Through Perry's Eyes: From Twin Hills to the Ancient City of Salé
THROUGH PERRY’S EYES
(From Twin Hills to the ancient city of Salé)
By Laila Bouinidane
2022
Dedication
* * * * *
To every flying soul in a mystical journey
To those who can feel others’ souls
To those who let the grace of God be bestowed on its creatures
To those who strive to make it a better world
Be merciful and you will be granted mercy
Live in peace and let peace be the life
Let the story begin
Preface
Through Perry’s eyes you will see the world of evil and the world of goodness and saints. Putting oneself in the paws of a cat is an enriching experience because you will leave no stone unturned, only to discover hidden places and mute secrets.
Perido’s loss in the city of saints is the epitomy of a flying angel in paradise. To track such a creature is like a ride on a pegasus back, a speedy flight to the seventh sky in the world of mistery.
Perido (in arabic zuburjud) is the name of a precious gem given to a fluffy adorable stray kitten, thanks to the similitude of the gem’s color to the kitten’s eyes’ greenish color.
Perido would appear in Rauya’s dreams, as she tracks him, each time in a particular place, only to entice her to discover new sights and places in the city of saints.
Day after day, Perido is untrackable and despair installs itself in his owner’s heart. She realizes that life is beyond earthly existence.
Perido was present everywhere, guiding her in her moves and sight-seeing. At every corner, she was dreaming to discover her Perido playing or meditating.
Perido, with his innocent soul and spirit, disappeared leading his mistress into the world of discoveries : from the city of sins to the city of saints.
Index
Chapter I: A fluffy kitten in the yard
Chapter II: Perido versus others
Chapter III: Perido the adventurer
Chapter IV: Perido Clyde Norman and Ruby
Chapter V: Twin Hills : the City of Sins
Chapter VI: Beware nosy people
Chapter VII: Wicked neighbours
Chapter VIII: Salé : The city of saints
Chapter IX: Lost in a funeral procession
Chapter X: The Gem of the Heart
Chapter XI: An odd couple
Chapter XII: A strange knocking at the door
Chapter XIII: Moving the seniors
Chapter XIV: Perido displayed
Chapter XV: Another Perido is here
Chapter XVI: Day-Dreaming
I. A fluffy kitten in the yard
One day a stray cat gave birth to a lot of cute kittens in the yard of a house. Few days later, most of the kittens could not survive, neither their mum. There remains only one cute grey fluffy kitten who seemed to be too strong and active.
The kitten would hide in the most discreet holes of the yard to avoid predators and protect himself from cold. Rauya took the habit of feeding stray cats so she started feeding the orphaned kitten. He was so lively he would compete with other adult stray cats for food.
The fluffy kitten was like a small ball in his first months of birth. Day after day, the kitten started growing until it became a cute male baby cat.
The fluffy ball would never go away from the yard. At times, he would come into the door as far as he can get some food then run away. He seemed to like remaining outside.
He became tamed with time and used to cuddles. Often, he would come closer to Rauya in a most playful way. Strangely enough, he had a good appetite and would eat anything that could cross your mind.
Few months are gone, the kitten now is grown into a lovely male. One could discern that his race was rather a persian type with long hair. He had a white heart-like spot under his chin. What strikes one most, at first sight, is his eyes. Such a nice pair of eyes beautifully designed to fit into that angelic face. His eyes were greenish like a pair of gems. Indeed, their color would look like a peridot’s green.
So, Rauya decided to call the cat Perido. Such a name fits him to perfection. Rauya would often call him Perry to cherish him !
II. Perido versus others
You can notice sometimes that Perido would disappear for hours before reappearing in the yard. Rauya decided to track him. She saw him one morning crossing the neighourhood coming from another street. He is clearly satisfied with his life of a stray cat.
But unlike the other stray cats, Perido would spend hours waiting for Rauya morning and evening. He is the last one to leave the yard and the first to be there. He asks for cuddles more than food. For those who are missing the humane side in the personality of an animal, yes, animals can feel, love, play, miss their loved ones, can be sad, can be sorry, can think what to do, can be exposed to all types of sickness just like the human kind!
Perry, as Rauya calls him, tends sometimes to roll down on his back and creep towards her toes to play. He would touch her with his soft hair like a sweet childish toy .
One special thing about Perido is his voice. When meowing you’d think he is a female cat. He has such a soft and quiet voice that inspires trust.
Yet, Perido’s innocence was spoilt by a sort of mischievous look in his greenish eyes. Yes, Perido is very witty. He is so smart and can outwit many other cats in his age.
Unlike other cats, Perido would never fall sick. May be his fluffy hair was able to protect him from cold or whatever.
Over time, Perido occupied a lot big space in his human’s heart. Besides, even ruby the indoor cat befriended him because of his gentle caracter and soft behaviour in the yard.
Perido could come into the house without being chased by Ruby, who scares away the other stray cats.
Perido was rolling on the ground when a passerby saw him and started yelling.
