A Lonely Woman

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Aziza was a beautiful girl with a fear of black cats. She looked worried the moment she sat down in front of Sheikh Said. His eyes were jet-black and fiery. They closed in on Aziza, who was trying to ward off an ever-increasing panic, exacerbated by the smell of incense rising from a copper dish, which filled her nostrils and slowly numbed her body.

Sheikh Said said: “So, you want your husband to return to you?”

“I want him to return to me,” Aziza replied, hesitantly.

Sheikh Said smiled as he added, mournfully: “His family wants him to get married again.”

He threw bits of incense into the dish filled with live coal, and said: “Your husband will return to you, and he will not take another wife.” His voice was sedate and soft, and soothed Aziza, who heaved a deep sigh of satisfaction. The Sheikh’s face lit up. “However, my work doesn’t come cheap,” he said.

Aziza’s face dropped. Staring at the gold bracelet on her wrist, she said: “I’ll pay you what you want.”

The Sheikh grinned, and said: “You will lose a little, but you will regain your husband. Do you love him?”

Aziza angrily muttered under her breath: “No, I don’t.”

“Did you have a fight with him?”

“I quarrelled with his family.”

“Does your chest feel tight?”

“I sometimes feel as if I have a heavy weight on my chest.”

“Do you have any disturbing dreams?”

“At night I always wake up from my sleep, frightened.”

Sheikh Said shook his head several times and said: “Obviously, your in-laws have bewitched you.”

Aziza was gripped with fear and shouted: “What can I do?”

“To end their magic spell would require ten pounds’ worth of incense.”

Aziza was silent for a moment. She raised her hand to her chest, and took out ten pounds from her dress. She handed the money to Sheikh Said, and said: “That’s all I have.”

Sheikh Said got up and closed the black curtains in front of the two windows overlooking the narrow winding alley. Then he came back and sat in front of the copper dish in which the embers were glowing over smooth white ashes. He threw in some more incense, and said:

“My brothers, thejinn, hate the light and love darkness because their houses are underground.”

Outside, the day was like a white-skinned woman. The sun’s yellow rays burned down on the streets and fused with the murmur of the crowds. Sheikh Said’s room, however, was dark and quiet.

“My brothers, thejinn, are kind. You’ll be lucky if you gain their love. They love beautiful women. Remove your wrap.”

Aziza took off her black wrap, revealing her buxom body, enveloped in a tight dress, to Sheikh Said. The Sheikh started to read from a book with yellow-stained pages in a low, mysterious voice. After a while, he said: “Come closer … Lie down here.”

Aziza lay down near the incense dish. Sheikh Said put his hand on her forehead while he continued reciting strange words. Suddenly, he said to Aziza: “Close your eyes. My brothers thejinn will arrive shortly.”

Azi