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ibrahim al-koni
creatures like jackals held no
grudge against her and did
not descend on the oasis to
slay one person’s livestock
instead of another’s—except
to deliver a message. She
would need to appease the
Spirit World with sacrificial
offerings if she wanted to
save herself and her flocks
from this calamity.
Thepoorwomanhurried to the
temple and slaughtered a ewe
on the tomb’s threshold, but
the ghoul attacked the corral
that same night and slew two
of the nanny goats that gave
the most bountiful amounts
of milk. So she despaired. She
despaired without knowing
that despair is the only amulet
capable of conquering every
calamity.
She despaired, and her
despair led her to the scion
of the foreigners. In the oasis
they said he practiced saddle
making only as a cover for
the dread craft that arrogant
people typically conceal
whenever they migrate
from their homelands. This
tactician would not have
succeeded in his carpentry
and in fashioning poles had
it not been for his mastery of
that other craft—from which
tribes were never secure
because veils of mystery
always encompassed it; its
masters practiced deferential
rites and demonstrated their
apprehension and wariness
many times.
On that day, the widow heard
a boast of the type that flows
from the mouths of migrants.
It is said that, after hearing the
beautiful woman’s recital, the
clever artisan offered, “With
my own hands I will build you
a scarecrow unlike any ever
seen in the oases. I shall give
my lady an idol so sacred