« Those cats are wicked ! Dirty cat..they spoil my garden. They eat my plants. They must be chased away.. » shouted the old man.
« Not all of them behave likewise. Perido is a good cat and cannot do that ! » said Rauya.
« If I catch him, I’ll tear his body into pieces » said the old man.
Rauya walked away with Perido following her while the old man was looking angrily at them, as if trying to pour his wrath on the poor creature for no good reason.
III. Perido the adventurer
As a gift, at times, he would bring small mice with him to the front door of the house and wait for his favourite treat in return.
Strangely enough, in the face of danger, Perido looses his concentration and no matter what you call his name, he would not recognize you or his name when scared, he runs as far as he can. That makes him selfish somehow.
Whereas when he sees his human mum, he won’t concentrate on his way as well and can be moving recklessly and quickly to get closer fast.
When the night falls, Perido would go and hide in his secret garden. He would come back at dawn the following day.
Meowing his usual cries for treats and cuddles, Perido continued to make his daily visits and claim food playfully, rolling on his back in the ground at times and jumping hurriedly on the tree branches looking for the tweeting birds at others.
Whomever meets Perido would be enchanted with his wits and whimsical tricks. To get what he wants he would seduce one with his fluffy tail and innocent stares.
Perido has got a wonderful non verbal communication through charming facial expressions. You can easily guess what is going on his mind from his eye balls and ears and turning around like a clown trying to coax you into doing something special in his favor.
One thing about Perido, is that he does not like to remain in a closed building. He shudders at the idea of being locked up, he would then start growling or yelling as if about to be beaten. He would not shut up until you set him free.
At first sight, you would not think Perido is a stray cat, with his engaging look and soft experssions he looks like an indoor pet. In fact, he likes to be always in the open air, wandering and walking aimlessly along the roads or sleeping in gardens amidst the greenish surroundings.
IV: Twin Hills : The city of sins
It has been years since Rauya lived with her cats in a district at a coastal city called Twin Hills. Twin Hills was a city of darkness where most people were evil doers and behaving as if haunted by devils. There were a lot of crimes and disrespect in its society. Evil doers were thirsty for blood and blasphemy.
In Twin Hills, there was a lot of corrupt people. Almost everything was run with bribes. Bribes would take concrete forms like personal services or granting money and it can take abstract forms like swaps. You could see a lot of discrimination and prostitution in Twin Hills. Prostitutes took the lead above their women peers. You could see even elderly people, in Twin Hills, who are unhappy to see others acting with good deeds. Last but not least, family links became quasi inexistent in Twin Hills.
In Twin Hills, adultery became a thing to brag about. You find a married couple living under one roof but the two partners are enjoying their secret gardens with their lovers. In some cases, you find women or men selling their partners just like in markets for the sake of it. In Twin Hills, you can even find some « pious » persons acting under the banner of faith whereas their deeds are the embodiement of horrible wickedness.
Rauya met a young man who was growing sceptical about social values in Twin Hills, the reason he said was the rampant rate of adultery among married women and men. According to him, women were to be blamed for that and for him all women are the same.
He talked about the prevalence of incest among the same family and the degrading relations between couples living under the same roof. In Twin Hills, he said to her that parents were living their lives not caring about their children and children growing more and more disrespectful to their parents. Family had become like a dispersed nest.
Family relations became drastically threatened as humans in Twin Hills had a bad behavior to each other. In Twin Hills, not only married women were resorting to adultery more than their single counterparts, but are mostly married just for the title of being married and live their lives as they wish.
In Twin Hills, even those who seem serious would be siding with corruption, chaos and disorder, whereas those who are genuinely serious and sincere, they would appear to be extraterrestrial beings coming from another planet other than planet earth.
You would find, in Twin Hills, men claiming to have moral standards they do not adhere to. Either they fail to follow their principles and you will see that they are the first to be involved in the decay of their society. Or, they would talk about that decripitude of their society as a natural thing trying to make it sound and look nice and admissible. That is what you call moral hypocrisy.
Twin Hills was the miniature of a jungle where reality is upside down. Social values, in it, were abolished and cast aside.
This has earned Twin Hills the divine wrath. As it was a coastal city, it witnessed a lot of tornados.
In 2021, a forcast foretold that Twin Hills could witness an unprecedented flood with high giant waves and it threatened even the city to be overwhelmed by the sea itself. This could mean that the city might be covered by floods or might even disappear according to the mighty phenomenal catastrophe.
Rauya grew scared as she was reading articles about end of time and its relations to the prevalence of evil in society. She was the first witness and victim of empersonified evil in Twin Hills.
Rauya was all itching to hear such a bad forcast and with the rampant pandemics that were already rampant in the city, she was always thinking to move to another town or go back to her home country where she was born, in Morocco.
She was always pondering about Twin Hills and its story. Is it a devine furor that was going to punish its inhabitants for their mischief ? many questions were crossing her little mind.
The preoccupation and priority for Rauya now was how to make her little ones safe from any natural catastrophe. She started buying floating rows and putting them in the house lest a sudden flood comes abruptly. She, then, started thinking seriously that this might not be a good solution. She started thinking seriously to go back to Morocco.
