fragrance was enhanced by the dew.
- Luckily Arafa is not without his uses.
The Trustee let the girl take back the hookah and puffed out
a thick cloud of smoke, which shone silver i n the moonlight.
He said sadly:
-Why does old age overtake us? We eat the tastiest food, we
dri nk the finest wines, and we enjoy the best possible life, but
age creeps over us when the time comes, and nothing can turn
it back any more than the sun or the moon.
- But Arafa's pills turn the chill of old age i nto warmth.
- There is one thing before which you are helpless.
- And what is that?
The Trustee looked sad in the moonlight.
- What thing is most hateful to you?
Perhaps it was the prison in which he had been placed, or
the hatred all round him, or else it was the goal he had given
up; but he said:
- Losing youth.
- Oh no; you're not afraid of that.
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- How can I not be when my wife has gone off furious?
- Women will always find one reason or another for fury.
A gust of wind made the branches rustle and the charcoal
glow. Qadr� asked:
- Why do we die, Arafa?
Arafa stared at him gloomily but said nothing. Qadri went
on:
- Even Gebelaawi died.
It was as if a needle had pierced his heart, but he said:
- We are all mortal and the children of mortals.
Qadri said with annoyance:
- I don ' t need to be reminded of that.
- May your life be long, sir.
- Long or short, the end is that pit of worms.
Arafa spoke gently:
- Don ' t let thoughts spoil your tranquility.
- They won't leave me. Death ... death ... always death ! It can
come at any time and for the slightest reason, or for no reason
at all. Where is Gebelaawi? Where are the heroes whose deeds
are sung to the music of the rebec? This is a fate that should not
be.
Arafa glanced at him and saw his pale face and his anguished eyes. There was a glaring contradiction between his state of mind and his surroundings. Arafa was uneasy and said:
- The i mportant thing is for life to be as it should.
Qadri waved his hand angrily and said with a ferocity that
killed all tranquility stone dead:
- Life is what it should be and better; it lacks nothing. Even
youth can be brought back by pills. But what use is all that when
death follows us like a shadow? How can I forget it, when i t
reminds me o f itself every hour?
He enjoyed Qadri's suffering, but soon he despised his own
feelings. He followed the girl's hand with sympathetic yearning and wondered: 'Who can guarantee that I ' ll see the moon another night?' Then he said:
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A raJa
- Perhaps we need more wine.
- In the morning we' ll be sober.
Arafa felt contempt for him. He thought this was a good
opportunity and he took it, sayi ng:
- If it wasn't for the envy of those around us who are
deprived, the taste of life would change in our mouths.
The Trustee laughed scornfully and said:
- Talk of the impossible ! Suppose we could raise the life of
the people to our level, would death stop stalki ng us?
Arafa conceded with a nod and waited for Qadri's anger to
subside, then said:
- Death breeds where there's poverty and misery and bad
condi tions.
- And where there are none of those thi ngs, you fool !
Arafa smiled.
- Yes, because it's contagious.
The Trustee laughed.
- That's the strangest argument for your helplessness.
Arafa took courage from his laughter.
- We don ' t know anythi ng about it; it may be like that. As
people's conditions improve, their ills decrease and life grows
in value, and each happy person feels the urge to fight for the
destined happiness of life.
- And that's not a bit of use.
- Oh, but it is. The magicians will bring people together to
resist death. Everybody who is able will work with magic. And
so death wi.ll be threatened with death.
The Trustee laughed loudly, then closed his eyes and was
lost i n dreams. Arafa took the hookah and drew a long puff till
the hashish glowed. After an interval the lute sounded again
and the sweet voice sang: 'Be long oh night. ' Qadri said:
- You 're a dope-head, Arafa, not a magician.
Arafa said candidly:
- That's how we ki ll death.
- Why don't you work at it by yourself?
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Children of Gebelaawi
- I work at i t every day, but by myself l ' m helpless i n face of
it.
The Trustee listened to the music without enthusiasm for a
whi le, then said:
- Oh, if only you could succeed, Know-All Arafa! What
would you do if you succeeded?
The words seemed to burst out:
- I'd bring Gebelaawi back to life.
Qadri grimaced disdainfully.
- That's your business; you're his murderer.
Arafa frowned and muttered almost i naudibly:
- Oh, if only you could succeed, Arafa!
1 1 1 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
At dawn Arafa left Trustee's House. He was in a drugged
man's en chan ted world, and its sounds and sights were blurred.
His feet would hardly carry him. He was heading for home
across the sleeping Alley bathed in moonlight. Half-way across,
i n front of the gate of the Great House a ghostly figure loomed
up from he could not tell where. It whispered to him:
- Good morning, Mr Arafa!
H e was terrified, perhaps out of shock, but his two guards
leapt on the figure and caught hold of it. He peered at it and
clearly saw, in spite of his blurred vision, that it was a black
woman wrapped from neck to ankle in a black jellaba. He
ordered his servants to let her go, which they did, then asked
her:
- What do you want, woman?
- I wan t to speak to you alone.
- Why?
- I'm an unfortunate woman and I want to make a plea.
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A raja
l-Ie said with annoyance, making to go:
- May God be gracious to you !
She i mplored him:
- By the life of your dear Ancestor, please let me.
He gave her an angry look, but his eyes stayed fixed on her
face. Where and when had he seen that face before? His heart
pounded and his intoxication vanished. This was the face he
had seen in the doorway ofGebelaawi 's room as he had hidden
behi nd the chair on the fateful night. This was Gebelaawi 's
servant who had shared his room. His li mbs went weak wi th
fear and he stared into her face. One of his servants asked:
- Shall we chase her off?
