Orphans
Published in Issue #8 Translated from Hebrew by Dalya Bilu(Excerpt from a Novel)
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The bedroom remains protected. I lie in bed and David comes in. He is holding a white diaper in his hand and dragging it on the floor, cleaning up his soft bare footsteps behind him. In spite of his age he still clings to the cloth of the diaper, attaches himself to it as soon as he gets up in the morning and presses it to his face. This makes the first minutes of the day easier for him.
My eyes are still bleary, but the sleepy seconds fade from me. David comes closer and grows slowly clear. In my dim thoughts I try to hold him back from approaching me and talking to me at this early hour of the morning. The bed is warm and pleasant. The blanket rests on me like a second skin. My head is straight on the pillow and I can’t move. Now his face is opposite mine and he is bigger. He takes another step and says to me, ‘Mommy’s not at home.’
David, you’re so pleasant, I want to say to him. The tranquility stored up inside him is wonderful. I drag out the few moments left and remain still as a stone on the bed. David waits for me to talk to him and raises his hand to his head, scratching with his fingers and moving his fine hair, bends his head a little to align it with mine, and stabs me with a questioning look. I count a final second and begin...
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