Translated from the Arabic by Essam M. Al-Jassim
She never expected him to betray her with her best friend. He didn’t know half of her children were fathered by other men.
They agreed to be honest with each other and finally bare all their secrets. She lay on his lap, loudly counting the men she’d known intimately. Then he stretched out prone on the ground beneath her, hoping to purify himself.
They vowed once more to be faithful to each other, promising to meet again in the same place after their spouses had fallen asleep.
About the Author
Atef Ebeid is an Egyptian short story writer and cognitive science researcher. Mr. Ebeid holds a doctorate in cognitive systems and has published four short story collections that have received wide critical acclaim. Currently, he is working on his first novel.
About the Translator
Essam M. Al-Jassim is a Saudi writer and translator based in Jubail, Saudi Arabia. His writings and translations have been featured nationally and internationally in various Arabic and English-language literary journals. He is the translator and editor of the recently published anthology of flash fiction, ‘Furtive Glimpses: Flash Fiction from The Arab World’.
