Read Online Children of Gebelaawi by Naguib Mahfouz - Free Book Online Page A

t.
    Ad ham felt that he was in a tigh t corner.
    - God only knows !
    - It's in the private chamber off your father's bedroom.
    You must have seen the li ttle door at the far end of the left hand
    wall; it's always locked, but the key's kept in a tiny si lver box in
    the drawer of his bedside table. The fat book itself is on a table
    in the private chamber.
    Adham raised his th in eyebrows in confusion and muttered:
    - What are you after?
    ldrees said with a sigh:
    - If there 's any peace of mind left to me in this world, i t
    depends o n my knowing what's signed a n d sealed about m e i n
    the Deeds.
    Adham, relieved, replied:
    - The simplest thing for me will be to ask him straight out
    what's in the Ten Clauses.
    - He wouldn 't tel l you . He'd be angry. He'd probably thin k
    worse of you for it. Or he'd guess the real reason for your
    question and lose his temper. How I'd hate you to lose your
    father's confidence as a reward for your ki ndness to me. He
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    Children of Gebelaawi
    certainly doesn' t mean to reveal his Ten Clauses or he'd have
    told us all what they are. No! The only safe way to the Deeds is
    the one I 've described to you. It'll be very easy at daybreak,
    when your father walks in the garden.
    Ad ham 's face grew pale.
    - What a wicked thing you've asked me to do!
    Idrees masked his disappoin tment with a fain t smile.
    - It's not a crime for a son to fi nd out the things that affect
    him in his father's Deeds.
    - But you want me to steal a secret that our father insists on
    k<;:eping.
    Idrees sighed heavily.
    - When I decided to seek your help, I said to myself: 'It will
    be very difficult persuading Adham to u ndertake something
    against his father's will.' But I was hopeful and thought:
    'Perhaps he'll agree when he realizes how much I need his
    help.' It'd be no crime and i t'd be so easy to succeed, and you'd
    save somebody from torment without losing anything.
    - God keep us from doing wrong!
    - Amen ! But I beg you to put me out of my agony.
    Adham stood up, troubled and confused. ldrees stood up
    too. He smiled a hopeless smile and said:
    - I 've really upset you, Adham. One thing about my
    unhappy state is that whoever I meet suffers in some way or
    other. Idrees is still a dreadful curse.
    - How it hurts me not being able to help ! It's just one
    torment after another.
    l drees came close to him, put his hand gently on his
    shoulder, kissed him on the forehead and said:
    - It's all my fault that I'm in a mess. Why should I burden
    you with more than you can do? Let me leave you in peace.
    God's wi ll be done!
    And with those words ldrees left.
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    Adham
    7 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
    Umayma's face came alive for the first time in weeks and she
    asked Adham anxiously:
    - Didn 't your father ever tell you about the Deeds?
    Adham was si tti ng cross-legged on the sofa, looking out
    through the window at the desert plunged in darkness.
    - He's never spoken about it to anybody.
    - Not even to you?
    - I'm just one of several sons.
    She smi led gently.
    - But he picked you to manage the Trust.
    - I tell you he's never spoken about it to anybody.
    She smi led again as if to soften him and said cunni ngly:
    - Don 't let it bother you. Idrees isn't worth it; his nastiness
    to you can never be forgotten.
    Adham turned his head towards the window.
    - The Idrees who came to me today is not the Idrees who
    did me wrong. I'm haun ted by his look of sadness and regret.
    She said triumphantly:
    - That's what strikes me most about what you say, and it's
    what really worries me. But you seem depressed, which is not
    like you .
    He was peering into the pitch dark night, but his busy head
    provided no answer. He said:
    - Worrying wo n't get us anywhere.
    - But your brother's repented and he's begging for mercy.
    - I can see that, bu t what can I do?
    - You must patch thi ngs up with him - and with his
    brothers. Otherwise you're goi ng to find yourself alone against
    them one day.
    - You 're more