Log Cabin Chronicles
On the Way to Nabbatiya
ELISHA PORAT
The path to Nabbatiya is truly unpleasant, even for veteran soldiers such as myself who, as you know, "are not killed, but simply vaporize . . ."
I try to bring a quick smile to the lips of my escort rangers crew, "What do we really have to lose?" I ask them,
"we'll go back home, and what good things are waiting there for us -- boring work, heart attacks, accidents? But here, you'll be gone in a minute, all at once, and you won't even know where the bullet comes from, the one that rids you of all your troubles . . .
then you'll be granted a charity, because you'll finish your life in 'dignity,' as a brave soldier; soon you'll be posted in the newspapers, even the weakest of you who never would have been absolved -- not for a single word -- in your entire life.
And the principal charity? You'll remain young forever, for generations upon generations, for eternity, and no one can take this from you."
Then suddenly, unheedingly, the joke transforms into an unexpected seriousness . . . the curvature of the narrow path becomes sharp; dark, little bridges appear from nowhere, as the rocks aside the road draw near with a frightening closeness, and the dark, green wood appears suspicious.
Translated from the Hebrew by Elisha Porat and Ward Kelley
Elisha Porat can be contacted at porat_el@einhahoresh.org.il.
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