—Who are you really?
He knelt before her, took her trembling hands, and confessed:
—He was a doctor.
The Beggar’s Secret
Years ago, a fire had devastated part of the city. Yusha, an arrogant young doctor, made a mistake in the dosage of a dye. He didn’t kill a stranger; he killed the governor’s daughter.
His house burned down. He was presumed dead. He became a beggar to disappear.
“Your father came to see me at the mosque,” she continued. “He spoke of a ‘useless’ girl, of a ‘curse.’ I didn’t marry you for money. I married you because we were the same: two ghosts.”
Zainab wept. But her tears were not tears of hatred.
“You should have told me,” he murmured.
“I was afraid you’d ask me to heal you. I can’t give you back your sight, Zainab. I can only give you my life.”
She hugged him tightly.
The Silent Revenge
. Years passed. The hut became a stone house, surrounded by a garden so fragrant you could walk through it with your eyes closed. The “beggar” looked after the poor at night, free of charge.
One autumn afternoon, a carriage stopped in front of his door. An old man got out, bent over and forlorn.
He was Zainab’s father.
His other two daughters had stolen it. He had come to beg for a place next to the one he had rejected.
Zainab listened without getting up.
