Karnak Café by Naguib Mahfouz Page A

was summoned to Khalid Safwan’s office while Isma‘il was being interrogated. When I saw how humiliated and hopeless he looked, tears welled up in my eyes. From the very bottom of my heart I poured curses onthe world. But I was only there long enough for him to hear the threat of my being tortured. I was taken back to my filthy cell where I cried for a long time. Day after day the torture continued.”
    She continued her tale by telling me about another occasion when she had been summoned to Khalid Safwan’s office.
    â€œÂ â€˜I hope you approve of our accommodations,’ he said.
    â€œÂ â€˜Oh yes, sir,’ I replied bravely. ‘Thank you very much.’
    â€œÂ â€˜Our friend’s confessed to being a Communist,’ he went on.
    â€œÂ â€˜Only when you threatened him!’ I yelled.
    â€œÂ â€˜But it’s the truth, however the information was obtained.’
    â€œÂ â€˜Absolutely not, sir. The entire thing’s atrocious.’
    â€œÂ â€˜Oh no, my dear,’ he replied cryptically. ‘It’s marvelous.’
    â€œÂ â€˜How so, marvelous?’
    â€œÂ â€˜We’ll see,’ he replied. With that he gave a specific hand gesture.
    â€œI heard the sound of footsteps approaching. They came closer and closer till they seemed almost to envelop me. What can I say?”
    She had to stop for a moment, and the muscles in her jaw visibly tightened. Now I readied myself to hear something even worse than what had already happened.
    â€œWe can stop if you like,” I suggested.
    â€œNo,” she said. “It makes for good listening.” She looked me straight in the eye. “At this point he decided to put on a titillating and exciting spectacle for himself, something utterly beyond the bounds of normalcy and decency.”
    â€œMy dear Zaynab,” I asked, my heart pounding, “what on earth do you mean?”
    â€œYou’ve got it right.”
    â€œNo!”
    â€œDown to the last detail.”
    â€œRight in front of him?”
    â€œThat’s it, right in front of him!”
    There now followed a prolonged silence, like a prolonged, mute sob.
    â€œWhat kind of man can he be?” I eventually managed to mutter, referring to Khalid Safwan.
    â€œThere’s nothing odd about the way he looks,” Zaynab said. “For that matter he could just as well be a professor or a man of religion.”
    â€œThe entire matter needs further study,” I said, feeling utterly nonplussed.
    â€œStudy?” she yelled. “Did you say ‘study’? Do you seriously propose to initiate a research program involving my personal honor?”
    I felt so ashamed, I didn’t say another word.

    â€œA few weeks later I was summoned to Khalid Safwan’s office again. He looked as calm as usual, even more so perhaps. It was just as though nothing had ever happened.
    â€œÂ â€˜You’ve been proved innocent,’ he said tersely.
    â€œFor a long time I simply looked straight at him. For his part, he gave me a fixed, lackadaisical stare.
    â€œÂ â€˜Were you watching?’ I screamed at him.
    â€œÂ â€˜I simply see what there is to be seen,’ he replied quietly.
    â€œÂ â€˜But now I’ve lost everything,’ I shouted angrily.
    â€œÂ â€˜Oh no! Everything can be put right. We can see to that.’
    â€œÂ â€˜I don’t believe,’ I yelled madly, ‘that the revolution would be happy to hear what went on in this room!’
    â€œÂ â€˜We’re here to protect the revolution, and that’s much more important that the few isolated mistakes we may happen to make. We always make sure to put right whatever needs to be put right. You’ll be leaving here now with a brand new boon—our friendship.’
    â€œWith that I burst into tears, a prolonged fit of nervous weeping that I was totally unable to stop. He waited silently until