Jonathots Daily Blog
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Sitting Twelve
A comedy of horrors, worst fears realized—for a bedraggled, sweaty soldier huffed and puffed his way to the top of the hill, screaming, frustrated and completely aggravated by the role of bully, which had been thrust upon him by two thieving, punk hoodlums.
A young Arab boy, gasping for his next breath, too frightened to move from the clawing hands of his attacker, the great Behemoth of military strength.
A seasoned female reporter, jaded by the world around her, reduced to becoming a screeching tearful lass in distress at the prospect of the mayhem unfolding before her eyes.
And then there was the young Jewish boy, sitting quietly, overly calm, holding a hand grenade and heaving huge sighs as tears careened down his cheeks.
The scene was an active one, filled with danger, yet unnervingly still, poised in the moment, as the great fear of all those concerned had now become reality.
The soldier, focusing in on Pal, pulled on his leg, yanking him down the hill as the boy pleaded in the many languages of his culture.
Meanwhile, Karin was punching the arm of the enraged soldier, shouting obscenities and trying to trip him with her legs.
Iz remained quiet. But then, all at once, he commanded, “Stop!”
It wasn’t that his voice was powerful and loud. He was standing on his feet, holding the hand grenade in his outstretched hands, his finger fiddling with the pin. Yet the soldier only delayed for a moment—then scoffed and continued pulling Pal down the hill.
Iz seemed peaceful, wide-eyed and aware when he squeezed the pin and pulled it from the fuse.
Everything halted.
Karin ran the few short feet to Iz as the soldier scrambled up the hill and grabbed the grenade from his hand. Iz remained like a statue—immovable. The sergeant, though well-trained, was petrified and froze.
Karin squalled, “Do something!”
Hearing those words, all of the training that Minioz had received kicked into gear. He wielded back and with the brute force granted only to a soul energized by adrenalin, he hurled the grenade across the desert, as everyone leaped to the sand.
That is, everyone but Iz. The young boy stood and watched as the grenade flew through the air and bounced on the sand about thirty meters away.
Everyone waited. Everyone held a collective breath. And then, everyone was bewildered.
Nothing.
Nothing happened.
Very gradually, each of them got up from the ground, staring in the distance at the tiny object lying on the sand, which for some reason, had failed to deliver its big bang.
“What happened?” whispered Karin.
Minioz wiped some sweat from his face. “A dud. Or maybe a fooler.”
Pal wiggled his way over to Iz’s side. “What’s a fooler?” he asked.
Minioz shook his head. “Sometimes they pretend not to work until you go over and try to move them again, and then they blow up in your face.”
All the gathered souls at the desert encampment paused for a moment and thought about the statement offered by the sergeant, each conjuring a horrifying word picture.
Iz finally spoke. “I told you to leave us alone.”
He possessed an unsettling tone—icy and cold, his pain seemingly buried deep inside. He walked toward the failed grenade.
Karin looked at Minioz, expecting him to do something. “Stop him!” she ordered.
The soldier just shook his head. “As I remember it,” he replied, “the one who throws it goes and gets it.”
Pal leaped to his feet and called his friend’s name. “Iz! Iz! Iz!”
Karin gained her feet and jogged toward the determined young man. The soldier rolled his eyes and simply said, “Oh, hell.”
He caught up and grabbed Karin’s arm. “I don’t want to be here when they pick up the bodies of a boy and a woman and ask me why I didn’t do something. I will get it. But in case you didn’t know, I really, really hate you.”
Minioz craned his neck and concluded, “You just make sure that crazy boy there stays out of the way.”
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