Jerusalem

Chapter 32 (Down to one)

      Life is all about moments. And how they change our lives forever. It's these moments that become our history, like our own personal greatest hits of memories. And we play and replay in our minds over and over again. But what if one day, you can no longer remember any of them?

These moments of impact, These flashes of high intensity that completely turn our lives upside down..actually end up defining who we are.

All of these moments hit me like a tape passing in front of my eyes. All the moments of my life, Omar , our childhood, our fights, Ali and our friendship, our memories and stories and you, Mariam, before I met you , I thought my world had everything I needed to be happy. I had nothing else to compare it to. Then you walked into my life and everything changed. I realized how empty my world was without you in it. And my whole life was no longer capable of making me happy, not without you. You are so busy being you that you don't see how rare you are. And I love everything about you, Mariam. I love the way you challenge me like no one ever has. I love the way you look at me like no one ever has. And I love the way you love me like no one ever has.

At this moment there are 6,470818671 people in the world. Some are running scared. Some are coming home. Some tell lies to make it through the day. Others are just facing the truth. Some are evil men that fight with good. And some are good struggling with evil.

Six billion people in the world. Six billion souls. But in the end..it all comes down to one. All you need is one. And that's you, Mariam. You've been that one for me. All of these images, of these thoughts rushed into my mind seeing the bulled coming straight towards me , I knew that the upper side of my left chest was the target, exactly where my heart is. No time to move, no escape and it's nobody's fault. It is what it is.

"أشهد ان لا إله إلا الله و ان محمد رسول الله"

I said watching it moving through the air, that I will no longer breathe.

Life is full of choices. Yes or No. In or Out. Up or Down. And then there are other choices that matters. To Love or Hate. To be a Hero or to be a Coward. To fight or to give up. To live or die. That's the important choice and it's not always in our hands.

I fell to the ground, Ali's body over me.