Barbarism Month in Gaza / شهر البصل بغزة – Hedi Thabet

This great metal ball has been perched on the surface of the moon for nearly a year. A ball with the colour of dust that belongs to Earth and illuminates its darker nights. The Earthers wouldn’t have noticed its existence, nor would they have noticed some of their machines left there eroded by the scorching sun’s lights and the climate changing between night and day. It is the research center devoted to capturing the Earthers’ communications with their satellites scattered in the outskirts of the atmosphere, and which have begun to multiply so spectacularly that there will come a day that will prompt them to interfere and organise this space and purify it from the many wastes erratically hovering in the direction of the Earth while rotating around itself and around the sun. In this metal ball equipped with all advanced technology for the inhabitants of the planet of birds reside two giant birds; a female and a male, that Earth has never seen anything like them only at the beginning of the growth of giant animals more than two hundred million years ago, at ages when dinosaur species dominated the spot of the land which sprang from under water which was prevailing the entire globe.

This pair of birds was on one of the most difficult missions that scientists of the planet of birds volunteered to do; they set for themselves the goal of deciphering the symbols of mediums that Earthers use to speak, communicate, and store knowledge. Their research began to come into fruition, and they were able to reach the Earthers’ satellites and transmit the audio and visual images that poured down upon them from Earth. After efforts, painstaking experiments, and advanced analyses, they enumerated a number of languages used by the Earthers in their communications, and they have grasped the symbols of the language of mathematics devised by them. Thus, scientists of the planet of birds have had a clear idea of ​​the rational living being that guides the wheels of Earth and controls its fate. The instructions of the scientific council of the planet of birds were strict: No direct contact with the Earthers whatever the case. However, the pair of birds sitting in this ball decided to experience contact with Earth through a first letter that gives brief information about their planet and about the rational bird that dominates it. 

The female bird is the owner of the idea, so she tried to persuade her husband with it.

– Oh, Naseem, this letter will be simple; we will not reveal in it any of the secrets of our existence near Earth. You know very well that Earthers’ science is still underdeveloped, and they will not be able to reach our planet only after many years.

– Oh, Aleel, this contact will not help because Earthers, according to what we see in the pictures we take, will not believe our existence. Besides, what will we gain from our contact with a rational living being who still suffers from many problems that hinder them from rapid development?

– Oh Naseem, I have repeatedly told you that Earthers are on the right path towards the knowledge that will lead them to understand the universe, and they may reach control over the means of transport through stars so we can cooperate with them in a useful way for a broader knowledge of this vast universe.

– And do you think the spaceship captain allows you to violate the instructions of the scientific council?

– I will write the letter, and we will present it to the captain.

– Do then, as long as you are determined to contact this half-rational animal!

– Why this description, Naseem?

– Because what this living being who dominates Earth is doing is madness.

– Perhaps, if contacted, they would stop tampering with the balances of nature on Earth. 

– Do then my love, as long as you are convinced! Perhaps you will be lucky enough to meet this creature whose appearance and even their many languages honestly didn’t appeal to me.

She withdrew into her nest, which is a ball furnished with silk, with one outlet that enables her to enter when she wants to sleep or take a rest, whereas her husband occupies another ball having the same form. The two balls are suspended to the ceiling of the great dome on whose walls there are the receiving sets, the sound laboratories, the various computers charged with gathering and storing information, and the robots with various forms consecrated to serve the rational bird. The sophisticated bird doesn’t use writing, but rather much of their information was recorded inside small machines capable of storing, reading, broadcasting, and sending.

An hour after withdrawal, Aleel went out fluttering in the atmosphere of the great dome, chirping: 

– Oh, Naseem! Oh, Naseem! Where are you?

After a few moments, Naseem went out of his nest, chirping:

– What happened? I was busy analysing the last message our machines extracted from one of the newly discovered Earthers’ satellites. It is a stubborn satellite that is difficult to access its data bank.

– I have completed recording the letter, and I want to let you listen to it before I ask to meet the spaceship captain.

– I’m listening to you!

– “Oh, wise Earther! I’m addressing you from the planet of birds, one of the Alpha Centaurus “A” planets. I’m a symbiotic large bird whose size is larger than your largest living beings. I’m also a refined being using the mind in my life like all birds belonging to my species which have dominated since a long period all living beings in our planet, which belongs to the three-star Alpha Centaurus group, which revolves around each other carrying a good number of planets. 

Our group is the closest star to your sun. We are then neighbours, and we want to get to know you, and introduce you to our planet, our sciences, and our way of life. We reject violence and hegemony, and we only hope cooperation and acquaintance from this contact.”

– What do you think, Naseem?

– This is a brief letter that the Earther will not benefit anything from it.

