One evening a man walked past the shopping arcades. As the muezzin of a nearby mosque began the call to prayer, he suddenly turned his attention to a certain woman. She, it seemed to him, was surprisingly attractive, even through her black robe and veil on her face.
The girl turned to him and, as if responding to his gaze, which she strangely felt, unexpectedly nodded in his direction and quickly turned towards the shops of the silk merchants. And, as if spellbound, the man instantly lost his mind.
It was futile to try to overcome the desperate feeling that gripped him. He frantically turned over reasons one after another in his head, trying to convince himself not to follow the stranger. “Isn’t it prayer time already?” - he said to himself. But it was all over, and he hurried after her.
He quickly followed the girl, bypassing numerous rows of merchants, breathing heavily from tension and afraid to lose sight of her. The woman rushed forward, but at each turn she made a short pause so that he would not lose sight of her.
Suddenly she turned sharply towards him. For a second, the man thought he saw a smirk on her face through the veil covering her face. “It seemed,” flashed through his head. And the girl set off again.
The man was insane. “Who is she? Daughter of wealthy parents? What does she need? - he thought, quickening his pace.
And so she led this man, playing along with his passions. At times he could almost grab her, but the girl would slip away again and practically disappear from sight.
So they passed silk rows, weapons stores, oil and leather dealers. The market is left behind. The man and the girl moved further and further away from the meeting place.
His suspicions about her began to ripen a little. “Maybe she’s crazy?” - he thought. And the girl kept leading him and leading him. So they almost reached the suburbs.
Some 20 meters separated them when he caught the girl’s gaze, which invited him to follow her. She opened the large bronze door leading to the ancient tomb and entered it. At some point, it was clear that he was wondering whether to follow her. But the man was still unable to turn back and rushed after her. Inside, as he became aware of after a while, there was a flight of stairs that led to the basement. He hurried down it. Soon the man found himself in a large and spacious room, opposite the door of which the same woman was sitting on a richly decorated bed, still in all black, with her head covered and her face covered.
“Turn around and look at the door,” she almost ordered him in a slightly flirtatious tone, “and bring the keys.”
And he did what the stranger asked, expecting her tenderness.
However, unexpectedly the girl barked disdainfully:
- Throw away the key!
A ray of awareness dawned in the man’s brain, and it seemed that understanding had come to him. Even the stranger noticed this indecision:
- Come on! - she laughed. “Didn’t you miss the prayer by following me?”
He was silent.
“The time for evening prayer has almost passed,” the girl whispered to him with mockery. - Why are you delaying? Throw it! Don't you want to please me?!
And he, as if unable to control himself, stretched out his hand over the well, only watching as the key flew to the bottom. At some point, an ominous feeling was born in the man’s chest; he was ready to scream and tear anyone to pieces. However, even after this no action was taken. At first he was surprised, then horrified, and then... he understood.
“Now it’s time to see me,” she said, throwing off the covers.
Suddenly he saw that underneath was not the desired young girl, but the terribly ugly, nauseating face of a vicious old woman, on whom there was no living space from wrinkles and scars.
- Look at me more carefully! - she said. - My name is Dunya. I am the valley you were looking for. I'm your lover. You lost your mind following me, and now we meet! In your grave. Isn't this what you wanted? Welcome!
And she laughed and laughed until she turned into a ball of dust. Then the torches began to fade one after another. And darkness came.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru