The woman scarcely knew the meaning of hesitation, and shyness was not her weakness. She was, in fact, both fearless and shameless. Indeed there was only one woman in Midaq Alley who was more ungovernable and that was Husniya, the bakeress. She replied in her coarse voice, 'Radwan Hussainy, sir, you are all goodness and kindness and there is no better man in the alley than yourself. For this reason I have come to ask for your help and to make a complaint against that lecherous man, my husband.'
Her voice had now risen to a plaintive wail. Radwan Hussainy merely smiled and said in a slightly sad tone, 'Let's hear all about it, then, Mrs. Kirsha. I am listening.'
Sighing heavily, she went on: 'May God reward you for being such a fine man. My husband knows no modesty and won't reform himself. Every time I think he has given up his sinful behavior he brings a new disgrace upon me. He is completely immoral and neither his age, his wife, nor his children can cure his lechery. Perhaps you may have heard about that brazen boy he has with him every evening in the cafe? Well, that's our new disgrace.'
A look of distress flickered in the man's clear eyes and he remained silent, thinking deeply. His own personal bereavement had not been able to penetrate his felicity, but now he sat silent and filled with sadness, praying that his own soul would be free of the devil and his wickedness.
The woman took his apparent distress as an indication that her anger was justified and she growled, 'The brazen immoral fellow has disgraced us all. By God, if it were not for my age and the children, I would have left his house long ago and never returned. Do you approve of this disgusting business, Mr. Hussainy? Do you approve of his filthy behavior? I have warned him but he takes no notice; I can do nothing else but come to you. I didn't want to bother you with this revolting news, but I have no choice. You are the most revered and respected man in the neighborhood and your orders are obeyed. You might be able to influence him where I and everyone else have failed. If I find he won't take your advice, then I will have to adopt other ways of dealing with him. Today, I am controlling my anger, but if I see there is no hope of reforming him, then I will send fire raging through the whole alley and the fuel for it will be his filthy body.'
Radwan Hussainy shot her a critical glance and said with his customary calmness, 'Cheer up, Mrs. Kirsha, and put your faith in God. Don't let your anger get the better of you. You are a good woman, as everyone well knows. Don't make yourself and your husband a subject for the tongues of the gossips. A really good wife acts as a close-fitting veil over all those things God might wish to keep concealed. Go back home in confidence and peace of mind and leave this matter to me. I will seek help from God.'
Mrs. Kirsha, scarcely able to control her emotions, exclaimed, 'God reward you! God bring you happiness! God bless your goodness! You are a real refuge of safety. I will indeed leave this matter in your hands and wait. May God decide between me and that lecherous man…'
Radwan Hussainy quieted her as best he could with words of comfort, but whenever he said anything nice, she replied by spitting forth a stream of curses on her husband and expanding on his disgraceful conduct. His patience nearly spent, he bade her a polite farewell, releasing a sigh of relief as he did so.
He returned to his room and sat thinking. How he wished he could have escaped being involved in this affair, but the damage was done now and he could not break his promise. He called his servant and asked him to fetch Kirsha. As he waited, the thought struck him that he was inviting to his home, for the very first time, a known profligate. In the past, only the poor or ascetic men of religion had been in this room with him.
Sighing deeply, he recited to himself the saying 'The man who reforms a profligate does better than the man who sits with a believer.' But could he ever make the man reform? He shook his large head and recited the verse from the Qur'an: 'You cannot lead aright whomever you wish; it is God who leads whomever He wishes.' He sat wondering at the enormous power of the devil over mankind and how easily he makes man deviate from God's intent.
His train of thought was interrupted by the servant announcing the arrival of Kirsha. Looking tall and slim, Kirsha came in and gazed at Hussainy from beneath his heavy eyebrows with a look of admiration and respect. He bowed low as they shook hands in greeting. Radwan Hussainy greeted him and invited him to be seated. Kirsha sat down in the armchair occupied so short a time before by his wife; a cup of tea was poured for him. He felt completely at ease and confident, with not a trace of apprehension or fear, and he had no idea why Hussainy had invited him here. With all those who reach his state of confusion and promiscuity, prudence and intuition are likely to vanish.
