He noticed that she was looking at his reflection in the mirror on the left-hand wall. A feeling of satisfaction swept over him. Perhaps he had made the same impression on her as he had made on other women. They stood up, shook hands, and separated. He fought the strong desire to follow her. When he returned to the hotel, he notified Mr. Khalil Abul Naga and Mohamed el-Sawi that he was expecting a phone call from a Sayed Sayed el-Reheimy.

“Then you are searching for your father?” said the old man, Khalil. “How did you lose him?”

“The same way that he lost me. And here I am looking for him.”

“What a strange story,” said the old man.

“There’s nothing strange about it,” he said, annoyed at the questions. “Please call me if there is a phone call.”

A young man in search of his father, that’s what they’ll say about him. He picked up a newspaper and sat in the lounge. The telephone rang. Sayed Reheimy, hairdresser from Bulaq, Reheimy the schoolteacher, the tram driver, the grocer. Where is Sayed Sayed el-Reheimy? Why doesn’t he contact him like the others? If he’s dead, where is his next of kin? His funds were being rapidly depleted. The other hotel guests sat around smoking, drinking coffee, chatting. No one noticed him. Thank God. They didn’t read the advertisements. Your money will run out. Where is your father? You are nothing but a pimp and a hustler. Life was beautiful when your mother was alive. Money, pleasure, more money, more pleasure. Fighting for your mother’s name, in vain perhaps. But nevertheless fighting. Money, pleasure, and bloody battles.

“Cotton…Everything now depends on cotton,” said one of the guests as he looked up from the paper at his companion.

“But this impending war? Won’t it guarantee our cotton?” asked his companion.

“It won’t be like previous wars.”

“That’s true. Nothing will remain.”

“And where is God? The Creator and Protector of all this?” That’s true. Where was God? He knew of the name. But that was about all. He lived in a world without religion. The telephone vigil continued. Thoughts of Elham and Khalil’s wife flashed through his mind. The breeze and the flame. We need both. If my father doesn’t put in an appearance, it’s back to fear, hunger, and a tainted past filled with crime and sin.

The telephone rang. It wasn’t for him. But as he looked toward the phone booth, he saw her. His heart stopped beating and his breathing became heavy. So she’s back. That look again. A conspiracy of desire and mockery. Reheimy and Elham were soon forgotten. He left the lounge and went up to his room on the third floor. Footsteps were approaching. He opened the door. “Welcome back.”

She nodded, smiling.

“We really missed you.”

She laughed quietly and hurried up to the fourth floor.