– Oh, Naseem! The introduction shouldn’t be long and boring. It is like a bait. And if it appeals to the Earther, they will respond to it. And then we go into the details. 

– To whom will you send it?

– I knew that Earthers have a council that includes all of their many countries. So I will send it to them, and watch for the response.

– And where will it send the reply if it accepts to respond?

– Earth’s satellites are many. I will choose one if the ship captain agrees. But I will not do this before the holiday. It has been an Earth year since we were imprisoned in this dome.

– And where do you want to spend the laziness month?

– We must think of this together.

After a period of silence, she asked him:

– You said that you were busy decoding the last message coming from Earth. What does it contain?

– Pay attention! Here is the message: “Mama! Do you hear me? Mama! Do you hear me?”  

– It is the voice of a terrestrial girl. I got used to the tones of their voices. But what is the content of the message as you are familiar with the Earthers’ languages?

– Don’t hurry, listen to the rest: “Papa! Do you hear me? Papa! Do you hear me?”   

– A difference appears in the language, but the voice is the same.

– There is a difference, indeed. The first call is in the language of that stubborn satellite and it is called Hebrew, and the second is in a language close to the first and  it is called Arabic.

– Arabic…Hebrew…I think I will not understand these Earthers despite all my attempts to contact them.

Then she asked while wiping her feathers on his beak:

– And to whom is this call made? And why does this voice use two languages?

– According to what I understood, it is a help call. It seems the voice of a girl who has missed her mother and father, while she is asking them for help to protect her from a certain danger.

– How strange did a girl’s call reach outside Earth?

– This girl used a method of communication that Earthers consider advanced. It allows communication via one of the satellites spread around Earth.  

Aleel stayed speechless for a while, then asked him:

– Why not spend the holiday of the laziness month on Earth?

He chirped strongly which expresses laughter for symbiotic birds, then he says to her, while wiping his feathers on hers:

– Are you kidding? Have you forgotten our laws regarding contact with Earthers?

– I didn’t ask to contact them. I said if only we get down to Earth, and I am sure that we can do this without being noticed by Earthers. 

– I know that.

– So what is the problem? 

– The scientific council’s laws, my love.

– What about asking the ship captain to write to the scientific council and present to it our desire to spend the holiday of the laziness month on Earth without contacting the Earthers, and waiting for his response?

– And why do you want to get down to Earth now, while you were describing the Earthers with all the negative adjectives?

– Honestly, the idea came to me now as I was listening to that girl crying for help. If we could get down to Earth, we might save her.

– Let’s submit the request to the ship captain and wait for the answer!

After submitting the request, Aleel sent a special satellite to the terrestrial artificial satellite from which the machine of the planet of birds picked up the call and began searching the correspondences coming from Earth through this satellite, using special robots that managed to land on the terrestrial satellite. After a tiring work that lasted for hours, Aleel came to the nest of her husband Naseem, fluttering her wings and cheering in her singing language. Naseem was sleeping deeply, so she wiped on his face with her fine wing feathers, and when he woke up, she said to him cheeringly:

– Naseem, dear, I have recognised the owner of the voice. She is a girl crying for help after the house where she lives was destroyed.

He said to her, yawning:

– You must be delirious. How did you get all this accurate information?

– My dear, this girl has a device that sends pictures to the satellite with her voice, and her mother answered her, and I saw her picture crying and I also saw a picture of the place where the girl is under the rubble.

– It is a funny story. Is it not the creation of your imagination?

Aleel fluttered in the room space, and said:

– If you don’t believe me, come with me to the photo laboratory. I will show you all what I got from the Earthers’ satellite.

He followed her, and when they reached the large exhibition hall, they landed in a place in front of a machine, which soon began broadcasting to them pictures coming from Earth. The pictures were not clear, but the picture of the woman sobbing filled the screen, and they heard her sad voice saying intermittent speech. Aleel asked her husband:

– Did you understand what the woman is saying?

He went out quickly, and then came back carrying a small machine under his wing. He put it in between them, and it began translating for them the girl’s conversation with her mother:

– Don’t be afraid, Sarah! The ambulance men will come and save you. Where is your father?

The girl’s voice came out weak:

– He went out since morning to look for food for us to allay our hunger. Everything was destroyed by bombs here,  and we no longer have water or food, and the house has fallen on our heads.

The mother screamed in panic: 

– And where are your sisters Fatma and Nada?

– One of the house’s pillars fell upon them so they fell on the ground, and I was unable to save them. I think they died, because they have not raised a voice since the house was destroyed.

The picture was expressive. Aleel said to Naseem:

– The pictures were interrupted, but I recognised the place they came from.

