AND The Last Drop of Blood Dripped Off

I woke up to the bright light of the sun stinging my eyes ,a rigorous pain elevating in my left arm, reminding me the grim events of the last night

Run away…….

A voice echoed through my head, making a wave of tremor soar through my bones. I clutched my chest, my bare chest, quivering, eyes widening with the horror of the realization.

You should live on….

I gulped hard and looked up at the bright light of the sun. Yes, there was no ceiling over my head. I don’t have the place people call “home”.In fact no one here does. A knot started to form in my throat, threatening the tears to come and roll down my cheeks.

Unlike me you have to be stronger……

I turned and stared at my left hand. It was wrapped up in a blood red shirt of mine, reeking strongly of the dry blood. I sat up, brought my knees closer and hugged them, recalling the ruthless incidents that occurred last night.

….

It was my fifteenth birthday; my brother, the only relative of mine in this world jerked me in the evening. “Abbas! Abbas! Wake up. We gotta run, they are coming this way”

He yelled in my ears, pulling me from my dreamland. My eyes shot up.

“W-What?”

“There is no ‘what’ time! We have to run before they come this way”

He yelled again, grabbing my wrist and dragging me away with him. Soon this drag change into a sprint and we were running away to save our lives, looking for some hide out.

It has been like this in Palestine for many years , I don’t remember the exact count because ever since I opened my eyes to this world, it was a battle field; for all the forces were with the invading soldiers, and we; the people of Palestine were powerless and weaponless against them. Owing to this continuous ruthless battle, I have lost my family to the bloodshed , leaving me and my brother Abdul Aleem alone in this cruel neighbourhood. I don’t remember how the rest of my family died, I was still young then. My brother remembered though, like the back of his hand. I have seen him cry many times, talking to himself and acting like a strange maniac. I never found the courage to ask him about my family, how my mother was and how my father was. It would be too cruel to dig his wounds once again.

“Abbas! Stop spacing out! You have to run faster!”

He yelled; his face contorted in fear, yanking me out of my thoughts. Iran.

It felt like ages my legs were aching and my lungs were deprived of oxygen, Yet his hand was grabbing my wrist tightly, forcing me to run.

“B-Brother! I am tired.”

I said, in between my ragged breath. His hold on my wrist grew tight .

“You have to run, Abbas”

“ But we don’t even know where we are going “, I shouted suddenly angry at my sorrowful fate, and with a single tug, freed my wrist from his hold.

“ What do you mean by that? You want to die or something?”

He shouted back; it was a reckless act to shout in a battle field while every single voice is being monitored. “Where are we going to run, brother? Do you happen to know any other hideout by any chance?” I said in a mocked tone.

“ We can find some other . Like we did last time “, he said, trying to convince me.

“What other? All in my life I have seen you grabbing my wrist like this and making me dash and get another random bush to hide in and sleep without any food and then run again! I don’t get the purpose of this aimless life; I don’t want to run anymore!”

“Then,  are you saying you want to die? You want to get captured by those ruthless soldiers and make them remove every single element of your existence?

“….I’m sick of this life anyway, brother. I do…”, “Watch out!”

BOOM!!

  A sudden jerk from my brother pulled me down; making my face hit the ground. A sound came from behind.

“You two. Stand straight on your position.” It was a man’s voice, firm and fearless, unlike ours; the people of Palestine.

A small red light appeared on the forehead of my brother who was crouching beside me.

“Run away” he whispered, in low voice. His gaze was firmly focused on the laser light of gun. I was still facing my brother, my head locked in its place due to sudden fear.

You should live on, Abbas. I am going to distract him, you run in the meantime” he whispered again, raising his hands up in the air; a gesture of surrender. Before I could respond, he sprinted forward. The bullet was fired; an acute pain emerged in my arm, a warm liquid oozed out, and a loud roar of my brother from behind. I got up, not knowing what was happening any more. My body moved on its own, and dashed in the opposite direction, clutching the arm where the bullet hit me ……..

Tears rolled down my eyes as I recalled all what has happened last night. I found a good hiding spot, and stopped my bleeding wound with my own clothes.  Now I understood why my brother had wanted me to run. It was the first death I ever saw whereas my brother has suffered from this trauma many times before. No doubt he wanted me to run and save my life.

I mustered up the last ounce of energy left in my body and got up, dragging my feet back to the place where my brother’s dead body would be resting now. I just wanted to see him for the last time, to see his face, to memorize the features of the face of the person who treasured me all his life.

As I stood in front of my brother’s dead body, my throat felt tangled and bile rose up, gagging me and making me throw up. The scene in front of me was more hideous.

What features? There were none left on his face at all. His fingers were cut, his nails were pulled out, his nose was smashed and his face was crushed and he was still covered in blood, fresh blood.

“A _Abbas”! A feeble voice escaped his lips, running thousands of waves of fear and despair run through me. I looked up at him.

His lips were curved, as if in a smile.

“Li_Live for me ….wi…“ blood was coughed out.  “Will ya?”

HE was still alive, still breathing, still feeling the pain and agony.

I nodded atonce, acquiescing to whatever he said. He raised his hand, his fingerless bloody hand.” Promise me, unlike m-me, you have to be s-stronger.” He said in his coarse tone. I stretched my arm, grasping the hand that has always been holding me. And then I noticed, his one eye was absent too, replaced by a red hollow socket.

“y-you know when our mo-“ he coughed more blood out, “…mother die-“

 Blood

“ died , she wa…….as in terri-“ coughing out more blood and then he suddenly stopped, the trembling palm in my hand ceased its quiver , and the up and down of his chest stopped. And just like this, he; my brother, my sole relative in this world, died. I stared at him in shock and agony, my mind still not believing the reality that just registered in my head. And I saw, as the last drop of blood dripped away from his other eye .

He was crying, the moment his soul escaped his body, he cried, making the last trail of blood roll away his cheeks.