In a shaky voice the father said, 'God only knows… how I got out of bed and rushed along the street. God knows… I wasn't conscious of what I was doing…. When will things return to normal?'
'Shall I take off my jacket for you to sit on?'
'No. I can stand, but when will things calm down?'
'The raid seems to have ended. Don't worry about getting up so suddenly. Surprises often work miracles in an illness.'
He had hardly finished speaking when the ground trembled from thiee explosions in a row, and the anti- aircraft guns went on the rampage again. The passageway was filled with screams.
'It's right over our heads!'
'Declare the unity of God.'
'Don't make things worse than they are with your talk.'
Kamal released Aisha's hand to take both of his father's in his grasp. It was the first time in his life he had done that. Al-Sayyid Ahmad': D hands were trembling, and Kamal's were too. Umm Hanafi, who had thrown herself on the ground, wailed noisily.
An agitated voice called out irritably, 'I've had enough screaming! I'll kill anyone who screams.'
But the screaming grew louder, and the gunfire continued. Nervou:; tension increased as they waited for the next shock wave. This expectation of more explosions had a stifling effect on them, as the firing of the guns went unanswered.
'The bombing's over!'
'It only stops to start up again.'
'It's far away. If it were close, the houses around us would not have survived.'
'The bombs fell in al-Nahhasin.'
'It seems that way to you, but they may have fallen on the ordnance depot.'
'Listen, will you? Hasn't the gunfire started to die down?'
It had. Soon firing was audible only in the distance. Then it was intermittent, coming at intervals of a whole minute eventually.
Finally silence descended, spread, and became firmly entrenched. People felt free to talk again, and whispered expressions of tearful hope could be heard. They had so many things to remember as they came back to life and sighed with cautious but anxious relief. Kamal tried in vain to inspect his father's face, for the flashes of light had disappeared and the world was dark.
'Father, things will calm down now.'
The man did not answer but wiggled his hands, which his son still grasped, to show that he was alive.
'Are you all right?' Kamal asked. The hands moved once more, and the son felt so sad that he was on the verge of tears.
A siren went off to mark the end of the raid. Afterward, the jubilant shoutsheard on all sides were reminiscent of the cries of children after the cannon fires to mark the start of a holiday or to signal the hour for feasting during Ramadan. The alley and the neighboring area were the scene of unlimited commotion as doors and windows banged open, agitated conversations grew loud, and the people packed into the vaulted part of the alley began to move out in waves.
Sighing, Kamal said, 'Let's go home.'
Placing one arm over Kamal's shoulder and the other over Amina's, al-Sayyid Ahmad walked along between them, a step at a time. They began to wonder how he was and what effect this grim outing would have on him___But he stopped walking and said in a weak voice, 'I've got to sit down.'
Kamal suggested, 'Let me carry you.'
The exhausted man protested, 'You won't be able to.'
Putting one arm around the man's back and the other under his legs, Kamal picked him up. It was not a light load, but little was left of his father in any case. Kamal walked along very slowly, and the others followed him apprehensively.
Aisha suddenly started sobbing. When her father said in a tired voice, 'There's no call for a scene,' she put a hand over her mouth.
When they reached the house, Umm Hanafi helped Kamal carry the master. They took him upstairs slowly and cautiously. Although he submitted gracefully to this treatment, his stream of mumbled pleas for God's forgiveness betrayed his grief and discomfort. They deposited him carefully on the bed. When the light was turned on, they could see that his face was very pale, as if the exertion had drained his blood. His chest washeaving violently up and down, and his eyes were closed from his exhaustion. He began moaning and moaning. Eventually he got the better of his pain and sank into silence. They stood in a row beside his bed, watching him wit h apprehensive dread. At last Amina inquired in a trembling voice, 'Is my master well?'
He opened his eyes, and took his time looking at the faces, which tie did not always seem to recognize. Then he sighed and said in a scarcely audible voice, 'Praise God.'
'Sleep, master. Sleep to regain your strength.'
They heard the ring of the bell outside, and Umm Hanafi went to open the door. They exchanged questioning glances, and Kamal suggested, 'Probably someone from Sugar Street or Palace of Desire Alley has come to see if we're all right.'
His supposition was confirmed, for Abd al-Muni'm and Ahmad soon entered the room, and they were followed by Yasin and Ridwan. Approaching al-Sayyid Ahmad's bed, they greeted those present. The man glanced at them listlessly. As though speech were beyond him, he contented himself with raising a thin hand to them in greeting. Kamal recounted in an abbreviated form what his father had experienced that alarming night. Then Amina whispered, 'An atrocious night may our Lord never repeat it.'
Umm Hanafi remarked, 'The movement has tired him, but with some rest he'll recover his strength.'
Yasin leaned over his father to say, 'You need to sleep. How do you feel now?'
The man gazed with dull eyes at his eldest son and mumbled, 'Praise God. My left side doesn't feel good.'
Yasin asked, 'Should I call a doctor for you?'
The father waved his hand testily and then whispered, 'No. It's better if I sleep.'
Starting to retreat, Yasin gestured for the family to leave the room, and the man raised his scrawny hand again. They walked out, one after the other, leaving only Amina. Once they were assembled in the sitting room, Abd al-Muni'm asked his uncle Kamal, 'What did you do? We hurried down to the reception room in the courtyard.'
Yasin volunteered, 'We went downstairs to our neighbors' apartment on the ground floor.'
Kamal said anxiously, 'Fatigue has sapped Papa's strength.'
Yasin asserted, 'But he'll regain hishealth by sleeping.'
'What can we do if there's another raid?'
No one answered, and there was a heavy silence, until Ahmad complained, 'Our houses are ancient. They won't stand up to these raids.'
Wishing to dissipate the lingering cloud of despair, since it was upsetting him, Kamal coaxed a smile from his lips and said, 'If our houses are destroyed, they'll have the honor of being demolished by the most advanced inventions of modern science.'
152
Kamal had barely reached the stairway door after showing out the last visitors of the evening when an alarming din reached his ears from above. His nerves were still on edge, and he feared the worst as he bounded up the steps. The sitting room was empty, but through the closed door of his father's chamber he could hear the loud voices of several people, who were all speaking at once. Rushing to the door, he opened it and entered, expecting something unpleasant but refusing to think what it might be.
His mother's hoarse voice was exclaiming, 'Master!'
Aisha was calling curtly for 'Papa!'
Mumbling to herself, Umm Hanafi stood riveted to her spot by the head of the bed. When Kamal looked in
