| Despair weakens
our sight and closes our ears. We can see nothing but spectres
of doom, and can hear only the beating of our agitated hearts.
- KAHLIL GIBRAN
IT IS
OCTOBER of 1992, and I, Sultana Al Sa'ud, the princess
featured in a tell-all book, follow the days of the calendar
with a mixture of feverish excitement and morose depression.
The book that exposed the life of women behind the veil was
released in the United States in September. Since its
publication, I carry with me a somber presentiment of my doom,
feeling as though I were precariously suspended in space, for
I am aware that no deed great or small, bad or good, can be
without effect.
While
taking a deep breath, I hopefully remind myself that I am
likely to be safe in the anonymity of the extended Al Sa'ud
family. Still, my trusty instincts warn me that I have been
discovered.
Just
as I conquer my conflicting guilt and fear, my husband, Kareem,
enters our home in a rush, shouting out that my brother, Ali,
has returned early from his trip to Europe and that my father
has called an urgent family meeting at his palace. With black
eyes glaring in a pale face marked with blotches of fiery red,
my husband looks madder than a mad dog.
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