Naguib Mahfouz - Midaq Alley (Chapter 25) lyrics

Chapter 25 As he neared the alley, Hussein Kersha told himself, "T.his is the hour when they all meet in the cafe, and they'll all see me for sure and they'll tell my father of my arrival, if he's failed to notice." The shades of night had fallen. The shops in the alley had shut and silence reigned there. Only in Kersha's cafe was there noise. The boy was walking with heavy steps, downcast and grim, followed closely by another boy of about his age and a girl in the prime of life. Hussein wore a shirt and pants and carried a large bag in his right hand, as did the boy who walked behind him. The girl, however, walked proudly in a chic dress, with neither coat nor milaya, her gait displaying a certain handsomeness and elegance, albeit she was not without the characteristic vulgarity of her cla**. Hussein headed for the house of Master Radwan el-Husseini without glancing in the direction of the cafe and entered it, followed by his two companions. They climbed the stairs to the third floor and the boy, glowering even more fiercely, knocked on the door of the apartment and heard foot­ steps approaching, followed by the opening of the door, behind which appeared his mother, who asked in a rough voice, "VVho is it?" as it was too dark for her to recognize the figure before her. In a low voice he replied, "Hussein." ****** The man looked at him apologetically and said sarcastically, "I'm so sorry. Have I been giving you a hard time? A sensitive nature, is it? Amour propre and social standing? 'Have mercy on one of our noble men, fallen on hard times!'? 'Have some shame, Boss Kersha, and talk to your masters in a manner befitting their iank!'? Do be so good as to divest yourselves of your clothes. And you, Mistress Umm Hussein, open up the treasure chest we have hidden in the latrine and bring up a good bushel or two for your lord and master so he can be rich and happy!" Hussein mastered his anger and didn't utter- a word, so the storm pa**ed over safely and the woman prayed silendy, "Keep us within Thy protection, 0 Protector!" Boss Kersha, for all his annoyance and sarcasm, could not have been further from actually throwing them out. Indeed, even at that moment of fierceness, he was not altogeter displeased that the boy had returned, or that he'd got married. He therefore changed tack and murmured, "It's God's will. May the Lord not hold me responsible for your sins!" Then he resumed, asking the youth, "What do you expect to do about your future?"- Aware that the worst was past, the youth replied, "I'll find work, God willing. And I still have my wife's j**elry." His mother paid close attention to the word ')ewelry" and asked him without thinking, "Did you buy it for her?" Hussein replied, "I gave her some of it and her brother bought the rest." He turned to his father and added, "I shall find work, and Abduh, my brother-in-law; will look for work too. In any case, he's only going to stay with us for a few days." Umm Hussein took advantage of the calm following the storm to tell her husband, "Come along, Boss Kersha, and say hello to your son's wife." She gave her son a surreptitious look and winked, but the young man, with the offhandedness of those who are by nature uncomfort­ able with affection, said, "Would you be so kind as to do the honors with my wife?" The man hesitated for a moment, then said as though irritated, ''How can you expect me to acknowledge this marriage that I haven't blessed?" Hearing no answer, he rose, grumbling, and the woman opened the door and went ahead of him and they all moved to the other room, where they shook hands, and Boss Kersha bade his son's wife and her brother welcome. Each heart closed over its secrets, but the faces beamed with welcome and complimentary words. Boss Kersha had surrendered to the foit accompli but remained uneasy, not knowing whether he had done well to surrender or not, and still harboring some resentment and ill-will. Then, while they were talking, his sleepy eyes lit on the girl's brother and examined him carefully. In a flash, he was seized by an intense interest that made him forget all anxiety, resentment, and meanness. He was a teenager of striking good looks and pleasant demeanor and as he engaged him in conver­ sation and gazed at him with alert eye, his mood improved and a tremor of pleasure and ardor moved deep within him. Thus his heart opened up to the new relatives and he bade them welcome once again, but with a new awareness. To his son he said pleasantly, "Don't you have any furniture, Hussein?" to which Hussein replied, '1\ bedroom suite that's in storage with the neighbors." In commanding tones, Boss Kersha exclaimed, "Go get your things and bring them here!" Hussein found himself alone with his mother and they sat and talked and made arrangements. At the end, the woman suddenly cried, "Didn't you hear what happened? Hamida's disappeared." "How?" asked Hussein, astonishment appearing on his face. Making no attempt to keep the gloating out of her voice, the woman told him, "The day before yesterday she went out in the after­ noon like she does every day but she never came back. Her mother went around to all her neighbors' and acquaintances' houses looking for her but it was useless. She went to the police stations in Gamaliya and Qasr el-Aini too but she was flogging a dead horse." "What do you think happened to her?" Umm Hussein shook her head suspiciously and said confidently, "I swear she ran away. A man must have seduced her and sold her a bill of goods and gone off with her. She was pretty but she was never any good."