Free The Boy from Aleppo Who Painted the War by Sumia Sukkar Page B

with the guns talking loudly but I can’t understand what they’re saying. It sounds like Arabic but it’s a very weird dialect that doesn’t belong to any Arab region. They sound like foreigners speaking Arabic. I didn’t know foreigners could join the army. I need to ask Baba about that. Before I can finish the sentence in my head, the two men at the front duck down and run faster than I have ever seen. They chant ‘God is the greatest’ as they make an escape. One of them falls to the ground and the soldier behind him grabs him and shoots him. I have never heard a gun shot that close or seen anyone being shot. I can’t describe it. The world stopped for a second when the bang came out. The man on the floor jumped up when the bullet hit him and I could see blood jumping out. Then he lay still. The second soldier catches up with the other guy and as I am expecting a bullet and cover my ears, he twists his neck and spits at him. I can still hear the bones cracking now. Baba pushes me behind another building and looks at me. He mimes the word ‘sorry’ and lets me hold his shirt till we can’t hear footsteps any more. I cry because I don’t like war. I feel my body shaking but I can’t control it. Baba is blurry. His voice is clear though; he is reading a prayer over me. I close my eyes really tight and think of how upset mama would be if I wasn’t strong enough. I open my eyes and tell Baba I am ready to go. We walk past the two bodies on the ground. The first guy shot looks like he is dreaming and is only asleep. I wish he was. But the second guy has dark blood on his neck, but it’s internal. His face looks horrified. It reminds me of a horror movie I once watched with Khalid. I couldn’t sleep all night. The other man doesn’t have much hair but this one has long hair down to his shoulders. His hair is the only thing that looks alive about him. I follow Baba quickly into our house three doors down and keep in mind the idea I got for a painting.
    As soon as we get in through the door Yasmine jumps up and asks us if we’re okay. Baba doesn’t say anything and walks on. Yasmine keeps asking me what happened. This is the most she has spoken to me in a long time.
    â€˜Two men got killed Yasmine.’
    â€˜Did you see them?’
    â€˜Yes, it was very scary!’
    â€˜My poor Adam, are you okay?’
    â€˜Yes Yasmine I’m okay, can I tell you a secret?’
    â€˜Of course.’
    â€˜I have a new painting idea.’
    â€˜What is it?’
    â€˜Every martyr I see, I will take some of his hair and make a portrait out of it.’ Yasmine jumps back.
    â€˜Are you crazy Adam? Don’t touch anyone!’
    â€˜I’m just touching their hair.’
    â€˜No! Understood?’
    Yasmine is shouting at me for no reason. I don’t like it when she turns purple on me but I just say okay and go to the kitchen. I still want to use my idea. The dates have already been put on a plate and the bananas in a bowl. I pour less than a quarter of a cup of milk and have three dates. Baba was right, I don’t feel hungry any more. I open the tap for some water but orange liquid comes out. I don’t know why it’s orange but I wait for it to fade away but it doesn’t. I can’t drink this water.
    â€˜Yasmminneee!’
    Yasmine comes into the kitchen and doesn’t say a word. I lower my voice and tell her there’s no water to drink.
    â€˜I’ll show you the only thing we can do.’ Yasmine fills a saucepan with tap water and puts it on the stove to boil. The electricity now comes every day for an hour. That’s when we do everything.
    â€˜Are we going to drink hot water Yasmine?’
    â€˜We don’t have a choice. Go and try to put the boiler on in the bathroom to see if it works. The rest of us need to shower today.’
    â€˜The rest of us?’
    â€˜Ali, Amira, Khalid and Tariq showered