"Go to sleep." "I'm not tired." "All right." "Let's make up a story." "Shall I start?" "Yes." "Once upon a time there was a village, abandoned by its inhabitants..." "Even the rats left." "Even the rats left." "The village stood silent and abandoned, year after year." "Rainpoundedthestreets, washingawayanyhumantrace." "Whentheratscleared, birds swarmed over the village." "Therewereso many,they almostblockedoutthe sky ." "Itwasnight,all day long." "Butthen, fromonesmallhouse..." "Alittleboyopenedthedoor." "Hewastheonlyone leftbehind." "My mother was 38 when she died." "Atmyagetoday, Icouldbe herfather." "Manythingshavehappened inJerusalem." "Thecitywas destroyed,rebuilt, destroyedandrebuiltagain." "Conquerorafterconqueror came,ruledforawhile, leftbehindsomewalls, sometowers, somecracksin thestones, andthendisappeared, likethemorningmist downthehillslopes." "Jerusalem'sa blackwidow, whodevoursherloverswhile theyarestillinsideher." "We're late." "The boy, arieh." "Mymothergrewup inthetownofrovno, whichwastheninPoland, andisnowinUkraine." "Herchildhoodthere wasmadeup of wordslike..." "Chandeliers,servants, mystery, romanticmelancholy..." "Asanti-semitismspread throughEurope..." "Mymother dreamedofIsrael..." "Astheland ofmilkandhoney, wherepioneers madethedesertbloom..." "Sheimaginedthepioneeras apoet,worker,revolutionary, bornforfields andbattlefieldsalike, butalsoemotional andintellectual." "Aftermymother andherfamilyfledEurope, backinPoland's sosenkiforest, wheremymother andhersisters oncelovedto pick mushroomsandberries, andsleep insleepingbags ontheriverbank beneaththestars." "Germans,Lithuanians, andUkrainians, openedfire withmachineguns, andkilled23,000Jews intwodays." "Theykilledalmosteveryone mymotherhadeverknown." "A million kiddies..." "A million kiddies..." "They killed a million kids like you!" "Jerusalem, 1945, under the British mandate" "good day, ma'am." "May I please have Tel Aviv 648?" "Pleasewaitaminute,sir." "Mr.nashashibiis on theway ." "Of course I'll wait, but people are waiting on the other end too." "It's too early, arieh." "It will take time to get a connection." "What if they connect us right way, and nobody is there yet?" "Hello?" "Tsvi?" "Speaking." "It's arieh, from Jerusalem." "Yes,arieh." "Hello." "Thisistsvi." "How are you ?" "Everything is fine here." "We're calling from the pharmacy." "Ask my sister how she is." "How'sitgoinginTelAviv?" "Everything's fine." "Nothing special." "Life." "No news is good news." "There's no news here either." "We'llwriteandset atime  forthenextcall." "Takecareof yourselves." "Bewell." "You too." "Theyweren'tactuallysure ifthey'dtalkagainornot." "Therecouldbe riots, ora pogrom." "TheBritishcouldbetrayus." "The curfew will start soon." "Hello." "Good evening." "Good evening." "Closethewindows!" "Closethedoors,please." "They're all gone now." "It's like rovno was just a dream." "It's here." "A new book, hot off the press." "My first book." "The novella in Hebrew literature." "It's like having a new baby." "I'll invite your parents." ""To my brother and teacher, David, whom I lost in the darkness."" "Who said your uncle would be the only important academic in the family?" "Well, it's only my first publication." "And not the last." "The borscht is good." "Not bad..." "Almost tasty." "But even gentile servants in Jewish homes knew that borscht should be sour and just slightly sweet-- never sweet and slightly sour." "Like the poles who always add sugar, with no rhyme or reason." "They even ruin horseradish by adding jam to it." "Let's raise a toast in honor of the new book." "Lehayim." "Congratulations." "If you have to choose between telling a lie or insulting someone, choose to be generous." "I'm allowed to lie?" "Sometimes... yes." "It's better to be sensitive than to be honest." "Come, hold the peg." "We'll make our own little kibbutz, and by our own efforts, "bring forth bread from the earth."" "Forward!" "You know, the word "kadima" means forward." "But..." "The word actually derives from the word "kedem,"" "which