Moving her little ones was very stressful from country to another and costly at the same time, but she wanted to save their lives. She started settling down every detail to move back to Morocco.
Rauya had to purchase some tranquilisers for her pets to cool them down all the way back. She should go over all the procedures with the rampant pandemics and do the necessary Passports and blood tests… She was reluctant to start the whole damned process for animal transportation from country to another. It was a real ordeal.
Her prime preoccupation was Perido. The cat had a special caracter, he was very exigent and scared from the slightest movement. Besides, he was an obese cat. So, he would probably not be allowed in the seats with her aboard a plane. An obese cat should go with the luggage, a thing that a scared cat like Perido can never tolerate.
« Damn these transportation laws. Why dogs can be allowed in cabins despite their big weight, whereas cats are not !!! » wondered she.
That was another question she should ask the airport authorities to answer.
V. Beware nosy people
Each morning in Twin Hills, Rauya would take her cats for a walk. As she does so, it sometimes can help her broach conversations with some dog walkers.
Often, she is harrassed by many people thinking that being surrounded with a herd of cats means being easily fooled.
Many people come her way, under the pretext of appreciating her taking care of animals. She was, once, approached by a lady pretending to own animals asking for advice. The conversation ended up with her asking her for help hiring her unemployed husband.
Another time, she was approached by a stranger asking for help feeding his cats because he was poor and unable to buy food for them.
One day, she was approached by a young man pretending to be touched by her caring nature for animals and altruistic personality and then pretended to be fond of her. From the start, she knew he was that kind of men obsessed with women. He would harrass her in vain just for the sake of it, she just snobbed him until he got desperate, lost interest and forgot about her.
Many a time, she was asked by beggars to feed them the way she does with animals. They forgot that God bestowed on them the grace of talking to ask and hands to work for their living, unlike those poor pets who can hardly find someone to give them food or the least you can say is to give them some water to survive.
Another time, she was disturbed by a thief who was feigning to help her herding her cats. She, reluctantly, tried to fend him off. She clumsily lost her purse while she was dealing nervously with the thief.
She was, after all, happy that she can get her pets back safely, that was the only thing of that was of utmost importance to her.
VI: Wicked neighbours
In the city of sins, Rauya noticed how people are wicked and would not tolerate to see others living in peace of mind. Some neighbours would continue to harrass their neighbours for the sake of it.
You would find them nagging all the time, complaining from nothing. Despite the distance that might be separating some houses, wicked neighbours would look for a bone of contention to get into conflict with each other.
Some of them, although hating each other, would cooperate between them just to molest a new neighbour. they would complain from a new neighbour just for kicks. Also, some are full of mischief to the point of not tolerating to see goodness before their eyes.
Rauya was many a time harrassed for her cats under the pretext that they disturb neighbours or make « dirt » although her house was too far from theirs. They might themselves be keeping sometimes an animal in the house like a toy for their children but not keeping it for a humane cause. Still they would complain from others.
People in the city of sins have hearts full of rancor and anger towards others. They would not be happy when their neighbours are quiet. They would try to add more fire to the discontent of some of them against the others fomenting their disputes.
People in the city of sins would give up their money, their children for the sake of disturbing others. They would let down their own business for the sake of observing what their farthest neighbours are doing.
Neighbours in Twin Hills are like an army of devils trying to fight each other and work hard to create as much trouble to each other as possible. That is a natural animosity that goes out of their wicked hearts and is reflected on their complexion. You will easily discern those type of neighbours. Their faces are horrificly full of ugliness.
That is the city of sins.. It is full of mischief, of nastiness and jealousy.
VIII: Perido Clyde Norman and Ruby
Rauya made up her mind and took the decision to move Perido and three of his friends to Salé. This was, among other reasons, due to the works that were going to be undertaken underway for making a road near her yard in the city of sins. That was following a petition launched by her nasty neighbours.
She took two cages, one for the twin cats Ruby and Clyde and one for Perido and Norman. They would resist at first, but then she forced them into the cages and then into the car.
All the way long, Perido did not cease meowing, the others were quiet and calm. Perido was, unlike his usual caracter, very nervous stressed and was enraged at being kept and moved in the car.
Once at the airport, that was like hell, Perido was half asleep thanks to the pills she gave him but he woke up before landing in Salé.
Fortunately, Perido was not awake to live the ordeal of a long journey in the plane with the luggage and the inspection of the airport authorities. Fortunately for them, he was asleep, otherwise he would bite and scratch their arms and injure them out of sheer fear.
She kept cajoling him and coaxing him to sleep all the way long to the refuge in Salé. Once arrived, she took the cages and put the four cats in the shelter and closed the door.
She gave food and water to the new comers. Perido ate a little bit but felt uncomfortable and scared, so uncomfortable that he would return back to his undesirable cage.
Perido ignored everything and was another wild cat ready to run to every direction. She let him get used to the environnement and avoided disturbing him.
