Cry of Hope Read online

  ***

  Kahil realized he might receive more information about Sami if he were part of his family. He looked at his watch, seven pm. It had been six hours since Sami had been admitted to the ER. He looked up to see a man hurrying toward him, and recognized Rafiq, Sami’s father.

  “I’m so glad you’re here.” Kahil blurted out in Arabic. “Maybe now we can find out Sami’s condition.” He led Rafiq down the hall, nodding to the nurse in charge, and stopped at the closed door, while explaining to Sami’s father what had happened. Rafiq knocked at the door, his hands shaking. A nurse inquired about him, and then called a physician walking down the hall towards them.

  “How is my son, doctor? Rafiq spoke in Hebrew. I just arrived from Nazareth. I understand he has a head and eye injury. This is Kahil, Sami’s friend who has been with him today.”

  “We didn’t hear of any family or friends waiting. I apologize for the delay in bringing you up to date. Sami is still unconscious, but the good news is that his brain will survive. There is no hemorrhage. So, the diagnosis is a severe concussion. The treatment is simple observation, probably no medication for brain swelling unless he remains comatose.”

  “What about his eye, doctor?”

  “That’s what has taken so long, to evaluate. We had to wait for an ophthalmologist to see him, busy in the operating theater all day. But he’s now examined Sami and his MRI. He has a fracture of his orbit, the bones around his eye. The eye itself seems to be intact. Of course, we don’t know the outcome at this point until he wakes up, whether he will have significant vision. He will probably need an operation for the orbital fracture. Right now the blood and swelling make a complete evaluation impossible. We’ll have to wait for the swelling to subside.”

  “So what is the plan now?”

  “The ophthalmologist will see him regularly to monitor the eye problem, and decide the treatment. We are short of beds on the neurosurgical floor and will be trying to fit him in where he can be closely monitored. The ICU is full as well. He may be here for a while. Any other questions?”

  “May we see him now?”

  “Yes.”

  The physician ushered in both men. Rafiq stepped tentatively toward Sami. He lay motionless on the gurney with IV’s and heart monitor running. He had a large dressing over his left eye with the right eye closed. Rafiq swallowed several times and bowed his head holding Sami’s hand.

  “Kahil, I want to thank you for all you have done for Sami and us. I’m going to stay here with Sami. You might as well catch the last bus up to Nazareth before it leaves at ten. I need to call Farah, and also Najid in America. Fortunately he bought an international card for me.”

  Kahil could hardly speak, seeing his good friend still unconscious with such severe injuries. He gave Rafiq a hug and traditional kiss on both cheeks, and tiptoed out of the room.

  CHAPTER 7

  NAJID JERKED AWAKE in Seattle, wondering what time of the morning it was. Five a.m., according to his watch. He realized the ringing phone had roused him. He leaped out of bed wondering who would be calling at this hour. The dark wooden floor and tan walls needed light, as the dripping Seattle sky outside compounded the gloom. He flipped on the wall switch and grabbed his cell phone. His “hello” came out in a croak.

  “Najid, Asalam alekum.” Rafiq spoke in Arabic. “I’m calling from Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, the one on Mt. Scopus. Sami’s been injured.”

  “Oh no, Papa. What happened? Is it serious?” Najid felt his heart racing as his eyes searched the blank wall.

  “Hit with a rubber-coated bullet near the left eye. Sami’s unconscious. Yes, it’s serious. He’ll be admitted to the neurosurgical floor as soon as they can find a bed.”

  “Does he respond to you at all?”

  “No.” He has a concussion and fractures of the bones around the eye.

  Najid remained silent for several moments. He took in a deep breath and exhaled. “I’m coming to Jerusalem. I’ll need to talk with Ashley and make reservations.”

  “I want you here, Najid. But how can you do it? I mean, the cost.”

  “Papa, God makes a way when there is no way.”

  ***

  “My cell phone is ringing, that’s what’s waking me up,” Ashley spoke to her dresser as she struggled to clear her mind and get to her phone. Who could be calling at this hour?

  “Hello.”

  “Ashley, I have some bad news.”

  “Oh no, Najid! What’s happened?”

