid women are attracted to him. I don´t trust you any more. I want a divorce. My wounds will heal and I´ll be at peace. Either you respect my feelings and stop tormenting me with your extreme thoughts or we separate. These thoughts haven´t only contaminated you, but also polluted the idea of freedom.”
After such rows with Edwar and his threats, Laila decided to ask Kamil for advice. Her friendship with him was deepening. He said to her, that a man remains a man and would never accept her ideas.owever However, he said He said she had been rash in making such daring announcements. Women should keep such thoughts a secret. He advised her to give in to her husband´s ideas, to win his trust again, while at the same time, she could go as she pleased, without telling him anything.
Kamil encouraged her to visit him, whenever she was bored. Laila was always on Kamil´s mind. He knew, that when that faded away, he would laugh at his endeavours to attract her. He did many things just to get closer to her, until she surrendered and was able to enjoy the total freedom she dreamt about.
Edwar had the feeling, that something was going on behind his back, but feared what would happen, if he doubted her. So, he began to drown his sorrows in alcohol. Whenever he was troubled and stressed by doubts, he visited Sami and poured out all his problems.
Sami let him talk and talk, until he had eased his mind. Sometimes, he would talk for an hour or two and Sami listening to him, without saying anything but one or two brief comments, which comforted Edwar. Then he would go home to his wife and feel guilty. Often he knelt at her feet, kissed the hem of her dress and wept like a child, saying:
“Do as you please. as long as you´re faithful to me. I´ve never loved anyone as much as you. Have all the freedom you want on one condition. No other man must touch you or I´ll go mad.”
She would embrace him and whisper:
“I love you and can´t live without you,” peace and love filling their hearts.
This happened several times, until Edwar caught her with her lover.Then he realized, that to her freedom meant having many love affairs.
—————–
When Kamil left their house, he took side roads to get to his car, which he had parked at a good distance.
He did not go home, but drove into the forest, which was not far away. He parked his car there and proceeded on foot. The old man had seen the headlights, grasped his gun and left. He hid behind some bushes, wherefrom he could see who was coming at this unusual hour. Kamil was the first one he thought of or someone on his behalf.
“Now he may know,” he thought, “that my blackmailing and threats are a solo act, that there are no partners and therefore he has decided to get rid of me.”
But, when the old man saw him approaching the hut, he had a second thought:
“I may be wrong. I still owe him four hundred dollars, which he´ll lose, if he kills me. He wouldn’t come in his car, which would be evidence enough. Something urgent must make him come. Let´s surprise him.”
The old man stealt smoothly to the car and leaned against it, waiting for Kamil to return.
“What has brought you here at this hour?” the old man asked, when he came.
“An extremely urgent matter,” Kamil asnwered.
“Lower your voice,” the old man whispered. “The place is quiet, sound travels and you may be heard.”
“At this hour!” Kamil shouted.
“Yes, especially at this hour. It´s very calm and quiet and some sweethearts may be around.”
“O.k.,” Kamil whispered. Let’s sit in the car.”
The old man sat down beside him.
“Why did you come to see me so late?” the old man asked. I see no danger. We have the upper hand to confront the Prime Minister and say to him: “I am the person, who got two million dollars from you.” Believe me, mr. Kamil, he would become as quiet as a mouse in front of a cat.”
“Why were you content with only two million dollars?” Kamil asked.
“Could they afford more, I wouldn`t have hesitated to demand more. Leaders of democratic countries don´t always have direct access to the treasury, like dictators have. All they can do is cheat legally. Often they risk prosectution and scandals. Since I got hold of that letter, I could´ve done several things, because many things in politics are almost criminal according to the law. In spite of the law, many politicians work through conspiracies, plots and threats. There are mafias programming societies and manipulating ministers and leaders. I can wind the highest leader around my little finger, as long as I´ve got the letter and as long as he fears scandals. I can make new plans, that bring me new profits, provided I leave no loopholes. Any little gap would enable someone to destroy me. If you could, you´d already have gouged out my eyes with your fingers, tied me to a tree and let dogs do the rest. But none of you can afford that, because the reputation on which you base your authority and power, is in my hands. That´s why I´m not afraid and could easily go to the Primie Minister. The fact, that I haven´t done so yet, doesn’t mean that I´m scared. That´s the situation now, although I may do so in the future and spare them the trouble of searching for me. I´m sure they´ve already employed some men to uncover me. My anonymity means, that I´m a threat, but they can´t threaten me. If I become one of them, I´ll lose much of my power and then their knives will be at my neck.Then I´ll have to shut my mouth forever. Life in developed societies is like that. A chain of mutual interests demands that. No one makes threats singlehandedly. They all threaten each other. If you kill me, my partners would do away with you and so on. Foes and partners work behind the stages. What you see is their smiles and their good manners.”
Kamil listened patiently to the old man, but said:
“If they uncover you, they´ll also know your contacts and silence them simultaneously. Thus their secrets die.”
“I know that,” the old man replied. “If they finish me and my partners, they must also get rid of each other. With a large payoff, my partners would no longer be a problem. I could of course create a secret organization, a mafia, to ensure my safety. Then they´d have no way of finishing me.”
Kamil was becoming impatient and uncomfortable.
“This wasn’t what I came for,” he said.
“Why then?” the old man asked, “Has it to do with Sami? Listen, I don’t want any excuses. Sami must die.”
“That´s not why I came,” Kamil said. “I came to tell you, that I´ve been found out. Edwar found me with his wife.”
When the old man heard this he guffawed.
“What did you say?” he shouted. “What a joke! Say it again please, repeat what you just said. How come he found you together? Didn´t he fall asleep drunk? Ha… Ha… Ha. I had the feeling, that you were going to see her. This is exciting.”
“Don’t make fun of me. It´s our mutual problem. It´ll also harm you, if it becomes a scandal, because then you can´t get rid of Sami. I´m in a sensitive position and can´t take anything like that. Some people would treat such a scandal with so many details, that I´d lose my readers´ respect. Edwar´s wife might stir the whole thing up. She was so angry, that she threatened to do anything to destroy my reputation, unless I helped her. A man mustn´t trust a cheap woman. I came to ask for help, because you alone can control the situation and prevent a scandal, not for my sake alone, but for both of us.”
“How´s that?” the old man asked. “What could I do?”
“You must persuade Edwar’s wife to be reasonable,” Kamil said.
“But why is she angry with you?” the old man asked.
“She heard Miriam say, that I´m in love with Nadia.” Kamil explained.
“What a Don Juan!” the old man said laughing. “Also in love with Nadia?”
“I´m not in love at all. It´s something they´ve made up.” Kamil said.
“So, why did you confess your love to Nadia, if you don’t love her?” the old man asked.
“What d´you want me to say to a woman I want to go to bed with?” Kamil asked. “Am I not to win her by any means, even by acting the role of an unhappy lover, whose body quivers, when looking into the eyes of his beloved?”
“Did she believe you or did she merely accept your advances?” the old man wanted to know.
“She kept me at bay for a while, maybe because I made a mistake in my scheme, but I´ll get her. They all refuse in the beginning, but later they get interested. Getting a woman you want is not the problem. Getting rid of her is more difficult. Edwar´s wife wanted liberation from matrimonial commitment, family responsibilities and anything that spoilt her freedom. I liked her way of thinking, because it meant, that I could have her and then leave her, whenever I wanted to. But now, she forgets her ideas and principles and clings to me. She´s cheating.”
When the old man began to laugh again, Kamil repeated:
“Yes, she cheated. Can you imagine a woman blaming her husband for taking her freedom away from her, but at the same time, she hurls her freedom to my feet, begging to becoming my slave, as long as I´m hers alone. Huh, what a contradiction!”
“No doubt she loves you,” the old man chuckled.
“She´s just a lustful woman, who´d like to have ten men. She seeks physical pleasure alone. No lover can accept such obscenity, was Kamil´s opinion.”
“Yet, you distorted her opinion of freedom, in order to get her, didn´t you?”
“Since I desired her,” Kamil answered, “I had to.”
“And now it´s Nadia´s turn?” the old man asked.
“Right, but Nadia´s difficult. No doubt, she´ll torment me, before I succeed. She´s too bright.” Kamil explained.
“But let’s return to Edwar’s wife. How could I persuade her to withdraw her threats,” the old man asked.
Kamil answered:
“She didn’t threaten me with a scandal, but she´ll probably do that, unless I save her from losing face. I must avoid a scandal and spare her. I want you to convince Edwar by saying, that his accusation of adultery is imaginary and, that he´s ill, imagining things with no basis in reality. You can tell him, that yesterday he was talking about flying saucers in our presence. Say, that you saw him in a feverish state, before reaching his house. Say you heard him muttering strange and ugly things. Invent whatever to convince him and believe he´s ill. But, don’t let his wife know, that the two of us have worked this plan out or imply in any way, that you´ve got anything to do with me. I´m sure, that when she hears you say this to Edwar, she´ll support you. Your visit will be a gift from heaven to her, which she´ll accept heartily.”
The old man looked at him out of the corner of his eye.
“Is that all you want?” he asked.
“That´s all,” Kamil answered.
“It´s cruel,” the old man said patting Kamil on his shoulder. “You want me to make a sane man mad? O.k., consider it done. I´ll visit Edwar in the morning. Then I´ll try to meet someone in Sami’s family and tell the same story. Nobody will believe Edwar after that. Anyway, I felt right from the start, that he was mad. The bastard was quite aggressive. I don’t know, if he was mad, before reading Sami’s book or after! He must´ve gone mad after reading the draft. The organization probably wants to get rid of Sami and his book to safeguard human mind! Come on, my dear Kamil, go finish your job. When the organization wants us to do a job, they say:
“Do your job in the interest of the country and humanity.” Nonsense, just like the swearing in of a new president. If they said instead: “Go and complete the task in the interest of filling your pockets, increasing your authority and filling our vaults, they´d be realistic.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN
At dawn, Edwar woke up from his swoon and could barely make out what had happened. He was feverish and dazed. He tried to pull himself together and get up. Laila was sitting on a chair at the bed, her face buried in her hands. Clearly she had spent the night there, torn by feelings of guilt. She seemed unable to say anything or know, where to begin and waited for him to do or say something. Any reaction would be a relief. Her beauty should have withered from the burden of her pain, but it seemed the contrary. Her face was lit by clarity, as if what she was going through gave her pleasure.
“Are you happy?” Edwar said faintly, “Your face is young and beautiful. Is it because of your new freedom? We can´t live under one roof any more. Now enjoy the freedom you say I suffocated.”
He was about to leave the room, his face and mood sluggish. She followed him and put her hand on his shoulder:
“Where´re you going?” she said humbly. “You´re ill!”
He ignored her or maybe he didn’t hear her, but walked slowly out of the house. Suddenly the old man was in front of him and pretended to be astonished:
“Oh my God, you must be ill. Where´re you going? To see a doctor? Why not ask him to come here? You must have fainted! I expected to see you unwell, but not like this?”
“He´s going out,” Laila said anxiously, “but I don’t know where.”
“Leaving in such a state?” the old man asked. “I thought you were both going to see a doctor. Let’s take him in. I´ll call for a doctor. Forgive my sudden visit, but I came to see to him. Oh God, how pale he is!”