After a while, Rauya opened the door to cool Perido down. He ceased meowing for a moment.
IX: Perido : Lost in a Funeral procession
After few minutes, Perido was nowhere. Rauya went to look for him under cars. Not a single hint or trace of him.
Perido was very stressed all the way to Salé, he’s a very independent cat that likes freedom. As soon as she opened the cage he was scared and could not go out first. Then he started meowing, she helped him go out but he was afraid as if it was the first time he sees Rauya. She took him out and gave him food which he swallowed .
After that, Rauya took him in her arms to soothe him and assure him that the place was safe.
Perido was scared and could not cool down. She opened the door, with the roaring coastal wind coming in from outside, Perido disappeared. Rauya thought may be he needs some air and would be beside the door for a while. She casted a look outside but he was not there. She listened to his meowing at the farthest corner in the shelter. There was a hole in the wall. She strived to know what that hole was used for. Then, she went out and turned around the back of the shelter, she found out an exit window with a glass that is conducting to a room where Perido was yelling. She trusted her fingers inside the exit room and broke the glass. Perido came out quickly from that window. He rushed like an arrow outside. She was curious to know what that room was used for.
Rauya used a torch to look inside, it seemed to her that it was a former bathroom that was closed for some reason.
Perido ran like an arrow in that coastal wind. Then he took shelter under a car near the house. After a while, there was a neighbour’s cat who was trying to protect its territory chasing every cat in the area. Perido was threatened. Rauya tried to call him to grab him to the shelter. No way !
She started asking some people. A shopkeeper told her she saw a cat with the same traits entering to a garage and the door of the garage was closed after it.
Like hell, it happened that a woman died all of a sudden and the street was jammed with people and cars. Hoards of people were preparing to go out with a funeral procession.
There was no room to move to look for Perido. It was neither the time nor space to play hide and seek with a cat.
Rauya had to leave, but could not know where Perido was. He vanished like dust in that street of the ancient city of salé.
The area is called Bab Sha’afa, known for its narrow alleys and strategic location near the sea.
She was tired and had to go home. She thought if Perido was in that garage and the door was closed, it meant he would reappear with the opening of that door the next morning.
It was a Sunday morning the following day, Rauya went back to Bab Sha’afa looking for Perido. The door of the garage was opened but instead a stray cat went out. To her dismay, the lady did not know Perido and took him for another stray cat that was not him.
« Damn it ! Rauya shouted, how can people say things they are not sure of !! » she was disappointed and scared that Perido would be lost in the labyrinth of the ancient city.
She started her search for Perido. She left no narrow street unturned. Her feet were aching because she was walking like a homeless girl. Not a single trace of Perido.
She started asking shop-keepers, ancient bread bakers, shoe-menders, youngsters, hairdressers, grocers. No one have seen Perido.
She went back home crying and calling helplessly « Peridoooo !! Perido ! ».
Rauya was trying to remember Perido’s escape when he took to his feet and went out. She observed him there, he went under a parked car. She saw a big cat chasing him. For another moment, he stayed. Rauya thought he did not know the area so he would stay around. After inspecting the closed room and putting on her shoes, she looked for Perido, yet he vanished.
« Where could he be, for goodnesses’ sake ?!! » wondered she.
« Peridoo, Peridoo.. ! » She called under a block of cars.
Not a single hint nor any sign about him. She had to go back home, so she waited for an hour or so looking for him, but he disappeared like a needle in the ocean.
The following day, she walked along all the ancient alleys in the suburbs and asked food merchants. No one has seen him. It is strange that he left no trace.
Rauya kept walking the narrow alleys. She thought she should put herself in Perido’s heels or paws.
Where should a cat be hiding from danger.. She looked up along house stairs, windows, trees… but found no sign.
While walking along the narrow alleys, She had the opportunity to discover the area which she never knew. It was full of stray cats fed by inhabitants.
What striked her most is the numer of saints there. After two alleys or so one would find a saint mausoleum or a zawyah (a muslim center for brotherhood). She stopped by the tombs of holy men. Perido’s loss allowed her to go by their tombs one by one.
Starting from Sidi Ben’ashir to Sidi Abdellah Ibn hassun and others down the ancient alleys of Salé. Whenever she stopped by their tombs, She would implore their grace to find her lost cherished Perido.
In a moment of anguish, she cried warm tears dropping all over her cheeks and shouted desperately « Peridoooo.. »
« I cannot live without hearing Perido’s meowing, without his eyes..I would rather loose something from my flesh and money than loosing Perido. I shuddered at the idea of Perido being in danger ..I do not want him to be a victim of the mischief of those malevolent neighbours’s plan of creating a road to satisfy their whims. Damn them and their plan, they are the one to cause this sudden moving and loosing of Perido ! » She kept ruminating.
Rauya returned back home in tears, slept for a while near the hearth and dreamt of Perido.
She saw him on a site which she has never seen before. The following day, she would look for that site, she found similar sites but he was not there.