refers to "ancient times." Ahh!" "Ah!" "So the Hebrew speaker actually looks forward to the past." "Interesting, isn't it?" "Yes." "Are you hurt?" "Arieh?" "Can you recognize me under all this sweat?" "Watch this." "Ha!" "That's it!" "Myfatheroncetoldme," ""Amos,consider theetymologicallink betweenthewords..." "Earth,man, blood,red,silence."" "You write a new novel every six months, and right away, all the pretty girls grab you off the shelf and take you straight to bed." "At least my books have some fun." "If you're trying to get girls, maybe you should write romance novels." "All I'm saying is, don't rush." "Ask your sisters." "Your life is only your own for a very short time-- from the time you leave home to your first pregnancy." "Even when your child grows up, you don't get your life back." "You go from being a mother to a grandmother." "But everybody says that children are the best thing that can happen to you." "Who's everybody?" "Remember what happened to our neighbor?" "Ira?" "Steletsky's wife." "Yes, the alcoholic husband, who ran our father's flour mill." "Hewouldbetonher atcards,andloseher,  eachtimeforone night, untilfinallyshelefthim forthecoachman'sson ." "Anton!" "Fromthishut..." "Shecouldseeher children playinginthedistance." "Thenoneday,she decided togoseeher daughter." "Assheapproached, herdaughter calledherawhore..." "Andrefusedto speaktoher." "Kira!" "Thatnight,iragathered whatever strength she had left, wentintothelittlehut witha canof petrol..." "Andlitamatch." "Our children don't realize how much they can hurt us." "I just can't understand why..." "Why no one warned you?" "What did you expect?" "A warning in fine print?" "That you're only food?" "That you're what the chick eats to grow strong?" "No one warns us, because every mother thinks she's the only one who feels that way-- and every mother cries into her pillow, alone at night." "Except for our mother, who just curses us." ""Tarzan the invincible"" "stay out of trouble." "Just be a good boy, okay?" "Okay." "My parents' friends, staszekandmalarudnicki, hadnochildrenoftheirown, sosometimesmy parents wouldletthemborrowme." "Myfathersaid thattheHebrewword forchildlessness isrelated tothewordfor darkness, andthatthewordfordarkness isrelatedto forgetting." "Lackofmemory." "Lackofchildren." "Lackoflight." "Mymotherwould gooffon herown ." "Towhere, Icouldonlyimagine." "When visiting an arab home, it's especially important to remember your manners." "Children are expected to stay out of adult conversations." "Only if spoken to directly, may you answer briefly and very politely." "If refreshments are served, don't choose something that might make crumbs or grip." "If they still insist you have something, just refuse, but delicately, like a gentleman-- even if you can't resist the sight of sweets." "We were only invited because your uncle staszek took care of al-halwani's son." "If, on this occasion, in such tense times, we behave like animals, not only will it be sheer insolence, it could cause enormous damage to the future of our two peoples." "Jacket?" "Jacket?" "Ah!" "Ah, my friend, come, come, come." "Welcome, welcome, welcome." "Pleased to meet you, madam." "Hello." "Please, everybody, I would like you to meet my friend, the great Mr. stav." "Mr. stav helped to clear my son Edward, from that unfortunate incident at the beginning of the summer." "Thank you for coming." "Please, come here." "Maybe the youngster would like to go and play in the garden?" "Please." "Please, madam." "I want to show you..." "Good morning, miss." "My name is Amos." "And you?" "My name is Aisha." "This is my brother, awwad." "Your father..." "Your honored father suggested..." "That I come here to play with you." "He's not my father." "He's my mother's uncle." "I don't live here." "I live in talbieh." "How do you know Hebrew?" "I've been studying piano in rehavia for three years now." "It's a beautiful language, and rehavia is beautiful too, so well-kept and quiet." "Talbieh is also well-kept and quiet." "Would you