  “Sami is in the hospital in Jerusalem, badly injured.”

  “During the Nakba Day demonstration? What injuries?”

  “Yeah, at Qalandia. He’s unconscious from a rubber-coated bullet that may have destroyed his left eye. They think it’s a severe concussion of the brain.”

  “Oh Najid! We need to pray for Sami. Come on over here and you can explain everything.” Ashley suddenly felt dizzy as if she would faint.

  “I’ll be right over.”

  ***

  Najid sat in Ashley’s bright-yellow kitchen and shared with her the conversation he had with his father, who had seemed distraught and alone.

  “I’m going to Jerusalem, Ashley. I’ll go to the international student office this morning, get some kind of emergency help or loan, and make reservations for the flight to Tel Aviv. It’s not summer yet, and it may be possible to get seats quickly.”

  Ashley stared into space visualizing dear Sami, this idealistic young man lying unconscious with brain and eye injuries. She sighed, shaking her head slowly.

  “Assuming you can travel, Najid, how long would you be gone?”

  “I’m not sure. It all depends on Sami’s recovery.”

  “What about the wedding? It’s less than three months away?”

  “You said your mother hasn’t sent the announcements out to your family and friends?”

  “She’s about to, but hasn’t sent them yet.” She paused for half a minute. “Najid, let’s postpone the wedding. Sami is more important right now. Then you can be free to stay as long as necessary.”

  He swept her into his arms, and kissed her. “I love you so much. But I can’t think of anything but Sami right now.”

  Ashley remained quiet for a moment, then burst out, “Najid, I’m going with you!”

  He recoiled in his chair, eyebrows raised. “Are you serious? You want to go back to Jerusalem where you were kidnapped?”

  “I’m safe with you, just like when we met Robert in the supermarket. And we should be together through all this. Maybe I can be of some help to Sami, or to you and your family. I want to be with you. There is no better place on earth.” She put her head on Najid’s shoulder.

  “You’re right. We should be together, I don’t know how either of us can arrange this in a hurry, but let’s get on it, and pray for a miracle. We’ll take an emergency leave from the University.”

  ***

  Ashley and Najid’s jet hurtled across Canada and the Atlantic at over five hundred miles an hour the afternoon of the news of Sami’s injury. The whirlwind of arrangements had flown like leaves in the wind. Good thing they began it at six-thirty in the morning, Ashley thought. She stretched out to relax, chatting with the young man next to her, a software programmer new to America. He spoke English with an accent Ashley found familiar. He said he’d had to make emergency flight arrangements.

  “Really! We had to as well, my fiancé and myself.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “To Jerusalem. My fiancé’s younger brother is in the hospital, injured yesterday.”

  “You’re kidding! So was my brother Ariel. He’s in Hadassah Hospital.”

  Ashley’s mouth dropped open, covering it quickly with her hand. “Was he injured on Nakba Day?”

  “Yes. He’s a soldier in the IDF, the Israeli Defense Force. Guarded the Qalandia checkpoint from a large Palestinian demonstration and took a rock to the head. He’s only now waking up. Concussion. We grew up together in Israel, so we’re very c
lose. His name’s Ariel Friedman. I’m Gilad Friedman, by the way, and you are…”

  “Ashley Wells. My fiancé is up there several rows.” She gestured toward the front of the tourist class section. “His brother is the one in the hospital.” Ashley shook hands with her seatmate. Somehow it didn’t seem wise to continue the conversation. An awkward silence ensued.

  Finally Gilad broke the silence. “I presume your future brother-in-law is also putting in his three years in the IDF. How did you know about Nakba Day?” Gilad looked at Ashley with a quizzical expression. “Most Americans don’t know much about what is going on there.”

  Ashley looked straight ahead for a moment, not sure of what to say. “I… just recently learned about it. I don’t like to hear of one group fighting another when they could be living in peace.”

  “I agree, Ashley. It’s so tragic for the young men caught in the middle of a conflict they didn’t start.” He reached for his drink, looked at Ashley and shook his head. “They’re the animosities of generations, made worse by hate and revenge. Old men send young ones to war.”