She kept seeing him in her dreams, in places unknown to her, yet she was wondering whether he was dead or alive. There remained no trace of him.
One guy told her that cats hide on house roofs as well. That was the last straw, she started looking up house roofs. What if he was hiding there, how can she know, she does not have wings to fly there and look it up over there.
« I prayed Allah a thousand times to bring me back Perido.. I still wait for him and hope to find him in the area. I still hope he’s still alive. » she said.
Giving food to stray cats, there remains only one share of food, that of Perido.. She started thinking whether he was eating or starving, whether he was alive .
She decided to use her skills in telepathy.. she triggered her flare by sending Perido telepathic messages.. then decided to control his brain from far away.. There were just dreams of him in unknown places.
X: Salé : The city of saints
Salé, a small town near the capital of Morocco,
is a coastal city but the city never witnessed catastrophes and was well
protected with an ancient wall that goes back to a historical era of conquests. It has different nicknames: the City of Candles, the City of Saints, the City of Pirates, the City of Seven Gates.
Salé is a city Rauya does not know much about, but she managed to get that shelter for her loved ones there.
At their arrival, Rauya put clyde norman and ruby in the house first, then she carried Perido in his cage inside the shelter and released in its new abode.
She thought how silly it was of her to try ot save Perido from the flood to end up loosing him in a labyrinth. She shuddered at the though that Perido would die starving or bitten by wild dogs who are legion in the area.
She started looking for him every day , on foot or by car, patrolling the area , in vain.
She was putting herself in the paws of Perido, thinking what might be his reaction to traffic noises, to barking dogs, to any threat or attraction.
She could track him accordingly, she started with the mostly and commonly used areas by cats.
Going towards the pigeons’ square where grains were given to birds, she discovered the « Greatest Mosque »
The greatest mosque:
Adjacent to the Greatest Mosque was the tomb of a saint called Sidi Abdellah Ibn Hassun. Closed because of Covid, you can see his tomb through a window. On the roof of the mausoleum, there were plenty of colorful « candles » hanging out there.
After a week, her hope was dwindling. Could someone be hiding Perido. She knows Perido cannot stay indoors, the least he can do is to meow insistently to be released.
All of a sudden, a lady told her that some cats take shelter in the roofs and terrasses of houses.
Rauya did not have wings to fly but tried everything to find Perido. After a fortnight, she tried telepathy. Sending heart messages to Perido, hoping to get some feedback.
She tried to guide Perido back home throught distance controling or the like. She ended up seeing Perido in her dreams again. Strangely enough, she saw Perido a couple of times in places she could not identify. Once on some construction bricks with other stray cats. The second time it was just near a street dustbin, yet she could not figure out where exactly.
She was rambling along the ancient city narrow streets until a Riad known as « Dar Hamra », it means the « red house », it was the shelter of many street cats fed by some good people there.
She would go back to the « Greatest Mosque » where many cats were gathering for food served by inhabitants.
The Merinid School was near the Greatest Mosque of Salé: The Greatest Mosque of Salé remains and is considered among one of the spiritual and scientific features that characterize the city, and is considered one of the greatest mosques in the Islamic world.
The Greatest Mosque is 5070 m2 and was built over a vast area of more than 50,700 square meters.
Down the Greatest Mosque was the Merinid Mederesa « School ». The merinid school was built by Sultan Abu al-Hassan Ali Ibn Sultan Abi Said al-Marini between 1330 and 13411, near the Greatest Mosque.
The Bouanania School:
The most familiar among the Salawis was built by Sultan Abu al-Hassan Ali bin Othman and completed by his son Abi Anan Faris al-Marini in the year 1345.
On the right angle of the
area were many « Zawayat » like the Tidjan Zawya, the Qadiri Zawya, the Nassiri Zawya, the Aissawy Zawya..
Back from the Greatest Mosque, Rauya discovered many Riads reminicient of a thousand and one night like « Riad Jabador »
In the same street as Riad Jabador, you find « Mull Al-Gumry Zawya » which is close to the shelter house where she put her pets.
« Mull Al-Gumry »:
His real name was Sidi Muhammad al-Mufaddal ibn Ahmad al-Mursi ibn Abi Obaid Muhammad al-Sharqi, nicknamed Mull alGumry, he died in 1071 AH, buried in Salé.
She decided to go near some construction works in the area that overlooked the sea.
Perido’s tracking made her discover many saints of the city, namely that of Sidi Bena’asher.
Down some narrow streets she found other Zawayah. The Merinid era witnessed also the creation of many Zawayas which mostly go back to the 6th century like derkawya, tidjan, qadiri, touhami hansali, nassiri, qasimi, mansouri, and the Kettani which was recently created in 1902.
She hoped to find Perido there but when she did not find him there, she started accepting the situation.
Could Perido have vanished like this without being hurt. After more than a month, Rauya believed Perido was far away.
Rauya was worn out looking for Perido. So she decided to concentrate on the other pets : Clyde, Norman and Ruby.
