False Judgment
Ahmed Hamed Al Sabei
On a sunny and very hot day, I was walking down an alley in my village when I suddenly bumped into a full-bodied, tall and bald man. His appearance shocked me so much that I fell down, for he had a deep and red scar on his forehead. What made me more confused and shocked that he left me on the ground without uttering a single word and with a grim look on his face, as if the situation was completely my fault. Being very sensitive, I became so obsessive about the whole incident that I spent months talking badly about him with anyone I met. Later, I discovered that he was a fisherman whose name was Salem, and he lived alone and never mingled with people in real life contact. My first and natural feelings about Salem were that he was a cruel, insensitive and emotionless man; however, my impression was proved to be wrong years later, and I found that he was, in his own way, the most kind and caring person I have ever met.
My initial reaction, that Salem was a cruel and harsh man, was due partly to his distinctive body features and mainly to his cold and insensitive attitudes towards others. He had a huge rounded body, and was relatively tall. A little short hair was wandering on the top of his scalp which was supposed to make people laugh; instead of that, his red scar had made them disappear. For several years, I kept meeting him, accidentally, at the rare times he went out in public in the village allies, in the suq, where he came to sell his daily stock of fish, and in the mosque; and I never had a conversation with him, nor did most of the villagers. The only words, which came out of his mouth, were the prices of his fish. Even then, he would not argue or discuss anything. This kind of behavior circled him with an unnecessary atmosphere of uneasiness and disaffection.
Then, in a very long night, a strange incident made me change my opinion of him completely. At that night, my whole body was sweating and I could not sleep, so I went out for fresh air. To my great astonishment, I found Salem sneaking out on his toes from one of the village's allies, carrying a huge bag on his back. I followed him secretly to discover what he was doing. He went to certain houses in the village and left some items in front of the doors. They were small bags of rice and of other types of food and they were given in this secret manner for all people in need in our village. This incident really opened my eyes on a very different part of his personality which was kept hidden for a long time. I discovered, then, that I had never tried honestly to understand him. Therefore, in the early morning of the next day, I started questioning all the villagers about him and his past, but only a very few of them were able to tell me the truth; and only after a dogged persistence of my side for they had promised Salem that they would not tell anybody his story. His beloved wife and children had died in a car accident and that devastated him completely. He cut off all the people around him and abandoned everything in his life except two things: his charity acts, and his work.
Now, I believe that he was the most kind and caring person I have ever met, despite his gloomy and emotionless appearance. And, although his behavior might have seemed to others inexcusable, I have understood his situation fully. He was very attached to his young and beautiful bride and to his children who were everything in his life. However, shortly after the horrible accident, people insisted on his moving on and even started suggesting another bride for him. They did not appreciate his love to his dead wife and did not respect his grieve. Therefore, he boycotted all of them, stopped having conversations with them and never went out of his house except in case of emergency. However, the original kindness in his heart did not allow him to abandon his charity acts, so he continued doing them in his own way.
I went one day to his house, and after a series of long knocks, he opened the door. He did not show any signs that he was going to speak, so I seized the opportunity and apologized to him for all the bad talks I had said about him from his back. Then, I kept talking, explaining my whole point of view of him and what people had done to him, and saying that I understood his situation. Then, for my greatest joy, he let me in his house, and then we became best friends.
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