excerpt
Always remember that, no matter what happens. Give my warmest wishes and
appreciation to William, who has stood by your side all these years. He has
disagreed, as have you, with the way my path has led me, but he has never uttered
one word of criticism, one word of scolding.
Dear Evelyn, you have been right all along; I just didn’t want to allow such a
thought to enter my world for all this time. One simply cannot keep on killing people
with the hope of eradicating the enemy, when it’s we who have created that enemy
all along. War never solves world problems; war creates a lot more. You have been
right all along. I love you dearly. Bevan.”
He folds the letter and writes his sister’s address on the envelope. He will mail it
fromhis office at the agency. Bevan Longhornmuch feels lighter and happier now.
The following morning, after breakfast with Ibrahim and Mara, Emily and Talal
get ready to visit his family. Rassan comes with the car and Mara gives Emily two
headscarves.
“Thank you very much,” Emily responds.
They climb into the car and start on their way to Falluza; it’s a beautiful day.
Since it is Sunday, with less traffic on the roads, they should arrive in under an
hour, Rassan tells them. Outside the city of Baghdad, they can see to the horizon,
as the sunshine gives them unlimited views. They see dunes of sand hills and
small desert shrubbery here and there, but mostly sun and sand. Since they are
on the main road connecting Baghdad with Falluza, they pass a few cars. Before
the war, there were more than half a million inhabitants in Falluza, but now they
estimate that number to be around three hundred thousand; yet, a lot of people
still return in droves as the rebuilding continues.
They pass through a couple of small villages, and although they’re on the
highway and a certain distance from the houses, they can still see the scars of war
throughout the area. Many homes still have holes in the walls and a lot of damage.
They also see groups of workers here and there rebuilding and cleaning.
Emily is so absorbed in all these new sights that she doesn’t notice Talal’s
teary eyes as he thinks of his family.
They arrive in Falluza about an hour after leaving Baghdad. This city is
located on the Euphrates River, about seventy kilometers to the west of the Iraqi
capital, and is the capital city of the province of Al Anbar. Historically, it goes
back to the Babylonian era, and because it has more than 200 mosques, it’s called
the City of Mosques. In Arabic the name Falluza means “arable land”. In the old
days, Falluza hosted one of the most important Jewish Academies called
Pulbedita Academy. During the years of Saddam Hussein, it was one of the…
Mayanaam
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Manolis 