Children of Gebelaawi (16 page)

creepers covered the wall and softened its rough look, showing

that Umayma had not given up her old dream of improving

her home and making iL as much like the Great House as she

could.

The men gathered rou nd a tub of water in the yard and

washed their faces, then put on their work clothes. From inside

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Adham

the hut came the smell of a wood fire and the cries of the

younger children. At last they sat down round the table in front

of the doorway, eati ng stewed beans from a big dish.

The au tum n air was moist and slightly chi lly at this early

hour, bu t they had tough bodies well able to withstand i ts

attacks. In the distance could be seen ldrees's hut which had

also been extended. As for the Great House, it stood silent and

turned in on itself, as though no ties held it to the outside

world.

Umayma carried a jug of fresh milk, put it on the table and

sat down. Qadri mocked her with a question:

- Why don 't you sell the milk to the house of our respected

grandfather?

Adham , now 6'Tey at the temples, rou nded on him.

- Shut up and cat! Silence is the best we can ever hope for

from you.

Umayma spoke as she chewed a mouthful:

- The time's come for pickling lemons and olives and

green peppers. Qadri , you used to enjoy it when we made

pickles and you helped with the lemons.

Qadri said bitterly:

- We used to love it when we were small, for no good

reason .

Ad ham returned the jug to its place and asked:

- What's the matter with you today? Who do you think you

are - the hero Abu Zayd?

Qadri laughed and made no answer, but Humaam said:

- Market day is near; we must sort out the sheep.

His mother nodded in agreement, but his father spoke to

Qadri again:

- Qadri, you mustn ' t be such a ruffian. Whenever I meet

anybody who knows you , he complains to me abou t you . I'm

afraid you may end up living like your u ncle.

- Or li ke my grandfather!

Adham's eyes blazed wi th anger.

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Children of Gebelaawi

- Don 't say anything bad aboutyour grandfather. Haveyou

ever heard me talk that way? Besides, he's never done you any

wrong.

Qadri protested vigorously.

- As long as he wrongs you he's wronging us.

- Shut up! Do us a favor and keep quiet.

- Because of him we're fated to live like this, and so is our

uncle's daughter.

- What's she to us? Her father was the cause of the disaster.

Qadri bellowed:

- I mean it's not righ t for a woman of our blood to grow up

out i n this desert. Tell me; who is this girl going to marry?

- Let her marry the Devil himself. She's no business of

ours. She must be a beast of prey like her father.

He looked at his wife for support. Umayma echoed him.

- Yes, like her father.

Adham spat.

- Damn her and her father!

Humaam said:

- Isn't this talk going to spoil our breakfast?

Umayma spoke gen tly:

- It's not that bad. The best times are when we're all

together.

At that moment they heard ldrees roaring curses and i nsults

at the top of his voice. Ad ham said i n disgust:

- The dawn prayer has begu n.

He took a last mou thful and left the table. He wen t to his

barrow and set off wi th i t, calling out: ' Look after yourselves. '

They said goodbye, and off he went to Gemalia. Humaam

stood up and went down the path to the goat pen. Soon the

sheep and goats were bleating, and their hooves pattered as

they filled the path on their ou tward journey. Qadri got up too

and picked up his sLick. He waved goodbye to his mother and

caught up with his brother. When they neared Idrees's hut he

stood in their path and asked sarcastically:

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Adham

- How much a head, young man?

Qadri studied him wi th curiosity while Humaam avoided

looking at him. ldrees asked:

- Will nei ther of you sons of the cucumber merchant be

good enough to answer me?

Qadri answered sharply:

- If you want to buy, go to the market.

ldrees guffawed.

- And if I decided to take one by force?

Hind's voice came from inside the hu t:

- Father, we don ' L wan t any scenes.

He answered her playfully:

- You mind your own business and leave the slave's sons to

me.

Humaam said:

- We don 't get in your way; don't get in ours.

- Oh! The voice of Adham ! You should be in with the

sheep, not behind them.

Humaam said dcli a rnly:

- My father ordered us not to answer your mockery.

ldrees laughed loudly.

- God bless hi m! But for these orders of his you'd surely be

lost. (Then, pu tting on a harsh tone:) But it's only thanks to my

name that anybody respects you two. God damn you all! Get

out of my sight!

They went on their way, twirli ng their sticks from time to

time. Humaam remai ned pale wi th emotion. He said to Qadri:

-That man is despi cable. Even at this time of day his breath

reeks of wi ne.

They were fo llowing their flock i nto the desert. Qadri said:

- He talks a lot, but he hasn 't lifted a finger to harm us.

Humaam den ied this hotly:

- On the contrary, he has stolen sheep from us more than

once.

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Children of Gebelaawi

- He's a drunkard, but unfortunately he is our uncle; we

just have to accept that.

They were silent for a while as they made for the big rock. A

few clouds floated i n the sky and sunshine drenched the

endless sands. Humaam cou ld no longer bear to hide what he

wan ted to say:

- You ' ll be making a big mistake if you join his family.

Qadri's eyes flashed wi th anger. He shouted:

- Don't you try to tell me what to do; your father is bad

enough.

Humaam was sti ll smarting from ldrees's i nsults.

- Our life is fu ll of troubles; don ' t make them worse.

