Monday, April 8, 2013

The Illusion


Mr. Mohammed Basiony is an ordinary man. He spent half his life in learning and the other half in forgetting what he learnt at the hands of his office job.

In this world, nothing irritates him but to be told that his jacket is not buttoned up or that he looks unrespectable. The one and only example he lives up to is respect. For all his life, he has pursued one goal; respect.

 

He joined the faculty of commerce to be reputed as a respectable university graduate. He got a steady job to be attributed as a respectable employee. He married at an early age to be credited as a respectable husband. He chose his friend from amongst senior officials to be characterized as a respectable person. He wore the tie and the fizz on the dog days of August to be recognized as a respectable man.

 

Before speaking, he thinks, for a while, not of what to say but of what respectable people normally say in one situation or another. Then, he utters it rubbing his hands together and looking around in the eyes of people in an attempt to gather the looks of respect just like a peasant gathering cotton almond-like seeds from his farm.

He does not love his wife; on the other hand, she does not bear him. However, he maintains the form of relation between them to keep his respect.

 

One can not exactly understand who he is, for most of the time he lacks the he characterizing free men. He is what you want him to be, not what he wants to be. He gave up his character for people's respect and satisfaction, without stopping for a while to consider, argue or even suspect the significance of that respect. To him, respect is a sublime value, for which all realities diminish even his own reality.

 

I have just met Mr. Mohamed Basiony today, he seemed nauseated. I asked him what's up? He answered in disgust:

-What a cursed generation! Can you imagine that today I have found out that our youngster servant who hasn't reached her sixteen years of age is pregnant?! She has told me that she is pregnant by my son. A liar…this bit…Is it possible; my son did so, my well-bred son who is raised by a respectable family!

I answered calmly:

-It always happens in respectable families. Such families are infected by chronic constipation. Thus, naturally one day they may suffer bowel explosion.

-This sounds nonsense!

-I'm saying the truth. What have you done with that servant?

-I kicked her out. It is impossible to live with this plague.

It seemed that he did not want to listen to any further comments from me. He considered me as another kind of the plague that must be avoided.

 

Any way everyone of us went on in his way, but I have kept thinking of him. He went home to sleep with a woman; neither he nor she loves the other. He does that only in return for my respect. She does it in return for three meals, a pocket money and my respect as well.

After twenty years, the son has had it with respect. Respect has reached saturation point and thus it is given up all in all for a moment with the servant.

 

Perhaps, the servant is the victim of all. She has lost her job, chastity and may be her life as whole thanks to the unpredictable destiny of her pregnancy. She has lost everything for nothing. Even respect, she has lost forever. For her, remembrance is but an offensive sin.

 

As far as I am concerned, she is the most miserable of all, since she stands for the tax to be paid in return for our sins. She represents the minor adultery that veils the chief one prevailing in our homes under the title of marriage and that covers the major hypocrisy predominant in our societies under the title of respect.

 

Mr. Mohammed Basiony a leading hypocrite whose masks of respect always slip. His son is more sinful than that miserable servant who bears the err of all.

Transalted by me from Mostafa Mahmoud's Articles

https://www.facebook.com/dr.mostafa.mahmoud/posts/10150985986748813