98

heads of garlic

From Republic Street, first Faisal

Between Sharif and Saudi Al-Sanadili Streets

Corona time, fireworks and firecrackers

and drugs

heads of garlic

A mountain of garlic peel rises day after day, so that the garbage collectors are not tempted, so they leave it to increase and increase, and the peel becomes a burden for the people of the neighborhood, as the old grandmothers say

Quarrels between husbands and wives, children and neighbors hardly stop until they begin.

The sellers weigh the garlic with dry stems, so the ladies hasten to get rid of the thrones so that the bags do not swell, and they throw them next to the sellers, so that the boys pick them up and carry them to the dump at the end of the market.

A mountain of garlic straw creeps over the market, so the merchants retreat to reduce the severity of the distress that may come with the winds laden with garlic peel, and they continue to sell them, being careful in dealing with customers so that the old people's prophecy does not come true.

Ramadan Atta returns with the fast of Haridi every day from the obligatory presence of his eyelids in the middle of the day, and they pass on their way to the tents of the gypsies at Al-Tayeh in the mountain of garlic peel, and they take part in having fun, so Ramadan grabs the garlic peel tie and hits his friend's head so that the tie breaks and scatters on the little face, forming hollow heads like the heads of ghouls with red eyes Which his mother told him about, informing him of Al-Gharawi.. Haridy's son responds to his colleague Ramadan, and when they do not find what they are looking for, they penetrate into the heart of the mountain.

The two little ones keep jumping and having fun until they get tired, so they rest, then each of them investigates accuracy in searching until he hugs the small heads of garlic that are still stuck in the haystacks, so that the two little ones rejoice.

Each youngster hurries to separate the small heads and puts them in the bag, and they race until the sun withdraws its lazily rays behind it, leaving the darkness, so the two youngsters are content with the day's catch, and they head to his domi-bee, the seller of imported liver, to sell him the small heads of garlic. Each of them has five heads of small garlic, one for the father and the other for the mother, for the necessity of treating acute dysentery and coughing, which they always suffer from. Haridi, the broker, takes the ten dirhams from his son, heading to Ghazrat Muflih al-Halabi, to catch up with a customer’s appointment after dinner, to show him the tent in which he dreams of living. With garlic for the false porridge that clogs the stomachs of her seven children and cleans fasting clothes from garlic peel.

Attia the tailor sends his son Ramadan to Munim the grocer to buy him honeydew, he spreads it on walnut stones, heaps burning coals on it, causing a storm of smoke to rise in front of the small tent that Aliuh al-Rukh, the owner of ten tents in the east of Tal al-Tayeh, gave him without rent in exchange for his work as a watchman for his ten tents. A dish of molokhia for the man and his five sons, and remembering the lady and Wahiba Hanin with goodness, as she lives in the fourth tent, which she gave the rabbit’s hip this morning to cook him a suit of molokhia, and scolds her little Ramadan, who always insists on bathing him with the peel that brings misfortune on his daily journey in search of heads of garlic

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A short story written by / Mahmoud Hassan Farghaly

Member of the Writers Union

Member of the Syndicate of Film Professions

mahmoudhassanfarghaly@yahoo.com

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