mind if we talked for a bit?" "Aren't we talking already?" "There's enough room in this country for both peoples." "We just need to learn to live together in peace and mutual respect." "I have a big brother in London." "He's studying to be a lawyer." "What do you want to study when you grow up?" "What about you?" "You'll be a lawyer too, based on how you speak." "What makes you think that?" "I'm going to write a book." "Really?" "What kind of book?" "Poems." "Poems?" "Yes." "In French and English." "I also write in arabic, but i never show it to anyone." "Is there nice Hebrew poetry?" "Of course!" "Levin kipnis, Rachel." "Vladimir jabotinsky, tcheminchowsky..." ""A generation of gods walks the land..." ""A generation drunk on life!" ""Estranged from a sick people." "And the tribe of sufferers."" "Can you also climb trees?" "Rest a minute, just a minute." "Rest a minute, just a minute." "This is the father of Amos." "May I please speak with Mr. al-halwani?" "Well, could you please tell him how very truly sorry we are about what happened?" "We are anxious for the health of the dear child." "We'll pay any of the child's medical expenses, of course, in full." "And we sincerely wish to effect a meeting at an early date to clarify and try to right the wrong." "Once there were two monks..." "Who imposed all sorts of restrictions on themselves." "Among other things, they resolve to cross all of India on foot." "Theyalsotookavow ofcompletesilence." "Evenintheirsleep, theywouldnotspeak asinglewordthroughout theiryearsof travel." "But once..." "While they were walking along the bank of a river, they heard a drowning woman crying for help." "Withouta word,theyounger monkjumpedintothe water." "Heborethewoman onhisback andlaidherontheground." "Thetwomonkscontinued theirjourneyin silence." "Six months later, the younger monk suddenly asked," ""tell me..." "Do you think i sinned when I carried that woman on my back?"" "Hisfriendanswered witha question:" ""What?" "Are you still carrying her on your back?"" "Amos, when I was a student, i loved to read here among the flowers." "And one day, after class, she met your future father here." "Do you remember what I told you about the word "flower"?" "Flower is a combination of the words "bull" and "scent."" ""Bull" has the same root as "fertility,"" "and "scent" lures the insects that fertilize the plant." "He took advantage of my weakness for words." "What could I do?" "All the boys were courting her!" "I had to make myself stand out." "That's what happened." "Rememberingisliketrying torestorean oldbuilding withthestones fromitsruins." "Andthestoneshavememory." "May I please have some apc?" "I have a headache that won't go away." "I don't believe them." "I don't believe anyone anymore." "It's a big conspiracy." "What do you think?" "That our boys will fight for you, that they risk their young lives for you, when you say it's all a conspiracy?" "Yes, because it is all one big conspiracy!" "It's like theater!" "Ben-gurion secretly agreed to sell Jerusalem to king Abdullah so that he can keep his kibbutzim." "They don't care if they slaughter and burn us all." "What's wrong with you?" "How can you say that?" "A million kids..." "If there is a war-- when there is a war-- we will win." "Our state is standing right at the gate." "It's not standing." "There is no gate." "There is an abyss." "Not in front of the child." "Mm." "Nothing grew!" "Come here." "You know..." "That if you open up someone's head and take out his brain..." "You see that our brains are nothing but cauliflower-- a cauliflower this size." "What a miracle it is that this small cauliflower can hold the sky and the land, the sun and all the stars." "It can hold Plato's ideas, and Beethoven's music, and Chekhov's plays, all the dinosaurs and the whales..." "And the hopes and the passions and mistakes and fantasies..." "And that's it." "Amos!" "Come play with us!" "I can't." "My grandma is coming today." "Kids!" "What are you doing?" "You've abandoned me." "I have no life here." "You