"A Conversation from the Third Floor" is Mohamed El-Bisatie's short story of a woman's visit to a prison where her husband is incarcerated and the denial of her request to visit with him, despite her long journey. The story's structure and dialogue is as stark as the desert setting and seems natural in a place where nothing is lush or abundant.

As the story begins, a woman makes her second visit to a place near a huge wall encasing a large rectangular building with three floors. It is afternoon, and the woman encounters a policeman on horseback who pretends to ignore her, moving his horse crossways in the road to prevent her from passing. Finally, the woman asks the policeman if she may just say a few words to someone, but the policeman maintains his position of silence astride his horse.

The woman moves a...