A Life Full of Holes by Larbi Layachi

Author:Larbi Layachi
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2018-11-07T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

THE JOURNEY TO TANJA

The next day they gave me five thousand francs and a paper that said I was free. There were seven of us who got out that day. We took our papers to a guard at the big gate. He looked at them and let us out.

I had a friend named Jilali, a prisoner they trusted. He worked outside and was free to go where he liked. The day before, I had said to him: Jilali, tonight’s my last night here. Why don’t you buy me some meat and some kif, and we’ll have a little party tonight. Spend a thousand francs, and I’ll pay you back tomorrow.

Jilali could not find any good meat, but he brought back two chickens instead, and vegetables, and a lot of kif. We had a good party.

When the seven of us were outside the gate, I said to one of them: Look. Can you lend me a thousand francs? I’ll give it back to you in Settat.

What do you want a thousand francs for here?

I owe them to Jilali, I told him. I just want to pay him what I owe him. I’ll give you my five thousand francs to keep until we get to Settat. Then I’ll get change and pay you back.

Ouakha. He handed me a thousand francs and I gave him my five thousand.

I went to the house of one of the guards where I knew Jilali was working, and gave him his money. Thank you. May Allah bless your parents. Then I said good-bye, and the seven of us started walking along the highway toward Settat. It was only seven kilometers away. When we got there I took back my five thousand franc note and changed it, and paid the thousand francs to the friend who had lent it to me. Then I said good-bye to him. The others were already gone. I still had four thousand francs in my pocket. On my feet I had only a pair of broken sandals. And I went and bought a pair of shoes. I put them on and tossed the sandals into the street. A man walking by picked them up and put them on. His own sandals were even more broken than mine. Then he walked away holding his sandals in his hand.

I went on. I stopped a man. Where do the buses for Dar el Beida leave from?

You see where those buses are, up the street? The one that’s full of people is going to Dar el Beida in a few minutes. If you want to go, hurry and catch it.

I ran all the way to the bus. There was a man wearing a leather pouch hung around his neck. He was standing in front of the door.

Brother, I said to him. Is this the bus that goes to Dar el Beida?

Yes, he said. I got in and found an empty seat in the back. I sat down and looked at the people inside the bus. The man with the pouch came and asked me where I was going.

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