Zainab ate her supper and sat with her family until it was dark. When the men had prayed el-asha* and there was nothing to do but sleep, she stretched herself out by the side of her brother and sister on an old mat, with one cotton blanket covering the three of them. Her parents settled down on the other side of the hall and before long everyone, except for Zainab, was sound asleep. She lay awake, opening and closing her eyelids as she recalled the events of recent days and in the darkness many images appeared before her. Some brought joy and happiness while others caused her pain and misery so that she was moved alternately from despair to hope and from hope to disappointment with every beat of her heart. Was not her father, sleeping close by, one of those who hoped to seal her misery—in
