Children of Gebelaawi (73 page)

472

A raja

smoke together. Arafa had not been a hashish-smoker before,

but the current ofevents carried him along and tediu m preyed

on him. Even Awaatif learnt these habits. They had to forget

their boredom and fear, their despair and guilt, just as they

had to forget the great hopes of the past. Still, the two men had

work to do but Awaatif had none. She used to eat till she was

sick of eating and sleep till she was weary of sleeping, and she

would spend hours in the garden enjoying its many-colored

beauty. She remembered that she was living the life Adham

had yearned for. What a dull life it was! How could anyone have

wanted it badly enough to pine away? Perhaps it would have

been like his dream if it had not been a prison, surrounded by

enmity and hatred. But a prison it would remain, and the only

escape was beside the hashish brazier.

One nightArafa was late back from Trustee's House and she

had the idea of waiting for him in the garden. The caravan of

night advanced, led by the moon, and she sat listening to the

rustling of branches and the croaking of frogs. She heard the

gate open and prepared to meet him, but a swish of clothes

from the direction of the basement caught her ear and in the

moonlight she saw the figure of a maid hurry towards the gate,

not noticing her. Arafa came forward, staggering a little, the

maid went over to the wall by the veranda, and he joined her.

Then Awaatifsaw them embrace in the deep shadow cast by the

moon.

1 0 9 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Awaatif exploded, as befits a woman ofGebelaawi Alley. She

leapt on the kissing couple like a lioness and beat Arafa's head

with her fists till he staggered back, lost his balance and fell.

She clawed at the maid's neck and hit her about the head till

473

Children of Gebelaawi

her screams pierced the silence of the night. Arafa stood up

but did not dare go near the battle. Hanash hurried up,

followed by.several servants. When he saw what had happened

he sent the servants away and tactfully intervened between the

two women till he was able to escortAwaatifhome, still pouring

out a stream of oaths and curses and i nsults. Arafa made his way

unsteadily up to the wood-lattice window looking out over the

desert and threw himself down on his cushion, alone in the

hashish-den. He stretched out his legs, propped his head

against the wall and lay there half conscious. Hanash joined

him after some ti me and without a word sat down facing him

across the brazier. He gave him a quick glance, then looked

back at the floor and finally broke the silence:

- The scandal was bound to come.

Arafa looked up, his eyes full of shame, and hastily changed

the subject:

- Light up!

They stayed i n the wood-lattice bay window till early next

morning. 'Ihe maid went and another took her place. The allpervading atmosphere seemed to Awaatif to produce one affair after another, and she began putting the worst interpretation on his every move to fit i n with her suspicions. Life became hell, for she had lost the one comfort that had

sustai ned her i n her fearful prison. The house did not belong

to her nor did her husband. It was a prison by day and a brothel

by night. Where was the Arafa she had loved, the Arafa who

had defied Harpstri ngs to marry her, who had risked death

time after time for the sake of the Alley, till she had begun to

thi nk he was one of the rebec's heroes? Now he was just a

scou ndrel like Qadri or Saadallah, and life at his side was a

burni ng torment, one long nigh tmare.

Arafa came home one night from Trustee's House and

found no trace of Awaatif. The gatekeeper said he had seen

her leave the house at nightfall and not come back. His breath

reeking of wine, Arafa asked:

474

A raja

- Where do you think she's gone?

Hanash said anxiously:

- If she's in the Alley she'll be with her old neighbor,

Snader's mother, the woman who sells lemon sweets.

Arafa said angrily:

- You can 't catch a woman by kindness, as they say i n the

Alley. I'll ignore her ti ll she comes crawling back.

But she did not come back. Ten days passed. Arafa decided

to go by night to Snader's mother, meani ng no one to know

that he had gone. At the appointed hour he slipped out of the

house followed by Hanash. Scarcely had they gone any way

than they heard footsteps behind them. They turned and saw

two servants from the house following them. Arafa said:

- Go back to the house !

One of them answered:

- We're guardi ng you by order of his Honor the Trustee.

He was furious, but did not insist. They all went to an old

tenement-house in Qaasim 's sector and cli mbed to the top

floor where Snader's mother had a room. Arafa knocked at

the door several times, and Awaatif herself opened i t, looking

very sleepy. When she made out his face by the light of a tiny

lamp in her hand, she scowled and drew back. He followed

her, closi ng the door behind him. In the corner of the room

Snader's mother woke up and stared at Arafa in astonishment.

Awaatif said angrily:

- What bri ngs you here? What do you want? Go back to

your blessed house !

Snader's mother whispered uneasily, peering at his face:

- Arafa the magician !

Arafa spoke to his wife, taking no notice of the other

woman 's alarm:

- Be sensible and come wi th me!