– Nice, we will spend the laziness month there if the scientific council approves our request.

– This is what I was thinking when I woke you up from your sleep.

Two days later, a relatively small spacecraft landed on the moon and clung to the metal ball. A huge bird with brightly coloured feathers rushed out from it. The pair of birds welcomed him with a melodious chirp, then they proceeded with him to a large hall. As soon as he landed on the floor of the hall, he said to them in the language of the Alpha Centauri birds:

– Be happy! The scientific council approved your request. You will be the first Alpha Centauri birds to set foot on the surface of planet Earth.

A fit of chirping erupted, expressing the overwhelming joy that had entered the hearts of the pair of birds. The guest bird said to them:

– Let’s go to the ship, the captain is waiting for you.

They got on the ship. They were greeted by a symphony of the learned birds’ chirps. Birds gathered around them dancing. After everyone had calmed down, a great bird with beautiful orange feathers approached them and said to them in the language of the Alpha Centauri birds:

– It is a great honour to be the first rational creatures from our planet to land on Earth. You are happy with this honour, and we are happy with you. But you have to abide by the terms of the mission you have chosen to undertake. It will be limited to spending the holiday of the laziness month. You will give up research and thinking about the Earthers’ affairs and contacting them whatever the circumstances. You will not be able to take samples, record images, or stand in the way of any Earthers’ machine. I repeat that your mission is to rest your mind and body. Any comments on what I said?

Aleel approached him with hesitant steps, bowed her head in front of him, then looked at him with an expressive look from her beautiful eyes, and after a period of silence while everyone was waiting for what she would say, a gentle chirp emanated from her crimson beak:

– Please extend my thanks to the scientific council for the honour it has bestowed upon us, but will the captain accept a request that I don’t think run against the limits of the holiday we will spend on Earth? Sir, I want to continue searching for this girl whose call we picked up a few days ago.

The captain asked her with a sharp chirp:

– And what is the reason behind this task?

She hurried answering:

– It is the maternal instinct, Sir, which took over me as soon as I heard that girl crying for help.

– And what can you do in a world where you don’t know its standards?

– Maybe I will save her life, and if I am fortunate I will return her to her mother, whom I saw in the picture suffering with grief over her children.

– This is a noble act, but it can expose you both to risks. You know very well that we are not allowed to run our lives into ruin.

– I promise you, Sir, that we will not do anything rash. 

He kept looking at her while a terrible silence prevailed the large hall, then he said in a low voice:

– I will not object to your endeavour, but I repeat once again caution and caution, as our information about the Earthers says that this rational animal is fierce, violent, and loves to kill.

A bout of chirps erupted in the hall expressing the joy of the learned birds as their colleague achieved to persuade their captain. But the captain returned saying in a commanding tone:

– We took all precautions so that you wouldn’t be exposed to any danger. One of your colleagues has managed to prepare a liquid that will make you invisible to the Earthers. You will paint your bodies with it before boarding the container that we have designated to transport you to Earth. We will also send with you a set of microscopic robots programmed to fulfill all your desires on Earth, and protect you when any danger occurs. Of course, you can use the computers inside you to contact us when needed, or to request information from the central computer designated to know Earth and Earthers.

He clapped his wings, and the two birds who were promised to spend the laziness month on Earth took off. They flew into the sky of the domed hall waving to their colleagues, then rushed out of the hall towards the launch station, where they found one of its supervisors standing on his legs and wrapping his long wings with their bright colours, waiting for them while opening his crimson beak to say to them:

– We have prepared all the conditions for a comfortable trip. Have you chosen the place where the container will land? 

They opened their wings welcoming him, and then a virtual screen appeared in front of the great bird, showing a large map of the northern hemisphere with its bright colours dominated by those of the azure seas. Naseem pointed with his eyes to a place on the map hanged on the screen, and the scene changed, and a yellow spot appeared on the entire screen, representing the barren Levant desert, with gravel spreading across it. The launch station supervisor kept examining the image attentively, then said:

– Dive into this tub to paint your bodies with this bizarre substance!

After they got out of the tub, they drew near the supervisor who didn’t notice their presence until Naseem asked him:

– What are we going to do now?

The supervisor chirped laughingly, then said: 

– I don’t see you at all. Anyway, this is your container, lie down inside it and it will close automatically and drive you to the atmosphere! Don’t fear anything because it is made of a material that can withstand the heat resulting from friction with the atmosphere. It will land gently on Earth because it carries a parachute that opens as soon as it draws near the ground. Everything is programmed to arrive at your vacation place safely.   

