Dreams of Water by Nada Awar Jarrar Page A

and despite the confines of his increasingly fragile life.
    But since his arrival in this new city, he is careful not to show signs of his expectations to Samir, choosing instead to maintain the air of quiet resignation that his son has come to expect of him.
    â€˜What are you planning to do today then, Father?’ Samir would ask before leaving for work, his body already leaning eagerly towards the front door.
    â€˜Oh, don’t worry about me,’ Salah would reply, looking up with a rueful smile and a gentle nod of the head. ‘I’ve got plenty to keep me busy right here.’
    Then, as soon as Samir has stepped outside, Salah would place the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher, runa cloth over the kitchen counters and rush upstairs to get ready to go out.
    He dresses carefully, pulling on his trousers while sitting on the edge of the bed and buttoning the cuffs of his shirt before putting on socks and shoes. Then, experiencing a sudden frisson of excitement as he puts on his jacket and locks the front door behind him, Salah sets out for adventure.
    At eighteen, Salah enters the American University of Beirut and spends his first few months there taking English language courses to prepare for the years of study ahead. He meets many young men like himself whose excellent grades in high school have secured them a place at the best university in the region.
    There are women students at the university also. This is a new experience for Salah who has spent his childhood in boys’ schools. Although some of the women are natives of Lebanon like himself, most of them are foreign, either from other Arab countries like Iraq, Palestine or Syria, or from as far as Europe and America.
    He continues to live with his parents and two sisters in an apartment building in Ras Beirut that is only minutes away from the university. Both his sisters are younger than he is and are still at school. Although Salah does not know it yet he comes from an enlightened family for whom education is a priority for both sons and daughters. His parents are distant relatives and have lived in Beirut all their lives but they have instilled in him a respect for the world and all it has to offer and have encouraged in him the desire to widen his horizons.
    A few weeks into the term a neighbour, an old woman who takes in foreign students, asks Salah if he will accompany one of her lodgers to her classes.
    â€˜She is from India and arrived late in the term,’ the neighbour tells Salah. ‘She does not know her way around and is feeling a little anxious. I thought it would be nice if you walked her to the university just for the first week or so, until she’s got used to things.’
    The young woman is very pretty, with long, dark hair and big eyes. She shakes Salah’s hand slowly. It feels very soft to the touch.
    â€˜My name is Sita,’ she says with a smile.
    But Salah is too shy to reply.
    They walk side by side on the street parallel to the one where the university is situated. Salah has decided to take a slightly circuitous route so that he can study Sita further. She has a plain dress on but there are gold bangles on her right wrist that jangle as she moves and her hair is braided so that it falls flat and thick against her back. He thinks perhaps he will help her when they cross the street to protect her from oncoming trams and motorcars.
    â€˜What is your name?’ she asks as they prepare to cross the street.
    Salah holds on to the young woman’s arm and hopes he is not squeezing too tightly.
    â€˜Salah,’ he says under his breath once they get to the other side. He lets go of Sita’s arm.
    They are approaching the fig tree by the hospital where Salah’s mother had a small operation only months before. Once they’re past that, they’ll turn left and go down towards the main university entrance. Salah is aware that he is nervous but cannot understand why. Suddenly, he hears Sita cry