She spoke with naked fury:

- I'll nev�r come back to your prison . I won't destroy the

peace of mind that I find in this room.

475

Children of Gebelaawi

- But you're my wife.

She shouted:

- Your wives are there and in good health.

Snarler's mother protested:

- Let her sleep ! Come back i n the morning!

He glared at her coldly without a word, then looked back at

h is wife and said:

- Every man makes mistakes.

She yelled:

- You 're just one big mistake.

He edged towards her and spoke in his gentlest tone:

- Awaatif, little passion-flower, I can't live without you.

- But I can live without you.

- Are you giving me up because I once slipped up when I

was drunk?

She quivered with rage.

� Don 't make an excuse of drink; your whole life is nothing

but slippingup. You'd need dozens of excuses for all the wrong

you've done. All I could expect is pain and trouble.

- Anyway it'd be better than life in this room.

She smiled a bitterly sarcastic smile.

- Don't be so sure! Tell me why your jailers have let you

come to me!

- Awaatif!

- I'm not coming back to a house where I have nothing to

do except yawn and watch the love affairs of my husband, the

great magician.

He tried in vain to make her change her mind. She countered his gentleness with stubbornness, his anger with anger, and his abuse with abuse. He gave up i n despair and left the

p lace, followed by his companion and the two servants. Hanash

asked:

- What are you going to do?

He answered with resentfu l resignation:

- The same as every day.

476

A raja

Qadri the Trustee asked him:

- Any news of your wife?

Arafa answered as he sat down beside him:

- Stubborn as a mule, for God's sake!

- Don ' t bother with her when you have better women !

(Then after studyi ng Arafa anxiously: ) Does your wife know

any of the secrets of your work?

Arafa gave him a queer look.

- Only a magician knows magic.

- I' m afraid that. . .

- There's not a shadow o f anything to be afraid of. (Then

after a pause he added with feeling: ) You 're not to lift a finger

agai nst her as long as I'm alive.

The Trustee suppressed his annoyance and smiled, indicating two fu ll glasses.

- Who said anybody would lift a finger against her?

1 1 0 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Once Qadri 's friendship with Arafa had grown firm, he

began i nviting him to his special parties, which usually began

at mid night. Arafa attended an amazing one in the great

drawi ng room. There was every kind of food and drin k, and

beautiful women danced naked. Arafa nearly wen t crazy wi th

the drink and the spectacle. He saw the Trustee acti ng wi th

complete abandon, like a deranged animal.

l-Ie i nvited Arafa to another party in the garden, among

shrubs round which ran a stream that sparkled in the light of

the moon. Beside them they had fruit and wi ne, and in front

of them were two beau tiful girls, one to tend the brazier, the

other to look after the hookah. A night breeze stirred, wafting

477

Children of Gebelaawi

to them the scents of flowers, the melody of a lute and the

sound of voices singing:

Here's a paradise of mint and clove,

Fit for heroes of hashish to rove.

The night was bright with the full moon, whose whole disc

appeared whenever the breeze parted the branches of the

luxuriant mulberry tree, and points oflight shone through the

mass of twigs and leaves when the branches closed again. The

hookah in the lovely girl's han d intoxicated Arafa and his head

seemed to turn i n harmony with the heavenly spheres. He said:

- God have mercy on Adham !

The Trustee smiled.

- And God have mercy on Idrees! What makes you think of

him?

- The place we're sitting in.

- Adham loved dreams but he only knew the ones that

Gebelaawi put in his head. ( He laughed.) Gebelaawi whom

you released from the torment of old age!

Arafa's heart contracted and his intoxication vanished. He

murmured:

- I never in my life killed anybody except an evil strongman.

- An d Gebelaawi's servant.

- I didn't mean to kill him.

- You're a coward, Arafa.

His thoughts fled to the moon, and he gazed up through the

branches, leaving the hashish den for the sounds of the lute.

Then he began stealing glances at the girl's hand as she packed

down the hashish. The Trustee asked loudly:

- Where are you, so far away?

Arafa turned to him and asked with a smile:

- Do you stay up like this alone, your Honor?

- Nobody here is fit to join me.

- Even I have only Hanash to drink with.

478

A raja

- Once you're stoned it doesn't matter being alone.

Arafa hesitated a little, then said:

- We 're prisoners aren't we, your Honor.

- What do you expect as long as we are surrounded by

people who hate us?

He remembered Awaatifs words, and the way she had

preferred the home ofSnarler's mother to his house. He said

with a sigh:

- What a curse !

- Be careful, or you 'll spoil our enjoyment.

Arafa took the hookah.

- May life be always enjoyable!

Qadri laughed:

- Always? It would be enough if your magic could let us

keep some of the spiri t of youth all our lives.

Arafa filled his lungs wi th the night air of the garden, whose