They thanked him and headed to the container, which is a large coffin similar to the one of the Pharaohs, at its forefront is a conical shape, and at the back a large tail like the one of a baleen. As soon as the door was closed, the container rushed forcefully into the Earth’s atmosphere. Its penetration of the atmosphere of that planet didn’t last long, as it landed after a large parachute opened in one of the openings on its surface, which helped it remain suspended in space for a period until it gradually descended.  

The two great birds left the container, shook their feathers, and settled on their feet, looking in all directions. The place was empty of all movement, the sky was clear, the sun was shining, and the barren land was studded with red gravel planted in hardened sand. They didn’t feel the weather around them, but they heard the rustle of the wind piercing the silence of the desert. After a period of astonishment, the female symbiotic bird ran to her companion and hugged him, and continued to stroke the feathers of his patterned neck with her beak, then whispered to him:

– I am really happy to be on this strange planet. Despite this barren land, the beauty of the place is captivating.

He whispered to her, while surrendering to the touches of her feathers and beak:

– We must hide the container and head towards the place where we will spend our vacation.

– Didn’t you say you spotted a cave? Where is it?

A virtual screen appeared in front of them, and they looked closely at the entire place with all its details, and she said to him in a low voice:

– Here is the hill.

He answered her, pointing to the place:

– And here is the cave. The information the computer provided us with is one hundred percent correct. Let’s carry the container between our wings and fly with it into the cave!

The container had two handles, each one of them took a handle under their wing and started fluttering to the top of the hill to the cave where they placed the container at its door, then they started pushing it until it disappeared in its depths. They came out of the cave and shook off the dust that stuck to their wings, then they landed in front of the cave door to watch the place. The male symbiotic bird said:

– The cave must be closed so that no curious person comes and discovers the container.

– Let’s move this rock, it will completely block the cave door.

They drew near the rock and kept pushing it to the cave door. They closed the door tightly, then they returned shaking their wings, and flew high in the sky, so the reddish-brown land appeared to them with all its relief and plains. Naseem drew near his partner and said to her in a loud voice:

– The air here seems light, and the pressure isn’t high. I don’t feel my movements, as if I am being pushed by a force outside of my muscles.

– Me too. This blue sky is wonderful, Naseem.

– Shall we move now to our place of residence?

– And what keeps us in this barren desert?

They started flying into the air, observing Earth from above. There were no borders, customs, or radars in front of them, but they noticed small buildings, so they lowered their flying altitude until the buildings appeared to them, surrounded by a group of soldiers with their weapons. They stopped in space for a moment, staring at these creatures wrapped in dark brown uniforms, with their faces showing misery. The symbiotic female asked her companion:

– Is this the Earther we have been talking about for a long time?

– Yes, he is, my love.

– He is really strange, and are you sure that this primitive animal has a mind?

– Do you want us to land close to him? You will see that he uses language to communicate, controls the machine, and some other animals living on Earth.

– He is really frightening despite his weakness.

– Let’s move on to our residence! You will get used to this animal that calls itself human.

– And why this label?

– I learned a lot about the Earthers. Their means of communication entered our computers and transmitted to me a lot of information about this strange creature

– I don’t want a lecture from you. Answer my question: What does human mean to this animal?

– A human is what is pleasant to keep company with, that is, it’s enjoyable to live with. And humanity is that group of refined animals, as they use reason to manage their affairs.

– Didn’t I tell you that I don’t want a lecture? And did you forget that I am in the laziness month. So I wanted to give up thinking. This animal calls itself human, meaning that it keeps good company with its kind. Isn’t this what you wanted to say in your long, broad lecture about the humanity of the rational animal of the Earth?

– So be it! But what I learned is that this animal that claims humanity, that is, love and affection, does the exact opposite.

– This is what you learned from the computer, let me see a model of this human, and I will judge by myself!

– Here we have reached the sea. Look, how beautiful it is!

– Really wonderful! But what are these terrifying machines that move quickly on its surface, aren’t they a kind of whale?

– Let’s get closer to them and we will see!

– They are made of metal, Naseem. They are machines inhabited by the same animals that we saw on the outskirts of the desert wrapped in dark uniforms and carrying strange machines.

– Those machines are weapons for killing.

– Killing whom?

– This animal that claims to have reason has devoted its life to killing other animals, especially killing its brother; fellow man.

– In the sea?

– Everywhere. This animal that belongs to one species is divided into groups and sects, and each group wants to destroy the other. Therefore, it developed weapons to kill and destroy its brother more than it developed machines to make progress and understand the universe.

– You returned lecturing, Naseem. Don’t you understand that we are in the laziness month. I want to quickly reach the place from which the calls of that girl came!

After a short period of fast flying, he announced:

– We have reached Gaza.

– Is this Gaza?

