World's Best Liar
"Everything about her was a lie! Yet Alona trusted Tamar.ÿ
Tamar was the cheery bloom amidst the glooms that Alona wasn?t aware of.
I saw Tamar tightly holding the petrified four-year-old in her arms. The men pushed them inside the basement of my home.ÿ
Tamar consoled Alona, ?Hey! We?re a team. It?s a game.?ÿ
?Who?re you? I don?t want to play. I want Mamma!? cried Alona.
?I?m your fairy mamma. Mummy sent me for you.? Assured Tamar.
The men had abducted the girls after attacking a music festival across the border. In their fight to uphold their faith and acquire land, those men destroyed the homes, peace and dreams of their own people.
I, Fatima, wished to be free and happy like the woman on the other side of the fence, but here I am! Now, a warden to the hostages.ÿ
I sighed, ?This isn't Jihad!?
Women on both sides were the ultimate casualties.
?Here comes cuckoo birdie, choo-choo-choo, with yummy porridge. Open your mouth. Yeah!? Twenty-three-year-old Tamar amused Alona.ÿ
?Where?s cuckoo?? asked Alona.
?She flew away to get another bite??
?Tell cuckoo, it?s yuck! Bring Pitot.? Demanded Alona.ÿ
?We?ll fly with Cuckoo and relish Falafel, Hummus, Jachnun, Malabi?? Tamar tickled Alona.
Tamar diverted Alona?s attention with stories of hope, fairies and a magical world amidst shelling and devastating destruction.ÿÿ
The men assaulted Tamar day and night. I kept Alona hidden away till I could.ÿÿ
?Why are you limping? Bruises? Are you hurt? Alona was concerned.
?Oh! It?s just make-up for a play.? Tamar comforted Alona.
?Why were you screaming??ÿ
?I was practising for the role.?ÿ
Tamar narrated another story. Tale of a brave princess.ÿ
Beaten up for opposing the torture, I thought, ?We?re all prisoners in different capacities.?
Soon, a new group of battle-hardened men arrived.ÿ
I heard Tamar screaming and pleading with the abusive voices. I shivered, covered my ears and prayed for the girls. Alona cried hard, scratched and bit one of them.ÿ
Blood! Blood! My fingers!? Alona shrieked and fainted.ÿ
The devils laughed.ÿ
Tamar was lying unconscious on the bloodied floor. There was an unbearable stench of vomit and excrement.ÿ
Those bastards left them to die. I rushed for the medical kit.
Despite the excruciating pain, Tamar cradled feverish Alona to sleep with more lies, lies as sweet as home.ÿ
?How adversities bring out sisterhood and even mothers in women!? I thought.
Christmas ushered in hope. The men ordered me to prepare Tamar for a media interaction. They tutored Tamar for a prisoner exchange deal and warned her not to drift lest they would torture Alona beyond imagination.
Tamar begged, ?Please send Alona instead.?
?Alona, I'll be back soon.? Teary-eyed, Tamar left.
?We were well taken care of by our Hamas brothers.? Tamar blew kisses to the men who tortured her.ÿ
I watched her on the news and hugged Alona.ÿ
?Tamar has gone to bring my fingers.?
?Yeah! Habibi Albi!? I kissed her severed fingers and geared up to become the world's best liar like Tamar.
Glossary: -
Pitot ? Pita bread
Falafel, Hummus, Jachnun, Malabi ? Israeli dishes
Jihad ? Fight for upholding Islam and its tenets
Habibi Albi ? Love of my heart
Hamas ? Harakat Al-Muqawama Al-Islamiya (Islamic resistance movement) now a militant organisation active in Palestinian territories.
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