Abdulmalik’s brother has died suddenly but, even as the family’s men gather in remembrance, he hides the truth from his blind father. When an uncle delivers the dead man’s clothes, Abdulmalik starts wearing his signet ring to avoid telling the truth. Does his father suspect, anyway? When his rosary breaks, he tells his surviving son it had reached the end of its life and cannot be mended. Abdulmalik sets about restringing the beads, but his father’s words are an omen.