The place where we lived happily, the home we called peaceful, is now drenched with blood and dead bodies. I don't know what heaven looks like because we've only experienced hell. We see people starving to death and now this evil site is also showing in our house 'I will bring the food.' 'No, you will not. There is danger out there. We are not supposed to go out there.' 'But kids are starving. I won't leave them helpless. We need to do something.' I eavesdropped on everything Mom and Dad were saying. 'We need food, but we don't want anybody to get harmed, especially Dad.' It was the only warm place we ever had. 'No, Dad, don't leave!' I heard my elder brother shouting, trying to stop Dad from bringing food for us because we all knew the consequences of going out there. Still, Dad took charge and went to find something to eat. We waited for three hours, then seven. Now it felt like an eternity waiting for him. Finally, Arham, my elder brother, decided to find Dad. My heart skipped a beat. 'No! No! No! I can't let him go. Dad went and didn't come back. I don't want to lose Arham,' I thought. I saw my sister gather courage and hold his hand with a dry throat. She said, 'Arham, don't leave.' He turned back. 'I have to, Sara. I can't handle too many funerals,' Arham replied, breaking into tears. Arham hugged her and assured her, 'I will surely come back and bring Dad as well"I promise," he said and went away. We waited for him, our tears drying on our faces. Mom is still praying for his return, but when she loses her patience, she goes outside the door to catch sight of them. We tried to stop her, knowing it was dangerous even to stay by the door, but we knew we wouldn't be able to hold her back.
As she opened the door, her face paled. She saw Arham running towards the door, but in an instant, somebody behind him shot him twice. In his final moments, he was saying something barely audible, maybe asking us to close the door because even in his last breath, he knew what would come next. He fell to the floor, and we saw Mom hastily close the door behind him. It was the most painful moment for all of us. We wanted to go outside, but soldiers were running around. Mom cried a lot and eventually fainted. We tried to wake her, but it was in vain.
After some time, she woke up to Sara's voice. Sara was crying a lot and scared by what happened to Mom. Mom hugged Sara, calming her. "You know, Arham is in paradise, the place Allah promised us. I saw Arham there," Mom said.
"What did he say?" Sara asked Mom.
"He told me, 'There was a time I was running towards you, and in seconds, I was in paradise.' I asked him, 'Does it hurt, the gunshot?' You know what he replied, Sara? 'It felt like a pinch.' So, we don't need to lose hope. We have to be brave."
Here's the revised version with corrections:
"Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Mom quickly got up. Before opening the door, she asked, 'Who's there?' The voice outside the door was faint and weak. Mom quickly opened the door. We were surprised to see Dad; he was there, but his clothes were full of blood. 'Who did this to my son?' He pointed toward Arham. 'He went to find you,' Mom replied, tears filling her eyes. 'Why didn't you stop him?' Dad asked. 'Do you think he stopped?' Mom replied, 'We lost him! We lost Arham! Where is the justice? Look how my dead son is lying on the floor like an animal. Is there no difference between humans and animals?'
I carry the weight of a father's grief, mourning not just his loss, but the hope that was stolen from us dad started crying by saying those painful words
"Dad failed to find food, and after so many hurdles, he saved himself and came home. But we are not hungry; our stomachs are full of pain and grief after we buried Arham in the soil. We returned home, and we all sat in the room. There was complete silence in the room. Dad broke the silence and asked, 'Did you both offer prayers?' 'Yes,' Sara replied, 'but Ali did not.' She pointed towards me. 'Why, Ali? Do you know offering prayers five times a day is obligatory for Muslims?' Dad said. 'No, Dad, but in Palestine, we pray six times a day: Fajr, Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha, and Janazah.' Again, there was complete silence in the room.
"We all know this place is not safe anymore. We have to find a new place. I already know a place that might be safe for us for a few days, but I think I have to drop you and Sara off first, and then Ali. He is too young to handle it."
Mom and Dad were talking. Mom came to me and kissed me. "Don't worry, Dad will come earlier and take you as well," Mom said. After half an hour, I heard the sound of a blast. Where did Mom and Dad go? They left me because I'm too young. But now I'm old enough to know what happened, what happened to Mom and Dad!
"Sara always says that she will become a doctor when she grows up, but she has to understand that dreams aren't for us because Palestinian children won't grow up!
Palestine children won't grow up!