Trafika Europe 6 - Arabesque

CAPTIVITY Translated by Tim Wilkinson

“Y ou’re setting off for Jerusalem the day after tomorrow!” Uri woke up with a start. His father was standing over him. Uri raised himself up on his rags, picked up the scroll that had slipped from his hand to the floor, and looked up apologetically from where he was sitting. An awkward smile played across his lips, as it did whenever he was caught doing something, and he always was caught, even if it wasn’t anything bad. His father fidgeted a bit in the gloomy nook, the gray February afternoon throwing light from the yard on his

stern bearded features, his prominent cheekbones, his deeply set eyes; the little square thrown onto the wall happened to be gleaming just above Uri’s disheveled, greasy hair. His father was standing there somberly, no longer looking at himbut gazing at the yard. He turned on his heels and pushed aside the carpet that hung over the doorway, so forcefully that it conveyed his deep-seated disgust at his son, at his own position, with Creation in general. Uri had not yet fully regained consciousness; he was merely ashamed of what his father had caught him doing: falling asleep while reading. He had a habit of taking a nap in the

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