The Celestial Gate by Avital Dicker (red white royal blue txt) 📗

she stood under the spray of hot water for many long minutes, relishing the privacy.

In the bedroom, Amalia found a pack of cigarettes in a bedside drawer. Lighting up, she looked out the window at the clouds of smoke hanging over the city’s center. Like a picture of the apocalypse, she thought. Armageddon.

Sual came out of the bathroom. Putting out her cigarette, Amalia went in to shower.

In the built-in closet, Sual found jeans and a T-shirt. After dressing, she looked at herself in the full-length mirror on the wall. The top was a little too tight to her taste. Normally, she’d never dare wear something like that, but these were not normal times. She re-bandaged her arm, ignoring the large bruise on her neck.

Seeing Sual enter the living room, Theo’s eyes widened. The clothing accentuated every curve. She’s gorgeous, he thought.

“You look wonderful. It’s hard to believe you just got out to of the hospital,” Ido complimented her. Sual blushed. Theo felt like strangling him

“Let’s get started,” said Amalia, who’d just joined them. She was dressed in black and looked refreshed and energetic. I can’t believe she was hooked up to an IV just two days ago, Sual thought.

“Look,” said Ido, “I’m going to take you into Jerusalem, but I have to get back to my unit, so I won’t be able to stay with you. You’re going to be on your own.”

“We’ll manage,” Amalia smiled.

Ido remained serious. “Amalia, I know you’re a professional, but this time it’s your own son. It could affect your judgment,” Ido warned.

“He doesn’t affect my judgment. He’s my entire life,” Amalia replied softly.

Ido looked at her for several seconds. “Look, I hate to be the one to say it, but you have to consider the possibility that your children are no longer alive,” he finally said.

No one said a thing. It was the first time the words had been spoken out loud.

“They’re alive. And we’re going to find them,” said Theo in a tone that brooked no argument.

Ido’s intention had not been to cause these brave folks any pain, but he felt he’d had no choice but to prepare them for that eventuality.

In a rapid change of topic and trying to sound more optimistic, he said, “Try to remember what your kids were wearing.”

Amalia wiped away the tears that had started in her eyes. “Yam was wearing jeans, a white T-shirt, and a gray sweatshirt.”

“Mor was dressed in jeans and a red top, and Anise was wearing a T-shirt with something written in English, in blue,” Sual said.

Theo said nothing. Instead, he thought of the fact that he couldn’t even remember what his son had worn on that last day. He didn’t know what his son wore on any day. He didn’t know his favorite food, what books or music he loves. He’d never paid attention, he was never there. Theo wanted to scream. He wanted to cry. He wanted Mor.

Sual, guessing what was going through his mind, put her hand on his. “Theo, they’re alive. I can feel it. Mothers know,” she said gently. He gave her a grateful look.

Ido wanted more information and Sual provided it. She described the embassy building, the number of exits, and where exactly the children had been just before the explosion.

Ido used a pencil to mark the embassy on a map he’d spread over the coffee table. Based on the path Sual was describing, he concluded that the children must have fled through the rear. This reduced the search area to three possible routes. The first went through the Valley of the Cross, past the president’s official residence. Ido marked the Trappist Monastery halfway down the valley in red ink.

“I’d start here,” he said. “They may have found refuge with the monks.”

The second route would have taken them into the Old City through Jaffa Gate. “Look, this is the most dangerous way. There are clashes in the Muslim quarter even as we speak. And there have been several attacks in the Jewish and Christian quarters too.”

The last route went past the Mahaneh Yehuda outdoor market and led to the Supreme Court building.

After a short discussion, they all agreed that it made sense to begin in the nearby Valley of the Cross and from there advance to the Old City.

Ido took three handguns out of his backpack and placed them on top of the map. “Amalia and I will show you how to use these,” he said.

Sual was shaken. She’d never imagined the day would come that she’d be forced to shoot a gun.

Chapter 15

Mor was eventually able to speak and tell Anise and Yam what he’d heard from Nasat. When he was done, no one spoke. They leaned against the trunk of the tree planted in the middle of the plaza, trying to assimilate what they’d just heard.

“So no one is getting out of this alive,” whispered Yam, profoundly shocked.

Anise was the first to look at things practically. “Fine. If we’re going to die, we have nothing to lose.”

“She’s right,” said Yam, standing up. “We have to find the gate.”

“So now you believe in it?” Mor asked.

“My father says that the impossible is the most possible. You just have to believe,” Yam smiled. “In any case, we don’t have a better option.”

“We’d better find the gate! This situation… Only God could get us out of it,” Mor said and barked a bitter laugh.

“We have nothing to lose,” Anise repeated gently. She put her water bottle back in the bag, getting ready to move.

They moved through the heart of the most ancient part of the city toward Golden Gate. Yam couldn’t get over how well this place had been preserved. The narrow alleys, branching and splitting, were lined with what looked like residential buildings. It wasn’t difficult to imagine these streets bustling with people.

Their path had taken them to a plaza whose center was occupied by a well.

“Wow,” Anise exclaimed. “They thought of everything.”

Mor picked up a stone and threw it into the well to see if