spit on me, your own mother-- the only person who will take care of you!" "Just look at you." "How can you stand it?" "This place is disgusting!" "Oh." "I'm not good enough for you to answer?" "I should have left you in rovno!" "I would have been better off!" "Fanitchka!" "Fania!" "Amos, where's your mother?" "Fania?" "You won't believe it!" "My book is sold out!" "All five of them!" "He said he'd order more." "He already did, by phone." "Five more!" "He says this is just the beginning!" "Let's go to the Edison and see a film." "Zarchi will watch you, okay?" "For us." "Youcanfindhell andparadisein everyroom." "Alittlemeanness, andpeopleare helltoeachother." "Alittlecompassion, alittlegenerosity, andpeoplefind paradiseineachother." "Congratulations again." "I still can't believe it." "Give my love to garbo." "Amos, behave yourself." "Want a book?" "Tchernichowsky." "ItseemsthatyourPatience hashelpedourplants." "Why don't you go see for yourself?" "When my family moved to the house on dubinska street, we inherited some tenants from the previous owners." "A Polish officer named jan lived in the front room." "EveryFriday,my mother wouldsendoneofus witha trayof hotbiscuits, straightfromtheoven, towishhimagood sabbath on behalf of the entire family." "Sabbatshalom." "Hewouldstrokemyhead ..." "Call me cyganka, a gypsy." "Andpromisehe would waitforme  andmarryme whenIgrew up." "But,oneday..." "ASundaymorning beforethesuncameup..." "Thecoloneldecided totryouthis pistol." "Hefiredtwobullets throughtheclosedwindow intothegarden." "Bychance,he hitapigeon whichwasfoundwounded inthegardenthe nextday." "Then he fired one shot at a bottle on the table..." "Twomoreat thechandelier..." "And then..." "Once, I found a note in a crack in a desk drawer." "It was written in a woman's handwriting." ""To my precious little wolf cub." ""In all my life I've never met a better, more generous man than you." "Iamnotworthytokiss thesolesof yourshoes."" "There were two spelling mistakes." "It was signed with an n, and she sketched lips below it." "Nobody knows anything about anyone..." "Not even the person you marry, and not even about ourselves." "We know nothing." "But if we sometimes imagine that we do know something, that's even worse." "It's better to live without knowing than to live in error." "November 29, 1947 tonight..." "At lake success, near New York, the general assembly of the un will vote on what?" "Adopting the unscop proposal." "And what's the proposal?" "To create two states out of the British mandate:" "One Jewish, and one arab." "Who opposes it?" "The Muslim bloc and britain." "And why?" "They want an arab state under British protection." "Like Egypt, transjordan and Iraq." "Well done!" "You know, the name lake success..." "Is the opposite of the sea of tears, with symbolized the fate of our people for the poet bialik." "It's interesting." "Interesting." "Norway- -yes." "Pakistan- - no." "Panama- - yes." "Paraguay- - yes." "Could you please help me?" "Philippines- - yes." "Poland- - yes." "SaudiArabia--  no." "Siam--absent." "Sweden- - yes." "Syria- - no." "Turkey- - no." "Ukraine- - yes." "SouthAfrica--  yes." "Sovietunion--  yes." "UnitedKingdom--  abstained." "UnitedStates--  yes." "Uruguay- - yes." "Venezuela- - yes." "Yemen- - no." "Yugoslavia- - abstained." "Theresolution ofthead hoccommittee forpalestine wasadoptedby 33 votes-- 13against,10 abstained." "The Jewish nation lives!" "The Jewish nation lives!" "Unbelievable." "Unbelievable." "Everything is about to change." "I told you it would." "We brought peace unto you!" "You can't imagine what the gentile boys did to me in my school in vilna." "Then, when my father, your grandfather, came to the school to complain, they attacked him too." "They threw him to the ground, and removed his pants in the middle of the yard." "All the children laughed." "And the teachers watched and were silent." "Some of them also laughed." "Bullies may well bully you someday in the street or at school." "They may do it just because you're a bit