Children of Gebelaawi (27 page)

going to show up round here.

Naturally Gebel knew nothing about conjuring, but he

welcomed this offer, as a means of becoming attached to the

family. He spoke in a voice that betrayed his eagerness:

- Do you real ly think I have what it takes?

Balqeetijumped acrobatically to the floor and stood before

him, short and broad, the neck of his jellaba open to show

thick white hair. He sai d:

- You 'II do fine, and I've never been wrong about that sort

of thi ng.

They shook hands, then Balqeeti said:

- I must confess, I like you better than any of my snakes.

Gebel laughed , as excited as a child, and seized his hand to

prevent him from goi ng, so that he stood there wonderi ng

what was comi ng n ext. Then Gebel said, with an impetuousness he cou ld not control:

- Gebel wan ts to be your son-in-law, sir.

Balqeeti's bloodshot eyes smiled, and he asked:

- Really?

- Yes, by God in Heaven!

Balqeeti laughed for a moment and said:

- I was wondering when you would be ready to bring up

that subject. Yes, Gebel, I'm no fool. But you 're the man I'll

gladly give my daugh ter to. It's fortunate that Sayida is an

exceptional girl, as her mother was.

Gebel's smile of delight wilted visibly; he was afraid his

dream would be sn atched from him before he could take hold

of i t.

- Bu t. . .

Balqeeti guffawed and said:

- But you want Shafeeqa. I know that, young man. I learnt

that from your eyes and the girl's talk and my knowledge of

snakes. Don ' t blame me, this is the way we conjurers make

agreemen ts.

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Gebel sighed from the bottom of his heart. He felt peacefu l

a n d contented, and full o f youth, energy and freedom. H e no

longer cared even about his former luxurious home nor the

prestige he had lost, and he was no longer afraid of the toil and

hardship that awaited him. Let a curtain of darkness hang over

the past and let forgetfulness swallow up i ts pains and sorrows

and his yearning for lost mother-love !

That morning Sayida whooped with joy, and the happy news

ran round the neighboring alleys.

Then Muqattam Bazaar wi tnessed the bridegroom's procession of Gebel.

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Balqeeti said scornfully:

- It's not good for a man to live like a backyard cock or

rabbit, but look at you; you haven't learnt a thing and your

money's almost all gone.

They were sitting on a skin in front of the door and Gebel

had his legs stretched out on the sun-scorched sand, his eyes

full of calm bliss. He turned to his father-in-law and said with

a smile:

- Our forefather Adham lived and died longing for the

innocent life of the garden.

Balqeeti laughed heartily, then called at the top of his voice:

- Shafeeqa! Get hold of your husband before he dies of

laziness.

Shafeeqa appeared at the door, cleaning a plateful of

lentils. She was wearing a purple head-scarf, which brought

out the innocence of her face. She said, without looki ng up

from the plate:

- What's wrong with him, Father?

- He only enjoys two things; pleasing you and lazing about.

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Gebel

She laughed.

- How can he please me and starve me to death at the same

time?

Gebel said:

- That's a conjuror's secret.

Balqeeti punched him playfully in the ribs and said:

- Don ' t make fun of the hardest of jobs. How do you hide

an egg i n the pocket of one of your audience and take it out of

the pocket of another on the opposite side of the crowd? How

do you turn a marble into a chicken? How do you make a snake

dance?

Shafeeqa was delighted.

- Teach him, Father. The only life he knows is sitting on a

comfortable chair in the Trust office.

Balqeeti stood up.

- It's time to work.

Then he went into the house. Gebel gazed at his wife

admiri ngly and said:

- Thudclub's wife is a thousand times less beautiful than

you, yet she spends her days on a comfortable couch and her

evenings in the garden, breathing the scent of jasmine and

playing wi th the streams.

Shafeeqa said, half scornful, half bitter:

- That's the life of those who rob the people of their living.

Gebel scratched his head thoughtfully and said:

- But there is a way to perfect happiness.

- Don't dream. You weren ' t dreaming when you came to

my rescue in the market-place. You weren't dreaming when

you chased away those human flies from me. And that's how

you found your way into my heart.

He felt like kissing her. He was sure he knew better than she

did, but that did not make him value her words any the less. He

said:

- As for me, I loved you without any reason.

- Round here only madmen dream.

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Children of Gebelaawi

- What do you wan t from me, my darling?

- I want you to be like my father.

He said playfully:

- Where does your sweetness come from?

Her lips parted in a smile, and her fingers moved faster

amongst the lenti ls. He wen t on:

- When I ran away from my Alley I was the unhappiest of

men; yet if I hadn't run away I wouldn't have married you.

She laughed.

- We owe our happiness to the strongmen of your Alley,

just as my father owes his livelihood to s.nakes.

Gebel sighed.

- Yet the best man the Alley has known believed there was

a way to give people a livi ng while they sat i n gardens and sang.

- There we go agai n ! Look, here comes Father with his bag.

Up you get! Goodbye !

Balqeeti came with his bag and Gebel stood up, and the two

wen t off by their usual path. Balqeeti told him:

- Learn with your eyes as you learn with your brain. Watch

what I do and don 't ask questions in front of anybody. Be

patient till I can explain what you don't u nderstand.

