في الصباح، ذهب آمناً مطمئناً إلى الحقل بعد أن انتهت طاحونة الثأر بينه وبين أبناء عمه، وأصبحت له العزوة التي طالما تمنى، ومن الحقل كانت تنبعث رائحة عبقة في الأجواء حلت محل رائحة البارود التي كانت تحول دون ذهابه إلى أرضه لسنوات… دفعته الرائحة المعطرة بعرق الفلاحين إلى أن يهرول متجهاً إلى حقله، يمشي وبداخله فضول أسئلة عما لحق بالأرض؛ حركته القلقة كثيرة الالتفات معهودة في مناطق الثأر، لاحظ أنّ أولاد عمه يحاذونه في طريق موازٍ؛ هم مثله، يريدون الاطمئنان على أرضهم التي حرثوها وبذروها من أسبوع.
خاف، خصوصاً أنهم قتلوا من أيام ابن عمهم الثامن والأربعين، وبذلك يكونون تساووا في عدد القتلى من الجانبين… ساروا بحذر متبادل، وجدوا الأرض قد استوطنتها ضباعٌ كانت تخشى أن تقترب من حدود قريتهم بسبب كثرتهم، وقوتهم وأسلحتهم، لمحتهم الضباع دون سلاح فبادرت بالانقضاض عليهم، إلا أنها لم تنل وهدان بسوء، ذلك أنه كان أطيبهم، وهو ضد الثأرات، وينادي بالصلح. من يومها لم يعد للقرية التي كانت شؤماً على إخوته وبني عمه، وكثرت الروايات حول تبني الضباع له، وانتقاله معهم إلى مكان داخله مفقود والخارج منه مولود، هذا ما حفظه الصغار من روايات وحكايات كانت تصبها أمهاتهم في مسامعهم قبل نومهم كل ليلة.
In the morning, Ameen went to the field feeling secure and reassured after the cycle of revenge between him and his cousins had ended, and he finally had the support he had always wished for. From the field, a fragrant scent filled the air, replacing the smell of gunpowder that had prevented him from going to his land for years… The aroma, infused with the sweat of the farmers, urged him to hurry towards his field, walking with a curiosity about what had happened to the land; his anxious movements, characterized by frequent glances, were typical in areas of revenge. He noticed that his cousins were walking parallel to him; like him, they wanted to reassure themselves about their land, which they had plowed and seeded a week ago.
He was afraid, especially since they had killed their cousin, the forty-eighth, just days ago, thus equalizing the number of deaths on both sides… They walked with mutual caution, finding that the land had been inhabited by hyenas that had previously feared to approach the borders of their village due to their numbers, strength, and weapons. The hyenas spotted them without weapons and immediately pounced, but they did not harm Wadaan, as he was the kindest among them, opposed to revenge, and called for reconciliation. Since that day, the village, which had been a curse for his brothers and cousins, no longer held the same significance, and many stories circulated about the hyenas adopting him and taking him to a place where the inside was lost and the outside was born. This is what the children remembered from the tales and stories their mothers would whisper in their ears every night before they slept.