She made a dream at night that the area of the shelter was haunted by a flying soul of a saint. She could feel the soul of the saint everywhere flying in the air and overlooking the ancient houses.
She could not sleep in the shelter at night, she used to see a lot of nightmares.
Perido’s loss allowed her to discover many saints of the area, yet she was crying and praying to get back Perido at any cost. She could not accept to see Perido as a victim of her hasty decision making.
It is known that the merinid era saw the existence of many saints which can be attributed to the creation of the Merinid school and the great Mosque which attracted students to the many scholars and saints there. One of the most famous saints was Sidi Bena’asher and Sidi Abdullah Ibn Hassoun :
Sidi Bena’asher:
Ahmed Ibn Muhammad Ibn Omar Ibn Asher Al-Andalusi (born in Jimena de la Frontera in Andalusia and died in Salé in 1364), forms with Sidi Abdullah Ibn Hassun the sultans of the saints in Salé.
Sidi Abdullah Ibn Hassun :
Abdullah Ibn Ahmed Ibn Al-Hassan Al-Khalidi Al-Sallasi Al-Salawi, famous for Ibn Hassun (born in Fez 1515 and died in Salé 1604).
Ibn Hassun is considered the sultan of the city and the guardian of Sale. The city has seven gates :
Lamrissa Gate : which is the largest historical gate in Morocco, built in the city of Salé by the Merinid Sultan Abu Yusuf Yaqoub Ibn Abdul Haq, as he actively participated in the construction work, between the years 658 and 668 AH (1270 and 1280 AD). It presents a stone facade decorated with beautiful carved decoration with inscriptions and floral interlacing, the opening of which reaches about 9 meters, and its top rises, despite the height of the floor and the accumulation of sand in the basin and the canal and its coverage, to 9.60 meters.
Ceuta Gate: It was called so because the individuals traveling to the city of Ceuta from the city of Salé had to pass through this door.
Bouhaja Gate : A large door demolished in the sixties. It bears the name of the good Andalusian saint, Sidi Ibrahim Bouhaja Al-Randi.
The Industry Gate : which is exquisitely designed. It is said to have been used for industry in the past.
The Spoon Gate: Overlooking the cemetery and the sea, it was intended for the Sultan when he was visiting the city's holy sites.it was called also the new Gate: A small door without much use, used from the 1960s as a warehouse.
It was built by Sultan Abu Yusuf Yaqoub Ibn Abdul Haq Al-Marini in the year 658 AH (12611 AD) under the supervision of the Andalusian engineer Muhammad Ibn Al-Hajj Al-Ishbili. It is known as Bab al-Furran and has an arsenal and a factory for pirate weapons.
The Thursday Gate: Bab Fez previously, which is the entrance to the city from the east.
Shaafa Gate (also called the Gate of seven girls) : Where many saints and Zawayas exist. Where the refuge where Rauya landed with her pets is located. Its name has multiple stories. Some say that it means getting repentence, some say it is derived from a stone from which it was built. This Gate is really mysterious. Its mystery comes out from the gathering of saints and Zawyas in it.
XI: the Gem of the Heart
Rauya would dream to find her Perido every day, she would visit a saint and evoke Perido’s loss. She prays God to help Perido come back. She imagines their meeting after such a long time of disappearance.
It happens to her while driving in the area to glimpse a grey cat snuggling in the sun and she drops by to see if it is Perido. To her disappointment, she discovers it was not him.
« I cannot live without Perido. If he’s not here I can perish. If he is here present I am the rose in its blossom and the tulip in its flourishing. I pray God to take from my life and give it to Perido. I pray for a miracle to happen. I know I ask for something irrational after such a long time of disappearance. » she would meditate in her prayers.
She would shed tears in her prayers beseeching Perido’s coming back to her.
She cannot live without Perido nor Perido without her. He was always waiting for her. She thought someone would have adopted him or forced him to stay indoors.
XII: An odd couple
One day as she was caring for her cats in the refuge, there was some knocking at the door. She went to open the door. Then, she saw a woman and a man, weird like a pair of comedians. They asked for a lady’s name : rihanna.
« Am not Rihanna !» she answered
« Give us her adress or any contact details that you may have » said the woman.
« Can I know who you are ? » asked she
« We want Rihanna for a personal matter : » answered the man.
Rihanna was living here but she moved. I will try to look for her address for you, but leave this place now.
The couple looked odd and insistent. The man looked nervous and disappointed at hearing her reply.
They gave her their phone number and left like a pair of lunatics.
That was another a story to unfold. In fact, she had the phone of Rihanna, but feared to disclose a personal number to such nuts. She would not give strangers the life details of a woman like Rihanna.
She called Rihanna, who promised to call back after talking to the couple.
After half a day, she received a call from Rihanna.
« These crazy people.. they are such stupid, mischievous unworthy little things » said Rihanna.
« what was wrong, I knew there was something weird about the couple, tell me what’s the fuss ?» asked she insistently.
