Read first: Page 1
A short story: The Nude man – Page 2
For half an hour he kept on trying convincing himself to dismiss the entire idea, he was aware of the risk he was about to take, but as the light of the day go gradually, his urges became stronger and strogner.
Finally, he decided to make it this time. He opened the drawer of his closet, took out a towel and went to the kitchen. He looked from the tiny window above the sink into the backyard. There is no sign of life around. He put the towel around his hips, opened the door slowly and stepped out.
He looked around him, it seemed to be safe to make his move. Slowly, he took off the towel and stood naked alone in the dark. He wished anyone can see him, but he feared that as well, and so he tried to be cautious. He couldn’t enjoy his moment fully. The fear of being caught up like this ate from his enjoyment.
He kept the towel as near as he could. He was shivering of cold. His heart beats were running fast. The rain drops were falling into his naked body. And his eyes were screening the scene to catch any potential threat of being caught.
He was about to faint when he heard some noise coming from the bushes in his garden. It was a cat. He thanked God. Felt relived for a moment and decided that he can’t take any more risks. He grabbed the towel and went back to the house. He rushed and took a hot shower and lied in bed waiting for his wife to come back.
When his wife arrived, she found him in bed struggling with a high fever. He got a cold. He had to stay in bed for several days. He didn’t tell her what happened, but he knew how stupid he acted that night. He promised himself never to do it again.
A month later, he couldn’t resist his urges, and actually did it. He failed his promise. This time, he was fortunate not to get a cold, but it grew scarier to him as he knows that it might become a habit. A habit that he can’t afford to practice.
For years he planned for his trip for the holy land – Mecca. Piligrimage to Mecca is a basic aspect of his religion. Being a Muslim believer he always struggled in a delimma between his sinful need and his faith. He knew that nudity is forbidden in Islam, but sometimes he can’t really help it, he falls often for his weakness. He always prayed for Allah to spare him from this stuggle. And he always tried to make it up by doing other good deeds and stick to the commandments of his religion that he can stick to.
The idea of being among thousands of people semi nude with only a towel around his body was tempting and scaring to him at the same time. Tempting – as of it would be the closest thing of achieving his fantasy of being nude in public with a huge amount of people being nude like him. While scary because he knows how awful it would be fighting his urges of letting go of the towel at the time he should be concentrating in worshipping Allah. It would be a disaster if he got weakened for a moment and let it slip. What a shame would it be! He can’t let that happen.
To be continued…
Fadi Zaghmout 
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