Palestine

Adel stayed motionless. Eyelids pasted together, his ears stretched towards a dull sound overhead. Tremors electrified his skin, shaking limbs like a promise of movement. Mind drifted through time, landing on a sunny afternoon, perhaps yesterday, maybe longer. Light on the floor...her face smiling across the room at him. Then a high whine, something sinister ripping the air. And black. Still, this sense of falling, into and on top of him. And black again.

There was nothing now. No rooms, no sun. Warmth without light. The scraping above, pushing into his cocoon, waking him from one long dream. The top of his head suddenly cool, eyes still immobile. His body shuddered, fingers wanting to grasp the hands surrounding his shoulders. Lungs, full of chalky air, but air. And he gasped. He breathed.