THE LAST WAR
The appearance of the holy girl and the satanic crystal
HANAN KANAAN
This story happened in an undated era.
Tears were streaming down Tala’s eyes as she was bidding her parents goodbye
outside their wooden hut. It was a quiet dark night. The silver moonlight added
more brightness to Tala’s tearful eyes. Her mother embraced long and hard as she
told her:
“ Take care of yourself, sweetie. We will be off for two days. So, never leave the
threshold of the house. Don’t open the door to anyone! We don’t want anyone on
the island to know that you are alone.”
Tala cried bitterly and murmured some words beseechingly: “ Then, why do you
refuse to take me with you?
Her father lowered his head painfully. A look of suffering swept over his face before
he put his hands on her shoulders. He repeated what he has been saying for the past
few days: “ No way! You know perfectly well that coming with us will endanger
your life. The city is dreadful, my dear. People there are merciless. If your mother
and I had not been obliged to do some urgent business there, we would not have left
you a second on your own.”
Tala insisted: “ But I would be safer with you!”
Her mother shook her head and said firmly: “You can’t be more wrong! People on
the island are peaceful. They are now sound asleep. When they get up in the early
morning and find our doors and windows closed, they will think we have just left.”
She hesitantly kept quiet and resumed her speech in a desperate voice: “ I am sorry,
child. I know how much you suffer. But, believe me, this is for your own safety. We
moved to live on this island before you were one year old. We deprived ourselves
from the city’s easy life. After your birth, we realized that we have to sacrifice
everything for the sake of your safety.”
The mother gazed at her daughter’s eyes and continued: “ We don’t regret it,
honey. The suffering we subjected when we parted with our folks for five long years
is nothing compared with this sad look in your eyes.”
