Chapter 25 / Part One

Chapter 25

Habbab

There are some lights over my eyes, they pass over me with a flicker, I think Melek managed to bring me to a hospital. The pain is gone and I begin to dissociate between reality and fiction. While my brain is millions of light years away, I imagine a life where Melek and I could be happy, far from so many conflicts.

A life that has never existed, but that could have been and was not....

***

The following is a dream Habbab had during the surgery to remove the bullet from his body:

Second grade

I stand watching the girls play hopscotch wondering what they find so funny about it. They giggle as they jump across the chalk lines and repeat it over and over again. I only care because every time Melek makes the sound it gives me a funny feeling in my stomach. At first I wasn't sure if I liked it, but after hearing her laugh a few more times, I decide it's not so bad. She looks at me and smiles before it's her turn again.

"Habbab, come on, we need you on our team. You're the