They landed on a tall tree and kept looking in all directions. Naseem said, as the virtual screen appeared in front of them:

– This strip of green land near the barren lands overlooking the sea is called Gaza by the Earthers. We will stay in Gaza City. I don’t know exactly where, but we will tour the entire strip and look for a place that will allow us to spend the laziness month watching this strange animal that calls itself human.

– Naseem, look at the smoke rising from that place, is there a fire?

– There is no need to be afraid. We aren’t on our planet, and we don’t have any means to rescue anyone. Didn’t you say that we are in the laziness month? So the first principle that we cannot deviate from is not to interfere in the affairs of the Earthers. Isn’t that right?

Aleel didn’t answer him, but rushed flying high towards the source of the smoke, so he followed her, surprised by her action. When he caught up with her, he asked her:

– Where are you flying to?

– To the source of the smoke, maybe it’s a volcano.

– Don’t be naive! I have studied the place well. This area has no volcanoes, nor earthquakes. It’s one of the oldest areas of the Earth inhabited by civilized Earthers

She continued flying while he followed her, trying to convince her not to draw near the city, where smoke was rising from its many places. When they began flying at a low altitude, they noticed the constant movement in the city, the smoke rising from here and there, fires blazing in some buildings, and ambulances howling. They noticed a mighty tree rising on one of the hills, so they took refuge in it and landed on one of its spreading branches. The female symbiotic bird drew near her companion and wrapped her huge wings around him and whispered to him:

– I feel suffocated in this strange atmosphere.

– So do I, my dear. The computer I tasked with collecting information about the Earthers didn’t advise me about this situation. It told me that they were preparing to celebrate the New Year. Perhaps it was their festive custom to burn, destroy, and terrorise each other.

– But they could be harmed by these silly games!

– Didn’t we agree that we wouldn’t interfere in their affairs?

– Yes, but fear is a feeling we cannot control.

– Let’s assume that they are celebrating, and that what they are doing is some kind of scary game. So let’s watch as if we are watching a horror film! 

She kept holding him close, stroking his feathers and caressing his crimson beak. Then she whispered:

– If Earthers are in this state of frenzy, the laziness month will not be enjoyable for us.

– But it might be useful, and in any case, this Earther is still backward. Is it reasonable for an animal with a mind to celebrate in this way?

After a period of silence, she asked in a low voice:

– Isn’t there a quiet place where we can rest a little, away from this terrifying noise, these fires and smoke?

– Do you want us to go back to the sea?

– Haven’t you seen those terrifying machines that are throwing fire at the city?

– Then let’s go back to the desert!

– That barren land devoid of creatures makes me feel lonely. Aren’t there forests in these regions?

The virtual screen returned and a map of the area appeared on it. She shouted, pointing with her eyes to a spot in the city where greenery abounds and there are few residential buildings:

– Here is a small forest in the middle of the city, not far from the dwelling of the human animal!

– The computer says that this place imprisons some animals of different species.

– This rational animal is strange. Why does it imprison irrational animals?

– I don’t know. You know that my culture about Earth is still in its beginning, but let’s take a look at the place!

They left the mighty tree in one of the few hills in the Gaza Strip, and headed to the place that the map on the virtual screen had identified as the zoo, or rather the animal prison. They were flying at a great height to avoid the bombs falling on the city from all sides; land, sea and air. They really felt the danger as they avoided those thunderous shells cutting through the air, then descending on the buildings, exploding them and turning them into fires, smoke, rising dust, and exploded stones, and shattering them into pieces of iron and cement that disappeared everywhere. It was really a terrifying scene that instilled terror in the hearts of the two peaceful, gentle, civilized birds, a terror that they had never known in their developed lives devoid of violence, war and domination.

They remained in the sky as far away as they could, looking anxiously and astonishingly at all this barbarism until the atmosphere calmed down and the bombing stopped. Aleel, the female of the refined bird, was in a state of indescribable tension and fear, but her husband drew near her and looked at her with his azure eyes, and whispered to her: 

– Don’t be afraid, my dear! No harm will come to us from these horrific games. We are invisible, and we can fly far away more than those primitive metal birds can do. Let’s fly to that zoo and visit the irrational prisoners! It seems that the insane are at ease.

They rushed flying at a great height, following the instructions of the microscopic computer implanted in their brains. From afar, they could hear the wailing of ambulances, and they could see the smoke, dust, and flames rising in many places in the city. It was a terrifying scene that the pair of symbiotic birds weren’t accustomed to, despite attempts to convince themselves that it was all just rough and reckless play. 

When they saw the zoo, they quickly went down and landed on a tall, leafy tree. 

