32 bus, Jerusalem

I was on the bus in Jerusalem and a small boy in his mother's arms in front of me reached out his hand. His finger pressed into the pad of mine. He reached again, a face already old. Only one or two, as yet he did not understand the material world. For instance, he did not understand my sunglasses. I could see him trying to work out what they were. I took them off for him to get a look at my eyes, because I liked his gentle way - already gentle at only one or two.

The boy had maroon eyes and sandy whisps of hair. We looked at one another. He held his hand out, waved it a half-second, then pulled it back. I held out mine and touched his little hand, his mother still unaware, statue in a sheitel, existing elsewhere. When I placed my whole finger is his palm, his fingers shut around it. After that he looked away.

I looked away. I replaced my black bug-eyes to stop the sun. The radio spoke in Hebrew; we all listened. No one said a word. An Ethiopian man in a white kippa dozed behind a black-hat man with a big white belly mumbling prayers. Girls wore skirts that showed them to their advantage whilst revealing not an inch of flesh. I wore jeans, bomber jacket and black bug-eyes, but the boy did not know this. The boy was looking and waiting, his hand held free to me.

He knew the glasses in my hand were what obscured my eyes. He, at one or two, knitted brows, fixed on the black plastic object in my fingers and reached for it, to understand.

Comments

[ilan]

A frozen moment. Nice.

[just a reader]

I just looked on childhood photos of mine, it's amazing how little we change.

[rami]

In the darkest time of the year here in Sweden, people walk around entrapped within their own halos of darkness. Its really easy to get lost in thoughts, trying to understand this system of life.. but all the darkness and thoughts perish, the minute i see a child with wide open eyes and a carefree smile.

Nice description Ola.

[A]

I so enjoy reading your blog... what you write seems so real. Because it is real.
Thank you for writing and for making people think and try to understand.

chanukah sameach, soldier ;)

i am in j'lem now, and leaving for the states on 12/25.
let me know when youre around, if you would like to say hi.

all the best
TW

[andrew wambugu macharia]

the story is moving .do you have stories connected to jews in africa??? Am Kenyan and would like to hear more from the jews who see this comment

[Leila]

Hi Andrew - there are many Ethiopian Jews in Israel. Here is a link to some more information: www.iaej.co.il/pages/our_culture.htm

I'll see if I can stories connected to Jews in Africa when I get back to Israel (I'm in the UK right now). L