• 3 •
Naturally, I was forced to move to my mother Juwairia’s house – she was certainly not immune to the foibles of the age. Those who sided with the curse – be they former residents of Sur or those who arrived with the chaos from towns and villages near and far – had simply inhaled the polluted and depressing atmosphere.
The Mother Superior, as she was called in the universe of the houses of spoils, did not give me a moment to gather any good memories of the Mother of Goodness’s house, to arrange and be able to recall during my coming isolation. She did not even let me painstakingly mourn the death of my friend Merikar Fandouri/Misbaha, the most beautiful flower in the flames. We heard the news, in all its gruesome detail, from one of the messengers when Umm Juwairia was still with us.
