The Siege of Haniya [ONC2024] ✔

3. Flicker of Hope

I scooted closer to her, whispering, "What are they talking about?"

Leila answered my question after the stranger finished his sentence. His eyes darted towards us before focusing on Prof. El-Azizi. "He's asking who we are and what we're doing here. He said he lives near here with his family and finds our footsteps when he's out to collect water from a well. Our traces bring him to this mountain."

"Our traces? How did he even see our footsteps? The sand buried them after we took another step."

Leila shrugged, and a small smile tugged on her lips. "Who knows? The desert people know many things in the desert that we could never understand. Unless we become like one of them."

Prof. El-Azizi motioned for us to come towards where they were standing. "The man invites us to stay in his home. He said there's a storm coming in a couple of days. It would be dangerous to stay up here without any protection."

I brushed my arms as chills ran down my spine. Because of the cold night air or the mention of the coming storm, I wasn't entirely sure. Or maybe both. "Should we go with him? Can we trust them?"

As soon as the words left my mouth, a gust of chilling wind blew past us, as if confirming the news of the upcoming storm. I sneezed when some dust tickled my nostrils before covering my nose with my sleeve.

"But like he said, it's dangerous up here when the storm comes. Besides, we haven't eaten or drank anything since the morning," reasoned Leila.

As we discussed the offer, the man darted back and forth between Leila and I. Then, all of our eyes were drawn to Prof. El-Azizi, the eldest in the group, who appeared thoughtful for a while. He tapped his chin before saying, "Well, let's just hope for the best."

"We don't have any other choice, do we?" Leila stated as we followed the man and climbed down the mountain.

When we reached the ground, I expected to find a camel or two waiting for us at the foot of the mountain. But what awaited us was a rundown, almost battered four-by-four truck. I hid my surprise as the man, who introduced himself as Abu Ali, hopped into the truck and started the engine. I began to realise that the flicker of light I saw on the mountaintop might have come from the vehicle. The truck rattled to life and grunted every time someone got into it.

Abu Ali looked over his shoulder towards Leila and me before saying something in Arabic. He pointed to the folded fabrics in between our seats and gestured to the two of us and Prof. El-Azizi, who sat in the passenger's seat. Upon seeing Leila nod, he turned forward and started driving.

"Syukran," said Leila, as she took the folded blankets. She passed one of the blankets to Prof. El-Azizi, one for me, and kept one for herself. "He said we can use the blankets to warm our bodies while we reach his home."

I nodded, unfolding the blanket before wrapping it around my shoulders and looking over the window.

Syukran.

I know the word. It meant thank you in Arabic. But why did I not remember where or when I learned the word? There was an additional Arabic subject at my school, but I was pretty sure I didn't take the class. When I heard Leila say the word, something clicked in my mind, and I recognised the meaning. 

I shook my head at the thought. Leila said I should not think too much about my lost memory and let it come naturally. It was better that way.

The warmth of the blanket and the wobble of the truck on the uneven surface of the desert lulled me to sleep. The exhaustion from the previous walk and the dryness of my throat stretched my energy to its limit. All I wanted at the moment was a nice place to sleep and a glass of water to quench my thirst.