time the gun went off. The Bodyguard leapt to receive the bullet in his body with open arms. He fell to the ground at the Imam’s feet without drawing the attention of any of the people standing around. His body seemed to evaporate, to melt in no time, only to be replaced by another body with exactly the same contours and lines and with exactly the same rubber face which he was wont to wear over his own face so that he remained the living image of the Imam and made it impossible for anyone to distinguish between the true and false Imam, even if it were his own wife.
Every time the Bodyguard walked out of the door of his house he felt it would be for the last time, that he would not return. Yet he walked out of his own free will, his heart overflowing with happiness at the thought that he was going to his death carrying the key of Paradise around his neck. It hung from a fine silver chain and was cut like a fish tail with sharp indentations. Sometimes he used to wonder how he was going to open the door to Paradise with this key. Was Paradise like a house with a door leading into it? Would Radwan, the doorkeeper of Paradise, let him open the door with his key? Many questions went through his mind as he stood there with the acclamations of the crowd echoing in his ears. The cells of his brain kept chasing them away but they would return again. No one noticed how he stood there frowning slightly as though his brain was ticking away. The electric current had been cut off for some time and the electronic detector was not in functioning order.
The Chief of Security fastened his eyes on the back rows of the crowd, but the Imam kept a careful watch on the sky. Meanwhile the head of the Bodyguard maintained itself in exactly the same position as that of the Imam, gazing up into the heavens all the time. When the Imam waved his hand at the crowd, the Bodyguard managed to repeat the same movement without lagging behind. No one could possibly detect any difference between the two. The Imam had a characteristic way of walking over the land. He moved with a slight limp, the right foot coming down more heavily on the ground than the left one, for whereas the bones of his right leg were quite straight, the bones of his left leg were slightly bowed. But somehow the Bodyguard seemed able to advance with exactly the same gait. It was said that the curvature in the left leg of the Imam had been caused by a lack of calcium in his mother’s milk. The poor woman had never heard of the affliction called rickets and thought that the deformity in her son’s leg was caused by the evil eye, so she tied a blue bead round his neck with a string and dressed him in the clothes of a girl.
The Imam had the ability to be in two places at the same time, but no one except the Bodyguard knew his secret. The Imam would whisper something in his ear. Very often it was an order to replace him in some meeting or celebration, or in one of the sessions of the Advisory Council, or during the Friday prayer at the mosque, or in an official visit to some overseas country.
Thus on many occasions he preceded important personalities of State and Ministers, walking at a short distance in front of them, yet no one had the slightest suspicion that he was not the Imam. In fact the Bodyguard himself had ended up by believing that he was really the Imam. Even if at moments a fleeting doubt happened to cross his mind, it was soon dispelled by the acclamations of the crowd. He would step ahead at the exact place required, wearing the rubber face of the Imam, his face lifted to the sky with pride, as though he was absorbed in the issues of the time. On certain days he could be seen receiving ambassadors, or experts, or visitors from foreign countries, with a serene calm. At the inauguration of a new orphanage he cut the coloured ribbon with a pair of silver scissors presented to him on a platter. At meetings of the Advisory Council he remained just as silent as the Imam, listening
Every time the Bodyguard walked out of the door of his house he felt it would be for the last time, that he would not return. Yet he walked out of his own free will, his heart overflowing with happiness at the thought that he was going to his death carrying the key of Paradise around his neck. It hung from a fine silver chain and was cut like a fish tail with sharp indentations. Sometimes he used to wonder how he was going to open the door to Paradise with this key. Was Paradise like a house with a door leading into it? Would Radwan, the doorkeeper of Paradise, let him open the door with his key? Many questions went through his mind as he stood there with the acclamations of the crowd echoing in his ears. The cells of his brain kept chasing them away but they would return again. No one noticed how he stood there frowning slightly as though his brain was ticking away. The electric current had been cut off for some time and the electronic detector was not in functioning order.
The Chief of Security fastened his eyes on the back rows of the crowd, but the Imam kept a careful watch on the sky. Meanwhile the head of the Bodyguard maintained itself in exactly the same position as that of the Imam, gazing up into the heavens all the time. When the Imam waved his hand at the crowd, the Bodyguard managed to repeat the same movement without lagging behind. No one could possibly detect any difference between the two. The Imam had a characteristic way of walking over the land. He moved with a slight limp, the right foot coming down more heavily on the ground than the left one, for whereas the bones of his right leg were quite straight, the bones of his left leg were slightly bowed. But somehow the Bodyguard seemed able to advance with exactly the same gait. It was said that the curvature in the left leg of the Imam had been caused by a lack of calcium in his mother’s milk. The poor woman had never heard of the affliction called rickets and thought that the deformity in her son’s leg was caused by the evil eye, so she tied a blue bead round his neck with a string and dressed him in the clothes of a girl.
The Imam had the ability to be in two places at the same time, but no one except the Bodyguard knew his secret. The Imam would whisper something in his ear. Very often it was an order to replace him in some meeting or celebration, or in one of the sessions of the Advisory Council, or during the Friday prayer at the mosque, or in an official visit to some overseas country.
Thus on many occasions he preceded important personalities of State and Ministers, walking at a short distance in front of them, yet no one had the slightest suspicion that he was not the Imam. In fact the Bodyguard himself had ended up by believing that he was really the Imam. Even if at moments a fleeting doubt happened to cross his mind, it was soon dispelled by the acclamations of the crowd. He would step ahead at the exact place required, wearing the rubber face of the Imam, his face lifted to the sky with pride, as though he was absorbed in the issues of the time. On certain days he could be seen receiving ambassadors, or experts, or visitors from foreign countries, with a serene calm. At the inauguration of a new orphanage he cut the coloured ribbon with a pair of silver scissors presented to him on a platter. At meetings of the Advisory Council he remained just as silent as the Imam, listening
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