He would stand at the door of the compartment while one of the women collected the tickets from her companions. The women keep the doors of the two compartments closed and sit at ease, out of sight of curious eyes. When the weather is hot they undo their veils and let them drape over their shoulders with the edges fluttering in the windows. They open the collars of their galabiyas and air their necks and chests, moist with perspiration. The train hurtles through the vast expanses of vegetation which stretch from one station to the other.
Trees speed by and their leaning branches brush the roof of the train.
After the last war, the women had expected a rise in their pensions, as had happened before, but then it didn't come through. Badriya doesn't know how many years have passed since one of the women told them on the train that they were going to get the raise. They all gathered around her and the news reached the younger women in the other compartment. They rushed in, fairly crowding out the blue compartment. The woman who had brought the news said that yesterday and the day before yesterday some had cashed their pension with the raise and that they would be getting 14 pounds and a half.