Children of Gebelaawi (40 page)

and Rifaa got ready to receive him. The truth was that he had

never known happier days than these. In the new sector he was

called ' Mr Rifaa, sir', which was said sincerely and lovingly. He

was known as the man who delivered people from devils and

gave health and happiness,just for the love of God. Such a way

of life had never been known before, and because of this the

poor loved him as they had never loved anyone. Of course,

Melonhead, strongman of their new sector, did not love him,

partly because of his goodness and partly because he was not

able to pay any protection money; but at the same time, he

could find no excuse to attack him.

As for those who had been cured at his hands, they all had

their stories to tell and tell again: Urn Daood had bitten her

baby in a 1i t of nerves, and now she was a model of calm and

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balance; 'Fishhook' , whose only pleasure had been arguing

and quarrelling, had become mild and gentle; Taiba the

pickpocket had repented genuinely and worked for a tinner;

Uwayss had given up his old way of life and married.

Rifaa chose four of his patients, Zaki, Hussein, Ali and

Kareem, to be his special friends, and they became brothers.

None of them had known friendship or affection before they

knew him. Zaki had been a thug and Hussei n an incurable

opium-addict. Ali had been a budding strongman and Kareem

a pimp. All changed into good-hearted men. They used to

meet at f-Iind's Rock where there was open space and pure air,

and there they used to talk with innocent affection, looking at

their healer with eyes fu ll of love and sincerity and dreaming

of a happiness that would shelter the Alley with wings of mercy.

One day Rifaa asked as they sat in the evening stillness

gazing at the red sunset:

- Why are we happy?

Hussei n answered enthusiastically:

- It's you; you are the secret of our happiness.

He smi led gratefu lly.

- No! It's because we've been freed from our evil spirits and

from spi te and greed and hatred and the other evils that play

havoc with our Alley.

Ali took this up:

- We're happy even though we're poor and weak, with no

share in the Trust and no strongmen's power.

Rifaa shook his head sadly.

- How peop le have suffered for the sake of the lost Trust

and bli nd power! join me in cursing the Trust and strongman

methods!

They cursed them. Ali picked up a stone and threw it with

all his might towards the jebel. Rifaa spoke again:

- Ever si nce the bards started saying that Gebelaawi told

Gebel to make the houses of his sector as magnificent and

beautiful as the Great House, people have set their hearts on

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the power and the glory of Gebelaawi. They have forgotten his

other virtues. That's why Gebel was unable to change people

by winning rights in the Trust, so when he died the strong took

over and the weak became full of hatred, and misery came

back. But I'm opening the gates of happiness withou t any

Trust or power and glory.

Kareem embraced him and said:

- And tomorrow, when the strong see the happiness of the

weak they'll realize that their power and glory and their stolen

money are nothi ng.

The friends joined i n with words of love and praise. A

shepherd's song was carried on the wind from far off i n the

desert. A single star appeared i n the sky. Rifaa looked i n to his

friends' faces and said:

- But I can't cure all the people by myself. It's time for you

to do it yourselves, and to learn the secrets of freeing the sick

from spiri ts.

Their faces filled with joy, and Zaki exclaimed:

- That's what we most want.

He smi led at them and said:

- You will be the keys of happiness in our Alley.

When they got back to their sector they found it bright with

the lights of a weddi ng in one of the tenement-houses. Many

people saw Rifaa coming and greeted him with handshakes.

Melon head was annoyed and got up from his place in the cafe,

cursi ng and swearing and cuffing one or two people, then

turned to Rifaa and asked rudely:

- Who do you think you are, sonny?

Rifaa said gen tly:

- The friend of the poor, sir.

Melonhead shouted:

- Then go around like the poor, not like a bridegroom.

Have you forgotten that you're a refugee and a tart's husband

doing a woman's work? !

He spat provocatively and people moved away and gloom

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descended. But the women's whoops of joy at the weddi ng

drowned everything.

5 5 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Bayoomi, Strongman of the Alley, stood behind the back

gate of his garden, which gave on to the desert. It was early i n

the night, and he was waiting and listening. When a finger

tapped lightly on the door he opened it, and i nto the garden

slipped a woman. In her chador and veil she seemed like part

of the darkness. He took her by the hands, then led her along

the garden paths, avoiding the house, till he came to the

garden house. He pushed the door open and went in, with her

following. He li t a candle and set it on a window sill. The place

became dimly visible, with sofas arranged round the sides and

a big brass tray in the middle bearing a hookah and its

accessories and surrounded by cushions.

The woman took off her chador and veil, and Bayoomi

hugged her so fiercely that her eyes begged for mercy. She

wriggled free, and he laughed softly then sat down on a

cushion and poked about with a finger in the ashes of the

brazier, ti ll he uncovered a glowi ng coal. She sat down beside

him and kissed his ear, then poi nted to the brazier sayi ng:

- I'd almost forgotten the smell.

l-Ie covered her cheek and neck with kisses, tossed a bit of

hashish into her lap and said:

- Nobody in the Alley smokes this brand except the

Trustee and yours truly.

