The Siege of Haniya [ONC2024] ✔

2. Sunset at the Desert

CHAPTER TWO : SUNSET AT THE DESERT

"Peace be upon those who laugh with years of crying in their hearts, those who chose to live even though life hasn't agreed with them yet."
-Unknown

⏳_⏳_⏳

"My only crime is standing up against the injustice," said Prof. El-Azizi as we wandered through the desert. Aimlessly searching for a hint of life in this vast area.

For the past couple hours, not even a bird or a dead plant has crossed our path. The sun was right above our heads, and the heat seemed to increase by double ever since we started our journey. Sweats covered my forehead and hands; the exposed parts of my body suffered the most in the heat. 

The light and airy fabrics of my dress proved to be a help in the arid temperature, compared to Prof. El-Azizi’s and Leila’s outfits. The gap of the sleeves allowed the wind to flow into the dress, without getting direct contact with the sun.

The winds blew past us, carrying the sand with them and leaving the sand stuck into our clothes as if trying to make us a part of the desert. With every step I took on the sand, a piece of me fell and became a fleeting memory in the deserted land. My mind might have lost a part of its memory, but my heart remembered.

It carried a deep longing for something or someone I couldn't remember. Someone who was very dear to me and their absence from my life created a hole in my heart. They couldn't be my family or friends, because I remembered them right away. It was someone else that probably came into my life in the last six years. A bile formed in my throat, making my heart constricted against my ribcage, at the thought of forgetting someone so important.

I glanced at the clear, blue sky as tears pickled in my eyes. What else did I lose other than my memory?

"I might have lost my belongings and been far from my family and children, but I've never been as free as I am today." Prof. El-Azizi sighed. "Now, even if we somehow manage to find a shelter or a nomadic tribe in our way, I just want to live in peace."

"Yes, I thought like that too," agreed Leila. "There's nothing left for me there. Or here. If I survive in the desert, I would like to find somewhere habitable and live a quiet life. If I don't survive," she paused. "I'll take it as an atonement for everything I did to the innocent prisoners."

Silence filled the air as the turn reached me. The breeze of the desert hit my cheeks, carrying a hint of melancholy to my heart. The buzzing of the ever-changing sand dunes echoed in my ears. What do I want the most in life at the moment?

"I just want my memory back," I said quietly, but with the lack of sounds in the desert, I was pretty sure they heard me perfectly.

Both of them had nothing to lose, since they probably did everything they wanted in their lifetime and wanted to settle down in peace. But I lost six years of my life. Being in the desert, banished for a crime I did not remember, in the company of people I had never seen before, I practically lost everything.

Leila nodded in understanding. "Yes, that's a reasonable wish."

Then, we fell into an awkward silence again, where none of us had any words to utter. The strolls towards the unknown, in a strange land void of any living creature except for the sand and the sky, became our only companion in our banishment. It was as clear as the day that our prosecutor chose the most empty, driest, inhabitable area to banish us. Perhaps there was a silver lining in this tribulation. That's what my mother always says when things are going rough and it seems like the future is bleak. But oftentimes, the silver lining was only visible after the cloud cleared. At this time, it still clouded my sight.