like me." "But from now on, now that we have our own state, you will never be bullied just because you are a Jew." "Never again." "Afewhourslater, atsevenin themorning, whilewewereall asleep, shotswerefiredon Jewishvehiclesin Jerusalem, whichturnedintoriots acrossthecountry." "My code name is garibaldi." "I'll be instructing you how to help in our patriotic wartime efforts." "You will help..." "You will search all the storage yards and sheds for empty bags to fill with sand, and empty bottles to make "cocktails"" "that will be very tasty for the enemy." "You also will gather edible Greens from empty fields, to help relieve the hunger in Jerusalem." "And we'll also serve as look-outs..." "To observe any movements by the brits." "Now go!" "How beautiful." "Wash them off and I'll cook them right now." "You must be hungry after all your food foraging." "Put some water in this." "Fanitchka?" "I joined the national guard." "Don't you have anything to say about that?" "What do you want me to say?" "Congratulations." "You're very brave." "Thewarinfiltratedour home." "Lifebecame rations,sandbags, mourning." "Inthelivesofindividuals, andinthelivesofnations, theworstconflictserupt betweentwopersecutedpeople." "Onlyintheimagination dothepersecuted uniteinsolidarity tofighttogetheragainst theirruthlessoppressor." "Inreality, twochildrenof  thesameabusivefather willnotnecessarily becomeallies." "Often,eachsees inhisbrother theirfather's threateningways." "Europeabusedthearabs, humiliatingthem withcolonialism..." "AndthesameEuropepersecuted andannihilatedtheJews." "Butthearabssee us asanarrogantnew branch ofEuropeancolonialism andexploitation," "andwedo notsee arabs asbrothersin adversity, butrather,as anti-semites, Nazisindisguise." "...after30years oftheBritishmandate..." "Thenewstatewas born withDavidBen-gurion's declarationinTelAviv justhoursearlier." "Forweeks,our basementapartmentwasturned intoa kindof bombshelter fortheresidents oftheapartmentsaboveus." "You're pulling." "It hurts!" "What is this?" "Crumbs everywhere!" "You can't make such a mess here!" "A hundred Jews were burned alive yesterday near sheikh Jarrah." "They were in a convoy going up to the hospital and university." "A hundred people!" "Doctors, nurses, students." "Why didn't we save them?" "The British wouldn't let us." "Who can even stomach this chicken, when horrors like that happen right in front of us?" "The children haven't eaten meat in two months." "Here you go, ma'am." "Who's next?" "Whenherfrienddied, whenrealtragedy landedoutsidethepages ofmymother'snovels, thesuffering wasn'tromanticat all." "There's an armistice agreement with Egypt." "Next will be transjordan, and then Syria and Lebanon." "WhentheBritishleft, thegreenlinewas drawn aroundIsrael." "Ourneighborsmovedback totheirownhomes, euphoricandoptimistic, andleftus along toourselves." "Theimprobablecreation ofthenewstateofIsrael extinguishedthousands ofyearsof Jewishlonging fora homelandof itsown ." "Maybemymotherfelttheloss ofthispassion,thisdream, becausesuddenlyshestopped tellingherstories." "What do my eyes see?" "A boy, about three, standing in the middle of the street, and a military vehicle rushing toward him." "I mustered all my strength." "I yelled to him." ""Boy!" "Boy!"" "It seemed my shout reached him, because he quickly jumped aside." "Who knows?" "Maybe his mother left him alone, or maybe she's poor and can't support him-- and can't stand to see him starve, or maybe he's an orphan." "Yes, there are children like that in our world too." "Give me your sandwich!" "Give me your sandwich!" "Our blood will not be spilled in vain!" "Abandoned property" "I'll be back in fifteen minutes." "Can I go with you?" "I need to be alone for a bit." "You can be alone too." "I'll be back soon." "Maybe you can finally tell me." "What is it about you that makes me love you so much?" "More than anything..." "More than anything, i love your innocence." "I've never encountered anything like it." "Even after you live out your entire life, and have all kinds