The horizon was a collection of straight, orange lines, but he had taken a firm decision to go forward, doggedly. Even when the earth turned into shining sheets of yellow paper he did not slow down. Suddenly the yellow sheets began to fly about, and he stooped to gather them up.
“Thanks. Thanks. This damned fan makes the papers fly about in front of me, but I can’t breathe without it. Ha! What have you decided?”
“Are you sure the guide you send with us won’t run away?”
“How will he be able to run away, you fool? There will be more than ten of you. He won’t be able to escape from you.”
“Where will he take us to?”
“As far as the Jahra road, beyond Mutlaa. There you will be inside Kuwait.”
“Will we have a lot of walking to do?”
“Six or seven hours, no more.”
Four hours later he reached the road. He had left H4 behind him, and the sun had set behind the brown hills. But his head was still burning, and he had the feeling that his forehead was dripping blood. He sat down on a stone and gazed into the distance at the end of the straight black road. His head felt muddled, with thousands of confused voices throbbing in it, and it seemed to him that the appearance of a big red lorry at the end of the road was a stupid fantasy. He stood up, looking at the road again, but he could not see clearly yet. Was it twilight or sweat? His head was still humming like a beehive, and he cried with all his strength:
“Abul-Abd, damn your father, damn your forefathers!”
“What did you say?”
“Me? Nothing, nothing. When will the journey begin?”
“As soon as there are ten of you. You know, we cannot send a guide with each of you. So we wait till the number reaches ten and we send one guide with them. Will you give me the cash now?”
He tightened his hold on the money in his pocket, and reflected:
“I will be able to return the amount to my uncle in less than a month. A man can collect money in the twinkling of an eye there in Kuwait.”
“Don’t be too optimistic. Dozens of people have gone before you and come back without bringing a penny with them. All the same I’ll give you the fifty dinars you have asked for. You must realize that they are the fruits of a lifetime.”
“Then why do you give me the money, if you’re sure that I won’t return it to you?”
“You know why, don’t you? I want you to make a start, even in hell, so that you’ll be in a position to marry Nada. I can’t imagine my poor daughter waiting any longer. Do you understand?”
He felt the unuttered insult wound his throat, and he had an urge to give the fifty dinars back to his uncle, to throw them in his face with all the strength in his arms and all the hatred in his heart.