Live Encounters Arab Poetry & Writing 16th Anniversary Volume Five
November- December 2025
A Story of Possessor and Possessed, story by Waheed Eltaweela.
Translated from Arabic by Dr. Salwa Gouda.
So, the situation calls for a funeral worthy of her tears. The deceased himself is of no concern to me. At a dog’s funeral, people would be leaping to attend, but at his, if they came, they would just snarl at each other.
On the way to the hospital, she almost scolded me to pieces because I didn’t have a mobile phone for her to call her friends, so they wouldn’t miss the chance to attend the funeral.
The doctor at the veterinary hospital said, as she leaned on me for support:
“The problem now isn’t just Zaghloul’s death; we must hurry to examine Carnaba, fearing the infection might have passed to her.”
Zaghloul never left a cat in its coquettishness without casting his net. She had been spoiled by him too much. He scratched her with his claws. Does making love sometimes require roughness? He wounded her and wounded her heart.
“He died a martyr,” I said, biting the inside of my lip lest my sarcasm spill out.
She said nervously: “No, out of love, he abstained… then he succumbed…”
She would have satisfied his passion – if he hadn’t been so hasty. Men are always hasty; they can’t bear a woman’s coyness.
I didn’t want to say that he paid with his life for his recklessness. The living are more deserving than the dead, I said to her gently, afraid of her usual outburst when I remind her that some humans deserve care alongside cats. A thermometer measures the state of our relationship against my concern for her. Her family had entrusted her to me before they traveled. I kept visiting her until this feeling was born between us, standing in the zone between friendship and love. The betrayal of her old friend stood as a barrier between her and the sea.
I rushed hurriedly to save Carnaba and call the friends. But as usual, misfortunes never come singly. Carnaba died. How can the world live without the feminine?
Zaghloul died and killed her with his savagery. A male who doesn’t master the game of love ends the world, and it ends with him.
A funeral unworthy of the dear departed. Just her and me, and two friends… that’s all.
I tried to make her understand that there were only four people at Mozart’s funeral too. That’s how it is with the great ones. She almost slapped me, if not for the solemnity of the occasion.
The funeral procession advanced in an area not far from her home, so visiting later wouldn’t be too hard on us (that was my suggestion).
The deliberations were intense about not burying them together—the killer and the killed.
One of the friends said: “He didn’t kill her; he loved her with premeditation and intent.”
We ended up deciding to separate them with just a single brick, so that Carnaba could enjoy the torment that would befall Zaghloul.
The other said: “Perhaps she will forgive him. Let her be close to him.”
I dug the grave and laid the dear departed to rest. Basil and lemon blossoms for Carnaba only, and a brick as a headstone, until we prepare one of marble.
I said: “Zaghloul would have died of grief and silence. Thank God they died together. He will reconcile with her in the afterlife. How can the world endure without a female to love?”
On the way back… she sniffed the pavements with pale eyes.
And with a scarce voice, she startled me: “Tell your friend, the one named Mozart, to compose a concerto for Carnaba for the fortieth-day memorial.”
© Waheed Eltaweela
Waheed Eltaweela is an Egyptian novelist with more than eight novels and three short story collections to his name. He worked as a media expert at the Arab League and as a cultural relations expert at the General Foundation for the Cultural District – Katara in Qatar from 2006 to 2009. He was also the chief editor of the cultural plan for the Cultural District. Additionally, he serves as the head of the Arab Organization for Cafés and is a member of the World Café Union.
Dr Salwa Gouda is an accomplished Egyptian literary translator, critic, and academic affiliated with the English Language and Literature Department at Ain Shams University. Holding a PhD in English literature and criticism, Dr. Gouda pursued her education at both Ain Shams University and California State University, San Bernardino. She has authored several academic works, including Lectures in English Poetry and Introduction to Modern Literary Criticism, among others. Dr. Gouda also played a significant role in translating The Arab Encyclopedia for Pioneers, a comprehensive project featuring poets, philosophers, historians, and literary figures, conducted under the auspices of UNESCO. Recently, her poetry translations have been featured in a poetry anthology published by Alien Buddha Press in Arizona, USA. Her work has also appeared in numerous international literary magazines, further solidifying her contributions to the field of literary translation and criticism.