  Ashley nodded agreement. She closed her eyes to think. Gilad assumed Sami was in the Israeli army. Sounded like Gilad’s cousin and Sami both suffered from the same violence, but on opposite sides. What a strange coincidence, that she should sit next to a family member of Sami’s adversary. She doubted that Sami threw any rocks at the soldiers. He’d become adamant about having a nonviolent demonstration. Ashley soon drifted off to sleep.

  ***

  With the airplane landing in Tel Aviv, Ashley lost sight of Gilad Friedman in the rush of passengers getting to customs and immigration. She and Najid approached a stern-looking middle-aged woman, one of many officials behind glass. After handing her their passports, she looked at Najid’s, stamped it and handed it back. However, after a long perusal of her computer screen, the immigration officer rose and disappeared into an office with Ashley’s passport. After several minutes, she returned and told Ashley to sit on the bench nearby and wait. She stared at the wall, heart racing and wondered why they would stop her from entering Israel. She left in a hurry last summer, but cleared of anything except being a victim of abduction.

  Najid inquired about the problem, and received no answer. After an hour waiting, Ashley and Najid followed an immigration officer into a room.

  “We needed to check the kidnapping crime in Jerusalem last July to be sure Miss Wells would be safe to return to Israel. It’s no problem. Both captors, Walid and Umar sit in prison… for the next twenty five years…along with their boss.”

  After thanking the officials and clearing customs, the couple took a bus up to Jerusalem, and one hour later found a taxi to Mt. Scopus and the hospital. Thirty-six hours had passed since Sami’s personal catastrophe, and it was eleven at night in Jerusalem. But after a short sleep on the airplane, Ashley felt wide awake. Her brain registered one o’clock in the afternoon Seattle time. Her spine tingled with excitement as well as fear at the prospect of seeing Sami unconscious.

  CHAPTER 8

  RAFIQ SAT PATIENTLY in the Hadassah ER exam room with Sami, holding his hand, which began to move and twitch. He gazed at his son with the bulky eye dressing, the central blood stain now becoming brown. The IV dripped slowly and heart monitor machine kept up its steady beep. Rafiq’s eyes had drifted closed and his head nodded when the door opened with the nurse again coming in to check Sami’s vital signs.

  “It’s after seven and the cafeteria will close soon. Don’t you want to have something to eat?”

  “Thank you.” Rafiq spoke in Hebrew. “I think I’ll stay here with Sami.” At ten he finally went to bed.

  Hours later Rafiq answered his cell phone in Hebrew and quickly switched to Arabic.

  “Najid! Where are you?”

  “In the entrance to the ER, going through security. Where are you?”

  “I’m in the family quarters. I can’t believe you came so quickly!”

  “How’s Sami?”

  “He’s begun to move and respond a bit. He opened his eyes and squeezed my hand on command. He’s still in the ER waiting for a bed in the neurosurgical ward. They are sure he’ll be transferred in the morning. Go to his room now. He’ll be surprised. Why don’t you visit him in the ER, and then come to the family wing where I have a room with two beds, and you can rest after the long flight.”

  “Ashley is here too, Father.”

  “Wonderful! I had no idea she would be coming too. You are blessed. I’ll arrange a room for her. They have several empty ones down the hall from me. Farah stayed home with the younger children.”

  ***

  Sami moved his right eye and head on hearing Najid’s voice. Ashley approached the bed and gripped Sami’s hand. She couldn’t speak and kept swallowing, not able to contain her tears any longer.

  After ten minutes, Sami fell asleep, so Ashley and Najid tiptoed around the bed curtain and asked a nurse in the hall where the family rooms were located. A few minutes later they arrived at Rafiq’s room.

  The bear hugs assured Ashley of Rafiq’s relief at having both Najid and her to support him and Sami.

  ***

  After breakfast in the cafeteria, Ashley followed Rafiq, Najid, and the gurney as the orderly wheeled Sami to the elevator and up to the neurosurgical monitored rooms. They had learned that no beds had opened up, but they would add one in a large private room. Ashley wondered whether he’d get the same care as they followed the gurney off the elevator.

