Soon thereafter, Mustafa Bustani arrived with the carriage. He was very glad to hear that the local citizens did not harm us nor his son. He shared the fact that there had been several clashes between Muslims and Jews. In light of the fact that he personally was so angry about the rude reception from his business colleague, he had even refused to share a meal with the man. Now, he was hungry. As soon as we climbed in and were once again moving, we brought out the food that we had packed earlier. So, our on-the-go evening meal's setting was atop four rolling wheels.
On the return home, nothing happened that would be important enough to retell. When we reached the Hebron Valley, we once again stopped at the caf,. This time in a much more measured manner, the innkeeper stepped out and asked for our orders. Mustafa Bustani spoke up: "Five cups of coffee!" The drinks were served and sipped. I then pulled out my money pouch: "How much for the five?" "Exactly one half franc," he answered. "And the fifteen from forenoon?" "One and a half francs." "So, altogether for the twenty?" "Two francs." I gave him only two francs-not a fraction of a Turkish piaster more: "Here! Paid in full!" He quickly gripped the money and slipped it into his pocket. This time, he bowed deeply as he sincerely said: "Effendi, I thank you. You are fair as well as wise. May your journey home be a blessed one."
The trip was indeed a blessed one. Mustafa was angry about the fanaticism of his fellow believers; during the entire time, he had no objection to his son's crush on the small Christian girl. When we reached Bethlehem, he took a deep breath and said: "A lot of love and much goodness has come out of this small city, much more than any other large and famous pilgrimage places. Today, I was rightly and starkly reminded of my own zealot's mind-set. What have you ever done to the people of Hebron? Not a thing! Still, they transgressed against you. Such unkindness and injustice! What did my own brother do to me? Nothing. Yet, I banished him, my dear brother. I was much more unloving and far more unjust than the Canaanites of Hebron. Now that evening is finally here, I can tell you that thoughts of him were with me throughout the entire afternoon.
