Incarna

28 - The Wall

Owain walked across to the old wooden reception desk and signed in. It must be the original with all those scratches and indentations and ink stains, he deduced. The middle aged woman behind it was neatly dressed, though a little dowdy, which Owain thought matched the decor of the hotel. There were photos of the hotel arranged neatly around the walls, showing it's history from when it was built after the British liberation and mandate during the 1920s, through to modern times. His journalists eye saw it as a wonderful panorama of the history of Israel itself.

He took out his phone and thumbed up the image he wanted, “do you know this place and is it far from here?” he asked with almost childlike nervousness. Marion Rosen took his phone and squinted at it, then chuckled out loud. “Oh that thing! Do you know how much of a craze that started on both sides of the Barrier, a blessing it is and a curse!”

Owain listened as he took back his phone and closed the image. She gave him a pocket history of the subject of his image from this side of the Barrier. The place and the artwork was famous and he’d heard most of what she told him, but it was fascinating to hear all her asides and aphorisms that went with the tale. “There is a version of it not far from here, where the East Jerusalem Palestinians have demanded an open gateway to the west bank be established. Can you imagine what that would be like with every maniac bomber full of twisted prayers and fueled by years in refugee camps trying to blow up a market or a checkpoint. Still something has to be done, we can’t keep living like this!”

Owain nodded and thanked her. Marion nodded and handed him the card for the car rental place around the corner and told him to mention her and he would get a better deal than they said they could give him. As he turned to go she reached out and took his hand, “is it true, that they’ve come back. The Djinn I mean. The talk around the markets is full of it. Djinn this and Genies that, any time of the day it’s the same. And I’ll tell you some people are excited by it. Me, I could take it or leave it. I never was one for gaystik greprepl.

Owain glanced at his phone. He had the translator up all the time as he travelled around and tried to use it surreptitiously. Mrs Rosen leaned across to look at his phone and he smiled nervously. “Don’t worry dear, so many tayar don’t even bother to try to understand!” Owain chuckled as he realised she was playing with him using different dialects and words from yiddish and hebrew.

“Thank you Mrs Rosen, I won’t be long.” “You make sure to be back within the half hour of the storm. After that the dust can get so thick, even arabs don’t go out in it!” He didn’t flinch with her taunt and she smiled as he turned and left. Samara was right, she thought, he is a good man! No wonder he was saved!

Owain swung open the heavy front door and stepped out into the driest air he had tasted since his rescue. It caught at the back of his throat and his head began to throb again. Come on Owie me lad, he said to himself and took a peppermint from his pocket and popped into his mouth. He walked briskly to the end of the block and around the corner was the car rental office, or really just a couple of cars out front of an old shopfront. A young man with an over earnest smile handed him the keys after he had signed the form on the clipboard.

I’ve programmed the satnav for you already Mr Davies, my auntie would not be happy if we didn’t look after you. Are you sure I can’t drive you, I’d be happy too! Owain looked up at the young man, tall and thin and a sadness in his eyes that Owain kept seeing in may of the people he met in Jerusalem. Owain clenched his left hand but it was still shaking. “I think that would be best, if you don’t mind …” “Yuri, Yuri Rosen,” and he turned to open the passenger door for Owain

“It’s alright Yuri, I’ll drive Mr Davies,” came a female voice. “Right you are Auntie Samara,” Yuri added unable to keep the smile off his face.

“what are you doing here?” asked Owain as he turned and nearly fell over Samara as he did so. Yuri chuckled and made a swift exit back into his shop. “Everybody has taken a liking to you and I’ve had Marion telling me to get back here and look after you!” She stopped as she opened the door and turned to him. “Please don’t shmooze her any more, other wise you’ll have to marry me!”

Owain recovered his composure quickly and just nodded and climbed into the passenger seat. Samara pulled out from the curb and was turning onto the main street toward East Jerusalem before he’d secured his seat belt. His head swam a little with her driving, that mad I’m confident and a better driver than you style that was typical of many confident professionals Owain had met over the years.

“Well there you are Mr Davies,” she called out over the revving of the little Fiat as she down shifted and swung into a parking spot. Owain sat and took in the sight of the great edifice to Israeli security. It curled and twisted like some great serpent and for a moment he thought he could see in it the image of the Great Serpent. The tempter of humanity.

Without speaking he climbed out of the car. Samara threw him a highvis vest from the back seat, for when the dust arrived. He appeared to wrestle into it then straightened himself and walked over the construction rubble to the artwork sprawling across the lower part of the Barrier. It had become an outdoor gallery of fears and dreams with the image of the man drawing aside the Barrier to reveal blue sky standing out, separate in the midst of it all.

Owain held his right hand over it as if to feel the emotions of the artist and then like some ancient stone age cave painter he placed his palm on a section of bare concrete next to the painted blue sky. As he did so, the first dust seemed to swirl over the Barrier and drift over him.

Samara sucked in a quick breath at the sight of him once again in the dust of the desert and wondered how he had recovered so quickly. There was a flash of dust lightning as the storm started to build over them and she held her breath as she was overwhelmed by the scene saw of the orange man being rescued by lightning.