Vision in Red by Sajjad Rasool - HTML preview

Children of Olive

"We can't keep it in the house," she said.

"Why not?"

"It's radioactive, Yasmin. It broadcasts the truth. If I keep it in my bedroom, the Watchers will come. They'll come for Fadi. For Noor."

"So what do we do? Burn it?"

"No," Amal said, clutching the heavy book. "Ink comes from the earth. Carbon. Water. It belongs in the dark."

She walked to the small dirt patch in the courtyard, where an old lemon tree grew—twisted and stubborn

She knelt in the dirt. She used her hands to dig.

The soil was cool and damp.

She dug a hole deep among the roots of the lemon tree.

She placed the ledger inside. Volume 1 of 30.

"Rest now," she whispered to the book. "Wait for the others."

She covered it with soil. She packed it down.

As soon as the book was covered, the air felt lighter. The buzzing in her ears stopped.

Amal stood up. She wiped the dirt on her pants.

She looked at Yasmin.

"One down," Amal said. "Twenty-nine to go."

"We're going to need a bigger shovel," Yasmin said, a faint smile touching her lips.

Amal laughed. It was a short, sharp sound. But it was real.

She looked up at the sky. The first stars were appearing over the camp.

And for the first time in weeks, they didn't look like eyes. They just looked like stars.

Amal turned and walked into her house, leaving the noise buried in the roots, waiting to grow.

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