Silence filled the place, while the wailing of ambulances could be heard from afar. The animals in their cages were relaxed and indifferent to the dangerous games played by the wise. Visitors had abandoned the zoo, and children could no longer stroll through its corridors, play with its animals, or pet them by giving them some food, as a token of affection, and perhaps unconsciously, they colluded with their situation the way the prisoners of the human mind did. Because children were terrified, they took refuge in places they thought were safe from the fireworks that were throwing lava at them. They couldn’t believe that adults would demolish houses on their heads, as they were under the protection of these adults who had always guided them to knowledge and wisdom. Is it conceivable that a wise person would demolish houses on the heads of children? But this question, which preoccupied many children who were terrified by the bombs falling on their heads, wasn’t answered by the adults with knowledge and wisdom. Then, why confusion, as long as these children will grow up to be spiteful and terrifying like their parents? But the pair of birds coming from the Alpha Centauri system didn’t know about these details, to which their computers didn’t give much importance. There is no reference to the imprisoned animals in the database of any of the computers of the civilized Earther. Also the computers of the symbiont didn’t find any information indicating that the people of Gaza are treated by the world as if they were in a large zoo. They are punished with bombs when one of them tries to scream in front of his jailer, and they are punished collectively; the predator, the docile bird, and the innocent child. This is the culture of the refined, rational animal. The symbiotic bird coming from the three-star Alpha Centauri group couldn’t obtain this information, that is considered trivial according to the thinking of the refined minds that seek to discover the universe, dominate the solar system, and extract the petrified water from under the rocks of planet Mars! Gaza and all its people, with their children, women, and imprisoned, free, and domesticated animals, are worth nothing compared to the fireworks that this refined animal with the sophisticated mind is skilled at making, developing, and using in its proper or wrong place.

The two refined birds rested for a while on the branches of the great tree, not moving, nor trying to get to know the place, but surrendered to a complete rest, after feeling very tired from travel and from the great pressure they were exposed to as they witnessed for the first time in their lives all that dangerous madness. They slept for a long time, and when they woke up, night was dominating, and darkness was drawing a curtain of black “gauze.” In the past, the  zoo was lit at night, but the collective punishment by international legitimacy made it dark a long time ago. Perhaps the imprisoned animals wonder, in the depths of their souls, what is their fault that their prison is darkened, especially since they didn’t commit any terrorism in their prison life! Also neither the visitors nor the jailers complained about any terrorist act by any animal! 

At first, Aleel, the female of the refined bird, woke up, fluttered her wings in the air, and the sound of that flapping echoed throughout the zoo. So the Egyptian rooster woke up to call to prayer, the German dog barked in his rough voice, the Atlas donkey brayed, crying for the snows of his mountains in this season in which he used to rest because his barbarian master doesn’t use him to practice his favorite hobby, and the Alpine wolf howled, crying: Offspring of the homeland, the day of victory has arrived! That state called, by psychologists, the most knowledgeable and rational scientists on Earth, as the blind behaviour of groups, whether animal or human, thrived in the zoo. 

Aleel was scared by all this noise. She turned to Naseem embracing him and whispering to him in confusion:

– What happened? 

– I don’t know, maybe the animals got up.

But it didn’t take some time until a rocket came rumbling through the air, roaring, and fell not far from the zoo, which caused an unusual movement that made the lion roar as he walked back and forth inside his cage, with his lioness beside him calming him down, and the elephant tried as much as he could to overcome the barriers erected around his prison, and the desert gazelles became enraged and collided with the iron mesh that prevented them from escaping. The agitation among the animals was significant, but the fear that spread among the zoo visitors from the three-star Alpha Centauri group was greater. The female symbiont returned to wrap herself around her companion and whispered to him:

– Do you understand what happened? 

– I think we will never understand this strange creature.

Quietness gradually returned to the zoo, and everyone went back to sleep. One of the characteristics of the living beings on Earth is forgetfulness. Aleel calmed down, wrapped herself around her lover’s neck and succumbed to a deep sleep, from which she awoke at dawn, when the voices of the muezzins in Gaza’s many mosques warble out announcing the dawn prayer. She awoke agitated, and whispered to Naseem:

– What is this call?

Naseem woke up and listened to the call, then said to his companion:

– Perhaps it is an announcement of the end of the New Year’s celebrations?

They waited until the call ended, and nothing happened to disturb the city’s break from the hardship of a day full of tragedies, wounds and death spread in its various places. Naseem concluded:

– The Earthers’ madness must have stopped. Let’s go out to this enchanting land’s nature! I long for that captivating azure sea.

Aleel remembered the image of the little girl crying for help, so she said to her husband in a confused voice:

– You forgot the little girl, Naseem!

– Which girl?

– The one we saw asking for help from her parents.

