and he walked with the stranger on his shoulder, yes he walked with the strange woman on his shoulder, she was a stranger, she was half-conscious when he met her, she was half-conscious now, walking with her head on his shoulder—what was she?—what did all this mean?—and he knew she was his religion, his religion he had so often lost, his religion he had returned to again and again, and his religion needed nursing, his religion needed a doctor, and when they parted he said, "Assalamu aliekum," and she laughed and returned, "Assalamu aliekum," and they parted ways at his door, he went to his door, and she continued on, she was his religion, and she would return to him and return to him and return to him and return to him,