- أنا بحبَّك قوي يا جدِّي. عايزك تبقى مسلم علشان متدخلش النار. بالفطرة أحسستُ أن هذا الطلب الذي أطلبه ليس على هواه. وقبَّلني هو في وجنتي وسكَتْ. فقلتُ: - خلاص خلاص أنا هبقى يهودي زيِّي زيَّك.

"I love you so much, Grandpa. I want you to become a Muslim so you won't go to hell." Instinctively I felt this request was not to his liking. He kissed my cheek and said nothing. So I said: "Fine, fine, then I'll be a Jew, just like you."

في الليل سألتُ أمي عن أبي؟ قالت: ذهب إلى الحرب ولم يَعُدْ. قلت: متى يعود؟ قالت بشيءٍ من الحِدَّة: مات يا جلال. مات. مات.

At night I asked my mother about my father. She said: he went to the war and did not come back. I said: when will he come back? She said, a little sharply: he died, Galal. Died. Died.

إنها هي التي أحبت أبي قبل أن يحبها هو. أحبته أكثر مما يحبها. ولو عادت بها الدنيا إلى الوراء ما اختارت غيره رغم ما تعرَّضت له من عذابٍ وفراقٍ للأهل والأحباب.

She was the one who loved my father before he loved her; she loved him more than he loved her, and if life were to turn back she would choose no one else, despite all the pain and the separation from family and loved ones it cost her.