He held Edwar´s arm to lead him back into the house. Edwar gave in. When they reached his bed, he collapsed on it, semi conscious, but then he woke up and heard the old man talk to Laila:
“Last night he was very drunk, when we were at Sami’s house. Later mr. Kamil visited us too and we spent a pleasant time together. But I felt Edwar was not only drunk, but feverish too. Throughout the evening, his face was flushed. He kept muttering…..”
Now the old man whispered, that he wanted to speak to her alone. So, they went to the sitting room. He went on in a low voice:
“Every now and then Edwar uttered incoherent and meaningless sentences. He spoke about a flying saucer and I don’t know what! Mr. Sami thought it best for him to go to bed, since he was in such a bad state. We left soon after that. After midnight, I went for a stroll, because I couldn’t sleep. Then I met Edwar. He was walking aimlessly and seemed to be almost unconscious. He seemed to be having hallucinations, saying things, which might disturb you, if I repeat them. I want to tell you this, because I fear for his safety. He´s ill and the things he said couldn´t be said by… by…,, forgive me for saying it, by a sane person. He needs special care. He loves you very much and wants to protect you. He fears for you and seems even to fear himself. He was very emotional…. emotional beyond reason.”
Laila was taken aback by the old man’s story.
“What did he say about me?” Laila asked.
“Nothing, just some hallucination. Come, let’s go to him. I want to help you. Would you like me to call a doctor?”
“Please don’t avoid my question. I want to know what he said about me!” Laila said.
The old man answered readily:
“He kept saying, that you were betraying him with every man you met. When I tried to calm him down, he accused me of being one of your lovers. I laughed and said to him: “Do you take me for a young man? What woman would consider an old man like me?” He started crying on my shoulder and told me about his jealousy. I told him to get rid of these illusions and, that he had a wife, who loves him very much. “Why ruin your life and torment yourself with such fantasies?” I asked him. He replied: “What about Sami, Kamil and Yousif. They all chase her and she encourages them. She betrays me with anyone.” He wept on my shoulder again. He mentioned more names. Among them was his own name… yes, unless you know someone else by that name. He also mentioned Mona and Nadia.”
“Mona and Nadia! He must be mad, Laila said astonished. “I´m very grateful to you for coming at the right time to warn me. Listen, very kind man, I want you to confront him and repeat what you´ve just said, word by word. He must realize, that he´s ill and his accusations are false. But I´ll forgive him because of his condition.”
They went to the bedroom and the old man repeated what he had said to Laila.
“I´ve heard you´re a sensitive person,” he said to Edwar. “That´s great! But, my dear Edwar, jealousy and doubt have troubled you. You´re jealous of your own relationship to your own wife, but don´t worry, you´ll recover. All you need is rest. Trust yourself and your poor wife to whom you´ve been very unjust. You must also trust your friends or you´ll do everyone injustice. Sleep, my friend, I´ll go immediately and get you a doctor and all will be well.”
Edwar was suddenly panic stricken. He frowned, when he remembered last night’s events.
“I didn´t meet this old man,” he said to himself, “I don’t remember any such thing. I came home and found Kamil standing before me. It isn´t my imagination, but what if it´s true? What, if Sami confirms, that I was feverish. Sami wouldn´t lie. Am I mad?”
Then Edwar spoke incoherently:
“Nothing of what you say happened.”
The old man smiled sadly:
“Thank you, my dear Edwar for this insult. Are you calling me a liar? May God forgive you. What interest could I have in lying? I came to ask about your health. How could I know, you were suffering from fever, if we hadn’t met? How could I know you were at home and not at Sami’s house? Didn`t you spend the whole night there?”
“This can´t be,” Edwar said in a low voice. “I don´t believe it! I wish what I saw was my imagination…or an illusion. No, it can´t be. What I saw was real and not.. I wasn´t imagining anything.”
“By the way,” the old man said to Laila, acting every word: “I tried to bring him home, because of the state he was in, but he insisted on going alone, so, I returned to my hut. But tell me, what happened, when he came home? Did he wake you up and quarrel with you? Excuse me, I´m a chatterbox. Forgive my curiousity.. Sorry for interfering in what doesn’t concern me. You don´t have to answer my question. I´m always like that and I regret it.”
“Don’t feel sorry,” Laila said, “I asked you to tell him what went on between you two, because he made a false and awful accusation against me, when he came home. I was suffering from insomnia, when I heard his footsteps. The door was locked and noone else could enter, so it couldn’t be a thief. I got out of bed to meet him. After a quarrel, we quickly yearn for each other, embrace and weep. Last night, we had a quarrel and I wanted him to embrace me. So, I opened the bedroom door and there he was in front of me in the state you´ve described. I was so worried and frightened. I screamed, when I saw the state he was in, but he smiled and said in a sad tone:
“Had you asked for a divorce, it would´ve been more merciful than this.”
Then he collapsed and passed out. I could barely lift him into bed. He kept hallucinating the whole night.”
Here Laila started crying, wiping her tears with the palm of her hand, but she went on:
“He made awful accusations against me. Weren´t it for his illness, I wouldn’t have stayed with him. He kept saying I was having an affair with mr. Kamil. That´s too much… far too much. But, I forgive him, because he´s ill. I know he loves me and that makes me forgive him. Only, I can´t forget what he said last night to mr. Sami. He said:
“In general women are good at two things only, adultery and sobbing into their handkerchiefs.”
“An ugly thing to say,” the old man muttered to himself. “What a slut!”
The day passed, without the outbreak of the scandal Kamil had feared. As for the old man, he soon informed everyone about what had happened. So, people concluded, that Edwar was on the brink of insanity, while some didn´t believe that. Others said, that no matter how passionate a man may be, he wouldn´t faint, just because he saw his wife with another man. That could only mean, that Edwar collapsed because of fever. Kamil was relieved, because the scandal did not go beyond a limited circle of friends and no one believed a word of it. Yet, he asked Sami to try to erase any doubts from Edwar’s mind. Sami felt, that Edwar’s mental health was in danger and could lead to a nervous breakdown, unless he got enough rest. He advised him to travel and seek change. Edwar asked him, if he had heard him speak in a strange way. Sami confirmed, that he had heard him talk about things he couldn´t make out and thought it was because of the alcohol. What Laila and the old man had told him lately, convinced him about Edwar´s exhaustion and felt he needed some rest.
Edwar was stupefied by what people said had taken place and didn’t know, whether to believe it or not. Now and again, he tried to remember what had happened, thinking things over and over again, hoping to remember some of what the old man had said about that evening and recollect what he thought his own eyes had seen. He tried to remember the sequence of events, since he had the quarrel with Laila and left for Sami’s house. He remembered everything with a few exceptions. Yet, he couldn´t recall going to bed in Sami’s house. Was that also a dream? He remembered clearly, how he had woken up thirsty and how he had tiptoed, so as not to wake anyone. Although his body was weak and feeble and he almost collapsed at the refridgerator, his mind had been alert and clear. He had left at once to go home, seized by a yearning for his wife and home. He did see Kamil open the bedroom door… It couldn´t all be his own fantasy.
“I must be mad. Everyone says it was a hallucination, created by my imagination, my doubts and jealousy. Everyone says that…, but I saw it. Mad people imagine anything… as reality. I´m becoming insane. I´m lost between reality and imagination… She alone knows the truth. What about the old man? I didn´t see him that night. He´s a liar. He knows I hate him and that’s why he scorns me. Why did he come to check on me! How did he know I wasn´t well? Did I really meet him and weep on his shoulder? I don´t remember anything like that. I´m going mad…I must admit that. I´m going mad. Can the mind dispense reality and transform it into fantasy and live with that as a concrete reality…? What did Sami mean by that!” Edwar thought and was in this state for two days, staying in bed, a prisoner of his own doubts. During these two days, he deteriorated and was seen three times by a doctor, who prescribed a sedative, but what he needed most was to talk. He needed someone, who would listen to him, without interrupting him. He needed Sami, because he was the only one able to listen and understand. Talking would be his cure. But what could he tell Sami?”
It wasn´t really the old man, who had confused him and he wasn´t the only one involved in this. Others spread the rumour, that he had behaved in a strange way and this was even exaggerated by some of his friends, who fabricated events and conversations involving Edwar, In such circumstances some people tend to tell lies, especially, if someone is incapable of defending himself and then he himself may begins to believe them too. Noone would believe Edwar, if he tried to explain things, since many people were now convinced of his madness.
The rumours contributed to Edwar’s rapid breakdown. Everything around him seemed strangely colourless and tasteless. He continued to try to remember and suffer. He thought of drinking a lot of alcohol to ease his mind, but knew it would make him feel worse. Was a divorce the only solution?
However, now that his mental sanity was at stake, he saw it as the main problem. Was what he saw and heard real or just his own fantasy? Sometimes, he felt it was an undeniable reality and sometimes, he felt he could not go on living with his adulterous wife. He felt maimed and confused. She was not worthy of his love. At other times, he was convinced, that what he saw was caused by his illness, which took hold of him, when he awoke. He was tormented by this, as it meant, that he was losing his mind. Then he felt he had been unjust to his wife and had treated her in an unforgiveable way. That made him feel extremely guilty.
To begin with, he was so tormented, that he screamed in Laila’s face:
“Your dirty ideas´ve destroyed all my feelings for you. They´ve destroyed the trust we shared and made me live in constant fear, that you could give yourself to any man, who took your fancy.”
After explosions like this, he asked himself, if she had really betrayed him. He was both unable to live with her and without her.
They agreed to separate for a while, but meet now and then in the hope, that he´d be cured of his madness. He began searching for a new accommodation. Because of his present state of mind, he was willing to accept any place. Yousif found him a flat, which he was to share with three young men, a topfloor flat in a big building. Everything happened so quickly and Edwar moved immediately into his room. He didn´t take much with him, only bare necessities, piling them into a taxi.
The room he had rented was wide and airy. The house was in the city centre. It was cold in winter, with old rotten wooden windows. Its facade looked, as if it would collapse any time. The owner of the house seemed to be one of the wealthy people, who have no time to maintain their property. He had simply neglected it and let it out cheaply.
The three young men sharing the flat seemed to be quite nice and friendly. They minded their own business. Each had his own room and they met only to have fun together. They were at a similar age, the oldest one was nineteen. They were unemployed, but carried out some manual work, cash in hand moonshine jobs. But most of the time, they were idle and spent their time drinking. Their lives were simple and they never bothered anyone. The furniture was an old table and a few chairs in the kitchen, with only a couple of plates, a pot and a fryer. Their food was bread, cheese, butter and somtimes an egg as a variety. Most of the time, they ate their meals off newspaper sheets. One might think they were forced to lead such a basic existence, but they were lazy and idle and preferred this kind of life to any effort.
Edwar did not see any of his friends for three days. He kept drinking heavily. Strange enough, he began to recall the old man whispers to Kamil, when the three of them were in Sami’s study. At that time, he had been quite drunk and almost asleep, so how come he remembered what they said? He heard the old man say to Kamil:
“I hope our friend wont burn you both….” and this sentence would fade away, but return more clearly in a while. He too had read about the incident, when a jealous Englishman, who had poured petrol over his wife and her lover, while they were in bed and put them on fire. But what had the old man meant by this? How come he knew Kamil and was quite familiar with him, when they were supposed to have just met. There must be a secret friendship between them and there must also be a secret behind the old man’s words, “unless, what I´ve been thinking wasn´t a sick illusion and this a new one.”