– I remembered, how did we forget her, my dear? The madness of this rational animal has made us lose focus. We must find her before we settle into rest and laziness.

– Do you have any idea where she is?

A map appeared in front of them on a virtual screen, and they kept staring at it until they were able to determine the location. After the computer implanted in their brains recorded it, they started flying quickly until a ruined house surrounded by ruined houses appeared to them. Naseem said:

– This is the house according to the computer’s instructions, but how can we enter it?

After thinking deeply, Aleel said:

– I will ask the X-ray satellite to send vibrations to this place to confirm to us if there is life under the rubble.

After a short period of time, she received a positive response. She proudly told her husband:

– The girl is still alive.

– Good. We have to get her out before she loses life.

– But how?

After a short hesitation, he said to her, with a spark of hope shining in his eyes:

– I will address the ship captain and ask him to send a team of giant robots tasked with digging tunnels.

– Don’t forget to ask him to paint them with the obscuring substance!

It wasn’t an hour after the call between Naseem and the ship captain until an invisible metal ball landed in the place. The two birds felt its presence rolling, leaving traces on the dust. The ball was painted with that obscuring  liquid. Work began; Stones, dust, cement, and iron scattered to the right and left. It wasn’t an hour until a ten-year-old girl emerged from under the rubble, poorly dressed, shockheaded, with her face and entire body covered in dust. She kept looking in all directions like an idiot, and the pair of Alpha Centauri birds kept watching her with keen interest, while the invisible ball was moving slowly, leaving its traces on the dust spreading in front of the piles of rubble, to leave Earth as quickly as it had arrived.

Aleel whispered to her husband:

– We must take her to a place where she can find food and drink.

The little girl disappeared behind a pile of stones, but the two birds followed her movements. She took out a mobile phone from her pants pocket and started whispering:

– Mama, can you hear me?

…

I got out of ruin. I don’t know how and I don’t know where to go.

…

The hospital is far away and there is no transportation.

…

There is no one in this place. Residents have abandoned the neighbourhood.

Aleel whispered to her husband:

– Do you understand what the little girl is saying?

– The computer inside me picked up the call and will translate it for me after a while.

The little girl hid the phone and headed east. The two birds followed her. After a while, Naseem whispered to his wife:

– The girl addressed her mother in Hebrew, and told her that she tried to reach her, but they prevented her, so she asked her to go to the nearest hospital.

Aleel whispered to her husband:

– Do you have an idea where the hospital is located?

– It’s too far for this tired little girl.

– Check its place, so that we can carry her to it between our wings.

Then they drew near the girl, wrapped her with their long wings, and rushed out with her while she was trembling, not knowing whether she should scream or remain silent. But her anxiety didn’t last long, as they gently placed her not far from the hospital, and kept watching her as she ran to the hospital door.

They returned to the zoo, and secluded on one of the branches of the tree they had chosen as their residence for spending the laziness month. A week passed, succumbing to mental and physical stagnation. They even managed without eating and drinking. Their activity was limited to watching animals live their misery; imprisonment, lack of food, abuse, and lack of health care. But whenever Naseem talked about these things, Aleel reminded him of his commitment to indifference and non-interference in the Earthers’affairs. Even what they called barbaric games which continued with intensity no longer excited them, as all the shells that passed over their tree vanished before they hit their target. This is the desired laziness month! Simple motto: “Be away from me and do whatever you like!”

But in the second week of the laziness month, Naseem woke up early and began to chirp a beautiful song that delighted the imprisoned animals of the zoo, spread throughout the space and pervaded the city. Soon, a squadron of planes rushed out, hovering at a low altitude and gradually approaching the zoo. Aleel noticed it, so she became agitated, and grabbed her companion’s beak to silence him. It didn’t take a few minutes until successive explosions were heard not far from the zoo, which frightened the animals, so they became frantic in their cages, their screams became louder, and its guards ran everywhere in panic, doing nothing for fear of the bombs falling near the zoo; but simply watching them fall on the neighbouring houses and hearing explosions echoing throughout the city. The animals’ agitation worsened. Some of them managed to escape from their prison so they ran in all directions. Others kept trying until their limbs were shattered and fell down, screaming for help. Others killed their young and committed suicide by hitting their heads on the walls of their prison. A state that the most knowledgeable Earth scientists call a state of collective creative madness, because according to their well-established knowledge, it will only lead to a new world that has rid itself of the past and its tragedies. The zoo’s residents will also get rid of some in whose minds extremism, terrorism, and hatred of others nested. A new animal will be born that will be gentle, obedient, and democratic.

The symbiotic pair remained confused and perplexed for a period of time. They had never seen this condition before, and didn’t understand its causes. When things began to calm down inside the zoo and its guards left, Aleel said to her husband:

– You are the cause for everything that happened, Naseem.