of experiences, your innocence will never abandon you." "I think you'll grow up to be a man..." "Who is open and enthusiastic like your father, but you'll also be a man who's quiet and closed and full..." "Like a well in a deserted village." "You can be both." "Ifeltaterribledread asifon thedistanthorizon, avaguedisaster wastakingshape." "Mymotherstartedhaving frequentheadaches." "Hermigraines gaveherinsomnia." "Thedoctorprescribed sleeping pills and sedatives..." "Butnothinghelped." "Please don't be angry with me, Amos." "It's a little hard for me right now." "You see how much I'm trying to make things right." "Thank you, Amos." "I know I can rely on you completely." "Good night." "Good night." "Papa?" "Sleep... sleep." "I'm so lucky." "I'm so lucky." "It's7 :00,andthese aretheheadlines." "Thisyeartoo,thereis anurgentneedtofind homes forinnocentchildren withfosterfamilies acrossthecountry." "Lastyearalone, 50,000childrenwere placedinhomes." "Despite this achievement, there arestill20,000children, whowillhavetospend thewintermonthsintents." "10,000childrenages5-12, needtemporaryhousing thiswinter acrossthecountry." "Therootsforchildren projectappealsto  everyhomein Israel tohostachild fromthecamps..." "She's punishing herself." "Just to punish me." "I have done." "I have done." "I have been doing." "I have been doing." "I should have done." "I should have done." "I should have been doing." "Go..." "Go play a little outside." "But be careful." "There are all sorts out there." "Not all women are as kind and honest as you are." "You can come home whenever you like." "Do you need anything?" "Amos is here." "MyfatherandItold people thatshehadthe flu  ora particular sensitivitytosunlight, orthatshegets verytired." "Wedidn'ttellanyone whatwebothknew." "Theonlyonewho knew wasmymother'sbestfriend." "Amos." "You're a ray of sunshine, you know?" "Your mother says that you're her light." "You're such a clever, sensitive child." "You know, i have a feeling..." "That when you grow up you will be a writer." "I won't be a writer." "I'm not sensitive!" "I'll be a farmer or a dog-poisoner with a syringe full of poison." "Have a good day." "You too..." "Do you know what happened when Tarzan met the cowboys and Indians?" "What happened?" "Tarzan watched from a tree as the cowboys and Indians fought below." "A cowboy caught a snake by the throat and poured its venom into the Indian's mouth!" "So the Indian grabbed a thorny cactus and stabbed..." "The cowboy in his blue eyes." "Tarzan watched from above and thought about what to do." "And then what?" "I'll tell you tomorrow." "The story was great." "Where did you hear it?" "Hey-- isn't that your dad?" "Where?" "Ah!" "Amos... you're being very good." "Your mother has a terrible headache." "Keep your voice down." "And no running around, okay?" "Get the door." " Do you need anything?" " No, thank you." "Then why don't you lie down?" "I'm fine like this, thank you." "Do you see a doctor?" "I don't need a doctor." "Mother, leave her alone." "Don't interfere, arieh." "She's being so dramatic, as if she deserves the moon." "So what?" "Moods." "Melancholia." "It just shows that her heart is still young." "As if she's the only one having a hard time here!" "That the rest of us are living in luxury!" "Behold, I call heaven and earth todaytobearwitness thatI havesetbeforeyou lifeanddeath, the blessing and the curse." "Therefore choose life, so that you and your descendants may live." "Did you finish your homework?" "Fania?" "How did you sleep?" "Well, I finally slept well." "The new pills must be working." "I had so many dreams." "One was about someone I hadn't thought about in years." "In rovno, there was a rich fur trader who even got orders from Paris, because he had a rare type of fur, the silver fox." "Furs that sparkled like frost in the moonlight." "But one day..." "The merchant became a strict vegetarian." "He left his home and built a small cabin in the woods, because he felt sorry for the thousands of foxes hunters had killed for his furs." "And