Children of Gebelaawi (52 page)

rocking her and listening to her crooning. Sudden ly he said:

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- If God grants me victory, I shan't bar women from

sharing the Trust's i ncome.

- But the Trust is just for men, not women.

He gazed into the baby's dark eyes.

- Our Ancestor told me through his servant that the Trust

belongs to everybody. Halfthe people are women; i t's amazing

that the Alley doesn't honor them; but it shall honor them on

the day that it honors the ideas of justice and mercy.

Qamar's eyes showed both love and anxiety, and she said to

herself: 'He talks of victory; but where is this victory!' She

longed to advise him to do what was safe and secure, but her

courage failed her. She wondered what tomorrow held in store

for them. Would she have the good fortune of Shafeeqa,

Gebel's wife, or would she suffer the fate of Abda, Rifaa's

mother? She trembled, and looked away so that he would not

see anything in her eyes to alarm him.

When Saadiq and Hassan came to take him to the cafe, he

proposed that they visit Yahiaa, so that he could present them

to him properly. When they reached his hut they found him

smoki ng his hookah, and the rich fragrance of hashish filled

the air. They all sat down in the hallway of the hut, with the ful l

moon shining down auspiciously through a skylight. Yah iaa

looked in amazement at the three faces as if wondering, were

these really the people who were going to turn the Alley upside

down? He told Qaasim, as he had already done several times

before:

- Mind nobody knows your secret before you 're ready.

The delicious hookah went round. The moonshine from

the skylight fell on Qaasi m's head and touched Saadiq's

shoulder, while the charcoals in the brazier glowed in the

darkness. Qaasim asked:

- How can I prepare?

The old man laughed and said playfully:

- It's not righ t for somebody chosen by Gebelaawi to ask

advice from an old man like me.

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Qaasim

Silence fell, broken only by the gurgle of the hookah. Then

Yahiaa said:

-You have your uncle and your wife's uncle. Now your own

uncle will be neither a help nor a hindrance, but you could

bring the other one over to your side if you gave him something to hope for.

-What hope can I give him?

-Promise him the trusteeship of the Desert Rats.

Saadiq said candidly:

- Nobody is to have any special share of the Trust's

revenue; it's everybody's inheritance equally, as Gebelaawi

said.

Yahiaa laughed.

-What an amazing ancestor! With Gebel it was strength,

with Rifaa mercy, and today it's something else.

Qaasim said:

- He's the master of the Trust; he has a right to make

changes in the Ten Clauses.

-But you have a hard task, my son; it involves the whole

Alley, not just one sector.

-That's how the Founder wants it.

Yahiaa was shaken by a fit of coughing that winded him, and

Hassan took over the tending of the hookah from him. Yahiaa

stretched out his legs, wheezing loudly, then asked:

-Will you rely on force, like Gebel, or will you choose love,

like Rifaa?

Qaasim ran his hand over his turban.

-Force when necessary and love always.

Yahiaa nodded and smiled.

-Your only fault is your interest in the Trust; it will lead to

endless troubles for you.

-How can people live without the Trust?

The old man said proudly:

- 1\5 Rifaa lived.

Qaasim said earnestly and politely:

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- He lived with the help of his father and those who loved

him, and he left behind followers who were none of them able

to follow his example. The fact is that our miserable Alley

needs purity and honor.

- Can that only come with the Trust?

- Oh yes, Yahiaa, with the Trust and the end of strongmen.

Then we'll achieve the honor that Gebel gave to his people,

and the love that Rifaa called for, as well as the happi ness that

Adham dreamed of.

Yahiaa laughed.

- What have you left for those who come after you?

Qaasim thought for a while, then said:

- If God gives me victory, the Alley won 't need anybody

after me.

The angelic hookah went round, and the water sang in i ts

bulb. Yahiaa yawned contentedly and said:

- What will be left for any of you when the revenue of the

Trust has been shared out equally?

Saadiq said:

- We only want the Trust in order to use it, so that the Alley

wil l become an extension of the Great House.

- So what action have you prepared?

A passing cloud hid the moon, and the hallway was plunged

in darkness, but in a minute the light returned. Yahiaa looked

at Hassan's sturdy body and asked:

- Will your cousin be able to defeat the strongmen?

Qaasim said:

- I ' m seriously thi nking of consulting a lawyer.

Yahiaa raised his voice:

- What lawyer could challenge Rifaat the Trustee and his

strongmen?

The oblivion of hashish combined with the silence of

reflection. The three friends went home somewhat downcast.

Qaasim suffered bitter torment in his times of solitude.

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Qaasim

Anxiety and grief so aillicted him that Qamar one day said:

- We mustn 't be so concerned for other people's happiness that we make ourselves miserable.

- I must justify the faith that has been put in me.

'What are you going to do? Why don 't you draw back from

the bri nk of the abyss - this abyss of despair and silence and

inaction - this ashen graveyard of dreams?'

One day he i nvited Saadiq and Hassan round and said to

them:

- It's time for us to begin.

Their faces shone. Hassan said:

- What do you have i n mind?

- After much thought I've decided to start a sports club.

They were tongue-tied. He smiled and went on:

- We shall have it in the courtyard of this house. Sport is

someth ing that goes on in all the sectors.

Hassan asked:

- And what does it have to do with our task?

Saadiq too was puzzled.

-A club for thi ngs like weight-lifting! What does that have

to do with the Trust?

Qaasim's eyes shone.

- The young men wi ll come to us because they love games

of strength, and we'll be able to choose the ones who are soun d

and suitable.

