One evening the shaykh was chatting in front of the mosque when he felt the peculiar man’s presence. The shaykh not only grasped his miraculous nature, but also caught a glimpse of his enigma, which had so confounded others. He resolved on the spot to seize hold of him, and to broadcast what he knew of his riddle to the crowd gathered around. But then his strength betrayed him completely — he could not move, nor could he speak.
Dream 60
I rang the bell and the door opened upon three young women whom I was sure I did not know, yet felt I was not seeing for the first time. I asked about the woman who owned the flat, and they replied that she was still on pilgrimage. No one knew when to expect her.
They walked me through the rooms of the apartment. Each time a door opened it would reveal a group of people around a circular dinner table immersed in pointed conversation — but due to the cacophony of their blended voices I couldn’t make out anything they were discussing. I did not wish to enter any of the rooms, preferring to wait for the owner.
One of the young women informed me that the lady would be delayed by several days. In despair I replied that — after having taken part in futile discussions — I would rather defer all until the lady’s return.
Dream 61
An invitation came to me to visit the house of a dear relative. Drawing near to his home, I saw crowds of invitees going inside. I realized that the invitation was a general one. Among those coming I saw a select group from the generation of our professors and another from that of my colleagues.
We exchanged greetings, then their conversation focused on the fact that all of them were living in Christopher Village. Many of them spoke about its beauty and its superiority over all the other touristic villages. We then entered, going to different tables to dine. My seat was at a tiny table stripped of all things, having not a tablecloth or plates or eating utensils or even food.
Before I could overcome my surprise I saw Shukuku coming toward me, grasping a leg of roasted mutton. He stuck it in my hand and went away laughing. Thunderstruck and annoyed, I saw no choice but to tear the meat with my fingers to eat it — although the whole time, all I could think of was Christopher Village.
Dream 62
At last I found the ancient photograph among my old things. My joy was stillborn, however, when it quickly became clear that the picture had worn with the passage of time. My dear ones’ features had been blotted so badly, there was nothing left of them but memories.
As fate would have it, I found myself in the waiting room of a government department, in my hand the service file of an employee who had been following in my footsteps, and who demanded a promotion. From experience I knew that the subject fell within the purview of the personnel department.
I looked for this office, but found no trace of it anywhere. As I passed before the storerooms, the door opened and out of it came a colleague whom God had taken from us a good month before. He seized the file from my hand and returned to the magazines, claiming that the subject was really his specialty.
His apparition made me forget what I had come there to do.
Dream 63
This green land was surrounded by a wall of medium height, enough to conceal what was happening within from those outside. From behind the wall projected an obelisk with a flag on its pinnacle, while the ground around it was covered with young people and their commotion.
At first I imagined this was an athletic club. But after looking about more carefully I became convinced it was a circus — for here was a group marching four abreast, and there was a troupe whose members traded shouts and kicks, while another group exchanged insults with every move. As for the rest of the youths, they sang anthems such as had never been heard before.
Wanting to learn more, I found myself beyond the great wall of the city, which a gigantic street sliced through. On both sides of the road, the crowds gathered outside the wall, their cheers rising up to the flag on top of the obelisk. Finally, the great door opened, from which issued a procession, car after car. In each car a young man sat in regal attitude, looking down at the people from on high, returning their greetings with arrogance and scorn.
Dream 64
In horrific terror, my feet were nailed to the ground — for at only an arm’s length from me, three huge, savage dogs were rearing up on their hind legs, ready to leap and tear me to pieces — if a woman hadn’t daringly grabbed their tails.
On my right stood a female dog in the full splendor of youth, with a wondrously smooth, white coat, watching what was going on with an anxiety that showed in the constant twitchings of her short-cropped tail.
The three dogs’ barking rose higher in a thunderous crescendo, the burning lust to destroy me gleaming in their eyes. Unable to get at me, they turned suddenly and pounced on the woman — and my heart was gripped by panic. Then the dogs threw themselves at me. As for the beautiful bitch, she stared at me for a while — then hesitated a fleeting moment before heedlessly plunging into the fray.
Dream 65
The academic year was done, and the date for the examination was declared. We hadn’t once cracked a book nor memorized a sentence — and now we had to think about what to do.
A few of us still retained some respect for rationality, and so decided not to sit for the exam. The rest, however — afire with derision and mockery — seized the chance to show off by choosing to take the test anyway. On the famous morning we formed ourselves into lines and donned masks of seriousness and concern. Then the head of the committee stood up, announcing in a booming voice that he would hand out two papers to us. One of them contained the questions and the other the correct answers.
With this, we practically lost our minds — for we had not dreamed that any of our professors could possibly surpass us in the love of absurdity and the bizarre.
Dream 66
The owner and I came to an agreement — and the man invited me to inspect what we had reached agreement about. He showed me his beautiful apartment, his stunning wife, and her three-year-old son. I was pleased with what I saw and so made an appointment for nine o’clock the next morning when the property would become mine.
An irresistible force drove me to the flat. The door opened — and it was the owner himself. Seeing me, he became enraged and slammed the door in my face, rattling the walls. I spent the night without sleeping, wondering with great agitation about Destiny and the slamming of the door.