The phone card I bought at the airport the other day still had some time left on it.

My mother? Should I call my mother?

Nobody answered at Hay Salam. M’Barka wasn’t home. Where could she be? It was only 8 in the morning in Morocco.Was she still sleeping? Impossible, my mother had always beenan early riser. So where was she? I needed her so badly, neededto hear her voice, even if the decision to leave her had been myown. Nobody there for me in Morocco? So soon? I was alreadyout of the phone booth when I remembered her telling me theother day how she was going to visit my sister in Rabat.

Should I call Latéffa then?

“Hello, Latéffa? It’s me, Abdellah.”

“It’s my brother. My baby brother. "You left before I had a chance to see you.”

“But I passed by your place two days ago in the late afternoon. I knocked and knocked but obviously you weren’thome.”

“I probably went to pick the kids up at school. You know, they’re still not too good at finding the way back to the houseby themselves.”

“How are they doing? And hows that husband of yours, hows El-Mahdi?”

“Everybody’s fine. Were all thinking about you and everybody says hi. So, how are you doing, way off in that foreign country where you have no hbibe and you have no friends?”

“Stop worrying. I’ve made a few friends.”

“Well, that’s a good thing. But nothing can take the place of your family, can it? Water is never thicker than blood ...We miss you already, honey. Mom says the house feels reallyempty now. She’s completely alone. Mustapha is always outand Abdelkébir, well, you know Abdelkébir, he spends all histime with his wife. Mom will be here any minute now. She’sgoing to stay with us because she can’t stay by herself in HaySalam anymore.”

“I miss all of you too. It’s cold here.”

“Did you remember your winter coat?”

“Yes.”

“Are your friends taking good care of you?”

“Yes, very good care.”

“Don’t cry. Sooner or later, everybody leaves. Today it’s your turn. I know it’s hard. It will take months, even years,before we understand how important leaving is for us and fora lot of other people ... Don’t cry ... Be a man ... Don’t cry. Are you eating? You have to eat in a place like that, it’s so cold.”

“Latéffa!”

“Yes?”

“I’m almost out of credit. Give everybody a kiss from me. Take good care of mom. Tell her I’ll call again ...”