Within the Sins

١٠ The Heartbeat of a Reunion

يا جبل ما يهزك ريح.

Visiting the north-western valleys is one of Yazid's favorite things to do. He prefers it over relaxing at the Dead Sea. Unlike the unusual trips to the Dead Sea, he and his family usually visit the valleys once or twice a month during the spring and summer months. He manages to contact Sandra two weeks after his graduation ceremony to wish her a happy sixteenth. He requests to take her out to his favorite valley two hours away from home, near a town most of his relatives reside in, which she agrees to.

Yazid removes his shirt off and throws it at a nearby rock before entering the water. He floats above the water, resting his back against large boulders, a stream of water flowing down the boulders and into the lake he is resting in. In front of him is a healthy forest that holds long palm trees. There is a small hill to his right, one that has many sunflowers and banana trees on it. He hears a frog croak somewhere near the rocks on his left. He then looks straight ahead and sees something shift in the trees.

Sandra walks out of the forest, her hand squeezed shut. He had asked her to pick some sunflower seeds for him.

She bends down and folds her pants until they reach right above her knees. Then, she walks into the lake until she reaches her brother and hands him the seeds. She floats next to him and starts to look around.

Yazid stays silent for a while, staring at a few frogs, cracking the seeds in half between his teeth. A while later, he senses that Sandra is distracted examining a wheater. He slowly creeps up to her until he can reach for her leg. He successfully grabs it firmly and starts to shake it violently, alarming her.

She suddenly screams in horror. "Yazid!" She instantly widens her eyes and gasps. Then, she starts to move around recklessly, reaching over to her brother's shoulders. She clings onto his back tightly, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. "There's something in the water!" She squeals the last word. "Check what it is! Check!"

She removes herself off Yazid a second later and rushes to the large boulders. Once she climbs on top, she yells at Yazid, who is laughing, with widened eyes. "What are you laughing at? Check what it is, you idiot!"

Yazid continues to laugh, gradually losing enough air to start panting for oxygen. "You're so dumb! You're in a lake, not the ocean!"

"So?!"

"Do you really think anything dangerous will be in here?"

"I swear I felt something hold my leg! It felt like a large hand or something like that!"

He titters. "That's because it was a hand."

"What? No. No. You. . .you. . ." She looks around until she finds a bunch of pebbles in between the boulders. She grabs them and throws several of them at him. "I'm so killing you!" She jumps into the lake—splashing water onto the boulders and small rocks nearby—and places her hands on his chest, pushing him downwards until his entire body is underwater. Holding his breath, Yazid takes this opportunity to hold both of her legs. He pulls her down so she can join him underwater. He grips her shoulders, holding her firmly; then he pushes himself upward until he is out of the water. He gasps to inhale as much air as he can. As he does this, he feels Sandra kicking him under the water. He finally releases her from his hold. He wipes his wet hair before wiping his watery face. "I can't believe you ya Yazid! I have really bad asthma! I can't even go a second without oxygen!"

"Happy birthday, Sandra."

She swims around him so she can rest her back against a dark boulder, still breathing hard.

This is the first time he has not thought about his need for needles in several hours. He smiles, grateful his withdrawal symptoms are too shy to reveal themselves in front of his sister.