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An Incident in the Ghobashi
Household 2
the two kirats of land and the buffalo. 'Take care of Ni'ma,' he
had said the night before he left. 'The girl's body has ripened.'
He had then spread out his palms and said: '0 Lord, for the
sake of the Prophet's honor, let me bring back with me a
marriage dress for her of pure silk.' She had said to him: 'May
your words go straight from your lips to Heaven's gate,
Ghobashi.' He wouldn't be returning before the following
Great Feast. What would happen when he returned and found
out the state of affairs? She put her head between the palms of
her hands and leaned over the fire, blowing away the ashes.
'How strange,' she thought, 'are the girls of today! The cunning little thing was hanging out her towels at the time of her
period every month just as though nothing had happened,
and here she is in her fourth month and there's nothing
showing.'
Ni'ma returned and untied the cloth from round the eggs,
put two of them in the fire and the rest in a dish. She then
brought two glasses and the tin of sugar and sat down next to
her mother, who was still immersed in her thoughts.
'Didn't you try to find some way out?'
Ni'ma hunched her shoulders in a gesture of helplessness.
'Your father's been gone four months. Isn't there still time?'
'What's the use? If only the Lord were to spare you the
trouble of me. Wouldn't it be for the best, mother, if my foot
were to slip as I was filling the water jar from the canal and
we'd be done with it?'
Zeinat struck herself on the breast and drew her daughter to
her.
'Don't say such a wicked thing. Don't listen to such prompting' of the Devil. Calm down and let's find some solution
before your father returns.'
Zeinat poured out the tea. In silence she took quick sips at it,
then put the glass in front of her and shelled the egg and bit
into it. Ni'ma sat watching her, her fingers held round the hot
glass. From outside came the raised voices of women discussing the prospects at the day's market, while men exchanged
greetings as they made their way to the fields. Amidst the
voices could be heard Hamdan's laughter as he led the buffalo.
to the two kirats of land surrounding the house.
'His account is with Allah,' muttered Zeinat. 'He's fine and
doesn't have a worry in the world.'
Ni'ma got up and began winding mound the end of her
headcloth so as to form a pad on her head. Zeinat turned
round and saw her preparing herself to go off to the market.
She pulled her by her djellaba and the young girl sat down
again. At this moment they heard a knocking at the door and
the voice of their neighbour, Umm al-Khair, calling:
'Good health to you, folk. Isn't Ni'ma coming with me to
market as usual, Auntie Zeinat? Or isn't she up yet?'
'Sister, she's just going off to stay with our relatives.'
'May Allah bring her back safely.'
Ni'ma looked at her mother enquiringly, while Zeinat
placed her finger to her mouth. When the sound of Umm
al-Khair's footsteps died away, Ni'ma whispered:
'What are you intending to do, mother? What relatives are
you talking about?'
Zeinat got up and rummaged in her clothes box and took out
a handkerchief tied round some money, also old clothes. She
placed the handkerchief in Ni'ma's palm and closed her fingers over it.
'Take it -- they're my life savings.'
Ni'ma remained silent as her mother went on:
'Get together your clothes and go straight away to the
station and take a ticket to Cairo. Cairo's a big place, daughter,
where you'll find protection and a way to make a living till
Allah brings you safely to your time. Then bring it back with
you at dead of night without anyone seeing you or hearing
you.'
Zeinat raised the end of her djellaba and put it between her
teeth. Taking hold of the old clothes, she began winding them
round her waist. Then she let fall the djellaba. Ni'ma regarded
her in astonishment:
'And what will we say to my father?'
'It's not time for talking. Before you go off to the station, help
me with the basket so that I can go to the market for people to
see me like this. Isn't it better, when he returns, for your father
to find himself with a legitimate son than an illegitimate
grandson?'
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