By: Wagih Elkady

Translated by: Taghrid Fayad

Sayed comba had earned this nickname by his colleagues, in the wedding band, since he was left-handed, and the sound of his beats on the tambourine seemed louder than the sound of any of the band members beats. They used to call his left hand as a comba that is too strong for any tambourine to last, which forced the owner of the band to buy a new tambourine continually.
In spite of that, the band owner can not do without Sayed, the band has earned its fame because of its loud music during wedding processions, and which is caused mainly by Sayed.
This job for s Sayed is something totally different, since he started it by chance only. Sayed had graduated from one of the humble computer institutes. This study was the source of pride for Osta Hasan, the plumber. He used to stay up-late all night in the coffee shop, talking and bragging about Sayed, his son, and how skilful he is in dealing with computers,
and that Osta Hasan has bought his son an expensive computer set, but this will rewarded soon when he starts his work in one of the computer and communication companies, which Sayed is seriously wanted by. Osta Hasan believes that his son´s salary in one day will be much more than the price of the computer set that he has bought for Sayed. Then, Osta Hasan ends his talk by saying that a person must buy the seeds of plants, if he wants to get a harvest.
The same seat in the coffee shop, which was occupied by Osta Hasan, would be taken by Sayed, his son, in the morning. Sayed used to smoke non-stop, and his head moved to the right and left, as if he was watching a volley ball match. Sayed followed the girls who were coming and going in the street, while setting all day in his seat in the coffee shop, smoking continuously, as if he is blowing up his boredom and his disappointment together with the smoke of his cigarette.
After months of waiting for Sayed´s expected work, the father and son were totally disappointed, and both kept silence when ever they met.
But, there came the incident that broke this silence, when one of Sayed´s long-time friends, came to the coffee shop, and told Sayed after so many hugs with him : “listen to me Sayed, you have a good looking figure, with your blond hair, blue eyes, and athletic body, why don´t you join us in the wedding band” then he continued: “You will only need few days to learn to play the tambourine, then you will be paid directly after the celebration is off.”
Sayed liked his work with the wedding band for two or three days every week.
He played the tambourine with the band in the club halls of the companies and labour unions.
He didn´t feel any difference, when he was in those wedding parties, as he felt that the people there were the same as the ones in his neighbourhood.
Sayed felt that the wedding guests have the same touch of misery that accompanies the people in his neighbourhood, that will not allow the feeling of happiness to appear on their faces, no matter how hard they try to show it, and this also applies for the bride and groom.
Sayed would always go home after the wedding procession is off, holding a sack with his work clothes, the black plants, together with the silk-like shirt.
Then one day Sayed felt that a hand was slapping him on the face in addition to his tambourine, when he and his band were invited for the first time to a wedding in a five stars hotel. The people there were totally different from the people he knew before.
Any of the girls or ladies, even the old ones, was fit to be the bride, those even were different. Every body and every thing around him was so bright and elegant, furs, perfumes, diamonds that spin anybody´s mind.
They are all much more beautiful and charming than any of the girls that he dreamed about, when he browsed through the internet pages.
In spite of that, a tornado shook him only when his eyes fell on the bride. He had never seen something like those eyes before.
Sayed imagined that the bride was staring at him at the same time, when she was walking beside her father, waiting to be handed to her groom, who would directly engulf her with his hands around his waist.
Sayed would then beat his tambourine widely and crazily, to the extent that he loses his hand protector. Sweat starts to fall down his shoulders and back, in addition to stiffness in his nick.When the bride and groom sat, Sayed he gazed at the bride in a ravishing look, then he handed the tambourine to the manager of the band, saying that he is tired, and for the first time he doesn´t take his tip and breaking the rule of drummers who don´t trust the owner of the band usually.
Sayed threw himself on his bed with his colourful silk-like clothes, which he didn´t change before coming back home, as usual. He was fascinated by what he saw in the hotel. He couldn´t get rid of the bride´s image in her white dress, and with her dark charming eyes, which almost drove him into madness, when he approached her, and thought in sanely about snatching her from her fathers´s hand.
That night, Sayed slept with the bride of his imagination, and he didn´t leave her until 3:00 pm.
The second day, when he woke up with a terrible headache, which almost broke his head, Sayed determined that night on to marry each bride he sees in the weddings in his imagination, before even her groom touches her.
He bought a digital camera, to take the picture of the bride, while standing beside her father, waiting for her groom to come.
As soon as the weddings is off, Sayed would run along to his room, to add the bride´s picture to the computer files, then he takes off the bride´s dress step by step, while remembering everything and detail about her body. He imagines that she is making painful sounds while he is making love to her, as she can´t bear his full mature manhood. Since that first wedding in the great hotel, Sayed lived fits of madness and sanity, where he is completely absentminded, and the comba strikes his mind in addition to the tambourine with all his poverty and disappointments, until he wakes up the second day, with a terrrible headache, waiting for his coming bride.

-The end-

أوبرا مصر –  ترجمات