Trafika Europe 6 - Arabesque

ibrahim al-koni

come before it is too late?” “This is the nature of wisdom. This is the secret of wisdom.” He was silent, and so was she. After a lengthy pause she repeated to herself, “This is the secret of wisdom.” 6 The day of the confrontation, the disclosure began with a stern question. “Do you understand that a man can bear being betrayed by a bosom friend but not by a sweetheart?” She drew the scarf around her captivating cheeks, which were draining of color and losing their beautiful complexion. Anger overwhelmed him, immediately robbing him of a wise man’s dignity. He

shouted in a voice that was totally unlike any he had ever used: “I have come to hear the truth from you now.” Pallor assailed her entire face, and its beauty retreated in alarm. Worry’s shadow peered from her captivating eyes. She muttered, “What do you want to hear?” “I want to hear what must be heard.” “What’s the point of hearing what you will hate to hear?” “I want to double my pain. Perhaps the draft of poison I consume will prove poison’s antidote.” She looked down at the earth. Anxiety disappeared from her eyes, where enigmatic mystery now settled. She gazed up at him suddenly. Then mystery turned to defiance in the wink of an eye.

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