As far as she could tell, Salem never thought about death, as if he considered the idea farfetched. He didn’t like to get sick, and if he ever did fall ill, he hated going to a doctor or taking medicine. He would have to be dragged to visit a patient in hospital, which is what happened when she had surgery to remove her appendix. Salem would also never attend funerals or march in a burial procession, unless it was for someone very close to him, as when his youngest and dearest sister Samira died. He acted as though he wanted to stay forever young. As soon as he began to get bored by the hardware shop, he decided to expand his business. He opened a textiles shop, a leather shop, and a shop for tailor-made clothes in the Arab style, because he said he’d discovered a market niche, targeting t
