The Dreams

Dream 41

The apartment broker said to me, “Don’t get upset and don’t despair — you have to be patient: patience is a virtue.”

I knew that he knew the secret of my agony — that I was in danger of losing my home and finding myself on the street. I told him that I had seen a number of places that appealed to me, but always they were beyond my means. And what about these empty flats, whose value is appraised at a million pounds each? Amazingly, he confirmed that four of my female colleagues owned some of these vacant dwellings: he envied them their fantastic wealth.

The last hope, he informed me, was in the building of al-Hagg Ali in the Husayn district — but we had to wait for his return from Mecca. I told him that I remembered, from the days when we lived in the ancient quarter, that I myself used to buy fuul from him sometimes. The man laughed, pointing out that’s what many people claim when they want to buy an apartment in his brand-new building.

“He’s the last hope,” I remarked with fear.

Striking an encouraging tone, the broker repeated, “You have to be patient: patience is a virtue.”