25.. 26.. 27.. 28.. 28A window... 28C aisle...
“Sorry, Sir ! You have taken my seat...”
The 747-400 takes off !
I close my eyes. When I reopen them, as In a dream, I am driving full speed on the National 1 highway. I wonder what I am doing there... I remember : I am a hunter ! These ground or air roads are the paths to my prey. A very special prey, and a rare one. An inaccessible prey ! But here I am, like a lover, staking my life to reach it. I turn left, to the roadside, and I see a windmill...
A far away voice starts : "Dear passengers, on your left, you can see the Island of Malta…"
The plane continues its flight over the Mediterranean. I close my eyes again. A turn makes me push the brakes. But isn't hunting the game of creating it own prey ? Can a prey be if it isn't hunted ? Why ask questions, I cannot live without hunting ; else, not only me, but the whole world will cease to exist…
I must hold on, and fight, even against windmills. And my prey, I will not hurt it. I want to seduce it, love it, and satisfy it… Why then hunt it ?
"In few moments, we will land at the Cairo airport. Please fasten your seatbelts !"
Going down… To stop flying… Return to firm land… Is it the end of the road ? Is my prey here ? Far from everything I know, everything I am accustomed to ? But can my prey be contained in one place ? My prey is human, but it is not a person… It is every person ! Every one I may seduce. How will I seduce them without seeing them ? Without talking to them ? Without talking with my own voice ?
I stop the car. I open the window. "Please, Sir ! Can you tell me where I could find the Youth Center ?"
- "Certainly ! Did you come for the debate ?"
- "How did you guess ?"
- "In a small town like Khemisset, such an event makes big noise…"
I look up front, and see a nice looking, well-dressed young man. A nice suit, white shirt, red tie. He was holding a sign. On the sign, my name. I don't understand. I get closer to him, and he asks : "Are you Mr. Kemmou ? The Moroccan publisher that reserved a room at our hotel ?" The customs procedures gave me the time to discuss with the charming man. We talked about tourism, about publishing In Morocco and In Egypt, and about the Cairo Book Fair that looked gloomy this year…
Cairo/Casablanca February 1997
Abdelmalek Kemmou
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