All the Wonder in the World by Lavie Tidhar

Author:Lavie Tidhar [Tidhar, Lavie]
Format: epub
Published: 2010-03-07T17:23:07.343000+00:00

Ibrahim abandoned his yard and went out into the city. In the harbour the ships were covered in wet vegetation that seemed a trap; and the head of a giant octopus rose from the water and stared at him for a long while. On Ibn Gvirol St. the butterflies flew and sang in high voices and an incomprehensible tongue. When they noticed him a great shout rose from them and they scattered high into the skies, a patchwork umbrella opening.

Ibrahim followed the scent and the scent led him; and at last, he arrived at the doors of the old department store, Ha’mashbir La’tzarchan. Twisted cars lay broken on their backs in the street, vines growing from their insides, so that they seemed to him a row of pots along a windowsill. He hesitated before entering the Mashbir: the darkness both called to him and repelled him. When he entered at last his footsteps echoed in the dark hall and the wild scent of the plague mixed with the stench of broken perfume bottles.

The escalators, of course, did not work, and Ibrahim climbed heavily up the stairs, his hand brushing the wall, looking for signs.

On the first floor crusaders ignored him while fighting Saracens; the two ghostly armies clashed in silence, weapons made rusty and dumb. On the second floor the Fathers of the First Aliyah argued without sound, and on the third floor young IDF men in uniforms and haircuts from the sixties lay pointlessly in wait for unseen enemies. Finally, on the sixth and final floor, between piles of scattered cooking pots and the faded scent of old burekas baking, Ibrahim met her.

The Phoenician ship floated on a carpet of darkness in the middle of the hall, its sails taut in an invisible wind. Dark oars moved soundlessly on its sides.

She stood on the prow and looked down at him. She looked like she had always looked, the way he had always remembered her down all the long and empty years. He said her name. Then she was standing opposite him.

'I expected you sooner.'

He opened his mouth to say her name and she silenced him, pressing her finger to his lips. He tasted salt on her skin and his old heart beat faster, loud in his ears.

'Aren’t you happy to see me?'

All arguments fled from his mind as he looked into her face. No longer young, but still she was beautiful, the way she always remained in his mind. He made a vague gesture with his hand, coughed. 'There are people...' he said.

'There will always be more,' she said. She moved closer to him, and he felt her breath, the same smell of unbridled growth. She reached for him, grasping the back of his head with her hand. Her fingers dug into the soft flesh just above his neck. Her head moved closer. He felt, for just a tiny moment, young again. She kissed him.

He pulled away, at last, and held her far from him. His mouth tasted of an ancient wine.

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