No, he hadn’t. All he read in the papers were obituaries and affairs of state.

“Really?” he asked with alarm.

“They’ve actually told us so.”

“Unbelievable!”

“They’ve promised to help us find work. Work indeed! God damn them in this world and the next! Have they reformed everything till they’ve only got us left to worry about?”

“Maybe it’s only a rumor. This country is full of rumors, you know.”

“I’m telling you, we’ve been officially informed.”

“And when is this going to take effect?” he asked in real consternation.

“Before the end of the year.”

They were quiet, and for some time the noise of revelers in the lane could be heard in the room. He had imagined many disasters but this one never crossed his mind.

“There’ll be brothels everywhere,” he observed wistfully.

“And VD will spread.”

“Thousands of innocent girls will be corrupted.”

“Those wretched idiots! Just for the want of something to do!”

“What are you going to do?” he asked her with a sigh.

“Whatever happens, I am not going to work as a washerwoman in a hospital.”

“Could I have your home address?”

“We’ll be watched.”

“Haven’t you thought about the future?” he asked, his despair becoming unbearable.

“I will get married,” was her confident reply. “There’s nothing else for me to do.”

Her words fell on him like a blow. He poured himself a third glass.

“Anybody in particular?”

“It won’t be difficult to find somebody.”

“But how?”

“I’ve got five hundred pounds,” she replied boastfully. “I could furnish a flat for a hundred and fifty and keep the rest as something to fall back on. That being so, wouldn’t lots of men be keen to marry me?”

“I’m sure you’re right.”

“If you find a suitable husband for me, let me know,” she added, laughing.

At midnight, as he stealthily found his way under the arches, he bumped into a drunken man being sick. He was nauseated beyond endurance. A sense of his loneliness, of despair, and of the emptiness of life overtook him: he felt an urge to do away with himself. He changed his direction without thinking and staggered his way back to the lane. He saw Qadriyya coming down the stairs on her way home. He stopped her with his hand and said, “Qadriyya, I’ve found a suitable husband for you.” He did not see her face in the dark but was able to guess the impact of his words.

“Let’s get married at once!”

THIRTY-TWO

The marriage took place on the following day. His decision did not stun the woman as he had expected. She just looked at him closely for a while to make sure that he was serious, then she nodded her head with approval. He told himself that she probably considered him the real beneficiary in the deal because of her five hundred pounds.