Trained athletes ran a hundred meters in about twelve seconds, so say he could do a hundred meters in about fifteen seconds, how long would twenty meters take him? The ratio was constant, so fifteen multiplied by twenty divided by a hundred. Answer three. Three seconds! Say five to be on the safe side. Five seconds and it would all be over. Or just beginning.
Warily he stuck his head out. In the distance the street was dark, then closer to where he was it was lit at intervals by the street lamps with their red glow. There was nobody about and that could well be the case for five more seconds.
He drew back again. Perhaps he would knock on the door. His heart was beating violently. Perhaps they would not recognize him at first. Then he would see her. He would call her as soon as he was inside and see her, see that face that he loved so much. He would take her aside to hold her in his arms and apologize to her. No, he wouldn’t apologize to her. He moved suddenly not knowing why he chose that particular moment. He bounded forward enthusiastically and felt the cool night air on his face. He crossed the pavement in a flash, his feet not disappointing him. Of course he .would not apologize to her, to that precious creature. He would simply tell her that he had come back for her, his wife, because he had conquered all thoughts of death in himself. He was running confidently across the wet, tarred surface of the street, looking at the horizon and the sky opening out above him, when he felt the shot burn along his right thigh. He hadn’t heard any shooting. He dropped heavily to his knees, full of amazement. So these five seconds of his life had not passed safely after all. He held the place where the terrible pain was on his thigh and a warm stream of liquid ran over his fingers. He looked around bewilderedly, but saw no one. He wanted to call out for help, to tell them that they had to let him live, that his death was no business of theirs. When he saw a faint gleam of light in a dark corner on the other side of the street, he understood what it meant. He went on waiting for what was no more than a hundredth of a second, but for him it lasted forever; then he knew, before the dreadful pain tore into his chest and shoulders, that he had not survived. His body, spattered with mud and blood, writhed and shuddered alarmingly on the asphalt of the empty street.
Paris, 9 February 1966—Baghdad. 5 September 1977
This mass of pages does not contain what people believe it does. No sighs, no talk, no groans or smiles. No sublimity, suffering, fear, or desire. No eyes, lips, blood, or tears. If they are thrown away they will not protest. They are dumb pages which are neither harmful not beneficial, and it is better for them and for everyone if they are left in peace and forgotten.
Modern Arabic Literature
from the American University in Cairo Press
Ibrahim Abdel Meguid Birds of Amber
No One Sleeps in Alexandria • The Other Place
Yahya Taher Abdullah The Mountain of Green Tea
Leila Abouzeid The Last Chapter
Hamdi Abu Golayyel Thieves in Retirement
Yusuf Abu Rayya Wedding Night
Ahmed Alaidy Being Abbas el Abd
Idris Ali Dongola: A Novel of Nubia • Poor
Ibrahim Aslan The Heron • Nile Sparrows
Alaa Al Aswany The Yacoubian Building
Fadhil al-Azzawi The Last of the Angels
Hala El Badry A Certain Woman • Muntaha
Salwa Bakr The Man from Bashmour • The Wiles of Men
Hoda Bambi Disciples of Passion • The Tiller of Waters
Mourid Barghouti I Saw Ramallah
Mohamed El-Bisatie Clamor of the lake • Houses Behind the Trees
A Last Glass of Tea • Over the Bridge
Mansoura Ez Eldin Maryarn‘s Maze
Ibrahim Farghali The Smiles of the Saints
Hamdy el-Gazzar Black Magic
Fathy Ghanem The Man Who Lost His Shadow
Randa Ghazy Dreaming of Palestine
Gamal al-Ghitani Pyramid Texts • Zayni Barakat
Yahya Hakki The Lamp of Umm Hashim
Bensalem Himmich The Polymath • The Theocrat
Taha Hussein The Days • A Man of Letters • The Sufferers
Sonallah Ibrahim Cairo: From Edge to Edge • The Committee • Zaat
Yusuf Idris City of Love and Ashes
Denys Johnson-Davies The AUC Press Book of Modern Arabic Literature
Under the Naked Sky: Short Stories from the Arab World
Said al-Kafrawi The Hill of Gypsies
Sahar Khalifeh The End of Spring • The Image, the Icon, and the Covenant
The Inheritance
Edwar al-Kharrat Rama and the Dragon • Stones of Bobello
Betool Khedairi Absent
Mohammed Khudayyir Basrayatha: Portrait of a City
Ibrahim al-Koni Anubis
Naguib Mahfouz Adrift on the Nile • Akhenaten: Dweller in Truth
Arabian Nights and Days • Autumn Quail • The Beggar • The Beginning and
the End • The Cairo Trilogy: Palace Walk, Palace of Desire. Sugar Street
Children of the Alley • The Day the leader Was Killed • The Dreams
Dreams of Departure • Echoes of an Autobiography • The Harafish
The Journey of lbn Fattouma • Karnak Café • Khufu‘s Wisdom • Life’s Wisdom
Midaq Alley • Miramar • Mirrors • Morning and Evening Talk
Naguib Mahfouz at Sidi Gaber • Respected Sir • Rhadopis of Nubia
The Search • The Seventh Heaven • Thebes at War • The Thief and the Dogs
The Time and the Place • Voices from the Other World • Wedding Song
Mohamed Makhzangi Memories of a Meltdown
Alia Mamdouh The Loved Ones • Naphtalene
Selim Malar The Woman of the Flask
Ibrahim al-Mazini Ten Again
Yousef Al-Mohaimeed Wolves of the Crescent Moon
Ahlam Mosteghanemi Chaos of the Senses • Memory in the Flesh
Buthaina Al Nasiri Final Night
Ibrahim Nasrallah Inside the Night
Haggag Hassan Oddoul Nights of Musk
Abd al-Hakim Qasim Rites of Assent
Somaya Ramadan Leaves of Narcissus
Lenin El-Ramly In Plain Arabic
Ghada Samman The Night of the First Billion
Rafik Schami Damascus Nights
Khairy Shalaby The Lodging House
Miral ai-Tahawy Blue Aubergine • The Tent
Bahaa Taher Love in Exile
Fuad al-Takarli The Long Way Back
Latifa al-Zayyat The Open Door
The Long Way Back Page 39