31. Aircraft
الطائرات
‘Can I make you something?’ Sam(a) asked Ayoub, breaking his silence. She wondered how long he would have sat in silence had she not spoken. She imagined herself spending the rest of her time in Alexandria that way — not seeing the Mediterranean or her ancestors’ graves, but waiting for Ayoub to speak.
‘Sama, my mother insisted that you stay with us and that we not ask questions, so I asked no questions. We put you up, and we treat you as a daughter of the family,’ he said.
Sam(a) looked down at her hands, resting in her lap. She retreated into her hands. Whatever Ayoub had to say could not hurt her there.
‘When I come home for lunch and find an empty house, of course I wonder what you could be doing, galavanting about town. I wonder what sort of person you are,’
