Again Zainab heard what was being said about her marriage to Hassan, this time among her family and those close to her. During the winter months, when the earth was devoid of new growth, it seemed that the news had been suppressed but with the approach of spring the subject was raised again and rumours were diffused once more. However much she pretended to forget about them when she was by herself, preferring at all times to think only of Ibrahim, she could not always escape them, not even in the strong emotions that flooded her soul. Sometimes they got the better of her, infusing their poison into her veins and putting her off her food, but she would soon return to a world of love in which she could dream to her heart’s content. Then she would walk through the fields, filled with joy by t
