The Search by Naguib Mahfouz

Author:Naguib Mahfouz [Mahfouz, Naguib]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published: 2016-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

He breakfasted on eggs, cheese, fruit, and a glass of milk. He watched the other guests in the lounge. Look carefully at them; in a short while a vast chasm will separate you from them.

When night falls you are going to sign a bloody pact as your gateway to crime. There goes old man Khalil, facing the cold morning, his hand trembling unceasingly, not thinking of death. Your life will end at ten this evening. You don’t know that, but I do. Take the advice of one who has lost hope; don’t bother about trivial matters any longer. I share with God the realm of the unknown. The telephone rang. Saber laughed audibly. Was that his father ringing at the eleventh hour?

Mohamed al-Sawi answered, “No, no, you’ve got the wrong number.”

No, no. And no to you, Sayed el-Reheimy! You’ve denied your son, and now your son denies you. Your son will seek freedom, honor, and peace of mind somewhere else. Don’t yawn, Khalil. Soon you’ll sleep forever. Why do you persist in following an inevitable destiny? Explain to me what it all means; I, your killer, will enjoy your fortune, my mother sunk to the lowest depths, my father mercilessly silent, my hopes dependent on destruction. Explain all this. What is it all about? A week has passed, and I think of nothing but the crime. How different were my dreams as the train left Alexandria. These other men, the guests, have none of them committed a crime? All this talk of money, war, luck, will it never cease? They predict the future and yet are so ignorant about what is going to happen right here under their very noses.

Saber left the hotel at ten, nodding to Khalil on his way out. I left the hotel at ten and didn’t return till one in the morning, he kept repeating to himself. He looked at the entrance of the neighboring building. Like a teeming marketplace. People going in and out. The roof was empty, and no other overlooked it. It would get dark after five.

He thought of visiting Elham, but the idea was crowded out by his immediate thoughts. He couldn’t bear to talk to her while he was contemplating blood. What was he going to tell her before he left her forever?

He passed the newspaper building, and an overwhelming sadness descended upon him. He remembered their meetings, her concern over his problem, his inability to match her love. He killed time by walking aimlessly, had lunch at the grocery in Clot Bey Street, and washed it down with a couple of brandies.

“Terrible weather,” said the grocer.

“I’m a criminal descended from criminals,” he cried out as he left the shop. The grocer laughed; brandy does strange things to people!

He suddenly decided that he must see Elham. She was not at the café; the waiter told him that she had left immediately after lunch. His sudden desire to see her waned. He waited until five o’clock and then walked back to

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