The souk was a favorite place since childhood and a source of many happy memories. Both Berenike and her sisters would tag along with their mother while she shopped. She would always buy her girls clothes, toys, and sweets. They would come at noon, have lunch, and then spend the rest of the day leisurely strolling from vendor to vendor until dinnertime. There was one year, when Berenike was about nine, that the girls decided to play hide and seek without telling anyone. Their poor mother nearly had a heart attack when she realized her girls were no longer beside her. Needless to say, all three girls were punished and never again played hide and seek in a busy market.

But after having spent the morning arguing with her sister Chione, Berenike was completely exhausted. She couldn’t bare the thought of having to spend any more time with Chione and Mandisa would only drive her mad with her talking, so she came alone. All of her usual activities (pacing, praying, looking for shapes in the clouds, petting her cat Nunu, ranting to her maids) could do nothing to soothe her. No, this situation could only be rectified by some good old fashioned retail therapy, so she set out to the souk without either sister. She walked briskly and her shopping bag swung with the motion. Her mouth was set in a hard line and her brows were furrowed as she mulled over all her anxieties. Berenike had been told on more than one occasion that she looked positively frightening when she was deep in thought, but couldn’t help it— that was just the way her face was!

Perhaps she’d buy new shoes, or see if there were any small cat figurines she could add to her collection. Berenike was a cat person, she kept a shelf in her room with miniature cats in various poses carved from different materials. She’d also been wanting to get some new bed linens as a gift for her father. Oh, and the jewelry! Berenike was more attracted to shine and glitter like some kind of crow than she cared to admit. Her love for it was painfully obvious, though, as she often wore jewels and gold.

Not today, however! She purposefully left all jewelry at home in favor of donning a more humble attire. The fabric she wore was a linen of mid-grade quality and fitted very loosely and modestly, concealing her little pouch of money up her billowy sleeves. But make no mistake, she was not dressed in rags. Her goal was to appear as the average Egyptian woman, a member of middle class. This intentional dressing down had two purposes: one was to avoid being robbed, the other— a lesson from her late mother— was to fool merchants into thinking she was poorer than she was. It worked surprisingly well. If they knew she was a noblewoman, indicated by her fine clothing and jewelry, they would mark up their prices more than if they saw her dressed like everyone else.

The market was bustling with people today. Berenike marveled at how people from all walks of life were here, milling like ants. It made the world feel enormously large and very small all at the same time. Vendors were hollering at her and everyone else, beckoning with flailing arms. Some of them were repellent, but others seemed very inviting. A spread of golden cutlery caught Berenike’s eyes, but the seller was busy talking to someone. She would come back and maybe buy the set if it didn’t sell. Or, maybe he had more with him underneath the skirt of his table?

Next was a delightful spread of fig cakes. Some contained nuts and some were without, and Berenike, who could not resist, contemplated between the two. Eventually, she decided to buy a slice without nuts. She took a bite of the delightful cake and nearly moaned, but that would not be acceptable and she could never embarrass herself like that. She finished the cake in a quick few bites and was back to strolling along the aisles, browsing the wares.