Page 228 - A Woman Is No Man

house alone this late at night?”
“Who is that man over there?” Khaled snapped, shooting her a sidelong
look

“I don’t know,” Isra said. “He was trying to help me, and—”
“Tell me,” Khaled cut her off. “What kind of decent woman leaves her
house in the middle of the night?”
“Calm down,” Fareeda said sharply. She was eyeing Isra’s head by the
light of the streetlamp. “Can’t you see the girl is shaken up?”
“You be quiet.” He turned around to see Isra fully. “Tell me, where were
you going? Who is that man?”

“I—I don’t know. He was just trying to help,” Isra said. “I was scared.
My head wouldn’t stop bleeding. . . . It won’t stop.”
“That’s no reason to leave the house,” Khaled said. “How do we know
you weren’t out with some man?”
“Man? What man?” Isra curled up in the back seat. “I wasn’t with
anyone. I swear.”

“And how do we know that? How do we know you didn’t sneak out
with some man and now you’re calling us to come get you?”
“I’m telling the truth!” Isra cried. “I wasn’t with anyone. Adam hit me!”
“Of course he did,” Fareeda said, flashing Khaled a look.
“We don’t know anything,” Khaled said. “Only a sharmouta leaves her
house in the middle of the night.”
Isra was too tired to fight anymore. She leaned her head back, nauseated

by her own helplessness.
“That’s enough!” Fareeda snapped. “Look at the girl’s head.”
“She could’ve hit her head on the sidewalk,” Khaled said. “She
could’ve just been with another man, and he could’ve done this to her. How
do we know she’s telling the truth?”
“You cruel, disgusting men! Always quick to point a finger. Always

quick to put the blame on a woman. Your son is a drunk—of course he is,
why wouldn’t he be? Just like his father!”
“Uskuti! Shut up!”
“What? You don’t like hearing the truth? Look at the girl!” Fareeda
turned around and pointed at Isra in the back seat. “Look at her head! It will
need a dozen stitches to close it. And you’re sitting here talking about
another man. Ttfu.” She made a spitting sound. “The cruelest thing on this

earth is a man’s heart.”