Semereth Effendi’s body took up nearly the entirety of the room. Zulfa vainly tried to distance herself from him, but as in a nightmare, the monster loomed over her as though he were chasing her. However, Hajji Semereth hadn’t moved at all.
Zulfa then crouched in a corner. She was so tiny that the giant might not have found her. Silence, thick as water, seeped into the room. If there had been no other way to separate herself from him, she’d have accepted to die without a word. Once the Hajji had also had enough, he decided to speak. He told his wife not to be afraid of him, that she would be his favourite, and that as soon as she’d learned to treat her husband with the deference he was due, he would divorce all his other wives so as to be hers alone. To conclude, he told her he would wait
