Chapter OneIn the great capital at the beginning of winter …
The day was awaiting the sun to dispel the dusky darkness and bring warmth to the people who shivered as they jostled one another in the streets on their way to work. The city was awakening from a long cold night which many inhabitants had passed in silence with neither lamp nor star to comfort them. The only sounds they heard were the voices of the watchmen in the alleys, calling out to one another from time to time and bringing some degree of security into the black of night.
In that hour, as the world was coming back to life, Hamid awoke completely relaxed from a peaceful, dreamless sleep. He dressed slowly then went to his studies to which he applied himself diligently and in return he derived a certain amount of pleasure f