« they came to negotiate with me selling them the refuge because they wanted to live there, as if there were no other houses for sale. They said they are ready to pay whatever I ask for . They are ready to sell all they own for the sake of living there because they want to take their revenge from the neighbours, fancy that ? » she said in an outrage.
« What was your answer ? I said no way, no and a thousand No. If they come back again you should chase them from here.» said Rihanna.
« Of course, I will, since these crazy people have bad intentions. I’ll do » she answered.
Strangely enough, she learnt that the refuge was built on a destroyed old cimetery that no longer serves for burial. As she looked out through the window, she notices some tombstones still visible, the epitaph of which was erased with time !
« How can such crazy people struggle and sell all they own for a building settled on a former cimetery. That’s crazy » she wondered.
Craziness is multi-faceted and multi-shaped and is rampant in our daily life.
Who care after all ! The only thing that makes her loose her temper is the fact that she lost Perido.
XIII: A strange knocking at the door
Rauya just finished cleaning the litterboxes of cats in the refuge and it was almost 20.00 pm. She sighed after so much work being done, she was so tired she resorted to a mild doze on a meridian sofa in the living room.
The sea winds were strong enough to create loud cracking sounds of the window. She got up trying to fix the glass of the window and prevent it from making noize. All of a sudden, she heard a sort of knocking on the door, it was very soft and gentle rhyming with the roaring winds of the sea.
She stood near the door to make sure that was some real knocking. The sound stopped for a while, then she decided to open the door. She found nothing apart from a poor little kitten at the corner to the left of the door. She tried to approach the kitten but it was so scared. She brought some food to the door. The kitten was very hungry he ate it all at the entrance of the shelter.
Rauya closed the door after the kitten was in, but the kitten was afraid, she tied to cuddle him but he refused to be touched. Then, he ran like an arrow away from her.
Strangely enough, the light went out as soon as the kitten got into the house. Rauya used a torch to enlighten the stairs. The kitten had a very sharp look in his eyes whose balls turn colored with a red glow as they catch a beam of light in the dark.
Rauya tried to call an electrician but he was unreachable. The electricity was out for many days as the electrician was too busy to come.
She gave a name to that strange kitten. She called him Yushi. He continued to run away from her. He caught some ringworms and she tried to apply some medicines for him, but he would not let her touch him. As soon as she grabs his neck, he would start biting her and scratching her hands.
She let him live peacefully as she cannot catch him. He would hide at the far corner of a riddance room that used to serve as a toilet in the past.
XIV: Moving the seniors
Rauya found a stray cat sick, suffering apparently from coryza. She took him to the refuge for treatment.
After a fortnight, the cat recovered and was going along easily well with Ruby. She called him Yoshi, but soon made up her mind to take Ruby and Yoshi to a site where Ruby was raised. The reason is that Yoshi was constantly harrassing Norman. She displaced the two as they can get along together quite well.
Surprisingly, the site where Ruby was raised was witnessing a lot of noise and the two had difficulties rambling with other stray cats .
As soon as they got out from the cage, they were running like two prisoners going out of jail. Freedom is priceless, but one should learn to appreciate safety as well.
She kept an eye on them to see how they are coping up with this environment.
Ruby knew the place and was indifferent, but Yoshi showed a lot of stress at first. He then started to integrate into his new environment and was constantly stuck to Ruby, his elder « brother ».
After two days, the area witnessed a standstill. The cats started feeling comfortable to walk and get rest as they will.
XV: Perido displayed
One day, Rauya had the feeling that Perido would reappear some day. An idea crossed her mind that Perido could be found by some nice folks who can probably be looking for its owners.
She was left with one solution to look for him in the net, there exist sites for lost animals. She came across a lady asking for adoption three cats. One of them was like Perido, looking exactly the same. She lives in Salé. She contacted her, yet she told her that it was a female kitten. She lost hope and started being desperate after twenty days of tracking.
She decided to look in the net, in the category of lost and found animals in Salé.
She started scrolling down every day searching on that website. One Saturday morning, she saw an add about adopting cats at a reasonable price.
She saw a cat looking exactly like Perido. She called the number of the advertizer. It happened that it was a girl in a remote area of Salé. The ad was pulished just one day after Perido's loss. Rauya pretended to be someone interested in adopting a cat.
The lady was polite but mysterious. She is sceptical and blocks her profile every now and then, showing difficulty to be reached.
Rauya insisted on calling her, she finally replied politely and showed Rauya the area where she was living in case Rauya is interested to see the cat. Rauya acquiesced and gave her an appointment on the spot.
She told Rauya to go near « Dar lHamra » in Salé. Rauya thought about a Riad (a traditional house typically of ancient andalusian -like architecture you find in ancient Moroccan cities) not far in Bab Sha’afa. Rauya walked miles to reach that Riad. She called the lady who answered immediately this time.
Rauya told the advertizer that she was near « Dar LHamra » the red house, in Bab Sha’afa.
« Am sorry but Dar lHamra is a neighbourhood that is too far from Bab Sha’afa » answered the mysterious lady.
