Immediately my wife and I got dressed and hurried to the station for the buses taking the Desert Road north. By this time, we were so distressed and confused that I suggested to my wife that we empty the flat of our belongings and turn it back to its owner, especially as there had already been an attempted robbery there.
But she told me to wait until we saw what had been lost — and what still remained.
Dream 36
We were assembled in some sort of great hall. Then some faces appeared that I was seeing for the first time, as well as others that I knew very well that belonged to my colleagues. We were awaiting the announcement of what Fate had decreed.
The results were revealed, and I was the winner: the prize was a new, modern-style villa. There followed a tumult of comments and congratulations. Many faces were unable to conceal their sadness. Quite a few said that it was a win, all right, but also a misfortune — for where would I get the money to furnish it and pay the necessary staff, as well as to cover the water and electrical bills, to maintain the swimming pool, the air conditioning, and so on?
In truth, my dream was still but a dream: I inspected the villa nearly every day, only to meet disappointment and distress. People took advantage of my lack of experience and persuaded me to sell the place at a particular price. For an hour or so, I gleefully rejoiced at what I had gained — until it dawned on me that I had been had.
At that time, it happened that the post of general director in the civil service fell vacant. There were many candidates, some of whom had great connections, jostling madly to fill it. I met with the minister, telling him that he was my only point of influence in this affair. But he replied, “You aren’t even able to protect your own money — so how could you be trusted with everyone else’s?”
I became a peculiarity, an example of what not to be for my fellow employees. Finally, I asked that my remaining time in service be added to that already served, and to go on pension at once. At last, I felt the security of a position to which no one ever aspires out of greed, and which does not attract the eyes of the covetous.
Dream 37
The mahmal wobbled atop the camel, festooned with many colors and bouquets of flowers. Leading it was a man holding a pole upright in his mouth, bangles dangling from the pole’s head.
The camel’s head was at the level of the first floor of the house from where I watched through the window. My eye met the camel’s own, and within his eye I read a smile and an esprit that placed a blessing within me. Suddenly, I flew from my spot behind the window and spun toward the camel’s head, dressed in my gallabiya, my hair blown about. The people shouted, “God is most great!” and “There is no god but God!” and cried out incoherently at the sight of my feat. All the while, I kept rising in the air, until I landed on the roof of my house.
After the mahmal had passed, the people all flocked in front of my home, demanding to see the boy who could fly. They then turned abruptly from joyous amazement to fearful alarm, saying that an evil spirit possessed the levitating child — meaning me — and that his flight around the camel’s head was an evil omen for all humanity. Therefore he must be freed of the Devil by flogging until he is cleansed completely. If he should refuse, then he would face the appropriate punishment — which was death.
Filled with fear, the lad and his family called in the police. The police chief demanded to see the miracle take place under his own eyes. He went to the house and witnessed the prodigious feat, and was truly dazzled by it. Yet he found himself torn between two points of view. The family claimed it was a wonder such as those performed by the saints — while the people denounced it as one of Satan’s pranks, and a portent of misfortune.
Finally, the police chief decided to put the boy in prison until the whole subject was lost in oblivion.
Dream 38
I was sitting in my room, listening to a song on the phonograph, when a ravishing, elegant, and exciting woman of about twenty walked through the open door. Swept away by surprise and desire, I stood up and walked toward her until I stood in front of her.
Calmly she put out her hand, which held a letter. I took it and looked at it, then replied that I could not read it due to the weakness of my eyes, and asked her to read it for me. But she apologized that she did not know how to read or write, saying that her father had composed it for the prince whose name was found on the envelope. Before he died, her father had advised her to bring the missive to me so that I might deliver it to the prince for her. My astonishment mounting, I told her that I didn’t know the prince in question — or any other prince, for that matter. I grew suspicious of her, and tried to change the subject, but then she left.
As I crossed the Qasr al-Nil bridge on my way to work, she appeared before me at the other end. I ignored her, but she followed me for not a short distance.
Coming back to my home, I discovered her quite settled in there. I warned her not to return to the subject of the letter. A long while passed, but still I wasn’t free from evil forebodings — nor, clearly, was she. Definitely, we both had to flee by one route or another.
Dream 39
I stepped into the minister’s room carrying a typewritten report bearing the names of the employees who had been nominated for promotion. My own name was among them. Obviously, the minister looked after me with special care.
The minister having signed the declaration at the top, I took it to the personnel office for action. I went straight to the official in charge, who turned out to be a beautiful young woman. Looking at the document, she noted that the minister should have put his signature at the bottom, rather than the top. Hence it was impossible to execute the orders for promotions or to give raises to those listed on it. I became exasperated and complained of the bureaucracy that we had to put up with. Nonetheless, she stuck to her position — and I brought the report back to the minister. He signed it in the correct location, laughing as he did. I returned to the young woman, handing her the declaration. Sitting to the right of her desk was a female employee friend of hers known for her cheerfulness. The friend defended what her colleague had done, saying she was withholding promotion from the unmarried employees because she believed the rights of the married ones took precedence over theirs.
The first female employee pretended she was annoyed by the broadcast of this secret. When the happy-go-lucky one met me again afterwards, she asked my opinion of the official in personnel. I told her honestly that she had delighted me, so she suggested that I inform her of my feelings by way of introduction to a proposal of marriage. I asked for time to think it over — but she said I was no longer a young man, and that my life was being wasted on mere reflection.
She insisted that I tell her — so I surrendered, and did not refuse.
Dream 40