then he disappeared completely." "When my sisters and i wanted to scare each other, the three of us lay on the carpet in the dark." "And took turns telling..." "How the man who was once a rich furrier now roams naked through the forest." "Maybe he has rabies?" "Maybe he howls bloodcurdling cries?" "But anyone who meets the fox-man in the forest at night..." "His hair instantly turns white in terror." "Excuse me." "What is that supposed to be?" "An allegory?" "An old-wives' tale?" "Sorry." "Don't be late for school or work, boys." "What's the matter with you?" "What's your problem?" "I'm sorry." "It's all my fault." "Today I decided to invite the two men in my life to lunch at a restaurant." "Does dad know?" "We'll surprise him." "Let's go to his office and drag him out like a moth from a book." "Come." "Today, you'll be my cavalier." "What's a cavalier?" "A cavalier is a knight." "ChevalisFrenchfor horse, and chevalier is a knight on horseback." "Thank you." "Arieh." "Excuse me for a minute." "What happened?" "Are my parents all right?" "Your parents?" "Is everyone all right?" "Yes, everyone is fine." "We're surprising you." "We're taking you out to lunch." "Sure." "Why not?" "Today I'm hosting, and I'd love if you ordered the most expensive items on the menu." "Are you ready?" "Yes." "Vegetable soup and chicken with mashed potatoes, please." "The same for me, please." "Fania?" "Fania?" "Just some white rice, please." "And a cup of black coffee." "Thank you." "Fania?" "Fania?" "Fanitchka?" "Mummy, are you all right?" "She needs total rest." "I'll take care of it." "Thank you, doctor." "These are the new pills." "They'll help you sleep." "Have some more water." "I don't know how to help you." "I'm not your responsibility." "Fania, I don't know how to help you." "Maybe I'll take you to Tel Aviv to be with your sisters and get some fresh air." "Yes, fresh air." "It's not reparations." "They can't keep what they stole from us." "And we need the money to absorb the survivors." "What are you talking about?" "It's blood money." "We can't sell them forgiveness." "A few days in Tel Aviv and you'll be good as new." "No wonder you're miserable." "You live in Jerusalem." "We're going to pamper you." "All you have to do is rest." "Fania, maybe you'll try some cake?" "I'm not hungry." "You're not eating at all." "You sound like mother." "The change of scenery will do her good." "She's from Jerusalem." "She doesn't even know what a beach is." "Summer here would be too much." "It's true." "Thatnight, theayalonriver overflowedthebanks andfloodedpartofTelAviv." "Mymothergrewup inanetherealculture ofmistedbeauty whosewings werefinallydashed ontheharshJerusalemstone, hotanddusty." "Twentyyearsaftercompleting herstudiesin rovno, thatromanticschoolgirl wasconfrontedby dailylife, theheatwaves, poverty,andviolence, diapers,migraines, rationlines,marriage." "Thepromiseof herchildhood wastrampledunderfoot andridiculedby themonotony oflifeitself." "Perhapswhenlifefailedto fill the promises of her youth, mymotherbegan toenvisiondeath asa protective, soothinglover." "Myversionof herstory wouldhaveendeddifferently." "Butitwasher storytotell." "Is your father home?" "There's a call from Tel Aviv." "It's urgent, please!" "Afewyearsafter mymother'sdeath," "Ileftmy father andallof Jerusalem, changedmyname, andwentto  kibbutzhuldaon my own." "Mymother'sdream, milkandhoney, makethedesertbloom, pioneer." "Hello." "Amos?" "Hello!" "You're taller than me!" "Can you hand me my suitcase, please?" "Thank you." "ThoughI forcedmyselfto learn how to drive a tractor..." "Layirrigationhoses, hitthetarget witha Czechrifle," "Istilldidnot manage totransformmyself." "Noonewastaken inbymy suntan." "Theyallknewperfectlywell , andI knewit myself, thatevenwhen myskinwasbronzed," "Iwouldstillbepale  ontheinside." "This is my school now." "Theonlywaytokeep  adreamwhole, hopefuland notdisappointing, istonevertry  toliveit out." "Afulfilleddream isa disappointingdream." "Thisdisappointment isinthenatureofdreams." "Mother"