Irene was running in the corridor carrying a bundle of files that obstructed her vision, so much so that she almost bumped into Uncle Saber, the buffet worker , who was carrying a tray piled high with cups of hot coffee. He shouted, "Be careful, you almost skinned us both."
She stopped suddenly, then gestured apologetically at him. She knew that if she didn't finish before the deadline, she would have to endure the scolding and unbearable screaming of her scoundrel boss.
She sat at her desk and Fatima, that fat employee whose desk was never without sandwiches, watched her and pursed her lips and said:
- "Calm down."
Irene told her indignantly to leave her alone and let her work.
Fatima rose up in a revolt that shook every kilo of her 130 body weight.
- "What did you do to deserve all this?"
"Irene sighed," she said.
" Sorry Fatima, you know what might happen to me if I don't finish the work before Dr. Adam arrives."
Fatima said:
" I know, God help you, my dear . Doesn't this man have a wife and children to entertain himself with for a while instead of hanging over our heads like this?"
" No, he is a widower and has no children. His wife died two years ago."
Then she looked right and left before approaching Fatima and saying in a low voice:
" On the day of her death, we were surprised by his presence at the company, as if nothing had happened."
Fatima's eyes widened and she hit her chest, which was shaking in all directions:
- "Oh God, I seek refuge in God."
When Fatima returned to her office, they found Dr. Adam standing in front of them.
Irene's eyes opened wide, and Fatima swears she peed on herself a little.
****
I was sitting at my desk, playing with the papers in front of me, my mind lost in the corridors of the past. Talking about me and my wife brought back memories that I thought had faded and been extinguished.
The scent of a feminine perfume hit my nose and made me travel through time, to this time when I was smelling the same perfume while sitting in my car and sitting next to me was a beautiful white-faced woman wearing clothes that showed off her charms more than necessary, uttering words that I no longer cared about, words of love and passion that bothered me more than they made me happy.
After we left the bed, and after I saw her naked and got from that body everything that attracted me and ignited my flame, the feelings became stifling and the words became stony, drowning me so that I could not breathe.
I did not care how much my restlessness, my gloom, and my lack of words upset her, but she endured; she knew that even if I returned to my wife burdened with guilt, and even if I swore never to invade a country to which I did not belong, the walls would surely close in on me again after the blue of boredom struck them.
Maybe another quarrel, maybe a reproach or two about her noble lineage and my lowly origin... then I feel cold .
And when my flames flare up, when I don't know if it's lust or revenge, I'll wander around looking for the nearest warm embrace, and then she'll be waiting.
When I reached her house, the car stopped. I told her to leave without even looking at him, and she obeyed my command, staggering from the effects of the drink, which did not make her forget the distress that had befallen her as a result of my miserable treatment.
She had not gone far when I shouted:
- "The perfume you're wearing, what's its name?"
She walked back to me, spoiled, with a malicious smile on her lips:
"Do you like my perfume?"
I shouted again, repeating the question, and she frowned in annoyance:
" Chanel, his name is Chanel, but if you're thinking of giving me a perfume, I'll give you some names."
But I had already driven off before she even finished speaking.
Every time I smell my clothes that are soaked in perfume, my face shrinks in distress and I curse them.
When I got home, when Howayda saw me, she hugged me in a suspicious silence.
Did she know?! Maybe; doubt has been hovering like flies above her head for a long time, ever since I failed to hide my confusion whenever I found her holding my phone, ever since boredom struck the wall of love and it cracked and collapsed, ever since I got used to leaving her waiting for me for days under the pretext of traveling.
Because a woman's nose never makes mistakes, she smelled feminine perfume in me.
My heart contracts and my breath becomes short. She tells me about her doubts, about the perfume that fills my clothes, threatening me with a dark night full of quarrels . I take the bottle in my hand and tell her that I have brought her a gift. With this trick, I melt away all the features of doubt and anger.
How unfair you are, Howida! Your lover passed by a perfume shop to bring you this perfume as a sign that he was thinking of you throughout his arduous, boring, and joyless journey.
