Riyadh felt different on his return. Even its fine red dust had a special flavour; it was beautiful and evocative, like the white snows of Moscow which the Russian writers have so often praised. But the dust of Riyadh is warmer, and right then it was in fairly short supply. In fact it had almost disappeared, dampened down by the rain before it could blow about. It would return with the first rays of the sun. The sun in Riyadh is scorching, winter and summer alike, yet pleasant in either season. In fact, just now everything about Riyadh seemed pleasant and enjoyable.
The first thing he did the evening he arrived was to pay off his debt to Ahmad. Then he went to his friends’ house. He and Muhaysin agreed to move to their new lodgings the following day. Then Hisham returned to the room in his uncle’s house and gathered together his simple belongings, taking a last furtive look at Suwayr and Alyan’s house. The place was shrouded in darkness; there wasn’t a glimmer of light in the house to suggest that anyone was there … where could they be? The roof was now a swamp of accumulated rainwater. He was tempted to go and knock on the door to see if anyone was in, but he stopped himself – then forgot the subject completely in a wave of enthusiasm for the move to the new house.
The following afternoon, after taking a last lunch with his uncle and cousins, he left with Abd al-Rahman. They hired a taxi, which they loaded with Hisham’s personal possessions, making a detour to Muhaysin’s to pick up his things. Then they all headed to the new place, where they were met by a group of children in the street while furtive eyes followed their every movement from behind closed doors and windows. Though the neighbourhood women were invisible, the young men were acutely conscious of the intensity of their looks.
While they were busy moving their things, one of the neighbours came up to them. The hostility was clear on his thin face eaten away by smallpox. Without even greeting them, he gave them a warning and a piece of advice, very direct and sharp: ‘You should know that the people living here are families … I hope we shall see nothing of you but good, and hear nothing but good, and may the warner be excused, as the saying goes!’ He uttered this last sentence wagging his finger in their faces. Muhaysin approached him with a smile, saying in a friendly tone:
‘God willing, you will see nothing but good. We are family people too, and we also have women we are anxious about.’ The man’s anger subsided, and he walked back to his house, muttering, ‘It will be OK, God willing.’ Then he disappeared behind the small iron door.
They only finished unloading their things and getting them into the house just before the evening prayers. They were eager to perform the sunset prayers in the local mosque, keen that their neighbours in the alley see them worship. Then they went to buy pots and pans and other essentials. Once they were back in their new lodgings, Muhaysin prepared their first pot of tea, which everyone drank with unusual relish.