It was clear to Edwar, that he and the three youths searched for the pleasure of illusion to flee reality. Illusion was the big idea. Without it, they would not spend their money on drugs.
Edwar rapidly adapted to their lifestyle and became one of them. He quit his work and stopped washing his body, brushing his teeth, combing his hair, washing his clothes and cleaning his room.
It was about eight o´clock in the evening. They were all having dinner in the kitchen. For the third time, Edwar had paid the food, slices of tinned meat and freshly baked bread. He wanted to show his gratitude for their kindness and the attention they had paid him. They were polite, smiled and made him feel at home. He could share their cigarettes, which they chain smoked, during their late night gatherings. At night, a candle was lit on the table, the boys stretching their hands to the flame now and then to heat hashish mixed with tobacco on aluminium foil.
Edwar had never tried smoking hashish before, but wanted to try anything to ease his sorrow. “Hashish,” one of them said, “increases your sorrows, but is pleasant, if one is happy.” Another one said, that he only felt the effect after the tenth time, then he did feel something and it was a strange sensation, very different from intoxication. His entire body became numb and he felt he had become much bigger, especially his head and weight felt heavy as a ton. He couldn´t move, so he stretched out on the ground in a public park with people passing by. Their heads seemed to touch the clouds and their legs were huge. The ground shook, when they walked. He had a desperate urge to laugh. He laughed and laughed and laughed, until he fell asleep, feeling his entire being exploding.
“It was a beautiful envigorating experience, something you never find in reality,” he said.
They would stay up late, joking and laughing. Edwar was absent minded He wanted to leave and go to Sami. He did that.

CHAPTER TWENTY
Sami’s family was unusually happy and high spirited, their faces radiant and smiling, their hearts filled with love and understanding. They were gathered in the sitting room. The elegant lady, Mona’s friend, was with them, also mr. Kamil, whose presence they were celebrating, even Miriam, who now looked at him with appreciation. There was much timidity and apology in her behaviour, as if still excusing what happened the other night. She felt she had been unfair to him. He was not, as she had previously thought, always taking the lion’s share of the credit for her writings, just because he had once encouraged and helped her at the newspaper. Kamil had now proved his modesty, though only a few days ago, she had waged a campaign against him.
“Mr. Kamil only wants to interview you to use your ideas for his own good,” she had said to her father, “and will make himself appear to be the genius.”
Now, Kamil was different from what Miriam had expected. In fact, he had given Sami most of the spotlight. He addressed him as a unique scientist and didn´t try to share the limelight with him, complimenting him several times and saying he was not able to comprehend the whole theory, because some parts of it were beyond him. The truth was, that he didn´t want to support Sami’s ideas and therefore distanced himself from the danger of fanatic leaders´ wrath, who would no doubt avenge the blasphemy and doubts raised about their religious credos.
Kamil used all his influence, dedicating two pages to the interview with Sami, for three days in a row. He had encouraged Sami to discuss the most sensitive aspects of his book, especially the definitions of creation and existence. He was there now because of the third episode, which was to be published the next day.
The old man was pleased with Kamil´s management. When he read the interview, he felt he had almost realized his aim.
The quick response he received from general readers and important people made Sami happy. Since the publication of the first part of the interview, the phone had not stopped ringing. People were eager to know more and wanted explanations about complicated theories. Sami had only touched on the subjects, omitting details, in order to secure sale, when the book would be published. Even some negative responses delighted Sami.
“It means,” he said, “that my theories have touched a chord in some hearts.”
The intellectual milieu, with all its various shades and ideas, expressed their views by phone or in writing. Many asked: “Does God exist or not?”
According to Kamil:
“Letters have flooded our office. Some are of crucial importance. The newspaper can´t publish or answer all of them.”
He had received a parcel with two hundred letters, which he gave to Sami.
“From now on,” Kamil said, “you must have secretaries to answer letters. You´ll find enough material for a publication of another book.”
The glitter of fame tickled the family, who didn´t realize the dangers lurking in the book. They prepared themselves by calming the atmosphere, in anticipation of the third part of this perilous interview. Kamil was secretly doing the opposite of what seemed to be the case, directed by the old man, whom he obeyed, without any comments, wanting to complete his conspiratorial mission as soon as possible.
The old man told him to send copies of the interview to the most fanatic secretarian leaders of the country. Some of them had been imprisoned, while others were in exile in other countries. He enclosed copies of a provocative anonymous letter, urging them to protect their sacred ideologies and put an end to the blasphemy of philosophers, who don´t respect the theological laws. It said, that believers ought to consider the implications and dangers arising from the publication of such a book and question the existence of such writers. The old man told Kamil to use his position to contact these leaders by phone, without revealing his identity and support their rage. Kamil carried out the old man’s instructions.
In fact, spiritual leaders were not in need of these enticements, because they had already seen the interview the first day and were furious. They considered the influence such a writer could have on their sacred ideology.
Before Kamil had recorded the third interview, the family heard a man talking in their garden. They sensed, that something strange was about to happen. Miriam slipped into the garden to open the front door, for she was the only one who heard the door bell. Edwar was on the threshold of the sitting room and remained standing there for a while, quickly glancing at everyone. He was carrying a bag with the draft of Sami’s book, which he wanted to give back to him.
He noticed Miriam standing behind him, unable to pass through, so he made way for her.
“Sorry, Miriam, do go through,” he said.
Everyone in the sitting room had stopped talking and, when he entered, they looked at him, without saying anything. Sami’s mother, felt sorry for him. They hadn´t seen him in auch a deplorable state before. He was pale, red eyed and his face tearful, in spite of his attempts to smile. His shoulders were loose and sloppy, as his body had lost its vigour. A horrible odour, similar to concentrated vinegar, filled the room. He was wearing tattered and shabby slippers.
Sami rose to greet him: “Come on in, please….”
Edwar cut short his sentence and panted, perhaps because of the uncomfortable situation he had put himself in.
“Sorry to come to you…” he said, “not invited…or making a call…”
Sami didn´t allow him to finish his sentence:
“Since when have we met by appointment?” he said. “Come right in.”
Edwar embraced Yousif and then pushed him gently away, as if he was not the right person. Then he embraced Sami for a long time. Sami didn´t respond to the awful smell from Edwar´s body, but withheld his breath, till the end of the embrace. He patted Edwar friendly on the shoulder and asked him to take a seat. Edwar made some welcoming remarks, as if he were the host:
“Where´ve you been? I missed you, you haven’t visited me for a long time…but, welcome, it´s a pleasure seeing you.” He changed the subject and asked: “D´you have any beer? Only one bottle I´ll drink and then leave.”
Miriam brought him a bottle of beer, which he began to sip slowly, while he seemed to be absorbed in thought. Sami wanted to continue his speech, which Edwar had interrupted.
“Even if I´ve worked hard with this book, it still lacks a very important link, which may alter outdated laws and theories. There´s a link so simple, that it´s easy to forget.”
Suddenly, Edwar felt impelled to intervene, looking straight ahead in anxiety, fearing, that what he was about to say might be interpreted as a hallucination and nonsense, but he was urged by a desire to talk:
“Indeed, it will motivate the discovery of other new theories. This motivation springs from the fertility of the idea, if one could describe it as such, a fertility able to nourish a fruitful imagination. I mean for physicians, chemists and biologists and all kinds of specialists.”
He became silent, his thoughts scattered. A short while later, he added:
“How can I put it, I´d like to say, that qualified thinkers… Oh… I lost the thread… I read the book you gave me twice and I want to say, that although your theory lacks an important link, as you yourself said…it´s… it´s still a key to solving many mysteries, which remain pure guesswork and probabilities… Isn´t that so? Reading your book, is good for one´s imagination. Let me give you a specific example. The author of the theory about relativity, Eintstein, said:
“Dostojevskj gives me more than any other scientific thinker.” I´m sure he meant…The Brothers Karamasov. You write your theory in a narrative style and that´ll inspire other thinkers´ imagination. Sych fertile imagination can flourish in the mind of any reader, no matter how simple and make him immerse in dreams, that would send shivers down anyone’s spine, because of their logical accuracy. Not only has my body quivered, but my hair stood on end. Forgive me, my friend Sami, you asked me to design the bookcover for you. I want to read it once again and make a design suitable for the main idea.”
“Haven´t you understood it yet?” the elegant lady asked.
“Yes, I understood a great deal, but, I need explanations about certain things. When I read it for the second time, I discovered new things, which made the design I had thought of insufficient.”
He put his hand into the bag containing the draft and gave it to Sami, who put it aside.
Kamil encouraged Edwar and said:
“You´ve said something very important, mr. Edwar. I share your experience, having read it more than once and each time discovered something new. I can´t say exactly what, although writing is my profession. Its fantasy can only be fully understood by skilled scientists.”
Yousif could not wait any longer and whispered something to Miriam, who hid her face in her hands and laughed audibly.
The old woman was dismayed: “What´s so funny?”
Miriam was tearful from laughter.
“I´m sorry, I´ll be quiet, but Yousif has found a proof of Darwin’s theory, which I´ll not tellk you.”
“And what is so funny about that!” Mona asked?
“It`s funny, but I don´t want to talk about it, so as not to offend anyone. except if mr. Edwar asks me me to, because, he holds the proof, but I’d rather hold my tongue. I am sorry, I´ll be quiet and stop chatting.”
Fearing her daughter might be led to an uncontrolable disorderly behaviour, Mona said: “But you`re chatting now. Please keep what you want to say to yourself or you`ll become the centre of the discussion. If you`re bored, you may leave.”
“Noone forces her to stay,” Sami said. “If you´re bored, then you and Yousif can go somewhere and have fun.”
Mona looked accusingly at Yousif, while saying:
“Whenever she laughs so loud, she annoys me and I know Yousif starts it.”
Yousif answered, that Miriam was a giggly, bubbly girl. One could just whisper something to her and she would burst out laughing and what he had said wasn’t even funny.
“One mustn´t keep anything in one’s heart, so as not to explode, Edwar said quickly. I feel, that what you´d say would make us all explode with laughter. I haven´t had that pleasure for a long time, because of my unhappiness. Come on, beautiful Miriam, make us merry.”
Miriam’s face was gleaming and her smile was about to turn into a chuckle: “You wouldn´t be annoyed?”
“I wouldn´t,” Edwar said.
“Is that a promise?”
“It´s a promise.”
Miriam got tears in her eyes, when she looked at his tattered slippers.
“Yousif told me, that a part of Darwin’s theory confirms, that any disused organ in the body will deteriorate and gradually become extinct. Edwar’s slippers prove the opposite. They´ve deteriorated from too much use. So the theory doesn´t hold.”
Everyone burst out laughing, except Edwar, who was stunned.
“Look at Yousif.” Mona cried. “All he´s good at, is conspiring with her.”
Edwar’s astonishment soon turned into a state of reverie. He frowned, while looking at noone in particular. Gradually, his illusions became a reality. He was seized by a need to say whatever came to his mind:
“As to my strange my slippers, I agree with you, but allow me first to smoke this cigarette, which is as unusual as my slipper and has many secrets. You may 444 /it)them?) wonder where I got them… I`ll tell you about that, but later. For now, I can tell you I, that got them from people , who don’t like thick slippers. Their floors are smooth like glass, no dirt hurting their feet. Why I´m wearing my slippers tonight, is to tell my friend Sami a secret. I thought, that if he doesn’t believe my secret, he may believe it after seeing these unique slippers of mine with his own eyes, because they could only have been made in outer space under conditions of nil gravity and other conditions, which we know nothing about.”