  A nurse appeared and spoke to Najid in Hebrew. “I’m Tamara. I’ll be taking care of Sami Haddad. We’re short of beds so we’ll be putting him into a room already occupied. It’s a bit unusual, but the neurosurgical section is full and he needed to get out of the ER. You probably know that we here at Hadassah make no distinctions of race or religion—we treat everyone the same. So his only qualification for the bed is that he is male. Tamara gave a wry smile and returned to the nurses’ station.

  Sami had begun to move, blankly staring at his family without speaking. The transporter asked them to wait in the family lounge until they had Sami in bed and his IVs and monitors connected.

  After ten minutes, Sami’s nurse led Rafiq, Najid, and Ashley to a room with a row of large windows at the far end, looking out from the eighth floor over many buildings, landscaped lawns, and gardens between the parking lots. A center aisle separated bed curtains hung from two parallel ceiling tracks, allowing privacy for two hospital beds. With curtains pulled back, it would become a large single room. The nurse turned right beyond the yellow curtain, leading the small group to Sami’s bedside. A padded armchair and monitoring equipment occupied the wall side of the bed, with just enough room for the armchair. She had added two small metal chairs at the end of the bed. It seemed pleasant to Ashley. Rafiq and Najid insisted she take the armchair.

  Sami began to move restlessly in bed, and look around. He made a sound and seemed to be trying to say something, probably in Arabic, Ashley thought. She listened carefully and during the silent periods could hear only a low murmur of voices from the other patient’s bed beyond the two yellow curtains and across the room. She couldn’t make out the words. Rafiq spoke directly to Sami in Arabic explaining where they all were, and what had happened. Ashley listened quietly as Najid whispered a translation. Sami looked quizzical with brow furrowed and then began to move his head slowly back and forth.

  Rafiq and Najid spoke in a whisper to each other for several minutes as Ashley listened and tried to understand. During pauses, again her ears picked up other soft conversation behind the curtains, in Hebrew with interspersed English, describing a long flight from Seattle—in a familiar voice. Her eyes widened, face flushed as she remembered her seatmate Gilad. Does that mean that a wounded Israeli soldier is in the next bed?

  CHAPTER 9

  OKLAHOMA CITY IN May delighted visitors, warm but not yet hot, and home for many years to Frank and Dorothy Wells. Balding but in good physical shape, Frank enjoyed an oil company engi
neering career that treated him well. He and Dorothy raised Ashley, their only child.

  Dorothy, attractive with brown short hair, still tall and slender in her midyears, had invited their close group of friends to a potluck dinner and social time. After a dinner on the covered patio behind the kitchen, everyone brought their coffee or tea and settled down to enjoy the surrounding garden of trees and flowers in the early warm evening. Though being like family watching each others’ kids grow up over many years together, they’d heard nothing about Ashley’s fiancé.

  “Unfortunately I have some bad news for you,” Dorothy began.

  As if orchestrated, the group all groaned with “Oh no!”

  “We’ve postponed the wedding.” Dorothy waited for the murmurs of disappointment to subside. “But the good news is that the announcements and reception invitations haven’t been printed as yet. So it just gives us more time to plan.”

  “Glad you can be flexible anyway,” their next-door neighbor replied.

  “Why postponed?” Dorothy’s friend Betty Enright asked.

  “Najid’s brother in Israel sustained a serious head injury, in Jerusalem. Ashley and Najid have flown there now, and his outcome is uncertain.” She picked up her coffee cup. “We’re praying for Sami’s recovery. But it seemed best to postpone the August wedding date since they have no idea how long they’ll need to be abroad, and Ashley wants to be here for a month before getting married, to get everything arranged.”

  “So Ashley is marrying a young man from Israel? Betty continued. “We wondered about him. I don’t remember hearing a Jewish name like Najid. What is his last name?”

  “Haddad,” Frank replied. “He’s a Christian. Fulbright scholar, an outstanding young man. We remained skeptical of Ashley’s choice for a long time, but after meeting him, and hearing how he has cared for Ashley through some difficult times, we’re all for their marriage.

  “So he’s a Jewish Christian from Israel? Betty asked. “That’s wonderful! But Haddad doesn’t sound like an Israeli surname.”