And he said, “The doctor is only needed by one who values life over death.” Then he closed his eyes and returned to his absent-mindedness and absorption. So I had no choice but to call the doctor, whether he agreed or not. I called him, and he came sighing and complaining, in a way that he knew I would hear his complaints about being disturbed from his sleep and the hardship of traversing the dark alleys on cold nights. I paid no attention to his objections because I knew how to apologize to him. The doctor felt the patient’s pulse and whispered in my ear, saying, “Your patient, sir, is in a perilous state, and I do not think his life will last long unless there is something in God’s knowledge that we do not know.” He sat aside to write that prescription that doctors send to their pharmacist workers to collect the tax of life from their sick slaves. Then he left for his own affairs after I apologized to him in the way he preferred and was satisfied with. So I brought the medicine and spent a sleepless night by the patient’s side, a night where the stars seemed distant. I gave him the medicine once and wept for him at another time, until the light of dawn broke. He woke up and turned his eyes around his bed until he saw me and said:
“Are you here?” I said, “Yes, and I hope you are better than before.” He said, “I hope so.” I said, “Sir, will you permit me to ask you who you are, what is your situation alone in this place, and are you a stranger in this land or one of its people? And do you suffer from an apparent illness or an inner worry?” He said, “I suffer from both.” I said, “Then will you tell me about yourself and confide in me your worries as a friend confides in his friend? For I have become more concerned about your well-being than you are yourself.” He said, “Will you promise to keep my matter secret, and to fulfill God’s decree for me to live and to carry out my will if the other comes to pass?” I said, “Yes.” He said, “I have trusted your promise. One who carries in his heart a noble heart like yours cannot be a liar or a traitor.”