Everyone laughed looking at each other, while Edwar took some cigarettes out of his pocket.
“D´you want to smoke?” he asked. “They´re excellent cigarettes. I brought them from “there” too and I´ve had them for a long time. One is in need of comfort and relaxation. I gave one to a friend, before coming here. As soon as he had finished smoking one, he burst out laughing, rolling on the floor. He couldn’t speak, but pointed at a minaret. He managed to say, while pointing at the minaret: “Look, an inside-out well!”
The laughter escalated at this image, while Edwar went on:
“Two days ago, when I came home, the three guys I´m living with were smoking these cigarettes. They didn’t get them from THERE. They must´ve stolen them from me. Anyway, their wild laughter shook the entire house. Their eyes were filled with tears, their faces and ears red. They couldn´t talk, while pointing at a wretched slipper, which was upside down… In fact, it was funny. Yet, I laughed a a lot that day.. We all kissed the slipper and laughed, because we didn´t want to hurt its feelings. We said to it: -We don’t mean to offend you. We just laughed innocently.- But the slipper was angry and hid under the chair.”
“Did it get there on its own or did you kick it under the chair?” Yousif asked maliciously.
“It left on its own accord, slipping, as if on a banana peel, as it went.”
“Slipping?”
“Yes, slipping. I saw it slip with my own eyes. A friend sitting next to it said he heard it slip.”
“How?” Miriam cried cheerfully.
“Like that… ” Edwar mimicked the sound.
Yousif burst out laughing, slapping his forehead and encouraging Edwar to go on. Mona was worried about Edwar´s state of mind.
“I don’t know,” she whispered to her elegant colleague, “whether this delirium is because of the hashish he´s smoking or whether he has lost his mind. He´s going through a difficult time emotionally.”
“I agree,” the elegant lady whispered back. “Since that night at the party, I´ve felt he´s going through a great deal. His bad mood and excessive drinking, incoherent speech and the way he watched his wife.”
“Did you notice all that?” Mona asked.
“Especially his conduct towards that poor old man,” the beautiful lady whispered.
“He wasn’t like that before. He used to be a respectable man, but quite sensitive.” Mona said. “One was never bored in his company. He´s a close friend. Sami loves him like a brother and says he´s a master of conversation,” Mona added.
Suddenly Edwar got up from his chair and began vehemently to say things noone understood.
“Yes, I´ll do what the Englishman did. Have you heard about him? Have you heard about him, mr. Kamil? You must all´ve read about him…about his crime. Only it wasn’t a crime. All he did was set fire to his wife and her lover, after pour a gallon of pertol over them. Sooner or later, I´ll avenge for my tormented soul and the pain of the destructive jealousy, which I´m suffering from.”
Kamil tried to conceal his discomfort and whispered to Sami:
“Here he goes again. I feel sorry for him. but I´m not taking any insults from him.”
“He´s our friend,” Sami whispered back. “He´s ill and we must bear over with him.”
“You´re always so kind Sami. I wish I were like you,” Kamil whispered.
Sami pressed Kamil’s hand, as if to say: “Never mind.”
Edwar seemed to be on his way out, but then he walked over to the old woman and knelt down in front of her, kissing her feet.
“You´re the goddess of fidelity,” he said in a flood of tears. “You´re her symbol on Earth. Earth created only a few of you, maybe one in a million.”
“My son,” the old woman said gently. “You´re torturing yourself. Is there no end to your suffering?”
Kamil felt it necessary to leave. He took the opportunity to excuse himself, saying he had much unfinished work at home. Edwar sat down, after this interruption, his head lowered for some time. He kept smoking fiercely. Then he addressed Sami in a low controlled voice.
“May I have a private word with you, dear friend?” he said.
“Let’s go to my study,” Sami answered.
Sami felt sure, that Edwar needed medical care unless his delirium was because of alcohol or hashish.
“Listen, Sami,” Edwar began, “You´re my best friend. That´s why I´m going to tell you a secret. You know the difference between reality and superstitious imagination. I feel, that you´ll believe what I´m about to tell you. It`s not about the things I´ve been accused of, that I`m imagining unreal things. But about something very dangerous, that is, my departure from your planet forever. I´m not talking about suicide. I want to leave you all and never return. Be sure, my dear friend, I have not meant to desert you out of boredom in this modern society, where love and fidelty can no longer be found, but my staying here will come to an abrupt end. I´ll explain, since you don’t seem to have understood anything. Your eyes say so or maybe, my dear friend, you too keep mocking me and think I`m hallucinating or have lost my mind. Anyway, this no longer affects me. The question is, if you can talk to your mother and ask her to come with me.”
Edwar was under the influence of hashish, but his delirium was a result of a fever, that seized him again, like the one he had suffered right after the great shock.
Sami decided to try to help him relax:
“Take my mother with you?” he asked. “Where and why?”
Edwar answered:
“Listen, my dear Sami, I`m an open person, I don’t like beating about the bush…I want to say, that your mother’s fidelity to your father, has made her a symbol of true love and sincerity. These rare adjectives are sacred to me. I want to marry your mother and go away with her for good.”
Sami couldn’t control himself and burst out laughing. Before he could react, Edwar yelled:
“It´s not a joke, Sami, please, I mean it. If you think I´m mad, you´re wrong. Sami, I must marry your mother, but d´you think it could happen just like that?”
“How?” Sami asked having gained control of himself.
“First I´ll make her younger,” Edwar whispered.
Now Sami laughed wholeheartedly: “How´re you going to do that?”
Edwar was confused, for how come a scientist didn´t understand that?
“D´you think I`m going to chop her into pieces?” he asked, “or maybe put her on a photocopy machine and reduce her? No, my dear, nothing like that, but I´ve got a date with extremely advanced scientists. I´ll take your mother to them and they´ll bring her back to her youth. These scientists were born during the first lifecycle on Earth, which you describe in your book, but they left in their flying saucers to search for other civilizations. They lived in space for some time. When they returned, they found, that the Earth had preceded them by a few thousand years, so it became impossible for them to settle here. They returned to outer space. Now and then, they visit us to supervise the development of mankind. Now, they´re in the second lifecycle and, if mankind reaches their level of development, they´ll return to live here. Your book confirms what I´m saying. So, you should be able to accept what I´ve said about your mother. If you only knew how advanced the machines they´ve got in their spaceships are.Their equipment can blow one’s mind. I had a strange encounter with them, which I must tell you about before leaving. You must make your mother go with me. I´ve got to marry her. She´s so unique. She must get her youth again. They can do it. They can do anything. They can create a living cell chemically. I´ve seen it with my own eyes. They said: “We´ll direct all the elements, that have influenced a cell during two million years into a brief space of time, not more than a few days.” They transform it into an indefinite form. I don’t know how to describe it to you. Incredible… Did you ever see incredible things? You must believe me, I´d be the happiest man, if I could marry your mother. She would never betray me. But before we leave, I want everybody to hear my story.”
Now Sami became uneasy, because of Edwar’s mental state and said:
“I don’t mind that, but please don’t tell my mother you want to marry her.”
“Why? Are you against it? O.k.,I understand. I´ll only tell my story about the flying saucer. I´ll propose to her later, when we´re alone. It´s best to prepare her and not shock her.”
Edwar rose and went with Sami to the sitting room to join the others.

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
The old lady stopped talking, when Sami and Edwar entered the sitting room. They seemed to have been discussing Edwar’s mental state, which had become the centre of everyone’s conversation of late.
“Answer me all of you,” Edwar said, without any introductory remarks. “I´ve got a question and it has to do with a secret. The time has come for you to know. Answer me. What, if a man, who lived at the same time as Jesus Christ said to people, who´re still using donkeys as means of transport, that a day would come, maybe in two thousand years, when people could travel from one place to another in a few hours, regardless of the distance; that they´d be sitting in very large rooms made of metal, like that used for knives, armours and horseshoes; that the room could easily contain three hundred people or more? People would enter this room and fly so high, that the mightiest of eagles couldn´t reach them. In ten minutes they´d cover a distance, we´d only be able to cover in a month on foot. What would people´ve thought about someone, who told such a story? Would they´ve said he´s a trustworthy person with wide imagination or a madman?” Edwar answered his own question, as nobody answered, If this person was amiable and funny, they´d no doubt consider this as a joke. If the person was a dreamer, introvert or a philosopher, people would no doubt think, that this poor man was going mad. And then they would start being on their guard, so his words would be understood in different ways. They would start exaggerating his behaviour and speech. Even his past words would be embellished to suit their aims…This would happen spontaneously, as if by a agreement. Gradually, the wretched man would turn into a madman in everybody´s eyes.”
The elegant lady looked kindly at Edwar and said:
“Only a crazy person would´ve tried to explain things like that to a herd of stupid sheep.”
“Oh, what a thing to say!” Edwar said trembling. “Have you forgotten, that Sami has written a book about a product of his scientific mind?”
The elegant lady blushed, as if caught red handed for being rude.
“Excuse me,” she said. “I didn’t mean it that way!.. I…I was trying to say, that people were not educated enough to understand such ideas at that time. A thinker shouldn´t have burdened them beyond their information level. Modern people differ from people of the past, as to awareness and education. We accept new ideas. The constant phone calls to Sami are the biggest proof. Forgive me, my dear Sami, for saying this. I´d never want to offend you in any way.”
“I didn´t find your words offending,” Sami answered to ease her embarassment. “Edwar was joking. Why worry? Even if the ideas in my book don´t mean anything to ordinary people of limited education, they´ll not be alien to philosophers. The learned will not accuse me of insanity, since we now live at an age of advanced technology, for example computers, and not two thousand years ago. To tell you the truth, I wouldn´t mind being accused of insanity, because when philosophers or an artists are accused of madness or strange behaviour, the accusation is a testimony to their genius and creativity, ha…ha… ha. Then, why be afraid of adjectives like that?”
“You deserve to be called a genius.” Edwar yelled. “Yet, I disagree with your views about people, because people are just people and haven´t changed since ancient times; they´re still like sheep. The only difference is, that intellectuals have increased in number. Listen. I`ll go straight to the point, because I´ve prepared my introduction. Don´t be astonished, I want to tell you, that I´ve lived before this life and civilization, but not the way your thought your mother meant. I was not reincarnated. But I´ve continued to live for two thousand years at least, if your chronology is accurate.”
Edwar was bathed in sweat, his lower lip trembling. This was not because of their doubts about his mental state, but because of his strong belief, that he was revealing a secret so real and had had to keep it for too long. He was sure they would believe him and become interested, once they knew the facts. He added with delight:
“It´s a long and strange story, how I´ve managed until now. Some may think it is a foolish lie, but d´you know Einstein´s theory?”
Edwar directed this question to the elegant lady.
“I´m aware of it and understand a bit,” she answered abruptly.
“A bit?” Edwar asked with gleaming eyes. “You said a bit! Then I doubt you´ll believe my story.”
“You´re deviating from the essence of your story,” Sami´s mother said. “Come on, Edwar, tell us the whole thing.”
