Read Online Dreams of Water by Nada Awar Jarrar - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Nada Awar Jarrar
Ads: Link
denims and takes a pair of sandals out of a plastic bag.
âI guess Bassam didnât tell you about me?â Leilaâs voice is quiet but when Aneesa looks at her she is smiling. âWe havenât known each other very long but I like him a lot. Maybe he doesnât feel the same about me?â
âIâm sure thatâs not why he hasnât mentioned you before,â Aneesa says hurriedly. âHeâs just very private about things like this.â
Leila smiles.
âYouâre sweet,â she says, making Aneesa feel slightly embarrassed at the compliment.
When theyâve finished dressing, they walk away from the car and join the others once again. The sun is beginning to set and Aneesa feels a shiver run through her body. She looks around for Bassam and sees him coming out of the water.
âI canât believe heâs still swimming,â Leila says with a shake of her head. âHe must be freezing. Iâll take a towel out to him.â
Leila runs down towards Bassam waving with one hand and holding a towel with the other. Aneesa watches her brotherâs face. He is smiling. The sky above him is beginning to turn a slow, soft red and the sea is movingfluidly and silently behind him. He grabs the towel from Leila and wraps it quickly around his body, then he puts an arm over the young womanâs shoulder and pulls her towards him. As Aneesa prepares to turn back to the car, Bassam looks up and waves to her. He cups his hands over his mouth and calls out.
âAneesa!â
But she only turns and walks away.
Leila left the country only weeks after Bassamâs disappearance and Aneesa never got the chance to talk to her about him. Now, she wonders what her brother had wanted to say to her on that day. Sometimes she thinks he had been trying to point to his own happiness on such a perfect day. At others, she imagines he had been about to say something of such significance that she would for ever remember it. But most of all, she will always be ashamed of having refused to share what might have been one of his final joyous moments.
Part Two
W hen they come for him Bassam knows that there is no escape. He sees them standing at the front door with his mother as he comes out of his room. There are four of them, looking very ordinary, although the ringleader is dressed in fatigues. Bassam recognizes one man who stands in the hallway, half hidden by the door. He is short and thin with a bushy moustache and Bassam is certain he has seen him at one of the many political meetings he has attended. Perhaps he is the informer, Bassam says to himself as he approaches the men.
â Ahlan, ahlan ,â he welcomes the men and puts his arm around Waddadâs shoulders. They all shake hands and pretend to have a normal conversation. Bassam tells Waddad he must attend to some business and will wash and get changed before leaving. He hears her offering the men some coffee as he walks back to the bathroom.
In his room, Bassam looks around carefully at all his things: the unmade bed pushed against one wall just belowthe window; the too-big cupboard that nearly overwhelms the room; his cluttered desk and the clothes he took off last night and threw on to the chair. He does not think he has time to write to Aneesa to explain and he is concerned that if he delays in coming out the men might hurt his mother. He dresses quickly, pulling on a clean pair of trousers and shirt. He is surprised at how calm he feels, perhaps because he has been expecting this for some time now. He picks up a comb and runs it through his hair, then he looks at himself in the mirror. His face is pale and drawn with tiredness. He wishes suddenly that he were a child again and that the war had never been.
At the front door, Bassam gives Waddad a quick peck on the cheek and smiles broadly.
âEverything will be all right, mama ,â he says quietly.
There is an anxious look on Waddadâs face as he
âI guess Bassam didnât tell you about me?â Leilaâs voice is quiet but when Aneesa looks at her she is smiling. âWe havenât known each other very long but I like him a lot. Maybe he doesnât feel the same about me?â
âIâm sure thatâs not why he hasnât mentioned you before,â Aneesa says hurriedly. âHeâs just very private about things like this.â
Leila smiles.
âYouâre sweet,â she says, making Aneesa feel slightly embarrassed at the compliment.
When theyâve finished dressing, they walk away from the car and join the others once again. The sun is beginning to set and Aneesa feels a shiver run through her body. She looks around for Bassam and sees him coming out of the water.
âI canât believe heâs still swimming,â Leila says with a shake of her head. âHe must be freezing. Iâll take a towel out to him.â
Leila runs down towards Bassam waving with one hand and holding a towel with the other. Aneesa watches her brotherâs face. He is smiling. The sky above him is beginning to turn a slow, soft red and the sea is movingfluidly and silently behind him. He grabs the towel from Leila and wraps it quickly around his body, then he puts an arm over the young womanâs shoulder and pulls her towards him. As Aneesa prepares to turn back to the car, Bassam looks up and waves to her. He cups his hands over his mouth and calls out.
âAneesa!â
But she only turns and walks away.
Leila left the country only weeks after Bassamâs disappearance and Aneesa never got the chance to talk to her about him. Now, she wonders what her brother had wanted to say to her on that day. Sometimes she thinks he had been trying to point to his own happiness on such a perfect day. At others, she imagines he had been about to say something of such significance that she would for ever remember it. But most of all, she will always be ashamed of having refused to share what might have been one of his final joyous moments.
Part Two
W hen they come for him Bassam knows that there is no escape. He sees them standing at the front door with his mother as he comes out of his room. There are four of them, looking very ordinary, although the ringleader is dressed in fatigues. Bassam recognizes one man who stands in the hallway, half hidden by the door. He is short and thin with a bushy moustache and Bassam is certain he has seen him at one of the many political meetings he has attended. Perhaps he is the informer, Bassam says to himself as he approaches the men.
â Ahlan, ahlan ,â he welcomes the men and puts his arm around Waddadâs shoulders. They all shake hands and pretend to have a normal conversation. Bassam tells Waddad he must attend to some business and will wash and get changed before leaving. He hears her offering the men some coffee as he walks back to the bathroom.
In his room, Bassam looks around carefully at all his things: the unmade bed pushed against one wall just belowthe window; the too-big cupboard that nearly overwhelms the room; his cluttered desk and the clothes he took off last night and threw on to the chair. He does not think he has time to write to Aneesa to explain and he is concerned that if he delays in coming out the men might hurt his mother. He dresses quickly, pulling on a clean pair of trousers and shirt. He is surprised at how calm he feels, perhaps because he has been expecting this for some time now. He picks up a comb and runs it through his hair, then he looks at himself in the mirror. His face is pale and drawn with tiredness. He wishes suddenly that he were a child again and that the war had never been.
At the front door, Bassam gives Waddad a quick peck on the cheek and smiles broadly.
âEverything will be all right, mama ,â he says quietly.
There is an anxious look on Waddadâs face as he
Similar Books
