Hanneh pushed a hymnbook toward me, that I might join with the wireless in singing "In the Darkness and the Stillness," and I began to sing with her, hearing her thin, far-away voice like a faint creaking. When the hymn ended Mrs. Hanneh said to me: "I feel a great displeasure at the conduct of the girls of today: they spend the night of the feast in dancing and singing, while the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ means nothing at all to them... But you, Nadia, do not belong to that tribe, for I know you are a good girl, from Sunday-school days."

And I did not wish to disappoint Mrs. Hanneh's good opinion of me, so I kept silent, listening to the pastor's sermon over the wireless, and the words began to sink into my heart little by little — "the new life... and what the message of Christmas car-ries of spiritual birth, and renewal in the building of the human soul" — and the pastor ended his sermon while I remained sunk in a sea of thoughts — the bitterness in which I live — the trust I have lost in the justice of life... Then the thin voice roused me: "My child, this cake has come to me, and I should like to make us two cups of tea." I hastened to say: "No! Upon your life, Sitt Hanneh! If there must be tea, then allow me to make it."

"I should be thankful to you for that."

And I hurried to the part of the room which Sitt Hanneh had made into a kind of little kitchen, and how quickly I busied myself preparing the tea! It was easy for me to find where the things were kept, for everything is in order in Sitt Hanneh's kitchen. I set the water on the primus and went back to my seat to wait for the water to boil. And then there came a knock at the door.

***

I hurried to open it — astonishment had shown on Mrs. Hanneh's face at her door being knocked twice. And there before me stood a tall young man with a dark complexion.

"Good evening. Is Mrs. Hanneh here?"

"Yes." And the young man came in behind me and made toward Mrs. Hanneh, who stared at him as though she wished to make certain who he was. He walked on, smiling, until he reached her seat, and as he drew near she cried out in her thin voice, choked with surprise: "Kamal!.."

"Yes! The very same."

Mrs. Hanneh rose from her seat and stretched out her arms to embrace the young man who had entered the room, and I could not help noticing the great effort the young man made as he let the old lady kiss him and press him to her. "What a lovely surprise, Kamal! When did you come

back, my dear?" But Kamal turned to her and said: "You have not introduced me to the young lady."

"Ah... true! This is Nadia Salameh. She came to keep me company in my loneliness." And she turned to me: "This is my sister's son, Dr. Kamal al-Sa'id."

Here the young man held out his hand in greeting, expressing his thanks that I should visit his aunt on Christmas Eve. And I remained silent, without confessing that I had come to lighten a gloom of my own. Then I heard the voice of the boiling water calling me, and found that the best way out of my awkward position was to hurry to the tea and finish making it. I heard Mrs. Hanneh's voice praising me handsomely — but I! I remembered the beautiful gown, the dressed hair, even the scent of Joya... and the three words rang in my ears: "well-born, clever, rich." And I felt as though I were committing some fault, chance having thrown me together with this young man for whom certain people were waiting at the Hotel al-Amal. I began to say to myself: "Jamila will never believe it was the work of blind chance. Why did I lie to Jamila and tell her I was going to the sports club?"

After we had drunk the tea and eaten of Mrs. Hanneh's cake and the sweets Dr. Kamal had brought, I resolved to go home, and thanked Mrs. Hanneh for her kind hospitality; whereupon the young man expressed his wish to see me home, as the night had grown late. On the way back the young man talked to me of Christmas in America, and of the enormous interest people take in it there. Then suddenly he said that he ought to make the acquaintance of the members of my family, if I had no objection.

I froze where I stood, and felt it impossible to tell him that I am alone; by doing so I would be pointing to a very private side of my life, and there was no cause to stir up feelings of pity in a strange young man at such a moment. Ah... when shall I reach my room and go back to my solitude? I shall not run away from it again; how-ever harsh it may be, at least it does not wound me with a situation like this. I answered with some unclear words, and at the lower gate I said to the young man: "Won't you come in?"

"No, thank you! I am very glad indeed to have made your acquaintance." And the young man walked away. I began to climb the stairs, my heart full of a keen longing for my modest room; and when I had wrapped myself in my thin blanket, and drowsiness began to steal into my eyes, I began to feel something like peace of mind, as though my solitude

were an impregnable fortress. An impregnable fortress against what? Against what? Ah... I do not know... rather, I do not dare to know.

But I remember quite well now that before I wandered off into the kingdom of sleep I heard the lower gate opening, and the voices of my neighbor Jamila and her brother As'ad coming home from the party at the "Amal."

***

In the morning my neighbor Jamila came and told me of the splendid party, attended by a number of con-suls and well-known personalities; and hardly had she gone out when there came another knock at the door of my room, and the Doctor told me that his aunt had sent him to bring me a small present from her. I was at a loss, and invited the young man into my room. He came in, and I took courage and asked him to sit on my worn chair, which he did. I opened his aunt's present, and when I saw it I was quite certain it had not come from his aunt: a purse and a pair of gloves of costly leather... and made in America. And I was praying in my heart of hearts that he would not ask me about the members of my family; and so as not to be drawn into any such thing, I began asking him about his work, and he began telling me with relish about nervous diseases and the great attention paid to them in the New World.

When he left I thanked him warmly, and thanked his aunt for her kindness in sending me the present, with my deep appreciation; whereupon he asked me to favor her now and then with a visit, and I promised him I would.

When he had vanished from my sight I went into my room, hearing the old voice... "He knows you are alone... and the greatest proof of it is that he did not repeat his expressed wish to make the acquaintance of the members of your family." And a shiver of pain ran through me as I felt how the fire was kindling in my heart... Why?... I do not know... rather, I am afraid to face the truth.

***

Ah... I am alone; but since that day my loneliness has been dispelled by beautiful colored rays, like those that trim the edges of the clouds. What is it that has filled my loneliness and made it like a tree heavy with fruit?... Can it be that I do not know? But no! For these words have left no room for that:

"A joy and a rapture take hold of me when I remember you — and I remember you always."

Nazareth — Palestine