Edwar looked happy: “I`ll begin with the essence now… mmediately. By the way, I´ve prepared a surprise for you to prove my point. an exquisite surprise in skill and there isn’t anything like it on Earth.”
“Did you spend most of your life in outer space?” Yousif asked cheerfully.
“Shut up, Yousif,” Edwar hissed. “Don’t meddle. You´re still too young!”
“What are you carrying?” Miriam asked smiling, “Definitely not your slippers or your cigarettes?”
“Neither. Edwar answered. The instrument I´m carrying is incredible. It performs magic. It can challenge scientists, if they try to copy it on planet Earth, because the conditions on Earth inhibit us as to everything above. I got this from friends you´re unaware of. They´ve won over the laws of life on Earth and use them for their own end, but I´ll reveal the secret immediately after finishing my talk. Then you`ll know my words are true.”
“I don’t think he has any instrument or does he?” Mona whispered in the elegant lady’s ear.
“D´you believe this crab?” the elegant lady whispered back.
“No, of course not.” Mona said.
“Then why ask?” the elegant lady sniggered.
Edwar continued his speech:
“Some two thousand years ago…I see you´re smiling, Miriam and you too Sami. Oh, Sami!I thought, that even if the entire world disblieved and mocked me, you´d be the only one left to listen to me.”
“I´m listening, Edwar. My smile doesn´t mean I´m mocking you. Sometimes it pleases one to smile, because of something, that suddenly comes to my mind,.” Sami explained.
“Anyway,” Edwar went on, “what matters to me, is to share my secret with you. Listen. When I was twenty one years old, I was the son of a wealthy and well known trader. I used to live with my father and his wife. My mother died, when I was seven. My father’s house was large and in the centre of the city. Our cities weren’t like modern cities. It was small, similar to our present villages, but that´s not the main thing.”
“So?” Miriam asked. “What´s the point? You haven´t got to the point yet, so you´ll have to excuse me, because I´m go to bed now.”
Edwar sounded offended:
“You make me forget my train of thought. Please bear with me for a few minutes… But I must tell the truth. Without an introduction, the story´ll not be true. Please listen. My dear friends, I had a brilliant mind and a piercing eye, that could penetrate the minutest details.”
Yousif chuckled.
“Huh, Yousif,” Edwar said, “you´re laughing too! Did I say anything funny?”
“Never mind those two,” Mona said.
“Laugh as much as you want to, Yousif,” Edwar said listlessly and continued:
“Yes, friends, I weighed things on special scales, like those for weighing gold. I spoke little, but listened a lot and I stammered, when I talked. Why I don’t stammer now, is another story not relevant to what I´m going to tell you and I´ll return to it later. I was extremely introvert. I didn´t realize, that keeping myself in a shell and not mixing much with people, was the cause of that damned stammer, which often made me anxious and embarrassed and I was often the laughing stock among people, whose hearts can only be filled with happiness at the expense of others. My stammer made me forget words and shyness increased my anxiety. I forgave outwardly, but not within me. I became rebellious, vindictive, enraged and cursed a lot, in spite of my serene features and timid smile and those, who laughed at me were sometimes ashamed. I thought a lot, but ate little, which gave me sunken cheecks. I was pale and extremely slim. Any changes in the weather affected me. Once I fell from the back of a horse, broke my legs and fractured some bones. This affected my walk. This has all vanished and my stammer too. My poor state aggravated my father. He was ashamed of me. He kept lamenting his bad fortune both at home and at the council of the elders, common at that time. They shared his misfortunes, as if I were suffering from insanity. They expressed their deep sympathy, since I was his only son.
“It is your destiny,” they said, “God has written this for you.”
One day, we left in a convoy for a distant city, where my father was going to trade. Our convoy consisted of thirty men. I was one of them, as I had begged my father to be allowed to join them. Five days and five nights passed, before I heard the guide say to the group:
“We´re approaching the city; it´s two days and a night away.” It was then, that I told them, that in the future, it would become much easier for mankind to make such long journeys.
“How?” they asked.
I told them about flying rooms with three hundred people in them, crossing the same kind of distance we´d been through in a few minutes, the same idea I told you about a while ago. What were they to think of a lad, who told them a story like that, after the long and exhausting walk they had been through? They didn´t at all accept him as a soothsayer or a genius. My words sounded strange in their ears, even beyond any dreams reflecting reality, inspired by the past or the future. Even if they were to imagine the future, their imagination was incapable of weaving anything so distant from the immediate future, similar to their current existence with minor developments, assuming they had any dreams about development and progress.”
“Now he´s philosophizing, but we thought he was drunk,” Miriam whispered to Yousif.
“The only thing these men could do,” Edwar said, “was to lament my state and my father’s misfortune. I stopped talking and realized, that I had erred in saying these things to the group. Later, they began to mock me and make fun of what I said, reshaping the story in the process. As I said before, people haven’t changed at all. Your great imaginative scientific ideas, if told to simple, uneducated people, still get the same treatment as mine at that time. However, the level of awareness of this herd has developed because of general developments, that have affected everyone and made the vision I had two thousand years ago, acceptable and normal in our present condition. Your book, The Dilemma of Mind and Machinery deals with the end of the world. Your vision is beyond people’s comprehension and can in no way be understood, even by many thinkers, because the majority of them are fettered by rules and traditions they believe in, so they find great difficulties in supporting new thoughts.”
Edwar looked first at the elegant lady, then at Sami and went on:
“The fact, that people in general don´t understand you, doesn´t mean you´re mad.”
The elegant lady blushed:
“I´m sorry, very sorry,”she said.
“I told you Edwar likes joking,” Sami said, “so please don’t be embarrassed.”
“Huh… Edwar,” Miriam interrupted in a comforting tone. “You´re diverging from your story again.”
Edwar returned to his story:
“I explained to them the future means people would use for transport. They looked at me, as if something was wrong. Later, I gave them more insight into the future and then they were in no doubt, that I was sane. I said, that the Earth is not flat, but round and swirled around in space. Even if one of them may have shared my beliefs, he didn´t support me, for fear of being accused of madness. Some time later, this idea came in verse form. People memorized it, without understanding any of it. The verse said: “God extends the north to the void and suspends the Earth into nothingness. Also: “Who do you liken to God, he who sits on the Earth globe?” The verse stated -Earth globe- and not the -straight and flat earth-. I know who the person was, who supported my idea. Those, who wrote it down claimed these were God´s words. Everything labelled as God’s words, is accepted without objections and never mocked, even if people don´t understand any of it.”
Mona´s curiosity was awakened:
“How did you know the Earth was round and suspended in space, when all other people, including scientists believed until recently, that it was flat?”
“Right,” Miriam said. “How did you know?”
“I knew someone was going to ask about this.” Edwar said proud. “It´s simple: I used to sit in the desert all night and stare at the moon and thought it was another Earth. I didn´t know if our Earth was bigger or smaller than the moon or the same size. The sun also seemed round at sunsets. That’s what made me think, that the round shape is a special characteristic in space. In space you don´t see different shapes, a triangular or cubic or multi sided.”
“Precisely.” Sami said, “Everything in the universe is round and swimming in space. Why wouldn´t Earth be like that too? Scientists realized this only recently.”
The elegant lady asked Sami:
“Why are all the stars and planets round?”
“This is proof, that the planets resulted from a big bang, with matter scattering everywhere like diminishing droplets. Droplets are always round in shape. The moon and the Earth both cooled down. They are two droplets in a vast space, but Edwar, let´s hear the rest of your ideas.”
“These are not merely ideas woven by my imagination,” Edwar objected, “but a reality, that has been experienced. It´s as if you don´t believe my words. However, I´ll go on to clear your doubts. I began to fear people and avoid them as much as possible and would often hide myself in a cave. I became accustomed to my solitude and cut all communication with people and didn´t want to be seen by anyone. I survived by hunting rabbits and birds. At that time, we had several easy ways of hunting them. I used to lay wooden traps for them, put those in small holes and cover them with a thin layer of earth. I made about fifty traps. Not a day passed, without one or two rabbits being caught in the traps, sometimes birds. I made other traps of horsetail hair. My catch was more than what I needed, so I built wooden cages to save my meals for future need.
I lived like this for two years, until one day the unexpected happened. I never imagined anything like that and for a long time, it felt like a dream. I was terrified and cried:
“No, this can´t be real!”
Panicstricken, I asked God to help me, as most people do, when in danger. Like most people, I believed in God, but didn´t care much about him… Listen to me, dear Sami, listen to me everyone. What I want to say is very dangerous. It´s the ultimate proof of your scientific vision and the accuracy of your theory. Please, I´m not flattering you. I only want to support your theory. In your book, you´ve written what I´ve wanted to say. Could I have a bottle of beer, please. I´m terribly thirsty.”

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
Yousif brought Edwar a bottle of chilled beer. He drank half of it at once and went on talking. Now, everyone listened with interest:
“How did the ideas of -Dilemma of Mind and Machinery- deal convincingly with the mystery of flying saucers, without mentioning them? I´ll explain that later.
I said before, that a strange and surprising thing happened to me, while I was alone in the desert. One clear and dark night, a new star, which I hadn´t seen before, appeared in the sky. Gradually, it became clearer. In one minute, this star looked like a huge dome hovering soundlessly a few hundred metres over my head. I was panicstricken and numb from fear of this huge thing above my head. Indeed, even my mind at the time was contemplating deeper issues, than the other people used to have. Although I had described to them the idea of a big room containing two or three hundred people taking off into the sky, I became terrified, when this new thing appeared. I hadn´t expected anything like that. It had never occurred to me nor had I anticipated it. Naturally, I froze in my steps and my eyes were mesmerized. Suddenly, I felt as light as a feather. Then I began to fly gently, as if magnetized. I was wearing one shoe, because I had been trying to repair the other one with glue I found on treetrunks by the cave, where I used to live in seclusion and where there were several trees, a deep well and a rock. I had put my shoe under the rock for the glue to adhere properly. I was sure I was on my way to meet God. This idea occurred to me spotaneously. I don’t know why and it was on my mind for only a few seconds. I was extremely embarassed having to meet God wearing only one shoe. What would the angels say? My clothes were patchy and dirty!”
Edwar´s audience broke out in laughter. Miriam and Yousif couldn´t stop laughing. They even guffawed. Edwar didn´t show any discomfort at this. He continued in the same tone:
“While worrying about this, I reached the opening of a space ship, which shut its gate immediately, when I entered. I found myself inside a glass box. It moved upwards, like an escalator, finally stopping. There was a huge door in front of the box. I thought, that a surprise must be awaiting me behind it and I was right. The door opened and a group of people sitting in chairs, as if in a small cinema, were looking at me. One of them even smiled kindly to me. They looked like us. The only difference was, that they were smaller. The men had arms simillar to a gentle lady. The palms of their hands were beautiful and soft and had evidently not made any hard manual work. Their teeth looked like cartilage, I would not be wrong in saying, that they were unable to chew well cooked meat. Their eyes were wider than ours and more beautiful. Their clothes differed from mine. Mine were quite loose and very very dirty. My shoe looked like a rock, about ten kilograms in weight. It had a very strange and asymmetrical shape, a suitable subject for painting. If Van Gogh or Picasso had seen it, they´d no doubt have been inspired by it. Their clothes were tight, like a second skin. I wonder how they got into them. I thought they might have tailored and sitched them straight onto their bodies. Not a single one was obese. All of them had a beautiful figure with waists similar to a beautiful and slim bee. Seeing a difference between a female and a male was difficult. The women’s hips were not as wide as our women have. Their breasts were just protrusions of their nipples. Anyway, while I was staring at them in fright, I noticed one of them toying with a board covered by buttons and suddenly the glassbox rose from the floor. It settled smoothly on a table in front of these beings.
