The Walk

Hisham was walking alone in the old streets of Baghdad. Admiring every single detail, from old houses and buildings to retail shops and groceries.

This time all seemed beautiful.

Hisham was seeing things as if he had never seen them before. Colors were more colored. Sounds were clearer and nicer. He was wondering where all of this was the day before.

Had he changed? No. Had the city changed? Not that quickly. But he could see.

On that day life wore its nicest dress. Hisham was a happy man in a beautiful city. A perfect combination. A dream.

Wandering from one place to another was something Hisham loved to do during that day. Baghdad hadn’t looked that nice for years. It was so peaceful. No one was talking to him and he felt like not talking to anyone as well. He was enjoying the moment.

A basket of oranges appeared to him at a distance. The color was so attractive that he had to cross the road and go straight toward it. He wasn’t hungry. It was just the perfect color that called him. Once he was near the small fruit market, Hisham walked toward the oranges and picked up one. He was holding it using both his hands. It was so close to his eyes that people could think he was crazy. But he wasn’t. He was looking at the orange and wondering how he could have never realized how beautiful it was. How he could have never appreciated life for its smallest details.

He was wondering.

Suddenly … BANG … in a matter of a second …

Huge explosion in the small Baghdad fruit market. Black smoke covered the whole area. Not a single person could have survived the blast. Men, women and children. All were laying around dead. The sound of the explosion was extremely loud.

A catastrophe.

Hisham was still standing there with his orange. Dead bodies all around him. Yes. He wasn’t among them. He was confused. How could the blast have not killed him? Or at least throw him away and cause him injuries? Total confusion.

Then. He realized.

Hisham was killed the day before in another Baghdad explosion two blocks away. He just wanted to take a last walk around the city he loved so much.

Everything had seemed so beautiful.