Hussainy read what was in the man's half-shut eyes, and, filled with quiet self-assurance, he politely commenced: 'You have honored our house with your presence, Mr. Kirsha.'
The cafe owner raised his hands to his turban in salutation and said, 'May God reward you for your goodness, Mr. Hussainy.'
Hussainy continued: 'Please don't be annoyed at me for inviting you here during your working hours, but I would like to talk to you as a brother about an important matter. Consequently I could think of no place more suitable than my home.'
Kirsha bowed his head humbly and commented, 'I am at your command, Mr. Hussainy.'
Hussainy was afraid that by avoiding the issue they would merely waste time and Kirsha would be kept from his work. He decided to tackle the matter straightaway and he lacked neither the courage nor the directness of speech to do so. In a serious, regretful tone of voice he began: 'I want to speak with you like a brother, or as brothers should speak if they have real love for one another. A truly sincere brother is one who, if he sees his brother falling, would reach to catch him in his own arms, or who would help him up if he stumbled, or one who would, if he thought it necessary, give his brother the benefit of some good advice.'
Kirsha's peace of mind was shattered. Only now did he realize he had fallen into a trap. A look of panic appeared in his gloomy eyes and he muttered in embarrassment, scarcely aware of what he was saying, 'You are quite right, Mr. Hussainy.'
The man's obvious confusion and embarrassment did not restrain Hussainy and he continued with a sternness somewhat modified by the look of modest sincerity in his eyes: 'My friend, I am going to tell you truthfully what I think and you must not be angry at my speaking out, for someone motivated as I am by friendship, sincerity, and a desire to do good should not be looked upon with anger. The fact is that what I have seen of some of your habits has distressed me very much, for I do not think them at all worthy of you.'
Kirsha frowned and said under his breath, 'What's it got to do with you!' Feigning astonishment, however, he said out loud, 'Has my conduct really distressed you? God forbid!'
Hussainy took no notice of the man's simulated surprise and continued: 'Satan finds the doors of youth an easy entrance and he slips in both secretly and openly to spread his havoc. We should do all we can to prevent the doors of youth opening to him and keep them tightly closed. Just think of elderly men to whom age has given the keys of respectability. What would be the situation if we were to see them deliberately opening these doors and calling out in invitation to the devil? This is what has distressed me, Mr. Kirsha,'
Boys and elderly men! Doors and keys! A devil of devils! Why didn't he mind his own business and let others mind theirs? He shook his head in confusion and then said quietly, 'I don't understand at all, Mr. Hussainy.'
Hussainy looked at him meaningfully and asked him in a tone not devoid of reproach, 'Really?'
Kirsha, beginning to feel both annoyance and fear, replied, 'Really.'
Hussainy was determined and went on: 'I thought you would realize what I meant. The truth is that I am referring to that dissolute youth…'
Kirsha's anger grew. However, like a mouse caught in a trap, he did his best to fight his way out from behind the bars and he asked in a voice which almost acknowledged his defeat, 'What youth is that, Mr. Hussainy?'
Trying hard not to enrage Kirsha, he replied quietly, 'You know, Mr. Kirsha, I have not brought the matter up to offend you, or to make you feel ashamed. God forbid! I just want to offer my advice for whatever good it will do. What is the point of denying it? Everyone knows and everyone is talking about it. This is really what has distressed me most of all: to find you the subject of scandal and gossip…'
Anger at last got the better of Kirsha and he slapped his thigh hard with his hand. He shouted hoarsely, his bottled-up resentment flying out in a stream of spittle, 'What's wrong with people that they can't mind their own business and leave others to mind theirs? Do you really see everyone talking about it, Mr. Hussainy? People have been like that ever since God created the earth and all that's on it. They criticize, not because they really disapprove, but just to belittle their fellow men. If they don't find anything to complain about, they invent something. Do you think they gossip because they are really upset and shocked? Certainly not! It is really envy which eats at their hearts!'
This opinion horrified Radwan Hussainy and he commented in amazement, 'What a dreadful opinion that is!
