Aquarium. Olga met Lisa Golberg at the entrance to the «Aquarium» Lisa had an attractive appearance. She was slender, with huge dark brown eyes. The eternal Jewish sadness was in her eyes. The sadness reigned in the family Goldberg. Lisa’s mother, the solfeggio teacher at the Kharkiv Conservatory, was forced to work as a cleaner, and her father, a former literature teacher, had finding a job at the scrap yard.
Olga liked to visit this modest, intelligent family, where, despite the hardships of life, good, cordial relations reigned. Lisa had the illusion to meet in the «Aquarium» with decent man. Olga knew well the mores of Israeli «playboys».In «Aquarium» she was want only by the desire to have fun.
Once Olga saw among the dancers, the familiar figure of Boris. He was very fat. His stomach hung over his waist. From the former army colleagues, Olga heard that Boris is studying law at the university. «This scoundrel will judge people!» – thought Olga, and in her head she had a plan.
Olga whispered Lisa the few words, and Lisa, in the rhythm of the dance, was next to Boris. A few mysterious smiles of a pretty girl were enough for Boris. After the dances, Boris and Lisa drank a very expensive cocktail at the bar. Boris tried to put his hand on the girl’s bare knees. Then he suggested to Liza to drive on his new Japanese jeep. They traveled around the city, crossed the Tel Aviv embankment illuminated with advertisements. Towards midnight, Lisa began to hurry home. She hinted that today she is alone in the apartment. The parents went to visit.
Boris understood the hint and gladly agreed to bring the girl home. Bois’s mood worsened as they drove through all the center of the city. There were old houses around, and dark, dirty streets. These streets were notorious and was considered a hotbed of drug addiction, theft and prostitution. Poor returnees lived on these streets. Lisa asked to stop the jeep near one of the old houses.
The street was deserted and dark. Boris did not want to leave the jeep. He pressed a button and Lisa fell with the seat. Boris piled on it, but Lisa deftly jumped out. Boris went out after her. Olga appeared before Boris at that moment. Boris was at a loss. He did not expect to meet Olga here.
– Hello, dear! Decided to have fun?
– And did your mother allow you? – Olga asked with sarcastic.
Borka tried to hide in a jeep. He remembered that Olga always took first place in the karate competition in «Magav».
– What do you want? Have you paid a little? – Boris muttered in fright. Olya kicked him in the groin. He bent, and squealing like a dog. The second kick was in the face. Blood dripped on the asphalt.
Lisa hung on Olga’s back at this second.
– Olga, stop immediately! – she cried out loud. Boris jumped into the jeep and, using turmoil, left.
– Olga! You’re a beast! – Liza yelled, stammering. She looked indignantly at her girl-friend’s face:
– Is it possible to beat so?
– Of course, he’s a scoundrel, but he’s the Jewish guy!
– A Jewish guy? A Jewish guy? And who am I! The beast?
Olga cried in the hysterical voice:
– You were lying torn on a gynecological chair? Pieces of a living body from you pulled out? Were you thrown into the street?
He intimacy between girl-friends disappeared after the massacre of Boris. Olga painfully outlive this rupture. Olga did not understand, unfortunately, that she violated the almost genetic «taboo». This «taboo» lives in the soul of almost every Jew.
Unexpected of the meeting
Olga was in a depressed mood after a rupture with Lisa. She became indifferent to the people around her, and even her own destiny. She went in such the mood when going in bus after work. Beside was two young Israeli women chatter loudly. They enthusiastically told each other about the tricks of their young children. From this usual female chatter, Olga suddenly felt her throat tighten. She left the bus on the embankment of the Yarkon River. The weather was great. March and April are the best times of the year in Israel. The sun does not burn, but only caresses. A cool breeze blows from the sea. The earth is filled with rain,was covered with lush vegetation. High green bushes quickly filled with buds of colorful exotic flowers.
Olga, busy with her sad thoughts, did not notice how she got to the city center and was next to the underground passage leading to the bazaar. She was not going to make purchases, but the human whirlpool took her to the market square to the stores selling women’s underwear. A woman always remains a woman, despite the troubles. She began to consider the various styles of underwear, imagining how she would look in these panties and bras.
Olga suddenly felt someone’s attentive look, and in the market – place she came face to face with a tall, handsome guy of eastern appearance. He seemed familiar to her, She looked at him again, and remembered: «It happened a few months before the demobilization. After a year of relative calm, a new «intifada»[1] suddenly flared up. Inside Israel and the «shtakhim»[2] «live bombs-shahids»[3] were blown up.Under the cover of the «stone rain» of Palestinian teenagers, the terrorists fired at soldiers. Israeli Arabs rebelled too. Many thousands of demonstrations in defense of the Palestinians often went into fights and shooting.
The border police went into emergency mode. There was no end to the alarm and patrolling. These events affected the girls-soldiers. The Frontier Battalion were forced to establish checkpoints in all suspicious locations. Girls soldiers checked documents and personal belongings of all Arabs who wished to enter Israeli cities. The commander of the control post was usually Lieutenant Zeev. Lieutenant Zeev was a Jewess from Morroco. Girls soldiers did not like this lieutenant. She always demanded the exact execution of orders. uld quickly identify the dangerous Arabs. Through the control post, where she commanded, the terrorists could not pass.
Zeeva demanded that the girls pay the main attention to «teudat-zeut». (Identification of identity) Identity cards from the Arabs had several colors. The Arabs, citizens of Israel, had one color of documents, Arabs not citizens – another color. Often Arabs, citizens of Israel, handed over their documents to Palestinians, or Palestinians used false documents. First, it was necessary to pay attention to photographs and seals. If the photo or print was not in place, the Arabs immediately detained.
It was a cool November morning. The sun was barely rising, and the first rays warmed the backs of the girls, who took places in the control cabins. The crowd had already gathered at the control post. It was Thursday, before the day off for the Arabs. The Arabs hurried to get to work or to the market. Olga noticed him when he was just entering the control post. He was slender, tall, and handsome, in a fashionable light jacket of expensive skin. He favorably differed from other Arabs. Olga somehow wanted that he passed other girls and went straight to her. He seemed to hear her thoughts. He had a «teudat-zeut» of an Israeli citizen. She opened the document and shuddered.
The document may not have been in order. The photo moved to the side. But Olga did not touch the secret call button of the guard. She looked up and their eyes met. In his hot dark eyes there was neither fear nor request. There was only contempt in them. His eyes seemed to say: «Well… sell! I’m not afraid!» Olga did not know how long this duel of views lasted. She returned him, his «teudat-zeut».
Olga was, as under the influence of hypnosis. Zeev’s voice return she to life. Zeeva usually was behind the backs of girls and watched the work of her subordinates through black glasses, which she never took off. She noticed Olga’s embarrassment,
Intifada – Revolt of the people (Arabic)
Stahim – the occupied territories (Hebrew).
«Living bombs-suicide bombers» – suicides.
