K U WA I T I S E E K E R  15 Salman agreed, “We’ll see who has courage to catch them.” Salman seemed to know this event would be favorable for Su- hayb and painful for me. Fatima kept silent, as there was no way for her to rescue me. I couldn’t refuse the silly endeavor. I already saw Suhayb cap- ture and torture one of the poor dhubs during the day, and I did not wish to repeat the matter at night. Perhaps the dhubs would not appear. But, no, there they were. The moon was bright, illuminating the desert, and there was no excuse. Suhayb was the first to make a capture. Salman gave con- gratulations while Suhayb cut off the animal’s head and depos- ited the carcass in his basket. Another and then another became Suhayb’s victim. I knew I had to get one, even if the beast stabbed me with his spines. “There’s one. This one’s mine.” My father laughed at my clumsy efforts. As I was about to complete the capture, it happened. I lost strength in my trunk and legs, and I fell face first into the dune as if I were a wet rag. I couldn’t move or speak. Suhayb was on the dhub and completed the capture, all the while enjoying my fail- ure. “He’s fainted. The great dhub has frightened him to death.” But I had not fainted. I was unable to move but fully awake and able to hear Salman’s derision. Of course there had been similar episodes upon awakening in the morning, but never before when I was up and about. The event itself, which I did not understand, frightened me, and made me think there was something serious- ly wrong. But in the face of the men’s taunts, I could not reveal concern about the event. Was there some magical significance, or was I ill? The spring foray into the desert that year concluded with a two-day trip by the men on camelback northward to the border with Iraq, formed in that area by the Wadi Al Batin, a rocky rivu- let. Salman organized the trip for Suhayb so he would not for- get his Bedouin roots. The trip was painful for me. The camel