He stayed behind the boxes for a while , eyeing his changing surroundings , until the vegetation turned into the outskirts of the city . By then it was darker , the sun had set , and the pink hues in the sky had begun to disappear . It was time for him to disappear too . Saul jumped off , rolling on the hard asphalt . He ran to the sidewalk quickly , stunning the other drivers . He ran through alleyways , changed directions every chance he could . He climbed the side of a house . He jumped from rooftop to rooftop , never looking back , crouching to avoid being seen . He ’ d have to cross the city to get back home , to the single room apartment he shared with four other people- three after today .
The night sky was clogged with smog , and it made his breathing long and jagged . He could feel his heartbeat speeding . He kept running and jumping . He thought of Israel and the way he shared jokes and cigarettes , he thought that he ’ d never see him again . He kept running . He saw the topmost part of cathedrals and churches , their crosses and columns reaching towards the sky . He wondered if something good would come for the rest of his friends after death . He kept running . He kept crossing rooftops until he was in the middle of the city , gasping for breath , his hair drenched with sweat . The adrenaline rush was wearing off .
He stopped to rest for a moment . He crouched , much like he had earlier in the day , analyzing his surroundings for suspicious people . He heard a murmur , which made him jump . Maybe someone had found him . Maybe things were over , and they ’ d shoot him , and someone would walk up to clean the roof one day and find his rotting body . He looked down , still crouching , bracing himself . He realized the murmur didn ’ t belong to anyone who ’ d seen him .
A girl was sitting in a chair in the patio below the house , wearing a blue dress . She looked to be about seventeen , Saúl ’ s age , maybe a bit younger . She was singing , Saúl realized , not murmuring , but singing a love ballad . Saúl watched her , mesmerized . He looked at her elaborate braids . They were long strands looped with each other , the kind only a mother could have made earlier as she pampered and primped her daughter .
He wondered what that would feel like . To be loved like that . To have a mother run her hands through his hair . He imagined what it would be like to be her , to be young and then married , to wash dishes in the kitchen , to look after children of her own and to brush their hair , to love her husband when he came home , to be always protected and looked after .
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