Naguib Mahfouz - The Dreams

We exchanged greetings, then their conversation focused on the fact that all of them were living in Christopher Village. Many of them spoke about its beauty and its superiority over all the other touristic villages. We then entered, going to different tables to dine. My seat was at a tiny table stripped of all things, having not a tablecloth or plates or eating utensils or even food.

Before I could overcome my surprise I saw Shukuku coming toward me, grasping a leg of roasted mutton. He stuck it in my hand and went away laughing. Thunderstruck and annoyed, I saw no choice but to tear the meat with my fingers to eat it — although the whole time, all I could think of was Christopher Village.

At last I found the ancient photograph among my old things. My joy was stillborn, however, when it quickly became clear that the picture had worn with the passage of time. My dear ones’ features had been blotted so badly, there was nothing left of them but memories.

As fate would have it, I found myself in the waiting room of a government department, in my hand the service file of an employee who had been following in my footsteps, and who demanded a promotion. From experience I knew that the subject fell within the purview of the personnel department.

I looked for this office, but found no trace of it anywhere. As I passed before the storerooms, the door opened and out of it came a colleague whom God had taken from us a good month before. He seized the file from my hand and returned to the magazines, claiming that the subject was really his specialty.

His apparition made me forget what I had come there to do.

This green land was surrounded by a wall of medium height, enough to conceal what was happening within from those outside. From behind the wall projected an obelisk with a flag on its pinnacle, while the ground around it was covered with young people and their commotion.

At first I imagined this was an athletic club. But after looking about more carefully I became convinced it was a circus — for here was a group marching four abreast, and there was a troupe whose members traded shouts and kicks, while another group exchanged insults with every move. As for the rest of the youths, they sang anthems such as had never been heard before.

Wanting to learn more, I found myself beyond the great wall of the city, which a gigantic street sliced through. On both sides of the road, the crowds gathered outside the wall, their cheers rising up to the flag on top of the obelisk. Finally, the great door opened, from which issued a procession, car after car. In each car a young man sat in regal attitude, looking down at the people from on high, returning their greetings with arrogance and scorn.

In horrific terror, my feet were nailed to the ground — for at only an arm’s length from me, three huge, savage dogs were rearing up on their hind legs, ready to leap and tear me to pieces — if a woman hadn’t daringly grabbed their tails.

On my right stood a female dog in the full splendor of youth, with a wondrously smooth, white coat, watching what was going on with an anxiety that showed in the constant twitchings of her short-cropped tail.

The three dogs’ barking rose higher in a thunderous crescendo, the burning lust to destroy me gleaming in their eyes. Unable to get at me, they turned suddenly and pounced on the woman — and my heart was gripped by panic. Then the dogs threw themselves at me. As for the beautiful bitch, she stared at me for a while — then hesitated a fleeting moment before heedlessly plunging into the fray.

The academic year was done, and the date for the examination was declared. We hadn’t once cracked a book nor memorized a sentence — and now we had to think about what to do.

A few of us still retained some respect for rationality, and so decided not to sit for the exam. The rest, however — afire with derision and mockery — seized the chance to show off by choosing to take the test anyway. On the famous morning we formed ourselves into lines and donned masks of seriousness and concern. Then the head of the committee stood up, announcing in a booming voice that he would hand out two papers to us. One of them contained the questions and the other the correct answers.

With this, we practically lost our minds — for we had not dreamed that any of our professors could possibly surpass us in the love of absurdity and the bizarre.

The owner and I came to an agreement — and the man invited me to inspect what we had reached agreement about. He showed me his beautiful apartment, his stunning wife, and her three-year-old son. I was pleased with what I saw and so made an appointment for nine o’clock the next morning when the property would become mine.

An irresistible force drove me to the flat. The door opened — and it was the owner himself. Seeing me, he became enraged and slammed the door in my face, rattling the walls. I spent the night without sleeping, wondering with great agitation about Destiny and the slamming of the door.

A huge building — you wouldn’t miss it. Originally it housed the ministry that employed me. When I saw young people going back to it, I too wanted to visit it.

Inside I ran into a group of old colleagues and I was glad to see them. We walked from room to room and through memory after memory until we had made the past rise from its musty tomb. We passed a huge, amazing staircase and I immediately ascended to the third floor. There I found many young men. Whenever one of them would notice me, his face would frown at me disapprovingly.

My heart pounded. I felt the need to urinate. I looked here and there until my eyes settled upon an opening that led to a W.C. in a passage between the rooms. I scurried toward it to find workmen laboring diligently on the site — the project was not yet finished.

Going back whence I came, I quickly discovered there was no escape but by way of the street.

Such a gorgeous place. The sky and the ground and all between them were the color of white roses. The people were miracles of grace and serenity.

But its true miracle was that all the friends I’ve had in my life were gathered there, not only the living, but also the dead — though no one seemed the least bit surprised about those. We did not ask them what they had found in the other world, nor did they query us about what has happened on earth since their demise.

We all enjoyed this state so much, we wished it could go on and on. But it did not last — for black clouds descended from the heavens until darkness spread everywhere, separating us from each other. Rain poured down in waterfalls, followed by thunder and lightning, without any respite — until our hearts were in our throats.

Then some of our friends’ voices began to penetrate our ears.

One called out, “This is the end!”

A second shouted, “I see the gleam of an exit on the horizon!”