Paradise

Hamid and Maimuna send Yusuf to the Koran school with their children, where he is the oldest student. However, the imam who teaches takes kindly to Yusuf and shows him favor by sending him on errands and having him assist him. Hamid is initially pleased and proud, but then he starts to think Yusuf is doing too much for the imam, as he has neglected some of his duties for Hamid. Kalasinga thinks that Yusuf thinking beyond the daily tasks of the trade business is a good thing, but he wishes his focus were on something other than religion. To that end, he offers to teach Yusuf English or mechanics. Yusuf spends more and more time with Kalasinga. In the evenings, he sits on the terrace with Hamid and any visitors they may have. A man from Mombasa visits one night and tells tales of his uncle going to the land of “Rusi,” where he found the people uncivilized but then he learned many were Muslims, too. His uncle had proclaimed that Paradise was in a place called Herat, but it was troubled by war. Then the man explains that he visited an even more beautiful place called Kaskas, though the visitor seems reluctant to say more about it.

Hamid and Maimuna’s children like to visit Yusuf in his room to hear stories. The young boys play around, which Yusuf appreciates, as he realizes he’s been lonely without Khalil. Asha, the girl, however, just watches Yusuf. When the two are alone one day, she goes into his arms and kisses his hands. Though aroused, Yusuf is somewhat disturbed by this unexpected intimacy. He worries that someone will discover them, but he doesn’t know how to end her visits. Maimuna becomes suspicious, though, and shoos Asha away from Yusuf. Her attitude cools toward him, and Hamid calls him for assistance more often than usual. Yusuf suspects that Hamid is thinking about marriage for their young daughter.

Uncle Aziz arrives with a larger expedition crew than previously, for which he had to mortgage a share of the profits and borrow money from creditors. This makes Hamid anxious. Uncle Aziz takes Yusuf on this trade journey at Hamid’s request. The night before the caravan’s departure, a storm blows in, causing much damage. Mohammed Abdalla rants at the porters who are fearful and superstitious. As the caravan gets underway, Yusuf initially hides himself among the porters to distance himself from the merchant, though he is not sure why he feels the need to do this. However, Abdalla finds him and brings him to Aziz’s side, which Yusuf understands to be his place. While traveling, Simba Mwene, the new fierce overseer of the crew, tells the porters about the Germans and their ferocity, how they enjoy punishing people. Yusuf is afraid of the animals he hears at night.

The caravan enters dry country, and the going is rough with thorns and insects. Uncle Aziz orders that every settlement they pass be given a small gift, a token of goodwill and a way to get information. Mohammed Abdalla takes Yusuf under his wing, explaining the land around them and various parts of the job. The porters joke that he will try bedding Yusuf soon, and Simba Mwene jeers that Yusuf should try Simba as a lover first. Abdalla informs Yusuf that Mwene is on the crew to pay back relatives of someone he murdered, but if he acts up, Abdalla will hand him over to the Germans who would gladly kill him. He goes on to say that trading brings places to life. They mostly trade in iron and cloth, but they also have “powder and shot” for the difficult sultans. Abdalla rants about the special powers Europeans seem to have, but Uncle Aziz responds that the Europeans are here for the same reason they are.

On the eighth day of the journey, the caravan camps at a place where Uncle Aziz tells the porters to put up a stockade against the animals at night. He sends some men with gifts to a nearby village that was rumored to have attacked another caravan. The sultan of Mkata is not satisfied with the gifts, so Aziz doubles the amount twice before the gifts are accepted. A village woman is attacked and killed by a crocodile, which alarms everyone. The sultan invites the caravan to a feast that night where he explains that the woman who died had protection against water and crocodiles, so the caravan had brought evil upon them, and the village would need to be compensated. Mohammed Abdalla warns that the sultan may want their genitalia thrown into the river. That night, Yusuf dreams of a huge dog straddling him, looking for his secrets. At dawn, a hyena attacks one of the porters, tearing his face off. The sultan claims it’s recompense for the woman, and the hyenas took the evil away, though he thought that Yusuf would be given to them instead. He does not allow the caravan to pass through the village, so they must cross the river. The sultan orders that the wounded man must stay with the villagers and him, though he dies that afternoon. Both Uncle Aziz and Mohammed Abdalla ask Yusuf about his troubled sleep, and Yusuf is surprised to learn that they were aware of his nightmares and had been more than once. Uncle Aziz states that God has given Yusuf a gift with his dreams. The going is harder as the caravan continues because the various sultans ask for more and more. A village they come to was attacked by warriors from the other side of the mountain two days earlier. Roofs are burnt and bodies are all around. Abdalla wants to leave quickly, fearing raiders or disease, but Simba Mwene thinks they should bury the dead. Uncle Aziz agrees to the burial, but the villagers do not assist, and they wail when it is done. Yusuf sees that Mwene glares at them with loathing.