Michael Ondaatje - The English Patient

"(...) I was not like him. Though I loved him. Admired him. I had this side to my nature which saw reason in all things. I was the one who had an earnest and serous air at school, which he would imitate and mock. You understand, of course, I was far less serious than he was, it was just htat I hated confrontation. It didn't stop me doing whatever I wished or doing things the way I wanted to. Quite early on I had discovered the overlooked space open to those of us with a silent life. I didn't argue with the policeman who said I couldn't cycle over a certain bridge or through a specific gate in the fort - I just stood there, still, until I was invisible, and then I went through. Like a cricket. Like a hidden cup of water. You understand? (...)"

"Yo no era como él, aunque lo quería, lo admiraba. Yo tenía la facultad de ver una razón de ser en todas las cosas. Era el que adoptaba una actitud seria y formal en la escuela, que él remedaba y de la que se burlaba. Claro, que yo era mucho menos serio que él; sólo que detestaba la confrontación. Lo que no me impedía hacer lo que me apetecía o salirme con la mía. Muy pronto había descubierto un espacio del que disfrutábamos sólo los que llevábamos una vida reservada. No discutía con el policía que me impedía circular en bicicleta por determinado puente o entrar por determinada puerta del fuerte, me limitaba a quedarme ahí, inmóvil, hasta que me volvía invisible y entonces entraba: como un grillo, como una taza de agua escondida. ¿Entiendes?"

Translation: Carlos Manzano    

Michael Ondaatje - The English Patient

A quiet river. Flowing. Slowly.

"Sometimes when she is able to spend the night with him they are wakened by the three minarets of the city beginning their prayers before dawn. He walks with her through the indigo markets that lie between South Cairo and her home. The beautiful songs of faith enter the air like arrows, one minaret answering another, as if passing on a rumour of the two of them as they walk through the cold morning air, the smell of charcoal and hemp already making the air profound. Sinners in a holy city."

["Às vezes, quando ela tem a chance de passar a noite com ele, são despertados pelos três minaretes da cidade iniciando suas orações ainda de madrugada. Andam juntos pelos mercados de indigo que ficam entre o sul da cidade do Cairo e a casa dela. As belas canções de fé atravessam o ar como flechas, um minarete respondendo a outro, como se transmitissem rumores sobre os dois enquanto eles caminham ao ar frio da manhã, já carregado, àquela hora, com o cheiro de carvão e de cânhamo. Pecadores numa cidade sagrada. "]
Translation: Iran

"A veces, cuando ella podía pasar la noche con él, los despertaban los tres minaretes de la ciudade, que iniciaban las plegarias antes del amanecer. Recorrían juntos los mercados de añil situados entre El Cairo meridional y la casa de ella. Los hermosos cantos de fe entraban en el aire como flechas, un minarete respondía a otro, como si se transmitieran un rumor sobre ellos dos, mientras paseaban en el fresco aire matutino, ya cargado con el olor a carbón y cáñamo. Pecadores en una ciudad santa."
 Translation: Carlos Manzano