And then it snowed, like it always does in the movies, especially the ones that take place on Christmas, bringing comfort and happiness to all.
It was the right date - December 25th, only in Jerusalem it was just another day. People were working. Children were at school. Most had never celebrated Christmas, being Jewish or Muslim.
Eyal knew what Christmas was like in other countries. He had lived in the US for two years as a child and he had been traveling in Europe during the holiday season the year before. But now he was home.
It hadn�t been easy, getting used to being home again. It had been almost six months since he had come back, but he often dreamed that he was still traveling. Six months and still he couldn�t find a steady job. He had worked as a fruit picker during the summer, but the summer was long gone, and it wasn�t the kind of work he wanted to do for the rest of his life anyway.
He had had a job interview that morning, downtown. His mother (yes, he was still living with his parents, but what can you do when you don�t have a job?) had ironed his shirt for him, saying he would make a better impression that way. She didn�t say anything, but he had the distinct impression that as much as she and his father loved him, they thought it was time for him to move out. His little brother, on the other hand, made no secret of his feelings about the subject. He was already making plans for redecorating his room.
The interview had gone well, he thought. At least it had gone better than the ones before. When his potential employer asked him what he considered to be his greatest flaw, he gave him the answer Noa had taught him - he was loyal to a fault. And it wasn�t really a lie. He was indeed very loyal - to his friends, his ideals, even his country, in a way.
�Why did you come back?� so many people had asked him in the last few months. He usually smiled politely and said something about running out of money. It was true, partly. But if he had really wanted to he could have found a job someplace in Europe. Or else, he could have at least tried. The truth was that he had felt the need to come back, only now he wasn�t so sure why.
He decided to walk home. He used to walk a lot, before he learned to drive. His trip reminded him of how relaxing walking can be, of how elevated and serene it can make you feel. He didn�t mind the cold, and after a few minutes of walking he stopped feeling it altogether. Instead he felt a sudden surge of energy pumping through his veins, making him feel alive.
He stopped at the florist�s, deliberating whether he should buy Noa some flowers. After all, he wasn�t going to meet her until that evening and there were florists much closer to where he lived. He did buy the flowers after all, afraid that later he would forget all about it. Things weren�t going too well between Noa and him lately, and he so desperately needed them to.
Only now he remembered that he had forgotten to turn on his cell phone after the interview. There were no new messages. He wondered whether Noa had tried to call. Then he remembered that she was at work, and her boss was very strict about making private phone calls on company time.
If he would only get the job, everything would be so much better. And there was a big chance he would get it. His interviewer seemed very pleased with his answers, and even though he had said that there were a few more people he had to see, Eyal had a good feeling about the whole thing. He hoped his employer would call him before he was to meet Noa, and then they could celebrate together. He would even take her out to that restaurant they both liked, which he hadn�t been able to afford lately.
He caught himself whistling. He didn�t even recognize the tune at first. Then he remembered it was the theme song of a show he used to watch as a child. What made him suddenly remember it? He had probably heard it on the street as someone�s cell phone ring. He made a mental note to change his own banal ring to something more original. Maybe he could persuade his brother to lay off the computer long enough for him to download something. Or maybe his brother could find something for him. He had always been good with those...
He didn�t even hear the blast, or feel the pain, at first. His sense of smell was the only one that kept functioning throughout. Burnt plastic, gun powder (this one he remembered quite well. For a split second he thought he was in the army again) and scorched flesh. A woman was screaming hysterically, but he couldn�t hear her, just see her mouth open wide, like that Munch painting Noa liked so much. A shoe, with the foot still in it, had landed only a few centimeters away from his hand, which refused to move.
Then there were sirens, so many of them that he couldn't tell them apart. And people, so many people, who kept crying and screaming and begging for help. His ears were buzzing, and his eyes wouldn�t close all the way, and he was suddenly so thirsty, but there was no one he could ask for some water. Not that he would have been able to even if there had been.
Finally the paramedics stopped by him, asking many questions he was unable to answer, and then he was loaded on a stretcher and taken away.
As he was being carried inside the ambulance, he heard a familiar sound and turned his head. Next to where the foot had landed (a volunteer must have picked it up while he was being treated), he spotted his cell phone, which was now softly playing the beginning of Mozart�s fortieth.
A light snow began covering the bloody petals as the ambulance pulled away.
July 12, 2002
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