Vision in Red by Sajjad Rasool - HTML preview

Children of Olive

"Qalandia!" Amal shouted. "Double fare if you drive fast!"

The driver looked at their pale faces. He didn't ask questions. He floored it.

Part VII: The Paper Cut

Part VII: The Paper Cut

They took a service taxi back to the checkpoint.

They didn't speak. They sat in the back, the ledger wrapped in Amal's scarf on her lap.

When they got to Qalandia, the sun was settling low, casting long, bloody shadows across the concrete maze. The rush hour crowd was building up again.

Amal felt a strange lightness. The key in her pocket was quiet. The ledger was quiet.

They passed through the turnstile. This time, it didn't jam. It clicked smoothly.

CLACK.

The red counter blinked. 100.

As Amal walked through, she looked up at the booth.

The soldier was there. But he wasn't looking at her. He was looking at his screen. He looked confused. He was tapping the monitor.

Amal smiled grimly.

The system has a glitch, she thought. And we are carrying the virus.

They got into Amal's car on the other side.

As she drove toward Huda's camp, Amal looked in the rearview mirror.

She touched her cheek. There was a thin, red line there. A paper cut from the storm.

It stung. But it was a good pain. It was real.

"Amal," Yasmin said.

"Yeah?"

"The book is getting hot."

Amal glanced down. Yasmin had unwrapped the ledger. It was vibrating on her lap.

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