Free The Dark Side of Love by Rafik Schami Page A

him up.
    â€œI didn’t do anything!” he told his father, with tears in his eyes. The second slap hit him. Farid stumbled.
    â€œIf I say you’re going into a monastery then you’re going into a monastery, and you don’t say another word, not even ‘yes’. Understand?”
    â€œIt’s all right,” wailed Claire, “he’ll do it, but don’t kill him.”
    Farid wanted to shout that he wasn’t going to leave Damascus and Rana for a single second, but fear of his father paralysed his tongue.
    His mother gently pushed Elias into the bedroom, where she talked to him for a long time. But Farid just heard his father repeating, over and over, that the monastery would do him good. Claire wept again. For a moment he was furious, and it occurred to him for the first time that he’d have to murder his father some day.

15. Suspicion
    Next day, from the balcony, he saw his friends outside the house. They were playing marbles in the village square. He quickly dressed, but when he went to join them, they froze and avoided his eyes. Finally they quietly went away without a word. Only Matta stayed, smiling at him.

    â€œWhat’s the matter with them?”
    â€œThey’re afraid.”
    â€œAfraid? Why?”
    â€œBecause they’re cowards. They don’t want to be seen with you any more and be thought of as fire-raisers,” replied Matta.
    â€œWhat about you?”
    â€œTo hell with the village. You’re my brother,” said the boy quietly, almost indifferently.
    â€œI want to go up to where the fire was again. Coming?” asked Farid.
    â€œOf course,” said Matta, almost cheerfully.
    Two hours later they were at the top of the hill, where a great surprise awaited them. The elm had been growing as two different halves for a long time. One half was fresh and strong, the other old and dried up. Now Farid and Matta saw that only the dried-up part of the tree had burned. The other part was intact, slightly blackened with soot, yes, but otherwise not even singed. The really surprising thing was that the unharmed part of the tree was the one right next to the site of their fire.
    â€œThat’s odd, don’t you think? The spark must have flown past this half of the tree in a semicircle and then set the other half on fire. That’s practically a miracle,” said Matta, staring into space.
    â€œYes, it really is funny,” Farid agreed. His thoughts were with Rana again. Where are you? he whispered deep inside himself. I need you.

    At that moment she was talking to her best friend Dunia Sabuni, because otherwise her thoughts would have choked her. She was telling Dunia about the feud between the two families, but she was disappointed by her friend’s down-to-earth approach.
    â€œThat’s all very well in a movie, but it doesn’t work in real life. The family is stronger, it will crush you both. And then I’m afraid it’s not as good as the stories of Madjnun Leila or Romeo and Juliet. You’d better steer clear of that boy and find a steady respectable man, one your parents will admire, and then they’ll leave you alone and no one can stop you warming yourself on the memory of this romance of
yours,” she said, with a sudden clear peal of laughter. “But only in your thoughts,” she was quick to add. “Everything else will be your husband’s, understand?” And she laughed again, but this time with much meaning.
    At that moment Rana heard Farid’s voice, and she cried almost indignantly, “But he needs me, and you can’t just run away and let someone down.”
    â€œWhat poet said that? Tell me his name and I’ll show you how he let those fine sayings loose on the world, and then stayed with his wife like a good boy. No, my dear, you’re a dreamer, and it’s my thankless task to wake you up.”

    Farid heard a voice inside his head, saying: I’m