fringe of candles of diverse sizes and colors. The fragrance of different perfumes and colognes filled the air like the aroma of a distant dream.
'The black wraps and veils, the gold nosepieces, the kohl-enhanced eyes, the heavy rumps — may He who bestows all blessings save me from them. To walk dreamily through these beautiful visions is one of my favorite sports, but I must acknowledge that it exhausts my heart and eye. If you start counting the women here, you'll never finish. What a blessed place it is that brings all of them together. The only way to protect yourself is to cry out from the depths of your heart, 'Yasin, you house wrecker!' A voice tells me that I should open a shop in al- Tarbi'a Alley and settle down. Your father's a merchant. He's his own boss. He spends much more on his amusements than you get from your salary. Open a store and put your trust in God, even if you have to sell the apartment in al-Ghuriya and the shop in al-Hamzawi. You arrive in the morning like a sultan. You're not bound to any schedule. There's no supervisor to terrify you. You sit behind the scales, and women come to you from every direction. 'Good morning, Mr. Yasin.'
'Stay healthy, Mr. Yasin.' I would have only myself to blame if I let a chaste woman pass without a greeting and a shameless one without a date. What a sweet idea this is, but what a cruel one for someone who will remain an officer of al-Nahhasin School to the end of his days. Love's a disease. Among its symptoms are constant hunger and a fie kle heart. Have mercy, God, on one You created with the appetite of a caliph or sultan but gave the job of a school disciplinarian. My hopes have been destroyed. It's pointless to lie to myself. The day you brought her to Palace of Desire Alley you anticipated a happy, contented life. May God destroy boredom. It pervades the soul as totally as the bad taste sickness brings to the mouth. I pursued herpassionately for a year but tired of her in a few weeks. What is misery if not this? Your home must have been the first one that ever overflowed with complaints during the honeymoon. Ask your heart what place Maryam has in it now and where the beauty is that drove you crazy. Let it reply with a laugh like a moan, 'We ate till we were full. Then we couldn't even stand the smell of food.' She's clever. It's hard to put something over on her. Nothing, escapes her. She's a bitch and the daughter of one. Remember the virtues of your deceased family members. Was your mother any better than hers? The important thing is that, unlike Zaynab, Maryam's not easy to deceive. How hard her anger is to bear when she gets annoyed…. She's not willing to close her eyes, and you're not easily satisfied. It's absurd to think that your fiery craAdngs can ever be met by one woman or that your heart will settle down. Even so, you hoped to achieve a happy married life. How magnificent your father is and how vile you are. … You haven't been able to follow his example, even though that would have saved you. O Lord, what's this I see? Is it really a woman? How many hundred pounds do you suppose she weighs? My God, I've never seen a woman so tall and wide. How can you take possession of this fiefdom? I swear if a woman her size fell into my hands, I'd stretch her out naked in the center of the room and circle her ritually seven times, as if she were a shrine, before putting it in her.'
'You!'
The voice from behind made his heart quiver. He quickly turned his eyes from the mammoth female and saw a young woman in a white coat. He could not help but exclaim, 'Zanuba!'
They shook hands warmly and she laughed. He suggested they should keep walking to avoid attracting attention. So they strolled along side by side as the crowd swarmed around them. Thus they met again after a long separation. She had only rarely and infrequently crossed his mind after various considerations had distracted him. Yet he found her as beautiful as the day he left her, or possibly even more attractive. What was this new style of clothing she was wearing instead of the traditional black wrap? An invigorating wave of delight spread through him.
She asked, 'How are you?'
'Great. And you?'
'Like this.'
'Superb, praise God. You've changed the way you dress. I hardly recognized you at first. I still remember how you looked in your wrap when you walked.'
'You haven't changed. You don't look older, but you've gained a little weight. That's the only thing.'
'Now you're something else! You're a European girl!' He smiled cautiously before adding, 'Except the hips come from al-Ghuriya.'
'Watch your tongue!'
'You scare me. Have you repented or gotten married?'
'Nothing's beyond God's power.'
'Your white coat belies a return to God. As for marriage, it's not farfetched to think a lack of sense would lead you to it someday.'
'Watch out. I'm as good as married.'
He laughed. As they turned into the Muski, he said, 'Exactly like me.'
'But you really are married. Isn't that so?'
'How did you learn that?' Then, reconsidering, he added, 'Oh, I forgot that all our secrets eventually get to you.'
He laughed again suggestively. Smiling mysteriously, she said, 'You mean at the sultana's house?'
'Or my father's. Hasn't their affection continued?'
'Sort of.'
'Everything with you is tentative now. Well, I'm sort of married. I mean I'm married and looking for a girlfriend.'
She brushed a fly from her face, and the gold bracelets on her arm jingled. She said, 'I'm a girlfriend who's looking for a marriage.'
'A girlfriend? Who's the lucky son of a…'
She interrupted him, cautioning, 'Don't insult people. He's an important man.'
Eyeing her sarcastically, he said, 'Important! Ha-ha, Zanuba, I wish I could ram my horn into you.'
'Do you remember the last time we met?'
'Oh, my son Ridwan's six now. That must have been about seven years ago.'
'A lifetime...'
'While still alive, one should never despair of meeting again.'
Or of parting.'
'You seem to have shrugged off loyalty with your black wrap.'
She frowned at him and said, 'Ox, who are you to talk about fidelity?'
He was pleased to see her become this familiar, for it encouraged his ambitions. He replied, 'God only knows how delighted I`am to see you again. I've thought of you frequently. But that's the way the world is.'
'The world ofwomen, huh?'
Pretending to be upset, he said, 'The world of death, the world of troubles.'
'You seem to bear your troubles well. Mules could certainly envy your health.'
'If only the beautiful eye isn't envious…'
'Are you afraid of the evil eye? You're as tall and broad as Abd al-Halim al-Masri.'
He laughed conceitedly. After falling silent for a time, he asked in a new, serious tone, 'Where were you going?'
'Why does a woman come to al-Tarbi'a Alley if not to shop? Or do you think everyone's like you with only one thought in life — sex?'
'Falsely accused, by God.'
'You, innocent? When I caught sight of you, your eyes were assaulting a woman as big as a city gate.'
'No. I was lost in thought and totally unaware of what I was looking at.'
'You! My advice for anyone wishing to find you is to walk along al-Tarbi'a and look for the largest woman. I guarantee that he'll definitely find you stuck to her like a tick on a dog.'
'Woman, your tongue gets more vicious every day.'
'May God's holy name protect yours too.'
'Never mind that. Let's stick to essentials. Where are you going now?
'I'm shopping. Then I'll go home.'
He fell silent for a moment, as if hesitating. Then he said, 'What would you think about us spending some time together?'
She glanced at him with playful black eyes and replied, 'I have a jealous man to consider.'
