Children of Gebelaawi (49 page)

feelings had begu n to change when he heard that Qaasim was

to marry Qamar; indeed, he had already made up his mind not

to exempt Qaasim from paying protection money. Zakaria

went on:

- Qaasim is well liked;. is there anyone who doesn't like

him?

He detected a certain annoyance in Omnibus's look and

added:

- But for his wisdom on the day of the theft, nobody would

have saved the skulls of Rifaa's people and Gebel's from the

cudgel of our Omnibus.

Omnibus beamed, and Uwayss hastily agreed with Zakaria:

- You 're right, by the God of Heaven and Earth !

The musician sang: 'The hour of love's delight draws near. '

and Qaasim's emotion grew more intense. Saadiq as usual

understood his feelings and fetched him a fresh mug of drink,

which he drained to the dregs, still holding the hookah in his

hand. Hassan had drunk too much, and the marquee was

dancing before his eyes. Uwayss saw this and said to Zakaria:

- Hassan 's dri nking more than's good for him at his age.

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Zakaria stood up, mug in hand, and said to his son:

- Hassan, don't drin k like that.

He replied by emptying his mug down his throat, spluttering with laughter. Uwayss was infuriated and said to himself:

'But for my niece's foolishness, what you've drunk tonight

would cost you all that you possess.'

In the middle of the night, Qaasim was summoned to his

procession and the male guests assembled at Freewheeler's

cafe, headed by Omnibus, leader and protector of the procession. The Alley outside the house was crowded with urchins and beggars and cats, drawn by the smell of the cooking.

Qaasim sat down between Hassan and Saadiq. Freewheeler

greeted them,and said to his serving boy:

- What a happy eveni ng! Freewheeler's own hookah for

the young men.

Then everyone who cou ld afford to paid for a hookah for

the company. Saadiq brought outfrom the breastofhisjellaba

a lump the size of a marble. He turned it between finger and

thumb under the lamp and spoke in Qaasim's ear:

- Mixed with something sweet. And what an effect!

Qaasim took it and put it in his mouth, smili ng, already redeyed from dri nk. Saadiq went on:

- Chew it first, then suck it.

The singers arrived, following the pipers and drummers.

Omnibus stood up and commanded:

- Let the procession commence!

'Knuckles' led, wearing only ajellaba, dancing barefoot and

balancing a cudgel on the top of his head. Behind him went

the si ngers and Omnibus, then the bridegroom'sparty, Qaasim

and his two friends, flanked by torch-bearers. The singer

began in a sweet voice:

What is my one-oh? One's for my eyes-oh.

What is my two-oh? Two's for my hands-oh.

What is my three-oh? Three's for my feet-oh.

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When love did snare me, 'twas through these eyes-oh.

When I did wave-oh, 'twas with these hands-oh.

When I did reach her, 'twas by these feet-oh.

There were drunken 'ohs' and 'ahs' as the procession made

its way to Gemalia and Beit el Qadi and then to the Hussein

Mosque and Derrasa. The n ight slipped away, unnoticed by

the merry-makers, and the procession returned, as it had set

out, gaily and happily. It was the first bridegroom's procession

in the Alley ever to pass off without incident. Not a cudgel was

raised, not a drop of blood spilt. The entertainment ended

with Zakaria seizing his stick and dancing, twirling the stick,

swaying proudly, twisting and turning now his head, now his

chest, now his waist, his movements now aggressive, now

erotic. When he brought his dance to an end with a final spin,

there was cheering and clappi ng.

Then Qaasim went i n to the women and found Qamar

sitting at the head of the two rows of women guests. He went

to her, accompanied by whoops of delight, and took her by the

hand. She stood up and they walked together behind a bellydancer who seemed to be giving a last lesson, until the two of them were enfolded by the bridal chamber. The closing of the

door shut out the world, on which silence fell, except for a few

whispers or light footsteps. I n a glance Qaasim took in the bed

with its pink linen, the comfortable couch, the patterned

carpet, things such as he had never imagined. Then his eyes

rested on the woman, who sat taking off her jewelry. She

looked beautifully plump, soft and sweet. The walls seemed to

shimmer with light, and he saw everything with confused

excitement and boundless happiness. He drew close to her i n

his silk jellaba, glowing with the combined effects of drink and

hashish, and stood looki ng down at her, while she dropped her

eyes expectantly. He took her face between his hands and was

about to say something, but then seemed to change his mind.

He bent over till her hair stirred under his breath, and kissed

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Qaasim

her forehead and her cheeks. From behind the door the smell

of i ncense reached his nose, and he heard Sakeena's voice

murmuring a prayer.

7 1 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The days and nights passed i n love and companionship, joy

and peace of mind. How sweet is happiness in this world!

Qaasim went out of the house only because he would have

been ashamed for it to be said that he had not left it si nce his

wedding. His heart was sated with every kind of pleasure, and

he enjoyed all the affection, tenderness and care that he

wished for. He liked things to be clean, and here he saw

everything tidy, breathed a perfumed atmosphere and looked

upon a wife who always appeared before him im maculate and

with adoration on her radiantface. One day as they were sitting

side by side i n the drawing room, she said to him:

- You 're gentle as a lamb. You don't demand or boss or

scold, though everything in the house is yours.

He played with a lock of her henna-red hair.

- I've reached a state in which I have no demands to make.

She squeezed his hand hard.

- My heart told me from the begi nning that you were the

best man in our sector. But someti mes you 're so polite that you

seem like a stranger in your own house, and that hurts me you

know.