She tells me how sorry she is, hugs me, I grab her with both hands, and behind her back my eyes wander, cursing my guilt, my bitter feeling of betrayal . Then, I return to the present time.
"Irene" stands in front of me and clears her throat for me to notice.
I fiddled with some papers, pretending to be busy, then said without raising my eyes:
- "Are you done? "
She remembers what she was saying to Fatima and becomes more nervous.
- " From what? "
- " From the papers you are carrying . "
She stammered as she placed the papers in front of me, her features filled with confusion:
" Almost done, sir."
I pick up the papers and raise my head towards them, but at this moment I am frozen .
There is someone else in the room.
Behind Irene, a woman stood at her back, and she was turning very slowly, holding in her hands a small child, a child with red eyes.
I muttered a plea for refuge ... I gasped.
Irene does not understand what is happening, all she sees in front of her is a person who has become like one of the screaming statues of Pompeii .
A hissing sound grows in my ears, gradually getting louder until it deafens my ears.
The sound is unbearable .. I put my hands over my ears.
Now it was time for her to remove the cover from her head .. She revealed her face.
I ran behind my chair and pressed myself against the wall; her gloomy gray face was wagging like a snake's tail, and only a large mouth was moving to make that terrifying sound.
Then she pounced on me, I closed my eyes screaming before I opened them again to find Irene's eyes staring wide and her mouth hanging open.
There's no one in the room now but us, and I've ended up huddled in a corner like an idiot.
I looked for an excuse for what had happened for a long time, and when I found none, I grabbed my head and told her to leave. She left the papers on the desk, and before she went out and closed the door, she gave me one last look, a look that had a thousand meanings: that this man had definitely lost his mind.
I remained as still as a statue, not knowing whether it was the room that was spinning so violently or my head?
It's her, the same woman who was in my vision ... She came to me from the other world, she came to shake my being, she foretells the destruction of the pillars of my mind.
Things are out of control, Adam.
I knew that Irene would speak. Now she will tell everyone that I have lost my mind. Didn't I say that the enemy's accusations are hurtful, but the testimony of the disciples is sacred.
Wasn't cancer milder?
Congratulations, you have successfully added the title of "crazy" to the list.
So I was absent-minded, not noticing Irene who had entered my office again.
She looked at me with a mixture of pity and confusion, so I shouted in a tone I didn't think I possessed:
-What? Didn't I tell you to leave?
-Excuse me, there's something I wanted to tell you.
I raised my eyes suspiciously, wondering, and she leaned towards me and said in a low voice:
" There's something going on and I have to tell you."
I motioned for her to continue:
" Last night, Dr. Hesham came to me angry and started interrogating me."
She was silent, so I shouted:
- "On what?".
She continued in confusion:
" Sir, are you really sick?"
I met her silently.
You're a fool, Adam. Didn't you know that this is the way things are?
Of course, Irene is my black box. She usually knows things I don't want anyone else to know. So they came after her.
Most likely if this mystery didn't stop they would tie her to a chair and torture her until she talked, but what would she tell them? She didn't know yet.
I nodded, smiling as I said to her:
Yes, I have cancer."
I got up to leave and she followed me until I was in the middle of the noisy employees' offices. She clapped and everyone took notice. Eyes were fixed on me as I examined them one by one. The managers came out of their offices and looked at each other wondering what was going on. So I raised my hand to point to myself, then I said :
- "Important announcement: I have cancer, and it's an incurable type. Please spread the word and let all employees who aren't here know. Go on, get on with the job."
Then I went back to my office, leaving behind gaping mouths of statues.
If I have learned anything from my profession, it is this: "If you are afraid that a glass cup will fall under the table and shatter on the floor, the solution is simply to pick it up and put it on the floor, then you will not be afraid of it falling after that."
Now, there was nothing I feared... except death, except the monsters that haunted me in my dreams and when I was awake, but I was certain that I would find a solution.
How? I don't know yet, but I will find out.
******