Later, I found out, that their movements, were controlled by a magnetic force. Listen!
When the glassbox had settled gently on the table, they remained frightfully silent and kept on staring at me. One of them kept staring at my shoe. I blushed from embarrassment. I pulled my foot up and hid it beneath my wide frock. Realizing my embarrassment, the man smiled to me as if saying: “Don’t worry about your shoe. It´s how you live.” My confusion reached a stage, where I almost screamed and wept from fear and anxiety. They calmed me down and eased my mind quite easily in a very unexpected way. A wonderful scent, like jasmin, flowed into the glass box. The man at the board was fiddling with some buttons. My fears and anxiety faded and I calmed down. My mood cleared so much, that I considered jesting with them, when one of them addressed me much to my amazement in my own language or rather, I thought he did. I discovered much later, that none of them could speak it, yet, everything happened with ease.They sent me some vibrations from above, which I hardly felt. They read and analyzed my thoughts and language, because during these moments, I was no doubt thinking and of course one can´t think, without a language. They deciphered my language fully. When their leader addressed me, their computer picked up the vibrations of his words and translated them into my language.”
Edwar stopped talking, absorbed in his own thoughts.
The old woman asked him what was the reason for his silence.
“Forgive me,” he said. I´ll leave the subject for a while. A question came to me, because I realized, that one can´t think without a language. I wonder how deaf and dumb people think, those who´ve never known a language? Is it done by signals? What, if a person was born deaf and dumb and limbless and couldn´t not know sign language? How is that person able to think? Is it wishful thinking? Wishing also needs a language, whether it´s signs or words. So, when wishing something, we must be thinking. For instance, if he or she is thirsty, – do they imagine water? And if cold, would they imagine flames or a coat. These wretched beungs´fantasies must be like that. Or, what do you think? Oh…what if in addition to such disabilities, a person is also blind? He´d not be familiar with an image of for example fire or things. How can he imagine and think?”
“You leave nothing for creatures like that, mr. Edwar,” the elegant lady said with a wide grin. “You have stripped them of all their senses, but want them to think and search for a language. What´s left for you to ask is: “Can a dead person think?”
Sami asked Edwar to return to the original subject:
“I understand you. There must be a special langauge for thoughts. But leave that for now and carry on, please. What did the leader of the flying saucer say, when he addressed you?”
“Yes, my God,” Mona said eagerly. “What did the crew say to you? I´ve read true stories about people, who´ve been kidnapped by flying saucers and returned to Earth, but no one believes what they say. I´ve read a great deal about them; perhaps you´re one of them.”
Yousif was getting tired:
“Let´s listen to the rest of the story. What did they tell you in the flying saucer?”
Edwar continued:
“The captain addressed me very politely, as if well versed in our traditions. In an amiable and sweet tone he said:
“My honourable sir, please accept from us, a group of researchers, our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience we´ve caused you. We´d like you to know, that now you´re experiencing reality, not a dream. We´re very sorry for confining you to such a glassbox, but it´ll not take long. This is just a preventative measure to protect us from the pollution, that has affected your environment on Earth. We´ll bring you back soon. You´re our very dear guest.”
Edwar said to his listeners:
“Imagine, he emphasized, that I was polluted by contamination from our environment at that time, even if there was no industry or atomic production. We only had donkeys and mules. A civilization existing before us had polluted the Earth. This was beyond my imagination. Had he said they detained me temporarily to clean my body, I´d have understood. But back to my story.
The captain and most of them left, but I remained there with one man, a famous biologist, who began to speak to me. I understood, that they were studying humanity on Earth. I was chosen, for my mind was noticeably advanced and different from the rest. This had made them select me to carry out certain tests, in order to find out reasons for differences in people’s minds or whether there were any differences. If there are differences in people’s minds, they wanted to find out, if they´re biological or social, irrelevant of evolution, for evolution is a very slow process and affects everyone almost equally. When I asked him how they knew my thoughts were deeper than other people’s thoughts, he said:
“It´s hard for you to understand, even if I´d explain it. Alhough your mind is developed to the level of someone living two thousand years from now, you´re quite ignorant. It would be very difficult for you to understand how our equipment works and how we transmit signals. We´ll discuss this later, after preparing you. That´s not difficult, since our equipment is quite senstive and can illuminate your mind with modern data, which you can store. We´ll do that to inform you about our knowledge, but not before our preventative measures and tests.”
Then he added:
“By the way, would you be kind enough to give me your shoe. I want it as a souvenir. I collect old and unique things.” I took my shoe off and waved it from inside the glassbox, although I needed it. Please don´t laugh. Miriam, you give me a headache with your giggles. I´m telling you a true story. In those days, we were extremely generous.
When the biologist saw my shoe in my outstretched hand, he said: -Not now, my dear.
Don’t be frightened of it.” I said to him. “It is just like any other shoe.”
-Not now, he repeated. -Not before carrying out the tests and sterilizing the thing. Your planet is dangerously contaminated by destructive rays, that pollute everything, in particular your shoe.-
Shut up Yousif and listen. He said to me. -You´ll first recognize these rays thousands of years from now.- Later I learnt, that our bodies adapt to this. One of the signs was the fall in life expectancy. In the civilization before us, the average life expectancy was three hundred years. Think of what will become of mankind, if this goes on. I guess, that in the third life cycle on Earth, man will reach old age at twenty. In the following cycle, life on Earth will be extinct, including that of plants. Earth will become like the moon and other planets unsuitable for life. At that time this didn´t make sense to me. Edwar went on: “He said to me: -I know you don´t understand much of this, but later you will.-
“Those are my father’s words,” Miriam said.
“Leave it, Miriam,” Sami said. “Edwar has a lively imagination. Heh, what comes next, Edwar?”
“Indeed,” Edwar stressed, “the idea is part of that of your book -Dilemma of Mind and Machinery,- but what I said is real. Be proud of your father, for he was the first to understand this. My story is a proof of the accuracy of his theory.”
The old woman had listened in silence, but now she said:
“If there really was a flying saucer and astronauts.”
“You don´t believe my story,” Edwar muttered timidly.
“Don’t let my opinion bother you,” she answered. “I´m a simple person and don´t have your imagination, but I guess anything is possible.”
Edwar continued:
“They disinfected my clothes and my body, freeing ithose from disease and radiation. Everything was carried out with great skill and in a very short time. I had been suffering from mental and physical problems, but they healed me. What joy and happiness I felt, when I could talk with them, without stammering and my injured leg healed. It was a medical miracle. They mended my fractured bones at an incredible speed. They gave me clothes, that were different from both theirs and mine. When I asked, they said they were like those for people living on Earth at the present. There were two thousand years, since they kidnapped me in the desert and they had taken some clothes from a man living on Earth now. He had to run home naked.”
Mona interrupted:
“What did you say? Please repeat what you said. I read a story like that in a magazine specializing in flying saucers. It´s a true story. If this man was your size, I´ll believe you. He was an American farmer. The story didn´t describe the colour and style of his clothes, but I´ll try and find that out. If it matches your description then…my God!..you´re telling the truth. Did you perhaps read the story about this man in the magazine “UFO?”
“No,” Edwar answered, “I´ve never heard of that magazine.”
“I´ll send it to you. And I´ll find out for myself. They didn’t describe his clothes. Had they done that, I wouldn´t believe you. I´d think you had read the same story. What colour and style were the clothes the astronauts gave you? I want to find out about this. The farmer was afraid of being accused of madness. That’s how he himself phrased it, but he couldn’t keep it a secret though. Edwar, please describe his clothes.”
“I´ll not only describe his clothes,” Edwar said smiling, “but give them to you. I´ve kept them. Take them, go to America and find the farmer. It can’t be too difficult.”
“Brilliant,” Mona said and clapped her hands. “Oh, Sami, my heart is pounding. We´re close to some truth, we haven´t been able to see.”
After Mona`s reaction, they all, including Miriam and Yousif, asked Edwar with delight to tell them more.
“I was no longer,” he continued, “aware of what happened to my mind. I think they doped me somehow and put me in a machine, which treated me with rays and vibrations. When I woke up, I felt I was a learned person with a great deal of new knowhow. They nourished my brain with new information about the civilzation we´re living in now.”
“Why didn’t they feed your mind with far more developed data than our civilization?” the elegant lady asked.
“Had they done that, I´d be a threat to modern humanity and my mind could be abused.”
“Are you saying,” Miriam asked, “that if my father published a unique theory, it would be taken as a threat to humanity?”
“There´s no threat in your father’s theory,” Mona said. “The atomic bomb is a fact already discovered and nothing in the world is more disgusting.”
Edwar waved his hand:
“Sami’s theory threatens the interests of some nations.”
“How´s that?” Sami muttered with a smile. “Nothing in my theory is threatening.”
“Not directly,” Edwar said, “but some specialists will point out, what parts of challenge the interest of some nations. As a result, wars may break out and destroy humankind.”
“I don´t understand you,” Sami said. “Explain exactly what you mean.”
“What if scientists used your theory to create a new one?” Edwar asked. “If they used it to make gold out of dust? Imagine the catastrophe in international exchange! They burn surplus farm products to keep prices up, in spite of famine in the third world. Nations are sacrificed, because of profit. So, what if it had to do with gold or oil, which rich nations are dependent on?”
“You´re right” Sami muttered in sad voice, while Mona wanted Edwar to go on with his story.
“What happened to you after this?” she asked. “What did they want you to do with a modern mind?”
“They brought me back to Earth and asked me to perform…to perform…no, that´s a secret…they asked me not to…Oh, I´m programmed not to reveal this secret. When I try to talk about it, my memory disappears… one word comes to my mind…what is it?…Bermuda…Bermuda-station…Bermuda… settlement… Bermuda factory.. Bermuda laboratory.”
“Do you mean,” Miriam asked excited, ” that there´s a settlement or a laboratory for leaders of flying saucers under the sea, at the Bermuda Triangle?”
“I don’t know,” Edwar replied absentminded.
“Or is it their factory?” Mona was eager to know.
“It seems,” Yousif said, “that their elders have retreated to an underwater settlement. It´s a safe haven for them.”
Raising her eyebrows, the elegant lady said:
“But they don´t get old in space. They must´ve found this place for those, who tire of life in space, where there´s no death. They probably send them to the Bermuda settlement to enable them to die.
Have your astronauts found creatures on other planets?” Yousif asked.
“Yes,” Edwar replied pleased. “They´ve met intelligent beings on a planet, in a solar system close to ours. They collaborated as a scientific station, communicating with each other. The closest star to us is more than four light years away. It takes about nine years to transmit a letter and receive a reply.”
“So, following up news of the living in other galaxies is impossible,” the elegant lady said.
Sami explained:
“That´s impossible. Travelling at the speed of light, you´d need sixty thousand light years to cut our galaxy by the shortest route, to reach other galaxies and discover other worlds.”