Qadri yelled:

- I hope they' ll destroy you - these troubles you create for

yourselves. As for me, I shall do what I like.

They had by now reached grazing ground. Humaam turned

to his brother and said:

- Don't you think you 're running away from the conse-

quences of what you're doi ng.

Qadri seized him by the shoulder and shouted:

- You 're justjealous, that's all.

Humaam was amazed. His brother's words had taken him

by surprise, though he was used to his sudden outbursts. He

freed his shoulder from Qadri's grip, exclaiming:

- God help us !

Qadri folded his arms and shook his head scornfully.

Humaam went on:

- The best thing I can do is leave you alone till you 're sorry;

you won ' t own to your mistake - not till it's too late.

He turned away and headed for the shady side of the rock.

Qadri stood scowli ng under the hot rays of the sun.

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Adham

1 6 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Ad ham and his family were sitting in front of the hut, eating

supper by the faint light of the stars, when there came an event

such as had not been seen i n the desert since the expulsion of

Ad ham. The gates of the Great House opened, and out came

a figure bearing a lamp. All eyes were raised in astonish ment

and, tongue-tied, they followed the lamp as it moved through

the darkness like a wi ll o' the wisp. When it was halfway to the

hut, their gaze fixed on the bearer, examining it by the light of

the lamp, till Ad ham whispered: 'It's Kareem, the gatekeeper.'

Their amazement grew when they saw for certain that he was

heading for them. They all stopped dead, some with food in

their hands and some with unchewed mouthfuls. The man

reached them and stood wi th hand raised, saying:

- Good eveni ng, Mr. Adham!

Adham trembled at the sound he had not heard for twenty

years. It brough t back from the far reaches of his memory his

father's deep voice, the scent of jasmine and henna, longings

and sorrows. The earth seemed to tremble with him. He

fought back his tears as he said:

- Dear old Kareem ! Good evening!

The gatekeeper spoke with undisguised emotion:

- I hope you and your family are well.

- Quite well, Kareem, thank God.

Kareem said kindly:

- I wish I could tell you all that's on my mind, but I have

been charged only to inform you that my noble master summons your son Humaam to meet him at once.

There was si lence. They exchanged glances, and confusion

overcame them. A voice asked:

- Only Humaam?

They turned resentfully to see ldrees listening nearby.

However, Kareem did not answer him, but raised his hand i n

salute and went back towards the Great House, leaving them

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Children of Gebelaawi

all in the dark. Idrees was enraged and shouted after him:

- Are you going to leave me without an answer, you son of

a bitch?

Qadri recovered from the shock and asked furiously:

- Why only Humaam?

Idrees echoed him:

- Yes, why only Humaam?,

Adham spoke to him, perhaps finding an outlet for his

emotion.

- Go home and leave us in peace.

- Peace? I ' ll stand where I please.

Humaam looked up at the Great House in silence, his heart

beating so hard that he imagined it would echo back from

Jebel Muqattam. His father said with resignation:

- Go to your grandfather, Humaam, go i n peace.

Qadri turned to his father and asked defiantly:

- And me? Am I not your son just as much as he?

- Don't talk like Idrees, Qadri. Of course you're my son just

as much as he. I ' m not to blame; I didn 't issue the i nvitation.

Idrees contradicted him:

- But it's in your power to refuse this discrimination

between brothers.

- This is no business of yours. Humaam, you must go.

Qadri's turn will come, I'm sure of that.

Idrees turned to go, saying:

- You 're an unjust father, like your own father. Poor Qadri !

Why should he be punished without having done wrong? But

in our family, curses always fall on the best members first. God

really has damned this crazy house.

He left, and the darkness swallowed him up. At that Qadri

cried out:

- You 're bei ng unjust to me, Father !

- Don't repeat his words. Come here, Qadri; and you,

Humaam, go.

Humaam spoke with anguish:

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Adham

- I wish my brother was com ing with me.

- He'll follow you soon enough.

Qadri shou ted furiously:

- What's this injustice? Why has he preferred him to me?

He doesn't know him any more than he knows me, so why does

he pick him for an invi tation?

Adham gave Hurnaarn a push saying: 'Go ! ' and Humaam

left.

Umayma murmured:

- Take care of yourself.

Weeping, she took Qadri i n her arms, but he broke away

from her and set off in his brother's footsteps. Adham called

after him:

- Come back, Qadri ! Don't gamble with your future.

Qadri said angrily:

- No power on earLh will bring me back.

Umayma's wails grew louder, and the younger chi ldren

inside cried . Qadri strode ou t ti l l he caught up wi th his

brother. Nearby in the darkness he saw the figure of ldrees

leading Hind along by the hand. When they reached the gate,

ldrees pushed Qadri to the left of Humaam and Hind to his

right and wi thdrew a few paces, shouting:

- Open up, Kareem ! The grandchildren have come to

meet their grandfather.

The gate open ed and on the threshold appeared Kareem,

lamp in hand. He said poli tely:

- Please come in, Mr 1-Iu maam.

ldrees yelled:

- And this is his brother Qadri , and this is Hind, the image

of my mother who died of grief.

Kareem said politely:

- You know, Mr. ldrees, that nobody enters this house

without permission.