In Arabian Nights Read Online Free PDF Page A

one, I would crawl inside and run off with whatever I
could carry away. I robbed rich homes and poor homes, and sold
the loot to buy more and more kif .'
    'But you don't look like a drug addict,' I said.
    'I am not, and it's all because of the man whose body lies in
this grave.'
    'So what happened?'
    'Well, one night,' said the man, 'I stole a car and drove to El
Jadida. I had overheard one thief telling another that there were
rich pickings there. Once night had fallen, I found a dark
residential street and started looking for an open window. It
wasn't long before I found one. I chose it because a chair had
been left underneath. Looking back, it was almost as if the
owner was inviting me inside.'
    The man paused for a moment, pushed up the sleeves of his jelaba and said: 'I climbed up as quietly as I could. There wasn't
a sound inside. I switched on my torch and looked for something
to steal. I couldn't see much, except for a large leather-bound
album open on the table. It was filled with postage stamps. Usually
I went for silver and gold, but the album looked valuable, so I put
it in my bag. At that moment, a figure moved across the room. He
was little more than a shadow. I ran to the window, but the figure
got there first. He slammed it shut. I shouted out, threatening to
break his neck. Then the man did something very unexpected. He
welcomed me to his home, introduced himself as Hicham the son
of Hussein, and said he had been waiting for me.
    'I sat down, half-expecting him to raise the alarm, and we
began to talk. He asked my name and I told it. I am known as
Ottoman. I told him about my addiction to kif , my need for easy
money, and apologized for causing him any trouble. Instead of
scolding me, Hicham listened quietly, served me mint tea and
offered me a bed for the night.'
    Again, Ottoman broke off. He leaned over, touched Timur's
cheek and kissed his hand.
    'The next morning Hicham made me a breakfast worthy of a
king,' he said. 'In my mind I was ready for the police to burst in.
But I was so touched by his generosity that I was unable to take
flight. I stayed in his home all day and he sketched out a plan.'
    'What kind of a plan?'
    'A plan to change the course of my life.'
    Ottoman went on to explain how Hicham had sent him to live
with a trusted friend, who had weaned him off kif , and how he
lent him the money to open a tailor's shop. Every week the two
men would meet and talk.
    'Hicham would urge me to set my goals high,' he said. 'He
gave me confidence, and would say that I was as capable as anyone
else. "To succeed," he said, "you must reach for the stars and
let your imagination find its own path."'
    I wondered aloud why I had not seen Ottoman before, either
in the shantytown where Hicham lived or at the grave.
    'My tailor's shop was successful,' he said, 'because Hicham
charged me with energy every week. I worked fifteen hours a
day and soon I had five shops in Casablanca, Marrakech and Fès.
Three years later, I set up my first factory, making garments.
And two years after that, I opened up plants in Thailand, then in
countries across the Far East. Before I knew it, I was living outside
Morocco most of the time.'
    Ottoman stood to his feet. He seemed disconsolate.
    'One day I lost touch with Hicham,' he said. 'He vanished
from his El Jadida home. I searched everywhere for him, but no
luck.'
    'He was living in the shantytown near where we live,' I said.
    'I know that now,' said Ottoman. 'It pains me to think of him
living in poverty like that when he lost his home. After all, he
helped me become rich.'
    'How did he lose his home in El Jadida?'
    Ottoman glanced down at the grave and replied, 'I heard he'd
given all his money so that a man he hardly knew could have
heart surgery.'
    'Hicham was selfless,' I said.
    'You are right,' said Ottoman. 'He didn't care for worldly
goods. Nothing at all.'
    'Nothing except his postage stamps.'
     
    Settling into a new country is like getting used to a pair of shoes.
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