One morning, at the beginning of the school year, a girl appeared, carrying her book bag tucked tightly against her chest and wearing - how incredible! - a beret. A green beret in Abu Kabir? A beret in Ismailia wasn’t surprising, since there were English women recruits and foreign girls. One of the pictures that Salwa had given him as a present was a photo of her in her Girl Scouts uniform, which included a scarf tied around the neck and the beret. But in Abu Kabir…never in a million years. He would watch this new girl as she walked to school and he’d see her bright, radiant face, full chest, thick braid of black hair, and the way she sauntered, which was a sign of self-esteem. After that, he started to wait for her to pass by every morning - just as he used to wait for Ibtisam, except tha
