Tabrikt

Tabrikt is one of the villages along the route to Tafal’aalt and, after Driss’s death, a refuge for Ismael. Its narrative importance comes into focus when Abdellah asks for Driss’s friend: Ismael is hiding in Tabrikt with his father, but is summoned to speak about what happened.

Setting on the Route

As Abdellah’s party travels toward Tafal’aalt, Tabrikt appears among a chain of villages whose cement-domed houses bear trilobite designs on their metal doors. At Tabrikt’s entrance, a man carrying a basket coiled with ropes recognizes Abdellah and calls him by name, as well as Moulay, another man in the car. The encounter presents the route not as empty terrain but as a connected community where travelers are known.

Ismael’s Refuge

After Driss’s death, Ismael is in Tabrikt, hiding with his father. Abdellah knows that Ismael is afraid and expects he will not attend the burial, but asks Anouar to find him and convey that Driss’s father wishes to speak with him. The summons turns Tabrikt from a place of concealment into the starting point of Ismael’s reluctant approach to Abdellah.

From Concealment to Testimony

Ismael comes to Abdellah accompanied by Anouar and wrapped in black rags to hide his identity. Though nervous, he is told that he has done nothing wrong and is asked to explain what happened. Tabrikt therefore becomes significant as the refuge from which a crucial witness is brought into the inquiry surrounding Driss’s death.