Somewhere! (Hunaak!) by Ibraheem Abbas, Yasser Bahjatt

world. Malak heard what was bouncing in my head —as she usually did— and she then leaned her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes. Does she not deserve kindness after all that she has done for me? does she no deserve my love? I let my arms that surrounded her answer that question as my fingers stroked the locks of her hair.

 
    (7)
    My soul’s cords

 
     
     
     
    I spent a bit over two decades of my life in school classrooms, this was more than seven thousand days! Everyday kicked the next… all of them kicking me out in the end with —but a few — stamped and sealed papers that are worthless as they were missing the most important stamp of them all: the fat embroidered seal of the letter W (for Wasta , in Arabic, meaning connections)!
    But here, I learned everything in a few short hours. Here I learned that learning is not by bombarding information, nor by stuffing it into old ragged socks that are filled with holes. Learning is fitness and an art that allows you to reach the needed information fast, to absorb, formulate and link it with other pieces of information in a creative way to utilize and use it in the best possible manner. What I learned that was even more important! I learned that I am important!
    Very important and self-respecting! Not my origins, class, lineage, clan or -again- my connections! If they only taught us those two lines before they stuffed our heads with fast evaporating short expiry date subjects!
    The wagon took us away from Leonardo’s Castle. I will never call him ‘da Vinci ’ after today! Malak surrendered her head to my chest. As she closed her eyes, the wind raced through the window to join my fingers dancing around her hair. With it, it carried the fragrances gifted to it by the fields of  flowers all around us. My vision of everything my gaze came upon has changed after Mr. Leonardo’s words, I now saw things with much more clarity, brightness and beauty… I was now passionate about everything. My eyes would dive into the details of the details to enjoy every hint of beauty the magnificent creator had cast upon this universe!
    Although we were moving fast, I was enjoying the painting created by the velvet flower petals. I was contemplating each flower individually. I ’d smile at their eagerness to steal a glance of Malak’s face whose beauty far exceeded that of the flowers. I saw their colors blend and decided to reach out the window. I picked one up, thus granting its wishes to come closer to Malak. I tucked the flower between Malak’s hair locks and she gently smiled.
    “ Malak? Are you asleep?” — I whispered.
    I feared that my voice would break her nap. She lazily opened her eyes. The shy tear was still hanging on to her lashes; her smile had not yet parted with her lips and she looked at me with such emotion that pierced my soul. Her joy of being by my side; her pain from my departure; her tranquility with me; her fear for me; her exhaustion because of me. She nodded as she closed her eyes and pushed her face deeper into my chest. We had arrived… but she did not open her eyes, she was not asleep, as her smile gave her away. Malak forced me to forget the pile of complexes that I used to suffer from. I shall not let her return alone! I carried my child in my arms, like a bride in her puffy dress. I always wondered, if I would be able to carry my bride on my wedding night. Even if I could, would I not look funny with my short figure and bloated belly? That terrifying premonition made me wish that I could return to my world in this body… only if it could be with this elegant body !
    I set my doll on the bed and raced to my court, I had a huge internal drive to implement what I had just learned. There was a flood of energy flowing from my soul. As I looked for an outlet, it was not hard to find the drawing application on the computer. I was standing in front of a three dimensional screen that was almost as tall as I was or maybe a bit taller. I was