Gebel found the job really difficult, but from the first he

took it seriously and he gradually taught himself to do it well,

though it cost him much effort. The fact was that no other job

was open to him, unless he were content to be a peddler, a

strongman, a thief or a bandit. Nothing about the alleys of his

new district marked them off from his own, except that they

did not have the Trust nor the stories that had grown up

around it. As for any remaining nostalgia for his past dreams,

any thoughts of his former prestige, any of the hopes for which

Hamdaan, like Adham, had been punished - all this had

settled i n the recesses of his mind. He was determined to forget

the past by throwing himself into his new life and seeking

comfort from his beloved and loving wife whenever he was

afflicted by sadness or homesickness. He learnt so well that

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Gebel

even Balqeeti was surprised, practicing constantly in the desert

and working day and night. Days, weeks, months passed, and

he did not tire or lose his determination.

By now he knew his way round the alleys and was familiar

with the ways of snakes. He performed for thousands of

children and tasted the sweetness of success and of earning.

He heard the good news that he was to be a father. When he

was free he would lie on his back looking at the stars or spend

his evenings sharing the pipe with Balqeeti and telling the

stories that were recited to the accompani ment of the rebec in

Hamdaan's cafe. From time to time he wondered where

Gebelaawi was, and he often called out his name. When

Shafeeqa worried in case the past should spoil the present, he

would exclai m that his heart ached for Hamdaan's people his people - and that the Effendi was the head thief and Thudclub the head bu lly; how could life be good as long as

such men lived?

One day he was performing his tricks in Zayn hum, surrou nded by a crowd of children . He happened to turn, and there he saw Digger, who had made his way to the front row

and was staring at him in astonishment. Gebel was confused

and looked away but was unable to go on with the show and

brought it to an end in spite of the children's protests. He

picked up his bag and left. Digger soon caught up wi th him,

calli ng:

- Gebel ! Is it really you, Gebel?!

l-Ie stopped, turned and said:

- Yes! And what brings you here, Digger?

Digger cou ld not get over his surprise and kept saying:

- Gebel a conjurer? ! When did you learn? And where?

- It's not the strangest thing that's happened in this world.

Gebel walked to the foot of thejebel with Digger following,

and there they sat down in the shade of a hillock. The place was

empty bu t for some sheep and goats grazing and a shepherd

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Children of Gebelaawi

sitting naked, picking the lice out ofhisjellaba. Digger studied

his companion's face and said:

- Why did you run away, Gebel? How could you thin k so

badly of m e - that I'd give you away? God! I'd never give away

any of Hamdaan 's people, not even Triptoe. For whose sake

would I do that? The Effendi's? Thudclub's? Damn them all!

They've asked about you so often. I was soaked in sweat

whenever I heard them.

- Don 't you risk trouble by breaking out of house-arrest?

Digger waved the question aside.

- The ban was lifted long ago. Nobody asks any more

questions about Qidra or who killed him. People say it was

Lady Hudaa who saved us from being starved to death. But

they've condemned us to permanent disgrace; we have no

cafe, no honor. We go about our business far away from the

Alley, and when we get back we hide i ndoors, and if a strongman

happens to see one of us he amuses himself by punching him

or spitti ng on him. They think we're worse than dirt, Gebel.

You 're just so lucky in exile.

Gebel said impatiently:

- Never mind about how lucky I am. Tell me, has anybody

been hurt?

Digger picked up a stone and pounded the ground.

- Ten of us were killed during the blockade.

- God in Heaven!

- They were taken as hostages for Qidra - the bastard, the

son of a bi tch ! But they weren't friends of ours.

Gebel said angrily:

- Weren't they 1-Iamdaan's people, Digger?

Digger blinked wi th shame and his lips moved in an inaudible excuse. Gebel spoke again:

- The others got off lightly with being punched and spat

on.

He felt responsible for the poor wretches who had died, and

sorrow gripped him. He regretted bitterly every moment of

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Gebel

peace he had enjoyed since he ran away. Digger shocked him

by saying:

- You 're probably the only happy man today among all

Hamdaan 's people.

He bellowed:

- I haven't gone a day withou t thin king about you.

- But you 're far away from trouble and sorrow.

- I haven't escaped from the past at all.

- Don'tspoil your peace of mind for nothi ng. We've lost all

hope.

Gebel repeated these last words, but in a mysterious tone:

- We've lost all hope.

Digger looked at him with anxious curiosi ty bu t said n othing, out of respect for the look of grief on his face. He looked at the ground and saw a dung-beetle scuttling u nder a pile of

stone. The goatherd was shaking out his jellaba ready to cover

his su n-scorched body. Gebel spoke again:

- Really, I only seemed to be happy.

Digger said comfortingly:

- You deserve to be happy.

- I've married and taken a new job, as you see, but there's

always been a voice inside me disturbing my sleep.

- Bless you! Where do you live?,

He did not answer. He seemed to be talki ng to himself.

Then he said:

- Life won�t be good as long as such scoundrels live.

- You 're right; but how do we get rid of them?

The goatherd lifted up his voice, calling the flock and

setting off towards them, his long staff u nder his arm . Then

they heard him singing. Digger asked:

- How can I fi nd you?

- Ask for the house of Balqeeti the conjurer at Muqattam

Bazaar. But keep quiet about me till then.

Digger stood up, clasped his hand and left. Gebel followed

him wi th sad eyes.

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Children of Gebelaawi

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It was nearly midnight; Gebelaawi Alley was p lunged in

darkness but for the faint light escaping from the doors of the

cafes, which were half closed to keep out the cold. Not a star

was to be seen in the wi nter sky. The urchins were i ndoors, and

even the cats and dogs had taken refuge in the courtyards. The

calm was disturbed only by the drone of the rebec accompanying the old stories. As for Hamdaan 's sector, it was wrapped in silent darkness.