« What, I’ve walked miles to come to this red damned house, now you say it is far..why ..where is that Dar L Hamra of yours ? » answered Rauya loosing her temper.
« Yes, it is an area not a riad, and that is far from there. » answered the advertizer.
« Okay, listen to me, am not interested in adopting, I just want you to confirm to me that you found that cat last september 18th, the day I lost my cat Perido, because your advertizement is dated just one day after that » said Rauya almost sure that she found Perido.
« Am sorry but I’ve seen this cat born before my eyes. I hope that you will find your lost cat » answered the lady as polite as always .
Rauya was sure that it was Perido but the answer that came from the lady chilled her. The lady blocked her profile again and went unreachable.
Whether it was Perido or not, Rauya just hoped Perido was safe will fall in safe hands and prays Allah to bring him back to her. She hoped that all the stray cats and animals are treated well, have a shelter, food and water to survive.
XVI: Another
Perido is here
Rauya was driving past an area where she was feeding some stray cats. She was stopped by the sight of the deserted place. There was not a single cat there. Strangely enough, when she stops by, all the hungry cats are drawn to her car. She was used to cuddling a white cat she called snowman, who never missed her appoitnment. This time, snowman did not show up.
While inspecting the place few minutes later, she noticed a small white and grey kitten hidden at the corner of the fence surrounding a mosque in there. She approached the kitten, he was standing still in the corner. She gave him some food, no way he would not eat, but he was google eyed, as if scared or rather shocked.
She tried to touch the kitten but he would not move. He was so cute and soft and gentle but was not moving a limb, whereas his eyes were telling a story.
After a while, she dragged the little kitten from his front leg, he was dragging his back legs as they were seemingly injured. His body was trembling and frail, she hugged him and felt his innocent soul trying to soothe his atrocious pain.
She examined him for a while, she found a wound in his belly and probably a fractured leg.
« Good God ! He must have been bitten by a dog ! How come he survived, Snowman was probably bitten to death then.» she wondered at the sight of the horrible hole in the poor kitten’s belly.
She was told by some youngsters, that during the night, a hoard of dogs passed by and were so aggressive, they would bite every single cat in their way. Many cats were disembowled to death. It was a dramatic scene that no one could tolerate to witness. Some passers-by could heedlessly take footage of that horrific scene. Many cat bodies were collected in the morning.
She took the injured kitten to a nearby pet food seller as she did not have time to take care of him at that time. She bought him first some medicines for the kitten, she immediately applied to him some betadine antisepctic to the wound which seemed very deep in his belly, it was rather a hole, she used some green clay to avoid moisture in that sensitive skin, then rapped that belly in pad, afterwards she gave him some antibiotics and natural articulations’ soother, and entrusted the shop keeper with him until she comes back from work.
Actually the shop keeper was scared to see the fatal wound in the kitten’s belly.
« Oh my Goodness ! what is that ? You can see his small intestines ! what’s this fuss again ? » said the shop keeper mouth wide open.
« Look, this is not the first case I took care of, he is too small to undergo any surgery. The kitten can eat, let’s try to help him survive. I had many kittens killed at the veterinary and I do not want him to undergo the same fate. »
The shopkeeper did not know what to do, he was scared to touch that hole in the belly of the cat, she showed him how to be careful with wounds, the way to apply hygiene to care for the kitten in her absence which he did wholeheartedly.
She thanked the
shopkeeper and headed to her work. She did not want the kitten to be mollested
by the other cats in the refuge so she continued to go to the shopkeeper every
day to take care of the kitten with the help of the pet shop keeper who was a
man with a good heart. A month later, the kitten started walking and moving, his
belly whole started reducing in size. He did not need any stitching or surgery at all.
Two months later, now that the kitten was in good health playing and walking, she then decided to take him to the refuge to survive with the other cats. The kitten looked like Perido, his grey and white coat and greenish eyes reminded her of him. She called him Perry !
Three months later, the kitten was growing majestically into adulthood, he was fluffy, gentle and such a soft cat.
He would stand out from the other kittens and cats, waiting day and night for Rauwya to come and give him attention, just like Perido.
XVII: Day-dreaming
Rauya was dead tired as she lied on the Moroccan gold-wooden sofa covered with rose silk. She dragged the sheets and resorted to sleep.
After a while, she was still not asleep and yet between wakening and sleep, she felt she was at a big yard full of tombs. All of a sudden, a strange animal came out from nowhere. The creature was too big to be a dinosaur and its mouth wide open. She stood aghast at the sight of it.
The horrendous creature bent over her head and was about to slay her . Actually, the big creature bit her feet as if about to eat it, she shouted too loud. She was screaming and crying, when cats bigger than lions appeared on the yard and blew the creature away.
She was thinking the big cats must be starving and she needed to give them some food, but they were too big to be fed.
She woke up all of a sudden and found herself lying on the sofa with her pets around her, feeling her face expressions as she was seeing that nightmare. they heard her screaming in her dream and woke her up.
She gave her pets some treats and thanked them for caring for her.
Thank you for your reading
Comments
Post a Comment