About the Night (54 page)

“You’ll come visit us, won’t you?” Munir asked.

“Of course,” Nomi said, sipping the excellent blend of tea.

Their time sitting in the garden was soft and gracious and without interruptions or the need to fill silences. Dreamily, Munir asked, “How is that boy? The one who disappears all the time? Have you found him a home yet?”

“I think I have,” Nomi said, smiling broadly.

Both men looked at her with inquiring gazes.

“I’m the only person he doesn’t push away in anger,” she said, “the only one he’s willing to be close to. Everyone else has a difficult time with him.”

Elias said, “The difficult can only be tended to with softness.”

About the Author

Photo © 2010 Jonathan Bloom

Anat Talshir has been one of Israel’s most distinguished investigative journalists for over thirty years. She has hosted a television show on current affairs and taught creative writing at the College of Management Academic Studies. Talshir has written and produced several documentaries, including the award-winning program
Israel’s Next War?

In
2002 she was awarded the Nahum Sokolov Prize for best journalism (the Israeli Pulitzer). Talshir is currently working on her second novel.