- Go to the gate of my house and wait for me.
He waited till they had gone and he was alone with her in
front of the Great House. He studied her thin, black face with
its high, narrow forehead, its pointed chin and wri nkled
mouth and brow. l-Ie felt certain that she had not seen him that
night; but where had she been si nce Gebelaawi 's death, and
what brought her now? l-Ie asked:
- Yes, my dear lady?
- I have no plea; I wanted to be alone with you to execute
somebody's wi ll.
- What wi ll?
She leaned towards him and said:
- I was Gebelaawi's servant and he died in front of me.
- You?
- Yes! Believe me!
He needed no proof. He asked her in an agitated voice:
- How did the old man die?
- He was terribly sad when his servant's body was found,
and suddenly there he was dying. I hurried over to support his
trembli ng back - that giant who had subdued the desert!
Arafa moaned loudly, breaki ng the silence of the night. His
head was bowed in sorrow as ifhe were shrinki ng from the light
of the moon. The woman went back to her first li ne of thought.
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Children of Gebelaawi
- I've come to execute his will.
He raised his head to her, trembling, and asked:
- What do you mean? Tell me!
She said i n a voice as gentle as the moonlight:
- Before he gave up the ghost, he said to me: 'Go to Arafa
the magician and tell him from me that his Ancestor died
p leased with him.'
Arafa jumped as though he had been stung, and he ex-
claimed:
- Imposter! What's your scheme?
- Sir! Please!
- Tell me what game you 're playing.
She said simply:
- Nothing but what I've said, so help me God!
He asked suspiciously:
- What do you know about the murderer?
- 1 don't know anything, sir. Since my master died I've been
ill in bed. The first thing I 've done since getting better is come
and see you.
- What did he say to you?
- Go to Arafa the magician and tell him from me that his
Ancestor died pleased with him.
Arafa said fiercely:
- Liar! You know, you schemer, that 1... (Then, changing
h is tone: ) How did you know where I was?
- I asked about you as soon as I came, and they said you
were at the Trustee's, so I waited.
- Didn't they tell you I killed Gebelaawi?
She said in horror:
- Nobody killed Gebelaawi; nobody could have killed him.
- You 're wrong. The man who killed his servant killed him.
She shouted angrily:
- Lies and fairy tales! He died in front of me.
Arafa wanted to cry, but no tears came. He stared at the
woman, defeated. She said simply:
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A raja
- Goodbye, then !
He asked her in voice that grated i n his throat and seemed
to betray his inmost torment:
- Do you swear you've told the truth?
- I swear by God; let Him be my witness.
Dawn was beginning to tint the horizon as she left. He
fol lowed her with his eyes till she disappeared, then left. In his
bedroom he fainted. After a few minutes he came round,
realized that he was dead with fatigue and fell asleep. But he
slept only for a couple of hours before his inner turmoil woke
him again. He called Hanash and told him the story of the
woman. Hanash stared at him in alarm and laughed when he
had finished, and said:
- You had a good dose yesterday!
Arafa was furious.
- What I saw wasn 't a hallucination; it was real and there's
no doubting i t.
- Sleep ! You need a good sleep.
- Don ' t you believe me?
- Of course not! When you've slept as I want you to, you
won't come back with this story.
- Why don't you believe me?
Hanash laughed.
- I was at the window as you left Trustee's House and I saw
you cross the road to our house. You stopped for a while i n
front of the Great House gate; then you went o n , followed by
your two serva.nts.
Arafajumped up and said triumphantly:
- Bring me the two servants !
Hanash made a gesture of warni ng.
- Certai nly not, or they'll doubt your sanity.
He said with determi nation:
- I'm going to ask for their evidence in your presence.
1-Ianash imp lored him:
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Children of Gebelaawi
- We have only a li ttle respect now from the servants; don 't
throw i t away.
Arafa's eyes had a deranged look. He spoke absently:
- I' m not crazy. It wasn't a hallucination. Gebelaawi died
pleased with me.
Hanash said tenderly:
- All right! But don't call any of the servants.
- If anything terrible happens it will hit you first.
Hanash said patiently:
- God forbid! Let's call the woman to talk to us herself.
Where did she go?
Arafa frowned as he tried to remember, then said anxiously:
- I forgot to ask where she lived.
- If what you saw had really happened, you wouldn't have
let her go.
Arafa shouted:
- It did happen. I'm not crazy. Gebelaawi died pleased with
me.
Hanash said ki ndly:
- Don 't strain yourself; you need rest.
Hanash came close to him, stroked his head and gently led
him to the bed. He did not leave him till he was lying down.
Arafa closed his eyes wearily and was soon fast asleep.
1 1 2 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Calmly and firmly Arafa said:
- I've decided to ru n away.
Hanash was so astonished that his hands stopped their work.
He looked round cautiously and was frightened, although the
door of the workshop was closed. Arafa took no notice of his
astonishment and went on working. He said:
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A raJa
- This prison no longer gives me anythi ng but thoughts of
death. The pleasure and wine and dancing girls are just the
music of death. I seem to smell the grave in every pot of flowers.
- But death is certainly waiting for us i n the Alley.
- We'll escape far away from the Alley. (Then, looking i nto
Hanash's eyes: ) And one day we shall come back to victory.
- If we manage to ru n away!
- The villains feel sure of us now. Escape won ' t be impos-
sible for us.
They went on working silently for a while, then Arafa asked:
- Isn't that what you wanted?