– How?

– Because you sang the melody of eternity, which excited all rational and irrational animals.

– Do you think that Earthers understand our melodies?

– I, as a specialist in sounds, learned that music is a universal language that all living beings in this universe understand.

– Why did my melody excite them then?

– Because eternity is the goal of all living beings, and they will never achieve it because the universe is inevitably ephemeral.

– You’re starting to give up laziness, Aleel.

– And I say it once again, you are the cause. What happened to you to sing the melody of eternity for these unfortunate people?

– Honestly, I didn’t know what I was doing. The sun rose, some free birds chirped, the night closed in and passed, and the morning came to light and sang… So I wanted to greet it with singing and sending the melodies of serenity through the lofty trees. And I remembered the one behind it when we spent it in amusement and merriment…

– What is this poeticalness, Naseem?

– Truly, this planet is beautiful, its atmosphere is light, and its nature is lush…

– But its rational people are crazy, otherwise they wouldn’t be celebrating all these days by killing each other with unjustified violence.

– This is progress, Aleel. You are starting to abandon laziness…

– I’m telling you frankly; I want to see the outcome of all this violence… And maybe I can return the girl to her mother.

Then they went looking for the hospital. It wasn’t difficult to find it in a city where the number of wounded exceeded five thousand. There was an old pine tree near the hospital. They perched on one of its branches that overlooks the hospital door. Then, they attended the season of harvesting corpses, the wounded, the terrified, those searching for the missing, and everyone who was affected by the terror of the rational animal; the winner of the Nobel Prize for Peace, the Nobel Prize for Physics, the Nobel Prize for Philosophy, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and all the Nobel Prizes in the world that claims civilisation, refinement of culture, human rights, animal rights, women’s rights, children’s rights, and rights of nature… 

The show was horror films that the most skilled directors of this genre cannot make. Suddenly, Aleel said, disturbed:

– I forgot the girl again. Can we return her to her mother?

– We cannot enter the Earthers’ houses with our gigantic stature.

After a long thought, Aleel said:

– Let’s take a tour inside the hospital, we can enter it from the sky.

When they didn’t find a way to reach the girl, Aleel said after a long thought:

– Why don’t we bring her mother to her? According to what I saw on the tape, the mother lives in a place not far from the city. Didn’t you say that you demarcated the place where the mother resides?

– Indeed.

– So let’s fly to her!

They flew again until they reached a beautiful village with greenery and fruity trees spread across its courtyards, and a small house at its edge. They landed in front of the door of the house. Aleel approached the door, knocked on it, then moved away a little. Moments later, a fifty-year-old woman came out. She kept looking in all directions. When she moved away from the threshold of the house, the two birds wrapped her with their giant wings, then flew her to the hospital. They placed her in front of its door, and kept waiting for what the woman would do. After a few moments of confusion, she walked to the door and spoke to a man standing in front of it. The man went into a small room and spoke on the phone. It didn’t take a few minutes until a man wearing a white suit appeared. The woman ran towards him, threw herself into his arms, and began whispering to him. He took her by her hand and whispered to her, pointing to the inside of the hospital, then they went to the large building.

Aleel said, while folding her wings into the space:

– Did you record everything that was said?

– Yes.

– Tell me what the machine has translated for you!

– The man is the girl’s father, and the woman is his wife. They have three daughters. Two of them died when the roof of the house collapsed on them, and the third one, whom we pulled from the rubble, remained alive.

– I didn’t understand the whole story well, but I had never seen anything in my life stranger than this rational animal.

– I understood everything: the man was from a village that was hostile to the woman’s, but they loved each other, got married, and had children, but for a reason I didn’t understand, they separated, and the daughters remained with the father, and happened what happened, and we were able to bring the woman and the man together after everything that happened. Are you satisfied with what we have done?

She didn’t answer him, but after a moment she asked him:

– Is there a place where irrational animals can live in safety, away from rational animals?

After a few moments of thought, her companion said to her:

– I will ask the computer the question.

It didn’t take a few minutes until the answer came to him, so he said to his wife:

– There is a vast forest in which irrational animals still live freely without the interference of rational animals.

– Let’s travel to it and spend the rest of the laziness month in it. I’m tired of this animal that pretends to be rational and is sick in its mind.

They travelled to the Equator, to a place human feet cannot reach. They stayed with the animals for the rest of their vacation. Then they returned to the cave in the Levant desert, took out their container, boarded it, made it move, so it moved them outside the globe. They returned to their planet, swearing with the strongest faith that they wouldn’t return to Earth and wouldn’t contact the Earthers until the rational animal became extinct from it.