Chapter ThreeThree days after Ibrahim’s departure, Zainab was sitting alone in the hall where she had bade him farewell. In her hand she clutched the handkerchief she had found there and whenever she looked at it she was reminded that her beloved was on his way to an unknown destination. The suffering that filled her being overflowed in hot tears which fell from her eyes without her being aware of them and rolled gently down her cheeks.
For three nights she had hardly slept. Every time the night receded her streaming tears seemed to revive its deathlike darkness and pain racked her chest as she lay awake in bed. If Hassan asked her what was the matter she would complain of nausea or colic, saying that she expected it to pass by morning. By day, the bustle of activity distracted her from h
