Such words pleased the man in a way that Othman could not comprehend. The man’s involvement in such things amazed him. And more amazing was the involvement of his wretched colleagues. What was it that they found attractive in them? Had they not more basic worries to occupy their minds? But he told himself with no little scorn that they were people without a fixed aim in life, that their religious faith was only superficial and that they never thought enough of the meaning of life or of what God had created them for. Thus their thoughts and their lives were wasted in empty amusement and sophistry and their true potentialities were dissipated without achievement. Illusions deceived them and they stood idle as time went by.

SEVEN

One day, after receiving the incoming mail from him, Sa‘fan Basyuni said, “Come and spend an evening at my place. You’ll enjoy it.” Despite some surprise and misgiving he did not think of declining. The man went on: “Our neighbors are having a wedding party. We’ll have an ox head for supper together and sit on the balcony to listen to the singing…”

He lived in a flat on the third floor of a block in al-Bahr Close in the Bab al-Sha‘riyya quarter. Othman found that he was the only person invited and felt gratified by the honor that his chief bestowed on him alone. They had together a delicious supper which consisted of ox tongue, brain, cheek, and eye, along with sausage, bready beef soup, and fried onions in addition to radishes and pickles, as well as melon for dessert. It was a superb and bountiful meal and he ate his fill. They sat on a balcony overlooking the courtyard of the house where the wedding took place. The courtyard was brightly lit by numerous pressure lamps. Inside were rows of chairs and sofas packed with guests. The gangways thronged with boys and younger children while scores of others pressed around the outside fence. Lights shone inside the house as well and women were seen coming and going. The whole place reverberated with voices of every pitch and kind; bursts of laughter and coughing as well as cries of joy resounded in the air. Othman was stirred by the wedding’s air of happiness and its heartwarming scents of sexuality and love. When the band struck up, he found it more moving than he expected or was accustomed to, for he did not like music particularly, though it was all right when it came his way. Indeed, music was not all that bad sometimes. It was something good and comforting. Marriage was a splendid relationship, a joy and a religious duty. A deep splendid sadness came over him.