“Trust me,” he said. “Very real. You will see them in Tangier. Cobras and camels. People love selfies with cobras and camels.” He sighed. His culture had been shrunken to what you could post on i********:. I was from San Francisco. I knew of stupid tourists. They wanted bread bowls and cable cars and sea lions, less to enjoy and more to photograph. “Fate sounds more interesting.”
It did. And still I felt stupid asking about it. This was all mere coincidence. A few similar sounding songs, a couple of Omars. My mind had grown weak in the confusion of my life. I was looking for things that weren’t there. Still, the question had arisen, and so I asked it again. “Is this something you believe in, something taught in Islam, if you don’t mind me asking?”
And still he smiled and patted my back.
