people to be humiliated than fo r them to be intoxicated by a government they love and trust, if it does not fulfill their true wishes. I've often thought about this, and as a result I have more appreciation for the reign of despots like Muhammad Mahmud and Isma'il Sidqy.'
Kamal noticed that Abd al-Muni'm was not taking his usual part in the conversation. Wishing to draw him out, Kamal said, 'Why don't you tell us your opinion?'
Smiling vacuously, Abd al-Muni'm answered, 'Let me listen today.'
Yasin laughed and said, 'Pull yourself together. If the baby finds you looking so glum, it will think twice about staying'. He shifted restlessly, and Kamal interpreted this as a prelude to an excuse for leaving. Yes, it was time for Yasin to take up his post at the coffeehouse. His evening adventures followed a schedule that nothing could alter.
Kamal thought he would depart with his brother, since there was no reason for him to stay either. Ready to make his move, Kamal watched Yasin carefully. Then a harsh and violent scream burst forth from Na'ima's room, conveying the deepest form of human emotion. One fierce shriek followed another in rapid succession. All eyes were fixed on the door, and the men fell silent. Finally Ibrahim whispered hopefully, 'Perhaps it's the end of the labor, God willing.'
Was that it? But the screaming continued, and the men felt disheartened. Abd al-Muni'm looked quite pale. Na'ima's room was silent once more, although only for a time. When the screams resumed they sounded hollow, as though expelled by a hoarse throat and an exhausted chest in the throes of death.
Since Abd al-Muni'm clearly needed encouragement, Yasin told him, 'You're not hearing anything you wouldn't at any other difficult delivery.'
'Difficult! Difficult! But why should it be difficult?'
The door was opened by Zanuba, who came out, closing it behind her. They stared at her. Walking over to Yasin, she stopped in front of him and said, 'Everything's fine, but as a precaution the midwife wants you to ask Dr. Sayyid Muhammad to come.'
Jumping to his feet, Abd al-Muni'm said, 'Then no doubt her condition requires it. Tell me what's wrong.'
In a calm, confident voice, Zanuba replied, 'Everything's fine. If you want to reassure us, hurry to get the doctor.'
Wasting no time, Abd al-Muni'm went immediately to his room to finish dressing. Ahmad followed him, and they went off together to fetch the doctor. Then Yasin asked his wife, 'What's going on in there?'
Her face betraying her anxiety for the first time, Zanuba said, 'The poor dear's very tired, God help her.'
'Hasn't the midwife said anything?'
In a resigned tone, Zanuba answered, 'She says she wants the doctor.'
Leaving a heavy cloud of anxiety behind her, Zanuba returned to the bedroom. Yasin wondered aloud, 'How far is this doctor?'
Ibrahim Shawkat replied, 'In the building over your coffeehouse in al-Ataba.'
A scream rang out and struck them dumb. Had the labor pains resumed? When would the doctor arrive? There was another resounding scream. The tension increased. And then Yasin cried out in alarm, 'That's Aisha's voice!'
Listening intently, they recognized Aisha's shriek. Ibrahim went to the door and knocked. When Zanuba opened it, her face exceedingly pale, he asked apprehensively, 'What's the matter? What's the matter with Mrs. Aisha? Wouldn't it be best for her to leave the room?'
Swallowing, Zanuba replied, 'Absolutely not. The situation is extremely serious, Mr. Ibrahim.'
'What's happened?'
'All of a sudden… she … look…'
[n less than a second the three men were at the door of the room, looking in. Na'ima was covered to her chest. Her aunt, her grandmother, and the midwife were around the bed. Na'ima's mother stood in the center of the room, staring at her daughter from afar with eyes that did not seem to focus on anything, as if she was in a daze. Na'ima's eyes were closed, and her breast washeaving up and down as though it had slipped free of ins ties to her still body. Her face was white, with a deathly pallor.
The midwife shouted, 'The doctor!'
Amina began to exclaim, 'Lord!..'
In a terrified voice, Khadija called out, 'Na'ima… answer me.'
Aisha said nothing, as if the matter had no relationship to her whatsoever.
'What's happening?' Kamal wondered. Stunned, he asked his brother. But Yasin did not reply.
'What a difficult delivery!' Kamal thought. He glanced around at Aisha, Ibrahim, and Yasin, and his heart sank. Their expressions could mean only one thing.
They all went into the room. It was no longer a delivery room, or they would not have entered. Aisha was in an extreme state, but no one said anything to her. Na'ima opened her eyes, which seemed glazed. When she moved as if wanting to rise, her grandmother helped her sit up and embraced her. The girl gasped and moaned. Suddenly, she cried out as if appealing for help, 'Mama… I'm going… I'm going'. Then her head fell on her grandmother's breast.
The room came alive with a noisy commotion. Khadija slapped her cheeks. Directing her words to the girl's face, Amina recited the Muslim credo: 'There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God.'
Aisha gazed out the window overlooking Sugar Street, focusing her eyes on some unknown spot. Then her voice rang out like a death rattle: 'What is this, my Lord? What are You doing? Why? Why? I want to understand.'
Ibrahim Shawkat went to her and stretched out his hand, but she pushed it away with a nervous gesture and said, 'Don't any of you touch me. Leave me alone. Leave me…'. Glancing around at them, she said, 'Please leave. Don't say a word. Is there anything you could say? Words won't help me. Na'ima's dead, as you can see. She was all I had left. There's nothing for me in the world now. Please go away.'
It was pitch-black when Yasin and Kamal returned to Palace Walk. Yasin said, 'It will be very hard for me to break the news to your father.'
Drying his eyes, Kamal replied, 'Yes.'
'Don't cry. My nerves can't take any more….'
Sighing, Kamal said, 'She was very dear to me. Brother, I'm sad. And poor Aisha!'
'That's the ultimate calamity. Aisha! We'll all forget in time, but not Aisha.'
' 'We'll all forget'?' Kamal asked himself. 'I think her face will stay with me to the end of my days, although I've already had one extraordinary experience with forgetting…. It can be a great blessing, but when will its balm arrive?'
Yasin continued: 'I had my reservations when she got married. Don't you know? When she was born, the doctor predicted that her heart was not strong enough for her to live past twenty. Your father almost certainly remembers.'
'I don't know anything about this. Did Aisha know?'
'Certainly not. It's ancient history. There's no escaping God's decree.'
'How unfortunate you are, Aisha!'
'Yes. The poor dear is really unlucky.'
140
Ahmad Ibrahim shawkat sat in the reading room of the University library concentrating on the book in front of him. Only a week was left before the examination, and he had exhausted himself studying for it. He heard someone enter and sit down behind him. Turning around curiously, he saw Alawiya Sabri. Yes, it was the girl herself. Perhaps she was sitting there to wait for the book he had. At that moment his eyes met two black ones. He turned his head back to its original position, with heart and senses in a state of intoxication. There could be no doubt that she had begun to recognize him. And she must have realized he was in love with her. Things like that could not be hidden. Besides, wherever she turned, in a class or in al-Urman Gardens, she would often find him glancing at her stealthily.