The Water Thief by Claire Hajaj

Author:Claire Hajaj
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oneworld Publications
Published: 2018-05-28T16:00:00+00:00

January

Nicholas is late to pick me up from school. The other students already went home. He promised to take me with him to the Town today. Mama said it’s OK for me to go. Since she and Nicholas came back from the capital, she says yes to everything.

Today is an important day, Nicholas says. The governor is bringing some village heads and even the emir to see the hospital. Nicholas says they will take pictures for the newspaper. I brought the governor’s cap to school with me so I can wear it in the photographs.

Some days I am still angry with Nicholas for leaving me behind. I thought I could not forgive him. The day he left, I pretended to sleep when he came to my door. I stayed until I heard Baba come back into the house. Soon I heard him open the toolbox for the clock.

Later Hanan came to collect Nagode. I heard her speaking with Baba in the kitchen.

She said: ‘There is talk, Baba. Bad talk. About your guest.’ She calls him Baba sometimes, to show her respect. Adeya has no real baba. He was a stranger from the south, like Mama. He left one day and did not come back.

Baba’s voice sounded tired. He told Hanan: ‘The Prophet, peace be upon him, says that Hell is reached fastest through the harvest of our tongues.’

‘Do not be angry with me, Baba,’ I heard Hanan say. ‘I do not want you to suffer as I did.’

‘Only the innocent suffer,’ Baba says to her. ‘For the rest of us, adversity is necessary.’

Hanan does not understand when Baba speaks this way. I do not either.

But I am thinking of Adeya and her baba. Did she cry, when he went? Does she still wait for him?

Adeya does not come to school any more. Baba says they have no money after the fire. And she cannot write with her burned hands. Each day I see her desk, where she used to sit. I cannot forget her face when I let them laugh at her.

After Hanan went home, I came from my room. There was Baba, on his knees. He had opened the side of the clock and was pulling something from the inside. He was pulling and pulling, but it would not come.

‘Ah, Yahya,’ he said. ‘Hand me the pliers if you would.’

I brought them to him. Together we worked quietly. Baba, he does not talk. I missed Nicholas. He talks to me all the time. And just then, I felt fear. Suppose he did not want to come back? Suppose he did not teach me any more about trigonometry and pi. I would not be an engineer. Then I would stay here forever, with Baba and this clock.

Then I wanted to run after Nicholas, to call him back. To say: I am sorry I was angry. I promise I will not fight any more if you come back soon.

My throat hurt from swallowing. I could not help asking Baba: ‘Why did Adeya’s baba not come back to them?’

I saw Baba stop for one moment.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.