The elegant lady asked:
“Very well, why don´t the astronauts contact us, if they have a different life cycle on Earth? Why don’t they inform us?” 444Are we not part of them?
Edwar answered:
“We´ve got nothing in common. In spite of the respect they expressed, when I was with them, I still felt they looked at us, as if we were monkeys. Besides, why contact us, when they know all about us? They´ve got a screen, where they can watch our mass media productions. When they brought me back to Earth, they said something, which still echoes in my head: -We are sending you on a mission to a world, that has no moral conscience.- They know everything about us and understand us better than we understand ourselves. There´s no problem, gap or difficulty they can´t see. They carried out a simple calculation and found out the exact time and date, when the moon will collide with Earth. The moon will collide with Earth, as it can´t continue to orbit it forever, as we believe it will. They know the exact second, when other planets will collide with each other or be consumed by the sun. I witnessed there with my own eyes, the Sun having two movements and the Earth having a fourth movements, whose direction and motion we´re not aware of. If not for that movement, we´d have collided with the Sun long ago. But this movement slows gradually down, There are incredible things no one on Earth knows about. The moon rotates on its own axis once every forty hours. I saw films about the movement of the moon, which showed it becoming completely stationary with only one side visible. The last rotation seemed like a watch pendulum rotating from west to east, but before completing it, returned to move from east to west, also without that rotation being completed. After millions of such spasmodic motions, it gradually stops. In due time, the moon rotates around the Earth once every two months and then once every three months. It´ll continue like that, until the Earth’s gravity overwhelms the fourth developing movement, which we know nothing about. Then the moon collides with Earth. It´s now at the last stages of its course. They built their conclusions on a scientific basis, which I´ll not bore you with. Listen to something else. We know, that days on Earth are twenty four hours, but the same time is for the crew of a flying saucer seventeen hours. How could I´ve got this information, hadn’t I lived with them?” Edwar seemed to be angry, when he said this. His lips quivered but he continued:
“My story´s real. But in spite of everything, I´ll burn him. I´ll burn him, before all this happens. He has cheated my wife, as if all the women he´s had aren´t enough for him.”
He began talking wildly and beating his chest hysterically. His friends were shocked and looked at each other wondering, if it was a mad spell. Sami rushed to him to calm him down. But Edwar had lost his self control. He was on his way out, pointing at them:
“He stole her from me, but I´ll burn him. I need nobody. I saw Kamil in the bedroom with my wife. I´ll kill him…for sure…for sure.”
He rushed out. Sami followed him. Mona waved her hands in confusion:
“My God,” she said, “what´s going on? Why was he suddenly so angry? The alien´s programming of his brain must´ve gone wrong. The astronauts are probably watching him fearing, that he´ll reveal their secrets. Now I believe his story.”
“Mam,” Miriam said, “It’s mere fiction. Most of what he said, was taken from my father’s book.”
“He was telling the truth,” Mona said, but they must´ve confused him or maybe put a virus in his brain. Haven’t you heard of computers infected by viruses? His condition is like that of a computer. Besides, what about the story about the person, who was kidnapped by the flying saucer and returned to Earth naked? He has never read this story and the UFO is a respectful magazine, which doesn´t publish fiction. Everything it publishes undergoes scientific tests.”
Sami returned to the lounge, as he hadn´t been able to reach Edwar.
“His mental state worries me,” he said to his mother.
“I fear he might do some harm to himself and others.” The old woman said anxiously.
“D´you think he may harm Kamil?” Mona asked.
Yousif muttered, winking to Miriam.
“Let´s hope he waits, till after the publication of the interview.
“That´s enough! Say no more,” Mona said.
“My dear Sami,” his mother said, “I know you´re busy, but you must tackle these two rivals. They´re among our closest friends. Their fight bothers me.”
Sami didn´t agree:
“That´s not the problem. Edwar is ill and must be helped. Kamil didn´t quarrel with him and has nothing to do with this. Edwar didn´t only blame Kamil, but all of us, as the old man said. But I´ll warn Kamil and ask him to be careful, if he meets him. We´ve got to talk to Laila. She must change her attitude and take care of him. That´s her duty.”
At the back of his mind, Sami felt that Laila was not innocent and had something to do with what was happening to her husband. He decided to visit her the following day and discuss it with her.

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
The old man, who was eager to know about everything in Sami’s household, soon got a description of what went on that day, begining with the flying saucers, which Edwar claimed had kindnapped him and ending with his threats to burn Mr Kamil. Yousif told him about it the same night.
Half an hour after Edwar’s departure, the elegant lady made her excuses and left. Yousif too, but met the old man at the bus stop on his way to town. The old man was very curious and listened with extreme interest. Edwar’s threat to burn Kamil interested him especially and a certain idea started developing in his mind. He said to Yousif:
“I don’t think Edwar would do such a thing. Do you? He must be mad. You´ve got to warn mr. Kamil. He may not set him alight, but may rip his head open with an axe.”
Yousif answered confidently:
“I´m afraid Edwar really meant what he said. I don’t think he´ll rip his head open with an axe, since the idea of setting him alight seized him, while he was ill. He´ll probably kill him in flames. He may have been spying on him for some time, prepared a gallon of petrol and hidden it somewhere, where Kamil goes often. No doubt Kamil frequents a certain remote place he likes. Everyone has such a place of solitude. He may take him by surprise. Yet, Kamil is strong enough to defend himself. In which case, Edwar may threaten him with a sharp axe and injure his legs, to prevent his escape and then pour petrol over him and set him alight. He would surely be burnt to death. That is my view, anyway.”
Later, the old man went to Kamil’s house. It was past midnight. When Kamil saw him, he became furious. The old man tried to calm him:
“It´s extremely urgent,” he said, “or I wouldn’t be here. Aren’t you going to ask me in or are you going to leave me standing on the doorstep like a beggar?”
“Just tell me what you want and get out of my sight at once,” Kamil hissed. “I´m not alone. I warned you not to come here again, no matter what!”
“How are we to meet then?” the old man asked.
“I´ll come to your dirty place, if absolutely necessary,” Kamil said.
“And how am I to inform you about things? Am I to put a note in your postbox?” the old man asked.
Kamil had become red in the face:
“You can phone me,” he said, “without saying anything and put the receiver down. Then I know it´s you and will contact you later.”
“What if it can´t wait?” the old man said.
“I´ll be at your place some minutes after your call. Call me twice consequtively and then hang-up, without saying anything. Out with it now, why are you here? Quick!” Kamil whispered.
“Edwar was hysterical at Sami’s house, lost his mind and began to make threats in front of everyone, said he´s going to kill you, burn you alive. I´m here to warn you,” the old man explained.
“He implied, that, when I was there, without mentioning my name. Then I left and don’t know what happened next,” Kamil said.
“He may take you by surprise and stab you in the heart,” the old man stressed. “Listen, my dear friend, meet me and get your share, when you´ve finished your part of our deal. You´ll never see me again, because I´ll leave the country immediately after that.”
“O.k.,o.k. in spite of everything, I think you´re being fair now. Please go and don’t come here again. I´ll come to you as soon as possible. Agreed?” Kamil said relieved.
“It´s a deal,” the old man answered. However, he didn´t move, but said instead:
“Wait a minute, why are you in such a hurry? What girl is it now? A new one? Or did you succeed in catching the poetess?”
“Shut up, that´s none of your business, dirty old man!” Kamil said angrily.
The old man laughed and left.
————-
Early the next morning, a big black car stopped near Sami’s house. There were four people in it, one with a beard sweeping down to his chest, short hair, small eyes and a flat nose. He kept wiping his lips with a white handkerchief. His clothes were new and ironed, but outdated. His jacket had a waistline and a long slit at the back, which was in fashion twenty years ago. The other one was of medium height, flabby and unshaven. His face was round, his eyes black. If you were to look at him, you would feel his piercing gaze. The whites of his eyes were surrounded by blackness, giving him a frightening countenance. His moustache was long and thick covering his lips, which made one wonder how he managed to eat. He was wearing a black shirt, trousers and a dark green jacket. One look at his pot belly, would conclude, that he had never buttoned a jacket since birth, his stomach so round, that if ever two parallel lines were to meet, the sides of his jacket never would. The third person was a handsome young man, about twenty years old, extremely well and fashionably dressed. His looks were quite startling, dry and fierce. The fourth person was about forty-five years old, also well dressed, but seemed to be very angry, the muscles of his jaws tense. He seemed to be the leader. Outside the car, a man was having a close look at Sami’s garden. He signalled to the driver, who parked the car in front of the house. Suddenly, they covered their faces with masks. When Sami opened the door these men barred his way.
They pushed him into the entrance, while two of them rushed into the sitting room, where the rest of the family was. A stifled cry escaped from Mona, who struck her breast, when she saw the guns. The old woman trembled like a leaf and embraced Miriam,who was also terrified. Sami came into the sitting room accompanied by the other two, his face flushed and frightened. He began to comfort his family:
“Please keep calm,” he said, his voice full of fear. There must be a misunderstanding. I´ll speak to the gentlemen to see what they want.”
“Is anyone else in the house?” the leader of the group barked.
“This is my whole family,” Sami said.
The leader signalled to his companions to make sure no one else was in the house.
“I want to talk to you alone,” he said to Sami. “Ask the rest of your family to go to the other room.”
“Certainly!..Certainly!” Sami said through his clattering teeth.
One of the armed men led the old woman, Mona and Miriam to another room and stood at the closed door staring at them steadily.
“We´re here because of the two interviews, where you discussed your book Dilemma of Mind and Machinery. Isn´t that the title?” the leader asked.
“Yes, it is,” Sami stuttered.
“Have you sent it for publication?” the leader asked.
“No, it´s here,” Sami answered.
“How many copies d´you have?” the man asked.
“Two,” Sami whispered.
“Only two?” the man seemed to be surprised.
“Yes, only two,” Sami said quivering.
“How come you spend half of your life writing a book, but keep only two copies? You must´ve got ten or twenty copies here and some at your friends´ places.”
“Two weeks ago, I only had one copy,” Sami explained, “the one I had typed.”
“If your only copy had been destroyed in an accident,” the leader of the gang said. “Couldn’t it have been the end and the ruin of all the effort of those years?”
“I didn´t think of that,” Sami muttered.
“You´re strange,” the man said smiling. “Are the two copies here?”
“”Why?” Sami asked.
“It´s for me to ask and you to answer,” the man grunted.
“May I know the reason for your visit,” Sami asked.
“You´ll find out…I asked you a question. Are the two copies here?” the man asked again.
“Yes, in my study,” Sami said readily.
“Let’s go to your study then,” the man suggested.
In the study, two copies of the book were on the desk, the one Edwar had returned and Sami´s original one. The leader took them:
“Tell the truth, are these the only copies you possess?” he asked, but didn´t seem to believe Sami.
“Yes,” was Sami´s answer.
“Even if you had more of them…who´d dare publish or translate it?” the man asked mockingly.
“What d´you mean?” Sami asked surprised.
“I mean, mr. Sami, that you´ve offended our sacred beliefs and supported Darwin´s pathetic and idiotic theory and worse still, you filled in the gaps. That´s what you said in the interview and claimed, that Darwin’s theory stops at the form man is in today, while you have brought it to the end, according to your conception. Everything you say in the interview, is a denial of God´s existence and sacred ideologies. You´ve miscredited them. Our superiors decided to destroy your book and put an end to you as a warning to anyone considering publishing or translating your thoughts. May God forgive you.”
