A week after Mandine finished reading the memoirs, she began working on her graduation memo. But the request from the blog owner kept echoing in her mind: Should she write only about Abu Bakr, or should she also explore the mystery of Sifar? She had read extensively about Sifar in recent days and knew it was located in the Great Algerian Desert. Its description seemed to perfectly match the hermit's account. It appeared to be a city lost to history, a place few had ever witnessed.
Mandine decided to discuss both Abu Bakr and Sifar in her memo. She shared her plan with Adam, who, after hearing about Sifar, became excited about the idea of visiting another Arab country. They agreed to go to Algeria, with plenty of time to complete their work before their trip. But before they left, Mandine returned Abu Bakr's diary to the library, feeling that it was part of Egypt's heritage, which had already been plundered enough. She didn't want to contribute to that even with a single piece.
Mandine entered the bookstore, the bells above the door ringing as she opened it. She noticed that she hadn't seen those bells the last time she was there. They must have been newly installed. The old man she had met before was sitting at the counter, looking at her over his glasses while holding the same book he had been reading the last time. They exchanged greetings, and he remarked that he didn't remember her coming before, as this library was the only one in the neighborhood and had many regular visitors. He also shared a story about his chess game and his granddaughter.
Mandine then asked about a book her colleague had borrowed two weeks ago, a book the old man had told her was not in the library at the time. She took the book out of her purse to show him. "Don't you remember someone mentioning they wanted to put this book on a shelf?" she asked.
The old man looked at the book carefully, then removed his glasses and said, "I don't know how this particular book ended up in my library. I've never seen it before the young man took it."
Mandine felt disappointment for a moment as she realized she might leave Egypt without knowing who had been writing to her all this time. She walked through the library, putting the book back on a shelf, feeling like she was saying goodbye not just to a book, but to a person. Some books become close to our souls and are difficult to part with, just as Abu Bakr had said in the temple.
The old man accompanied her to the door, thanking her for her time. This time, however, she didn't buy any books. As she left, he waved at her, then turned back to enter the library. After her car drove off, he stepped towards the shelf where Mandine had placed the book, found it, and returned to his chair with it. He placed the book aside, took out a white piece of paper, and wrote on it:
"To Mandine, here you are making the best choice. I think you have reached Algeria now. Let us continue our journey from here, the land of Sivar…"