From the Alley came the noise of a fight breaking out:

i nsults flying, sticks banging, glass breaking, feet running off,

a woman's screams, then dogs barking. The woman's eyes took

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on an anxious, questioning look, but Bayoomi went on cutting

hashish, not caring. She said:

- It's difficult for me coming here. To be safe from prying

eyes I go from the Alley to Gemalia, and from there to Derrasa,

and from there i nto the desert and then to your back gate.

Without stopping the work of his fingers he leaned over and

sniffed playfully at her armpit:

- I wouldn ' t mind visiting you i n your place.

She smi led.

- If you did, none of the cowards would get in your way.

Even Melonhead would smooth out the sand for you . Then

they'd take it out on me. (She twirled his bushy moustache. )

But you slip out to the garden house for fear of your wife.

He set down the piece of hashish, put his arm roun d her and

drew her to him so hard that she groaned. Then she whispered:

- God preserve us from the love of strongmen !

He let her go, tossing his head back and puffing his chest out

like a turkey cock. He said:

There's only one strongman; the rest are boys.

She played wi th the hair on his chest, which showed through

the neck of his jellaba.

- Strongman over the people, not over me!

He pinched her gently on the breast.

- You are the crown on the Strongman's head.

He reached over behind the tray and picked up a jug.

- Marvelous ale!

She said regretfully:

- It has a strong smell which my dear husband might

notice.

He dran k his fill from the jug and began packing together

the lumps of hashish. He scowled.

- What a husband! I've caught sight of him several times,

wandering around like a madman; the first male exorcist this

amazing Alley has ever seen.

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She watched him smoking.

- I owe him my life; that is why I put up with his company.

And he does no harm, for nothing is easier than deceiving him.

He passed her the hookah and she thrust the mouthpiece

between her hu ngry lips and took several greedy puffs, then

breathed out the smoke with closed eyes and reeling senses.

He smoked in his turn, taking short puffs and talking between

them:

- Leave him .. . l-Ie's fooling abou t.. . with you .. . like a child.

She shrugged her shoulders scornfully.

- My husband does nothing in this world except relieve the

poor of devils.

- And you - haven't you relieved him of anything?

- Not on your life ! One look at his face says it all.

- Not even once a month?

- Not even once a year! People's devils leave him no time

for his wife.

- Let devils possess him! What does he get out of it?

She shook her head hopelessly:

- Nothing at all. But for his father we should have starved

to death. l-Ie believes i t's his duty to make the poor happy and

to cleanse them.

- And who gave him this duty?

- He says it's what the Founder wants for his chi ldren.

An anxious look came into Bayoomi's narrow eyes. He put

the hookah down in the ash bowl.

- He says the Founder wants that? !

- Yes !

- And how does he know what the Founder wants?

She felt un happy and alarmed and was afraid the atmosphere wou ld be spoilt or dangerous things would happen.

She said:

- That's what he makes of his sayings, which the bards sing

of.

He pressed down some more grains of hashish.

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- Alley of bi tches! And Gebel's sector is the foulest of all;

that's where the worst swi ndler came from. They spread

strange stories about the Trust and the Ten Clauses, as though

the Founder was the Ancestor of them alone. Yesterday their

swi ndler Gebel came with lies to steal the Trust, and today this

lunatic starts interpreting words that don' t bear interpretation. Next he'll be claiming he heard them from Gebelaawi h imself.

She said anxiously:

- He isn 't interested in anything except freeing the poor

from devils.

The strongman snorted scornfully:

- How do we know? Maybe the Trust has a devil! (Then, in

a voice louder than befitted the secrecy of their meeti ng: ) The

Founder is dead, or as good as dead, you dogs!

Jasmine was alarmed. She was afraid the opportunity wou ld

be lost and the atmosphere spoilt. She put her hand to her

dress and drew it slowly off. His face relaxed and lost its scowl

and he gazed at her with eager eyes.

5 6 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The Trustee looked shrunken i n his loose cloak. There was

anxiety in his round, white face with its drooping eyelids and

its prematurely old eyes, baggy from debauchery. Bayoomi 's

puff)' face did not betray the inward pleasure he felt at his

master's anxiety - an anxiety which showed the i mportance

of the news he had brought and of his service to the Trustee

and the Trust. He said:

- I'm sorry to have to bother you with this, but I couldn't

actwithout referring the matter to you as it concerns the Trust.

Besides, this crazy troublemaker is one of Gebel's people, and

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we have an agreement not to attack any of them without your

permission.

lhaab asked with a scowl:

- Does he really claim to have been i n touch with the

Founder?

- I'm certain of that from more than one source. His

patients believe it, although they keep very quiet about it.

- He may be a madman, just as Gebel was a swi ndler. But

this filthy Alley loves madmen and swi ndlers. What more do

Gebel's people want after plu ndering the Trust? Why doesn't

Gebelaawi get in touch with anybody else? Why doesn 't he get