The Six-Day Hero (Israel) by Stein Tammar

Author:Stein, Tammar [Stein, Tammar]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: Army, Families and Relationships, Siblings, Religion, Heroism, Family Struggles, Middle East, War & Military, Judeo-Christian, Family Relationships, War, Armies, Israel, Families, Brothers, Holy, Culture, Jewish, Wars, Grief, Jewish Culture, Courage, Heroes, Bravery, War and Military, Loss, Judaism, Kar-Ben Publishing, Multicultural, Western Wall, Jewish Families, Hero, People & Places, Friendship, Kar-Ben, History, The Six-Day Hero, Jews, Family, Familial Relationships, The Six-Day War, Holocaust survivors, Military & Wars, Holy Land, Religions, Tammar Stein, Hebrew, War Fiction, Jerusalem
ISBN: 9781512452303
Publisher: Kar-Ben Publishing
Published: 2017-03-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Irony

I wake up in the middle of the night in a sudden rush, not sure what’s wrong. The room is pitch black, our window covered in a thick blanket that doesn’t let in even a bit of moonlight.

“Motti,” my little brother moans. “Motti, I had an accident.”

I fumble with my sheet and feel my way to the wall switch. I blink until my eyes adjust to the sudden light.

Beni sits in bed, sodden sheets twisted around his legs. The sharp smell of urine fills the room.

“Oh, Beni,” I say in sleepy annoyance. “Come on, you’re not a baby.”

“I had a bad dream. Our house caught on fire and Ima burned up,” he says and starts to cry. I shiver at the image.

“All right, all right,” I say crossly. “There’s no need to fall to pieces. Come on.” I pull him out of bed. “Go to the bathroom and strip off the wet pajamas and wash your legs. I’ll deal with the bed.”

He waddles down to the bathroom, keeping his wet legs apart.

I stare at the mess on the bed. It’s not just a little stain—he really wet it. I make a face as I grab a handful of wet sheet. When I pull it off the bed, I see that it’s soaked through. There’s a large wet circle on the mattress.

I go to the bathroom, wet a towel, and scrub out the stain. When Beni comes back to the room, he pulls on a fresh pair of pajamas and then hugs his middle as we both look at his wet bed.

“You can sleep in Gideon’s room,” I say.

“I don’t want to sleep there,” Beni says in a small voice. He’s wearing my old pajamas with green trucks on them. His skinned knees and knobby feet remind me how young he is. I forget sometimes.

“Fine. Then I’ll sleep there and you can have my bed.”

Beni pokes out his lower lip and stares at the floor.

“What?” I sigh. “It’s late. I want to go back to sleep.”

“I don’t want to sleep by myself,” he finally says in a tiny voice.

I think about it. “You want to squeeze in with me?”

His face lights up.

“Okay,” I say. I can’t help smiling back. You’d think I’d offered him the moon. “But you have to promise not to kick!”

“Of course,” he vows.

A thought occurs to me.

“And if you pee in my bed, Beni,” I warn, “I get Gideon’s bed and you’re sleeping on the floor!”

Beni draws himself up.

“I never wet the bed twice in one night,” he says with dignity.

“Good. So come on, I’m tired.”

It takes us a little while to settle in comfortably, two boys in one narrow bed. But finally we find our comfy spots. I fall asleep with the warmth of my little brother tucked inside the curve of my chest and knees. His soft breaths keep me company, even in my dreams. Neither one of us has nightmares.

* * *

The next morning I skip school again. Our neighborhood is already fully equipped with sandbags, so I drift into the next section of town and help out.

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