Genesis 4:1-16 — Qur'an at 5:26-32
The best time to walk through the city is when the last bands of sunlight are winking. The city while being swept clean of the last of iridescent light undergoes a beautiful metamorphosis. From out of the new darkness appear characters that could only have been dreamed up in fancy tales told to children just before sleep. Sometimes while walking you come across the most wonderful sights, an old couple sharing a lasting hug and even kiss, a young woman crouching, a man staggering home. I love the city, with its labyrinthine streets, its cacophony, its neverending transformations. "That could be my brother up there," I said. "That could be my brother there," said Henry pointing to a man engulfed in flames. Earlier the man had been screaming, now he was bouncing off the walls. We watched him collapse and allow the flames to do their job. While watching the flames die down Henry picked his nose. He tried to surreptitiously eat his findings. He unlodged the dried mucus from his nail with his baby teeth. "You could be my younger brother Henry," I said slapping Henry affably on the back. "Please don’t say that," Henry said. We laughed and walked away.