Their eyes opened wide. Hassan exclaimed:

- We'll be a team, and what a team !

- Yes; and young men from Gebel and Rifaa's sectors will

come to us.

Joy permeated them, and Qaasim seemed to dance along.

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7 6 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Qaasim sat by the window, watching the festivities - and

how well our Alley celebrates festivals! The water-carriers had

sprin kled the ground from their water-skins, and the necks

and tails of the donkeys had been decorated with paper

flowers. The whole place shone with the brilliant colors of

children 's new clothes and dancing balloons. Little flags

fluttered on the barrows. Shouts and cries and cheers mingled

with the music of bamboo flutes. Pony traps swayed along,

carrying men and women dancers. The shops were shut, and

the cafes and bars and hashish dens were packed. Everywhere

people were smili ng and exchanging festive greetings.

Qaasim sat wearing a new jellaba and holding Ihsaan, who

stood on his lap. She explored his features with her little hands

and dug her nails i nto his cheeks. A voice sang under the

window:

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

He at once remembered the happiness of his wedding and

his heart melted. He loved music and song. How Adham had

longed to sing in the luxuriant garden ! And now what was the

man singing on this festival? 'When love did snare me, ' twas

through these eyes ... ' How true that was; since he had looked

up at Qin deel i n the darkness, he had been robbed of his heart

and mind and will. And now the courtyard of his house had

been turned i nto a club for building bodies and purifying

minds, and he too was lifting weights and learning to fence

wi th sticks. Saadiq added strong arm muscles to the strong leg

muscles he had developed at the tinner's. As for Hassan, he was

just a giant. The others too were very keen. Saadiq one day had

the excellent idea ofi nviting the beggars and the jobless to the

club. In no time they were taking a great interest in his sports

and also in what he had to say. Of course, few of them came,

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Qaasim

but because of their zeal they were a match for many times

their number.

Ihsaan squeaked 'Da! Da! ' and he kissed her several times.

She wet the corner of his new jellaba. From the kitchen he

could hear the pounding of mortar and pestle, the voices of

Qamar and Sakeena, and the miaowing of the cat. A pony trap

passed under the window and the people i n it were singing:

Pray for the soldier who took off his fez!

Now he's a holy man, everyone says.

Qaasi m smiled, rememberi ng the night that Yahiaa had

sung this song, completely stoned. ' If only things were put

straight, you wou ld have nothing to do but sing, dear Alley.

Tomorrow the club wi ll be fu ll of strong, reliable helpers.

Tomorrow I shall challenge the Trustee and the strongmen

and all our troubles, so that there will remai n only a mercifu l

ancestor a n d his loyal descendants. Poverty, fi lth, begging and

tyranny will be wiped out. The vermin, the flies, the cudgels will

disappear. All wi ll be peaceful i n the shade of luxuriant

gardens.'

He was wakened from his dreams by Qamar's voice furiously

scolding Sakeena. He listened in astonishment, then called his

wife. She burst in, pushi ng the maid in front of her and saying:

- Look al this woman ! She was born in this house, like her

mother before her, and yet she spies on us!

He looked disapprovi ngly at Sakeena. She shouted in her

husky voice:

- I'm nol a traitor, master, but my mistress is unkind.

Qamar spoke, unable to hide her fear:

- I saw her smiling, and she said to me: 'The next time the

feast comes, please God, Mr Qaasim will be master of the whole

Alley, as Gebel was of Hamdaan 's sector.' Ask her what she

means.

Qaasi m frowned anxiously and asked her:

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- What do you mean, Sakeena?

- I mean what I say. I'm not an ordinary maid, here today

and gone tomorrow. I 've grown up in this house; it wasn't right

to hide a secret from me.

Qaasi m exchanged a quick glance with his wife and pointed

at the child. She came and took her from him. He told the

maid to sit down, and she sat at his feet, saying:

- Was it right for people outside to know your secret when

I knew nothing?

- What secret do you mean?

The maid said boldly:

- What Qi ndeel said to you at Hind's Rock .. . (Qamar

gasped, but Qaasim nodded to Sakeena to go on. ) just as he

spoke to Gebel and Rifaa before. You 're not a lesser man than

them, master, you're a lord - you were even when you were

a shep herd. I was the go-between who brought you two together, you remember; I ought to have known before anybody else. How can you trust strangers and not trust your maid? God

forgive you both! But I pray for your victory, yes, I pray for your

victory over the Trustee and the strongmen - who wouldn't

pray for that?

Qamar exclaimed, rocking the baby nervously:

- It wasn ' t right for you to spy on us. You won't live it down.

Sakeena spoke with righteous indignation:

- I didn't mean to eavesdrop, God knows, but I heard

something through the door and couldn't help listening. I t

would have been more than anybody could do to close m y ears

to that. What breaks my heart, mistress, is that you don't trust

me. I ' m not a traitor, and you're the last person I would betray.

For whose sake wou ld I betray you? God forgive you, mistress!

Qaasim weighed her up carefully with his eyes and with his

heart. When she had fi nished, he said gently:

- You 're loyal, Sakeena; there's no doubt about that.

She looked up at him and murmured:

- Long may you live, master! I am that, by God.

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Qaasim

He said quietly:

- I know who's loyal. Treachery isn't goi ng to grow i n my

house as it did in that of my brother Rifaa. Qamar, this

woman 's as loyal as you are; don't think badly of her. She

belongs to us as we belong to her, and I 'll never forget that she

was the messenger of happiness to me.

Qamar sounded somewhat appeased.

- But she eavesdropped.