The Sand Child

When the storyteller mentions the inscrutability of Ahmed’s new status as a widower, a member of the audience chimes in his dissent, deeming the protagonist’s situation logical given that Ahmed used Fatima to fortify his personality and reputation. The listener then recounts a related tale of Antar, a brutal, intolerant warrior from the previous century. A ruthlessly strict leader feared by his men, Antar was revealed to be a woman at his death, after which he acceded to sainthood. The storyteller jumps in to add details to the story, noting that Antar fascinated his troops by wearing a veil and had a passionate sexual relationship with a cave-dwelling bandit who was unaware of Antar’s “official” position—and gender—in society.

The storyteller circles back to Ahmed, who after Fatima’s death takes to his room in dejection, writing incomprehensible, mangled texts, and resumes exchanging letters with his anonymous correspondent. As the missives grow increasingly intimate, Ahmed experiences a sense of silent joy at being able to remove his mask and “exist in his truth” (63). In the dated letter he receives after Fatima’s death, his correspondent qualifies Ahmed’s contrived marriage as a perilous game through which he lost one of his masks.