* Arabic, meaning ‘Good Morning, author!’
† Arabic, meaning ‘non-Arab’. Historically, the word was often used in a derogatory sense by Arabs to refer to foreigners who could not speak Arabic, much in the same way as the Greeks referred to other peoples as barbarians. The word Ajam, however, was especially used in reference to the Persians; indeed, the Arabs called Persia the ‘Country of Ajams’. In the text, the word Ajam is used to refer to Iranians, in this somewhat derogatory sense.
6
AND NOW … SOMEWHERE a finger presses a button, a hand flicks a switch, and from a gaping metal maw a monster is released, soaring up under the dome of a sky that is blue, or maybe leaden, or perhaps cloudy and a bit rainy. But where is it bound for, this monster that flies yet which has no wings? No one knew the answer to this for sure, not even the owner of that hand or finger. By contrast, there were many who became aware of its sudden descent, but they don’t exist anymore to tell the tale. The wide muzzle of that metal barrel still smells of hell. But you … my son, Jamoo! Now be attentive! Open your mouth, grip my finger with your tongue between your lips and suck! Quick, before this life-giving sustenance goes to waste. It must be a bit salty, but it will save you from being overcome by faintness. Suck well, suck my finger, boy, harder, use more force. Just like a hungry child drinking from his mother’s breast. Drink before you lose consciousness. Drink! I want you to come to your senses and convey a message for me. Drink, with all your might! Whatever’s left over, I’ll give to our captive. I don’t want him to die either. Keep your wits about you! After drinking you must send a message. And if you’re still dumb and dim and dense even after that, I’ll bring you back to your senses with a slap! And if all else fails, then I’ll expend a bullet on you even though I really don’t want you to die. Quite the opposite, I want you to live. You must live. You’re still too young to fade away. So … tell me now, do you feel any better? Can you transmit the message? Now, anta! Tashrab, tashrab!* See how eagerly he sucks, the rogue! Do you remember now? You couldn’t wait for the lioness to come and find you! She would have come. She will come still. But for the time being just obey the order. Dial the code for headquarters. Now! Say ‘Yes, sir’. Say ‘Yes, sir’, quick!
‘Yes … yes, commander!’
‘Good, brave boy. Now transmit!’
‘What’s the message, commander?’
‘A sea … a sea … the desert … is a sea!† Done?’
‘Yes … yes, sir, but …’
‘But this, but that …’
‘Should I transmit that too?’
‘No — of course not! Now tell me, how do you feel?’
‘Better, sir.’
‘All right, then, take out a piece of gauze, I mean a sterilized cloth, from the pocket of my backpack and bind my finger, not too tight. You can do it with your hand and teeth. Quick! I can’t take my eyes off the damned hills in front of us. Let me see what you’re doing. You can suck on it a bit more before binding it. Then I have some questions that you should be able to answer. Like what’s your name, where were you born, your parents’ names … I want you to be as alert as you were the first night. Quick!’
‘Yes, commander, but … why are you doing this, sir?’
‘Bind it, the first thing to do is to tie it tight so it doesn’t get infected. If it’s infected I’ll have to amputate it.’
‘I’ve bound it … aha … and now another knot. Well?’
‘I didn’t want to be left alone. Now there are two … no, three of us. Isn’t that better? And I’ve no use for a mute transmitter. Do you remember anything now?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Tell me, quickly.’
‘A dove.’
‘Go on.’
‘We had doves in our house.’
‘All right, was it you, your father, or …’
‘My brother, yes, my brother.’
‘His name … your brother’s name?’
‘Wait, let me think … on the edge of the roof … the doves sat on the edge of the roof …’
‘Well … right … how fascinating! Tell me more — but take your time. Don’t let your strength ebb away.’
‘Wait a moment, did you give us your own blood?’
‘Stop asking questions, boy! Haven’t you realized yet that you’re in the army and you mustn’t question your commander? Think of the dove, your doves. I like birds, and doves better than most. God’s angels appear on Earth in the form of doves. I used to like cockerels better in my adolescence. Cockfighting … I squeezed a drop of blood into my gamecock’s throat and threw him into the pit. You haven’t seen them fight, have you?’
‘A drop of your own blood?’
‘There you go asking questions again! Try thinking for a change … anyway, I came to like doves some time ago. A dove! I’ve told you a person can turn into a dove, right? Yes … you must remember. The first of them turned into a dove in Baghdad. Not very far from here … it isn’t more than a few hours from Ahwaz to Baghdad if all the transport’s running smoothly. He had set out from Ahwaz, too, with a large army. Check how our prisoner friend is doing?’
‘Looks like he’s sleeping.’
‘Shake him, check that he’s not dead.’
‘He’s breathing, still breathing. But … it looks like he’s fainted.’
‘Let him sleep, he must be tired. Look, can you lie down in my position here on your front and keep your eyes trained on that accursed hill so I can get up and stretch my legs for a bit?’
‘My hand, it’s tied to his. Could you possibly …’
‘Yes, let me do something about that. I’m afraid I’ll have to tie both of the young man’s hands behind his back. It’s a golden rule that you should never trust the enemy, even if he’s incapacitated. Well, now he’s lying on his belly, let him sleep. Let me see if you can solve this riddle while I’m taking a stroll.’
‘What riddle’s that?’
‘Let me get my feet out of these boots before I tell you. I mustn’t let the sound of my footsteps … ah, that’s better! I meant the riddle of how humans turn into doves!’
The scouts’ frontline trench can’t have been very wide or long. A mere slit in the hillside; only just large enough for a person to fit into. Like a dagger slipping into its sheath, say. So if our commander was able to relieve his legs from numbness by taking just a few short, light steps, it was because his body was emaciated and he was not very tall to begin with. Even that tight ditch was a blessing for him, allowing him to take three or four steps forward and back and every now and then adjust the focus on the binoculars his trench-mate was looking through, as a pretext for keeping the young man from succumbing to sleep. For every night, no matter how interminable and uncomfortable, eventually gives way to day, when everything becomes clear. The arc of gunfire behind them had ceased for some time now. And on the other side, the flames and smoke beyond the far hill had also died down. The sound of alarms had abated as well, along with the din of ambulance sirens and armoured personnel carrier engines. Many plumes of smoke rose slowly and dispersed. The aircraft of both sides had done their job and were gone now; all that was left behind was the ambiguity surrounding both hills and the doubt of the soldiers occupying them. The distance between the two hills was not great. Barely wider than a narrow strait. Water … water was down there. A water tank nestling under the brow of the hill, behind an earthen rampart. So far, five men — yes, five — had gone to fetch water and not come back. They had crawled towards the tank as best they could, but they had been unable to make it back and each dead man was a burden of torment weighing down on the soul of this young man who did not want to retell the calamity, either to anyone else or to himself. Even his good humour, and his ordering around and browbeating of the young radio operator were thin dust-layers that he deliberately sprinkled on his internal scars.