However, days went by without any of his fears being realized; nor did a bill for an abortion come from the girl. He knew he should return to Cairo, but for some incomprehensible reason he was determined to stay in Alexandria. Every time he felt safe as far as the girl was concerned, he clung still closer to his own sufferings. The storms no longer disturbed him so much as fascinated him, and loneliness worked its cryptic and deadly magic on him. The atmosphere of living among foreigners, with its own strange aroma, gave him dreams of emigrating forever to the mountaintops painted with green fields; there he could spend the rest of his life far away from anxieties.

He was very fond of Ramla Square;30 it was a permanent stage for elegantly dressed women with golden tresses wrapped up in their raincoats. Every time a tram came, flocks of beautiful women would emerge; it made Isa feel more relaxed and almost drunk as their legs seemed to play all kinds of tunes to him. When a policeman noticed him staring at a gorgeous girl and getting ready to follow her, their eyes met, and the policeman smiled. Isa suddenly came to himself as he remembered the awe that he had inspired in all ranks of policemen in the old days. He took a seat behind the window in ’Ala Kaifak1 which looked out onto the square, where streams of humanity kept crashing into each other. From his vantage point, he could live among them as he liked without getting tired. In his past life, weighed down by ambition, he had had no chance to sit down like this, even though all he was really doing now was sitting there like some discarded foam left behind on the beach by a wave for the municipal workers to come by and scoop up. Where were the key power figures who had been forced to go into hiding? When would people stop crying about them? These days, the game could only be undertaken on impulse, without relish or real human contact. When time did allow some human relationships to be formed, the hurricane would rage and everyone standing up would be blown away.

The sky was getting darker now. Some unknown force was swallowing up all the daylight; clouds were gathering, and human beings could be seen scurrying away like ghosts. Alexandria! Your winter is as fickle as a woman! The wind blew hard, like bad news. People wrapped their coats around them. Newspaper vendors closed up their stands; it became the ultimate in blessings to take refuge behind the window of ’Ala Kaifak and sip hot tea. The thunder rumbled, and people started. Down came the rain, but with a certain grace to it; the space between the sky and the earth seemed to be fixed to electric wires. The square was empty, and the people huddled together gave him a warm feeling; he felt relaxed and at ease.