- You 're talking to a man whose good fortune carried him

from the burning sands to the paradise of this house.

She tried to look serious but couldn 't help smiling.

- Don't imagi ne you're going to have an easy time in my

house. One of these days you'll take my uncle's place managing my property. Don ' t you think you'll find i t a burden?

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He laughed.

- It'll be child's play compared with minding sheep.

So he took over the management of her property, which lay

scattered abou t between the Desert Rats' sector and Gemalia.

Handling the difficult tenants called for ski ll, but with his

flexibility he coped with things in the best possible way. The

job only took up a few days each month and the rest of his time

was free, something he was not used to. Perhaps the greatest

triumph he won in his new life was earning the confidence of

Uwayss, his wife's uncle. Qaasim treated him from the outset

with respect and attention, and volunteered to help him with

some of his work, so that Uwayss grew to like him and returned

his friendship and respect. He could not help saying fran kly

one day:

- Sometimes we get things quite wrong. You know, I used

to think you were one of the Alley's scoundrels, and that you

were taking advantage of my niece's passion to get her money.

I thought you'd waste it on a life of p leasure or you'd use it to

marry another woman. But you've proved that you're wise and

trustworthy and that she chose well.

I n Freewheeler's cafe Saadiq used to laugh merrily and say

to Qaasim:

- Order us a hookah on your account; that's what impor-

tant men like you are meant to do.

And Hassan used to say:

- Why don' t you take us to a bar?

But he answered seriously:

- I have no money except what I earn by managing my

wife's property, or by jobs I do for Uwayss.

Saadiq was amazed.

- A loving woman is a plaything in a man 's hand.

Qaasim retorted angrily:

- Unless the man is also loving. You 're just like everybody

else, Saadiq; you only see love as a means of exploitation.

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Qaasim

Saadiq smiled in embarrassment and said apologetically:

- That's how weak men think. I'm not as strong as Hassan,

or even as strong as you, so I've no hope of being a strongman;

and in our Alley it's either hit or be hit.

Qaasi m softened his tone, seeming to accept the excuse.

- What a strange place ! You 're right, Saadiq; our Alley's i n

a sad state.

Hassan smiled.

- If only it was what people outside think it is!

Saadiq agreed with him:

- They say Gebelaawi Alley is the one with real strongmen.

Qaasim 's face filled with sadness. He stole a glance at

Omnibus's place at the front of the cafe, to be sure he was out

of earshot, and said:

- It's as if they'd never heard of our misery.

- People worship power, even its victims.

Qaasim thought for a while, then said:

- But remember there's the power that does good, like

Gebel's and Rifaa's, not the power of thugs and crooks.

Taza, the bard, was reciting his tale:

Adham yelled at him:

- Carry your brother.

Qadri groaned:

- I can 't.

- You were able to kill him .. .

- I can 't, Father.

- Don't call me 'father'; a man who kills his brother has no

father, no mother, no brothers.

- I can 't.

He tightened his grip on him and said:

- A murderer must carry his victim.

Then the bard took his rebec and began singing. At that

point Saadiq said to Qaasim:

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- Today you 're living the life that Adham dreamed of.

Disagreement clouded Qaasim's face.

- But at every step I meet some cause of grief and destroyer

of pleasure. Adham only dreamed of leisure and plenty as the

means to pure happiness.

They were all silent for a while, till Hassan said frankly:

- This pure happiness can't ever exist.

Qaasim said, with a dreamy look in his eyes:

- Unless the things that lead to it are plentifu l for everybody.

He thought about his situation: how he was graced with

money and leisure but how the misery of others spoilt his

happiness. Yet here he was, meekly paying his protection

money to Omnibus. that was why he loved filling his leisure

time with work, as if to escape from himself or from this cruel

Alley. Perhaps Adham, if he had got what he longed for i n such

circumstances, would have been oppressed by his happiness

and would have longed to work.

At that time Qamar began to show strange cravings and

Sakeena said they were the first signs of pregnancy. Qamar

could hardly believe it. Her hope of a baby had been just a

dream, so she was beside herself with joy. Qaasim was delighted and spread the news wherever he had friends - i n his uncle's house and i n the tinner's shop, in Uwayss's grocery and

i n Yahiaa's hut. Qamar became excessively concerned about

herself. She said to Qaasim in a voice full of meani ng:

- I must avoid any sort of upset.

His smile showed that he understood what she meant.

- Sakeena must take over the house for you, and for me it'll

have to be sweet patience.

She kissed him, and said with child-like happiness:

- I ' m so grateful I could kiss the ground.

He set off across the desert to visit Yahiaa, but he stopped by

Hind's Rock, went round to the shade and sat down. In the

distance he saw a shepherd grazing his flock. His heart filled

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with sympathy and he wished he could say to him: 'Being a

strongman isn't enough to make a man happy; i n fact, it

doesn't make a man happy at all.' But wouldn ' t it be better to

say it to the strongmen like Guzzler and Omnibus? How he felt

for the people of the Alley; they dreamed of happiness, but

time scattered their dreams with the garbage. Why not enjoy

the happiness he had been granted and shut his eyes to what

surrounded him? Perhaps this question had baffled Gebel and

later Rifaa. It was open to both of them to enjoy lifelong ease

and tranqui IIi ty. What is the secret of this pain that pursues us?

Thus he pondered as he gazed at the sky over the Jebel, a

pure blue sky apart from a few flecks of cloud like white rose

petals. He lowered his head wearily and his glance fell upon

something moving. It was a scorpion hurryi ng towards a stone.

He lifted his stick quickly, brought it down on the creature and