The Garden of Allah Page #2

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You're Russian?

My mother was French, my father a Russian.

That is my name.

- Perhaps we'll meet again.

- I hope so.

I'm riding tomorrow

to the oasis of Sidi-Zerzour.

- Good night.

- Good night.

I hope I'm not intruding...

but I didn't know whether you meant me

to ride with you or not.

I practically asked you to.

I didn't understand that. I couldn't believe it.

You see, I've lived so long

out of the world...

I don't know the right things to do.

These things aren't important, anyway.

They really aren't.

You're very kind, madame. Thank you.

Madame, monsieur.

Count Anteoni. My great friend.

Count Anteoni, you are welcome

as raindrops pattering upon a parched city.

The flowers droop in your absence. The--

The flowers may droop, Batouch,

but never you.

Madame Enfilden, this is Count Anteoni.

Count Anteoni, this is Monsieur Androvsky.

Greetings, madame, monsieur.

I hope I haven't disturbed you...

but in this sun, one heads towards an oasis

as towards heaven.

- Won't you join us for coffee?

- Thank you, madame.

- In the desert, a fellow traveler is a friend.

- That's charming and very true.

- Batouch tells me you live here.

- Yes, madame, I've adopted the Sahara.

Or perhaps I should say

the Sahara has adopted me.

Someday I must make a pilgrimage

into the desert, as you do.

Let me advise you, madame, wait.

Wait until the call is so strong

that it can't be ignored.

It's you, madame.

They're very curious about

a European woman. They seldom see one.

I am curious about them.

Give.

You want it? Here, take it. It's yours.

If you will excuse me,

I'll see about the horses.

Curious man, Monsieur Androvsky.

- Who is he?

- Just a fellow traveler.

And a friend?

I don't quite know.

A man who fears to acknowledge his God...

is unwise to set foot in the desert.

The Arabs have a saying, madame:

The desert is the garden of Allah.

Isn't it lovely?

Don't let him frighten you.

Tell me about him. I've seen him before.

He's a desert man.

You'd think such beings were bred

by the marriage of sand grains.

The sand tells them secrets.

Have you ever had him

read the sand for you?

Once, a long time ago.

And were the things he saw there true?

He saw nothing for the years that were past.

- And for the years that were still to come?

- It might have been chance...

but, yes, he did see what was still to come.

Would you care to hear him?

Caravan, camels.

Waiting by a church.

The caravan moves out into the desert.

It is day, but not like other days.

The wind is rising.

It drowns out the music of the church.

The desert is angry.

There is a palanquin...

such as the great sheiks use

to carry their women.

- Am I to be carried off?

- I don't know.

But there are two people,

and one of them is you.

Where does the caravan go? Can he tell?

It's on the road to Bambara.

The route I planned for my pilgrimage.

A tent...

far in the desert...

close by a ruined tower.

What's he saying?

He says there is something glorious

in store for you.

It's as if all the trees of the desert

bear fruit...

and the sand is covered

with millions of golden flowers.

Is it joy? It must be joy.

Yes, great joy.

- What is it?

- It's a warning.

I don't care.

If this great joy comes to me,

I don't care what comes after.

Please let us go.

You see? It's not a mirage, it's real.

- Real palms, real water.

- Real sun, real sky.

Real Domini, real Boris.

- I don't believe it.

- What is it? Is something wrong?

You laughed. I didn't think you knew how.

I don't.

Why, Boris?

Why do you behave so strangely?

You're troubled, deeply. What is it?

Can't you tell me? Won't you trust me?

I'm sorry if I've intruded.

I thought all these weeks we've been

seeing each other had given me the right.

- Please forgive me.

- Please don't be impatient with me, Domini.

Your friendship is all I have.

I've tried to imagine

what I would do without you...

alone here.

I couldn't face it.

Then I thought of our days together,

the days at Sidi-Zerzour.

The time we rode to the tomb on the desert.

Our walk on the dunes that night,

under the stars.

Something's happened to me.

I can breathe again.

I can feel sun and wind again.

For the first time,

I can bear to live in the world.

You've done that for me, Domini.

Thank you, Boris. I'm glad.

- But--

- Please, Domini, don't question me.

There are things in a man's life

it's best to forget.

There are dark places

which should be left dark.

I don't want to remind you of that, Boris.

I won't again.

I've seen you happy.

You must think only of that. That happiness.

And of you, Domini, of you.

I thank God...

What is it, Boris?

Nothing.

It's getting late.

We'd better be starting back.

My dog has taken a fancy to you, I see.

I'm sorry, I didn't know it was your dog...

-or I shouldn't have interfered. Forgive me.

- My son.

Why do you run away?

Why do you say that?

The church is always open to you.

What is the church to me?

I have no use for it. I'm sorry.

- You sent for me, Father?

- Yes. Sit down.

It's about your fellow traveler.

What's the matter with that man?

What's the matter?

I don't know, Father.

There's fear in this man, Domini.

Why do you say that, Father?

Give me your reason.

My reason is my instinct.

I pity him. I shall pray for him.

He needs prayers.

I can't say I think he's evil, but...

- I know he isn't evil.

- You know? How?

My instinct.

I think perhaps he has lost his faith.

That's what's wrong with him, Father.

But I think he can be helped to regain it.

I shall do what I can for him.

Domini, Mother Josephine put you

in my care.

My first duty is to protect you.

And I warn you most solemnly

not to make friends with this man.

Forgive me

if I disregard your warning, Father...

but I feel that everything that has happened

to me here has been arranged beforehand.

And I feel that, too, about the future.

The fatalism of the East!

It's the guiding spirit of this land.

And you, too, are going to be led by it.

Take care.

You've come to a land of fire...

and I think you are made of fire.

Batouch, did you find Monsieur Androvsky?

Yes, madame. He is leaving Beni Mora.

- Leaving?

- Yes, madame. Tonight, he said.

That will be all, Batouch.

Yes, madame.

- I came to say goodbye.

- But why, Boris? Why?

You know why, Domini, don't you?

With you, I am at ease and happy.

But with the people you like...

No, I've made up my mind. I'm going away.

Then I shall be alone.

That journey into the desert

you've spoken of, you will take it alone?

What else can I do?

I shall never know the desert.

I've wanted to go.

- You've made me want to go.

- I?

Yes. Once you said to me...

that peace and happiness

might be found there.

You gave me hope. And now...

Now we have to say goodbye.

Goodbye.

Domini, forgive me, I have no right...

but I can't go until I say it.

I love you.

Don't go, Boris. Don't ever go.

I love you.

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