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Night Fifteen

The Night of Destiny

It was the night of the twenty-seventh of Ramadan. The night Muslims call Laylat al-Qadr — the Night of Destiny, the night the Quran was first revealed, the night worth a thousand months.

— There is a woman in Azrou, continued Ibn Rachid. A very old woman, who lives in the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas. Your father met her twenty years ago when he began collecting the melodies. She is the one who opened the doors for him. Without her, the manuscript would not exist.

— What is her name? said Youssef.

Ibn Rachid smiled for the first time since their arrival.

— Her name is Lalla Zineb. And she is waiting for you.

✦ Night Sixteen awaits you — The Cedar Refuge ✦