Salim As’ad bewitched me with his stories and his play and his white hair. He bewitched me and made me forget you. You will, no doubt, appreciate what a battle I got into with Dr. Amjad over creating a job for him. Amjad refused, saying that the budget wouldn’t cover it and that Salim As’ad would turn the hospital into a circus, but I insisted and won. I won, meaning I lost, because he didn’t want to work. He worked for a month and then left without saying goodbye. What did I do to him? Nothing at all. I let him do as he pleased, just forbade him to go near your room. That was all. But he’s a louse – really a louse – who doesn’t want to work. He’s gotten used to being unemployed and putting on a show and bullying people into giving him money. What more could I have done for him than I did? “This isn’t a hospital.” Every time I made any comment about his behavior, he’d look at me in astonishment, shrug his shoulders and say, “This isn’t a hospital.” Once he came into my office.
