Karim left home as a child one night without explanation, at his mother’s command, spending long years away burdened by unrelenting guilt, before returning alone to bury her. He returns to the neighborhood block, unchanged in appearance, but its inhabitants are no longer the same. The Al-Mahrouqi Garden in the center remains silent, closed, and watched over. Karim discovers neighbors he doesn’t recognize, inexplicable behavior, black bags, the scent of incense, keys without doors, and a Saturday night when he is not allowed to stay. When he realizes that he was present while absent, and that his mother’s death is not an end but a beginning, curiosity turns to fear, and fear to a confrontation with an ancient legend, a spirit that has not forgiven itself, and residents who protect a shared secret at any cost. It is a dark psychological novel about loss, guilt, and places that demand your most precious possession before allowing you to leave.

— Yahya Safwat