night, Zahed came to their room. They were already in bed. He leaned over them. In the shadows, his body was a shapeless mass. He talked very softly. Asked if they were sleeping. They didn’t reply, but they weren’t sleeping. Zahed continued to whisper.
“My little men,” he said, “God knows what is in my heart. And you know too. You’ve always done me honor. You are brave sons. When the bomb fell on your grandparents’ house, you showed great courage. Your mother is very proud of you. But she doesn’t want to understand what is happening in our land. She doesn’t want to see the danger facing us. She’s very unhappy. She did not speak to Soulayed when he left. He’s an important man. She insulted him. She shouldn’t have done that. Soulayed will come back, you understand, he’ll come back to talk to you. Now sleep.”
He planted a kiss on Amed’s brow. Then on that of Aziz, as he had done at the hospital. When he left, the smell of him lingered in the room.
Zahed was right. Soulayed came back very soon. Amed instantly recognized the sound of the jeep. He ran out of the house. Soulayed gestured for him to approach. This time Soulayed was alone. He asked Amed:
“Are you Amed or Aziz?”
“I’m Amed.”
“Well, Amed, go and find your brother. I want to talk to both of you.” Amed went into the house. Aziz was not yet up. Because he’d been sick, his mother was letting him sleep. Amed shook him: “Hurry up, get dressed. Soulayed’s come. He wants to talk to us.”
Aziz opened his eyes wide, raised his eyebrows in surprise. He looked like a little dog.
“Did you hear what I said? Get going! I’ll wait for you downstairs.”
“I’m coming,” his brother mumbled, still half-asleep. A few minutes later, Amed and Aziz approached the jeep, both excited and suspicious.
“What are you waiting for, get in,” Soulayed said to them, a smile on his lips. “Don’t be afraid, I’m not going to eat you.”
He shifted his machine gun into the backseat to make room for them beside him. When the jeep started up, Amed glimpsed his father in the orange grove. He moved toward the road and watched the jeep disappear into the distance.
Soulayed drove fast. The boys liked that. Aziz sat between Soulayed and his brother. No one talked. They left the road to take the dirt track leading to the mountain. The wind whistled. Blowing dust made their eyes burn. The boys saw the dead body of an animal. Soulayed avoided it with a jerk of the steering wheel. Amed asked what it was. Soulayed shrugged. A few minutes later, the jeep braked to a brutal halt. They could go no farther. The mountain rose up before them, blocking the horizon with its bluish mass. Soulayed got out of the jeep. Took a few steps.
“What’s he doing?” Amed asked his brother in a low voice.
Suddenly they heard the sound of water. Stifling his laughter, Aziz said, “He’s emptying his bladder.”
After what was to them a long wait, Soulayed came back and sat in the jeep. Lit a cigarette. Took a deep drag and pointed to the mountain, there in front of them.
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