The Lake Girl (full story) by Asmaa Nada

of Samar.
They did not call her the village belle because of the beauty of her features but rather because of her morals and the beauty of her voice. She was a darkskinned girl with long gypsy hair and a semichubby body but she was graceful and lighthearted and loved to laugh.
One day after the men of the village went to the lake to fish Samar went to the houses of the village and gathered the girls and boys. At the beginning of each week she would take them and sit on the shore of the lake until she taught them how to make medicine from the beginning of choosing the good grass until producing the medicine but she always started by sitting and telling stories. For the little ones she leaves them to play under the care of one of the mothers. Then she takes the young people and wanders among the trees and herbs that she grows herself and explains to them the difference between them.
That day a strange man who had not been seen in the village before came. He was between forty and fifty years old. He was wearing a black abaya and half of his face was hidden with a piece of cloth. He was not tall like the men of the village. He was walking slightly bent over. This man kept passing by the houses standing. Next to the doors and when he senses someone approaching he moves to the next house.
The women who were in the homes or those women returning from the market were worried and the reason that this day was designated for not receiving visitors in the heart of the oasis and whoever wanted treatment must go to the shore of the lake where Samar

is located. The women closed the windows and doors and one of them quickly headed to the lake to inform the fishermen.
At the beach Samar was still sitting among the children and telling them stories. When she saw that woman who was running towards the fishermens boats preparing to sail into the lake she got up and followed her and listened to her as she told about the actions of that stranger. Anxiety arose among the fishermen and they rushed to return to the center of the village. The village governor approached his daughter and told her to gather the children and young people and take them back into the houses so that they could identify this stranger.
When the men returned to the center of the village they found that the women had closed the doors and windows and that the village streets had become empty. Then they found this stranger sitting next to the water well. The ruler looked at his daughter who had returned the last child to his home. She approached her father and with a smiling face placed her hand on his chest. Her father and she said
Let me talk to him. Maybe he needs help.
Her father told her to go forward but be careful. Samar approached the stranger then sat on the wall of the well and said to him
Why do you go around the houses when you know that the men went out hunting and there are only women and children?
I was looking for you
Why?
The stranger looked at the men out of the corner of his eyes then said in a weak voice
I apologize for what I did. My eyesight is weak. I was looking for the village