The Architect's Apprentice

by Elif Shafak

Of three things in this life she expected no good: a man who had sold his soul to Sheitan; a woman proud of her beauty; and the news that could not wait till the morning to be delivered.

Prayer should be a declaration of love, and love should be stripped of all fear and expectation, he said. One ought not fear boiling in cauldrons or wish for virgin houris, since both hell and heaven, suffering and joy, were right here and right now.

‘Sometimes, for the soul to thrive, the heart needs to be broken, son.’

‘In order to gain mastery, you need to dismantle as much as you put together.’

‘If you wish to excel at your craft, you have to convince the universe why it should be you rather than someone else.’

‘Resentment is a cage, talent is a captured bird. Break the cage, let the bird take off and soar high. Architecture is a mirror that reflects the harmony and balance present in the universe. If you do not foster these qualities in your heart, you cannot build.’

It was as if there were two invisible arcs: with our deeds and words we ascended; with our deeds and words we descended.

Jahan thought there was something about a construction site that resembled the deck of a ship. In both there was the innate knowledge that any individual failure would be the failure of all. And success would be doled out in the smallest portions, shredded like the salted, dried meat in their soup.

Busbecq believed there were two blessings in life: books and friends. And that they should be possessed in inverse quantities: many books, but only a handful of friends.

Never before had he thought of God as an architect.

‘Masters are great but books are better. He who has a library has a thousand teachers. Your Prophet said, “Seek lore, even if it be in China.” Mine said, “God created us because He wanted to be known.”

He said there were three fountains of wisdom from which every artisan should drink abundantly: books, work and roads. Reading, practising and travelling.

‘Greed puts gratitude to sleep.’

‘Altro non mi achade.’*

It is at moments like this that Sheitan taps on our shoulders and whispers in our ear, asking, naively, why we should not want more.

It seemed to Jahan that, in truth, this world, too, was a spectacle. One way or another, everyone was parading. They performed their tricks, each of them, some staying longer, others shorter, but in the end they all left through the back door, similarly unfulfilled, similarly in need of applause.

Perhaps, Jahan would conclude, with closeness came blindness and with a certain distance, awareness.

Little did he know, back then, that the worth of one’s faith depended not on how solid and strong it was, but on how many times one would lose it and still be able to get it back.

‘I will, if you come with me. What do you say?’ In that moment Jahan understood that life was the sum of the choices one did not make; the paths yearned for but not taken.