As soon as he finished his speech, he pointed a gun with a silencer at Sami’s head and fired twice. Sami fell to the floor covered in blood, choking in stifled words, he was trying to say. A muffled cry was heard from the room, where the rest of the family was kept prisoners. The guard had tied their hands behind their backs and gagged them. The leader picked up the two copies of Sami´s book and said to his men:
“Let’s go! These books must be destroyed.”
And then, quick as a flash, they left. Fifteen minutes later, the leader contacted a police station and the newspaper, claiming responsibility for having assassinated Sami and destriyed his manuscript.
All the newspapers covered the incident from all angles.
The old man and Kamil were deeply shocked, as they had had nothing to do with its planning. Their sorrow was sincere. The old man broke down at the funeral, saying in a sad voice:
“How often I warned him…and told him how unreasonable they are.” His sincere grief was overwhelming him, but he kept hold of himself.
Kamil became anxious, when he heard the old man’s words and thought he might confess having taken part in the plot. He thought about the consequences such a confession could have for him. His heart throbbed, his lips trembled and time seemed endless. But the funeral would soon be over. Several times he patted the old man on the shoulder. He said with pretended calmness:
“Pull yourself together. Sami was dear to all of us.”
Few days after Sami’s death, Kamil´s body was found badly burnt in the forest. The police searched for Edwar, having heard through their interrogations about his mental state and the threats he had made in the presence of his friends to kill Kamil by arson. All the circumstances of the murder were against him. Later he confessed having committed this crime, yet saying, that the only thing he could remember was, that the old man had told him about something burning in the wood and, that he must be the guilty one. This was also confirmed by his lawyer, who pointed at his mental instability during his defence. That was the only way to achieve a mild sentence and reduce the punishment as much as possible. The question was, how Edwar managed to burn Kamil, without there being any evidence of a fight, either on himself or on the body. How could such a thing take place calmly and submissively, especially as there wasn`t any evidence of Kamil having been sedated, before he was put on fire. That question remained unanswered.
In fact, the crime was committed in a very strange way. Just before sunset, the old man had noticed Edwar leaving the forest. He was very sad, lost and confused. This time the cause of his state was not his wife’s betrayal, He was in a shock because of Sami´s death, the kindest and most helpful man he knew. How often had Sami shared his burden and comforted him. How often had he listened to Edwar’s worries and problems with an open heart. At that time, the old man was returning from the city and heading for his hut.
“I don´t want to live here any more,” he said to Edwar, when they met.
Edwar thought he was referring to Sami’s death and said:
“You´ve only known him for two or three weeks, but I´ve known him for many years and I can´t believe I`ll never see him again.”
“That’s right,” the old man muttered. “I got to know him only recently, but he went straight to my heart from the minute he spoke and will remain in my heart forever. Oh, how awful for the family. His mother fell ill and she´s now in a critical condition at the hospital. She may be paralized for the rest of her life. Miriam and Mona are on the verge of a nervous breakdown.”
Suddenly the old man asked:
“For how long have you been strolling in the forest mr. Edwar?”
“Two hours,” Edwar answered. “I felt a severe depression, so I came to ease myself.”
“Was anyone with you?” the old man asked.
“No. Why?” Edwar asked.
“Never mind,” the old man said thoughtfully stroking his beard. “I just wanted to say, that sorrow increases in solitude.”
“You´re right.” Edwar agreed.
The old man muttered to himself: “Brilliant…alone in the forest for the last two hours. Perfect timing. How I wish the other one came here.”
“What´s this?” the old man said suddenly. “D´you smell something burning. A barbeque? Excuse me, Edwar, I must go and see, if some young people have made a fire, the devil´s sons. They should know how dangerous it is to light a fire in a forest, but they´ll never learn, before they´ve burnt it down. I´ll stop them, before they start drinking and playing around.”
He rushed into the wood. Edwar continued walking, believing that something was burning in the forest. However, the old man didn´t go into the forest, but headed straight for the telephone booth and called Kamil’s home. As soon as Kamil picked up the phone, the old man hung up and then repeated the process. He rushed to his hut and fetched a large black plastic bag, which contained something. He left it not far from his hut, in a low area, where a tall rock towered at the top of a slope. He rushed back to his hut and waited for Kamil. Fifteen minutes later, he arrived gasping. He seemed not to have slept much the last few days.
“What´s wrong?” he asked in a low voice, as soon as he entered. “Why did you call?”
“Why are you whispering? We´re alone.” the old man said with cunning and malice.
“Just being careful,” Kamil whispered.
“I was about to ask you, if anyone noticed you coming here,” asked the old man praising him by adding: “and realize, that you´re more cautious than I am!”
The old man repeated his question and thought, that if he had been seen by anyone, it could ruin his plan which had come to his mind fifteen minutes before. But Kamil`s reply reassured him.
“D´you think I´m stupid?” he asked.
“Were you alone at home?” the old man asked.
“Yes, I was,” Kamil answered readily.
“Is your old maid still on holiday?” the old man continued.
“Yes, I´ve prolonged it, because I want to be alone for some time,” Kamil said.
“For how long were you at home today?” was the old man´s next question.
“Since I left the newspaper, about six hours ago,” Kamil answered.
“Did you speak with anyone on the phone or visit a neighbour?” the old man continued.
“Why all these questions!” Kamil now asked surprised. “Don´t worry, I´ve not talked to anyone.”
“Great,” the old man grumbled “Everything´s fine then.”
“What’s the matter? I want to know,” Kamil asked.”
“You´ll find out. Don’t rush me,” the old man said changing the subject.
“What about the man, who made you believe he´s Spanish? Have you seen him again?” the old man wanted to know.
“Oh yah, I met him. You should´ve seen his face, when I told him I´d found out about his trick. Did you call me here to discuss him?” Kamil asked and was getting ill at ease.
“No, no, not at all. I just want you to know, that I´m going to America next week and you´ll never see me again. But before going, I want to settle my debts with you,” the old man explained.
“Settle your debts with me?” Kamil asked anxiously. “What d´you mean?”
“I mean, my dear Kamil, I owe you four hundred thousand dollars and I want to make a payment arrangement with you, unless you want to turn down your share… ha…ha… ha. Anyway, it is your share. I like justice, in spite of my defects.”
The old man was silent for some time and then continued:
“Listen, mr. Kamil, I know Sami´s death has affected you and you didn´t want to cause it. Yet, it´ll make you suffer for a long time. I´m also quite saddened by it, perhaps more than you, for one simple reason, which is, that he was my brother-in-law.”
Kamil´s eyes were wide open:
“What! What did you say?”
“Yes, mr. Kamil…Sami was my brother-in-law. Once I told you, that I know you and you know me too or have you already forgotten? Kamil you haven’t changed at all, neither have I, except for my looks. See, my nose is no longer as long as before. I had it cut…ha…ha…ha…yes I had it made. D´you remember, when you told me, that you´d pay me any amount of money, if I allowed you to hang your jacket on my nose in public? I´m that very person. I was chosen to carry out a certain task, since I´m a native of this country and know its secrets. This mission successed according to plan and without flaws, although they asked me to destroy Sami´s book, but that was not necessary, since sectarian organizations carried it out with skill and precision. They didn´t only do that, but they´ll not hesitate to exterminate any person possessing a copy of the manuscript, for the purpose of translation or publication. Indeed, mr. Kamil, I´ll never forget your graciousness in completing this mission. If it weren’t for you, this operation would´ve been more complicated and might´ve failed. D´you realize, my dear Kamil, that during all the years I spent in America, I dreamt of the moment, when I could confront you!”
Suddenly, the old man pointed a gun at Kamil’s face and brandished a rope, which had been under his chair:
“Lie down on the floor, my dear Kamil,” he said, “Now it´s my turn to have some fun.”
Kamil collapsed from fear. He realized what an awful mistake he had made. He took in the vindictive nature and intricate calculations of his opponent, so he was aware of something bad awaiting him, but he chose not to give him a reson to speed up his end. He had a faint hope, that the old man wouldn´t harm him. After all, he had said, that he wanted to amuse himself. Probably, he just wanted to degrade him. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”
Kamil stretched out on the floor, without any resistance, the gun pointed at his temple. The trigger of a gun was much faster than any move he could make. The old man tied Kamil’s hands behind his back and gagged him to drown his cries. Then he led him to the low ground, where the rock towered. He ordered him to lie down. Kamil thought the old man was going to leave him in the forest for one or two hours at worst and then set him free. After all, the old man had the upper hand and his life was at his mercy.
The old man tied his legs too. Then Kamil 444noticed the petrol can(in the bag???) and was seized by extreme panic. Now he realized, that the old man was not joking or amusing himself by degrading him, but was going to burn him alive. He regretted not having resisted. If he had to die, he´d prefer a bullet to being burnt. The old man looked at him calmly and smiled, while he poured the petrol slowly from the can, which was in the black plastic bag. He soaked Kamil’s clothes, face and hair and the surrounding ground with petrol. Kamil wriggled desperately. When the old man had finished pouring the petrol over him, he bowed to Kamil.
“Soon,” he said in a calm voice, “the entire city will know, that Edwar set fire to you. Didn’t I tell you once, that when I had got rid of Sami, I´d do away with you? He, who tells the truth, no one believes. He, who lies, all believe. Hear the latest joke, before I finish you.Those wretched people, Sami’s family, I mean my sister, her daughter and friends, believed I was a medical student, who later changed course to study law and politics…ha…ha…ha…and didn´t believe, that Sami´d be killed by a sectarian organization. Although, they responded to the thought, they didn´t want to believe it. Isn’t that strange? Indeed, he who speaks the truth, no one believes. D´you know, my dear Kamil, that the monsters on this Earth of ours are plotting to erase the developed countries and their systems. I´m telling you the truth. In fact, the monsters of this Earth will erase from people’s memories the names of all developed nations and their governments and make people imagine their names to be a bad quality biscuit brand. The bosom of a monster is capable of anything, but emotions. I learnt how to live with a monster without emotions. D´you know, that a monster first of all wants people to learn the truth, which he repeats and publishes and then defends openly, while fighting it in secret. Lovers of truth are the last ones to know.”
The old man took a few steps backwards, struck a match and hurled it on Kamil, transforming him into a fireball. Kamil contorted violently, excruciatingly and horribly, suffering, tormented and agonized in the fierce flames, until he was reduced to a black lifeless mass.
——————
A few days before the old man left the city, he had carried out all his plans. The last thing he did was to put a letter in a postbox. It was adressed to the headquarters of the opposition party, who had lost the election, because of the campaign fabricated by their enemies. In it he had enclosed the newspaper chairman´s letter, which he had seized from Kamil. He left, while saying to himself in a voice audible to all:
“A moment of amusement is worth millions of dollars.”
On his way to the city, he saw Edwar taking a seat in a police car. Before it drove away, the old man approached it and looked silently and sadly at him.
“This world lacks a moral conscience,” Edwar said.
“I agree,” the old man muttered quietly.
He turned his back to him and walked away.

The end
Tuesday 30/11/1993
The Dilemma
By: Amer Hussein
Translated from Arabic by:
Lily MR. Al-Tai
Edited by: Maggie O’Bank