chapter 4

Chapter 4 - ducks

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One day I was eating breakfast with the Badulina’s royal couple.

The queen licked her plate like she was holding an Ice cream.

The king pored himself some more Kashmir’s tea and I was trying to find some useful information for him on the newspapers. As Israel’s ambassador I felt obligated to give the king a full picture of the socio-politic scene in Israel. Unfortunately the king never shares these feelings with me and my Journalist reviews are welcomed only few moments before the royal siesta. Only this time, even so early the king seemed fascinated. His hand froze with the cup on the way to his mouth, He watched me and the newspaper very concentrated. I was just translating for him some stuff at page 6 on the local election. He bowed his had like astonished puppy. I kept translating gracefully until I have noticed that it was not his hearing sense he was focused on – it was his sight. He observed the front page picture. I was silence for a full minute before he spoke to me.

“What are they giving there?”

I turned the front page and watched it. People in stations that give gas-masks for the Saadam Husein phase no. 3.

I translated and explained him. Toward the end of my explaining I lost his hearing sense again this time for his smell sense. The smell of Ginger and Cinnamon. He sipped from the teal rolled it in his mouth and said: “Very interesting. I think I see something.”

In a invisible professional movement that I learned after years of exercise as a field-journalist, I pulled my notebook and pen. That is the way not to break the moment and your interviewed forgets that you are in that position and not a random conversation partner.

“Don’t bother” he said without lifting his nose from his tea, “I still don’t know what I see. That picture in the magazine is almost the last part of the puzzle. Now I have to watch the puzzle from up. Is there any silence place with no background noises in Israel? A place I will be able to observe all of from distance?”

“I think there is but formally it’s not in Israel.”

“The word formally does not exist in our language.”

“I thought so.”

And so, in that early stage of the royal visit, we drove to Sinai.

On the way there I translated to his request what I always wrote due to the visit cover. “Mmm..” he said finally “I’m sure in Hebrew it sounds better. Any way there is one limit in our contract that you start crossing over.”

Her royalty was sleeping in the back sit feeling the universe with quiet breathings. “What’s that?” I asked “Her royalty” He said “We had an agreement you are not covering her, the deal is between me and you.”

“And why is that really?” the guardian dog of the democracy rose in me. Small brize on my neck gave me some courage. The queen is at my back. “First of all don’t continue while we are discussing it. I’m sure the public will not hurt if you miss few breaths of the queen.”

“OK” I tried to heard sad, the que… never mind “OK, I’m listening.”

“Look” he smiled, “before I chose to be a king, I chose to be a trumpet player in a love-celebration’s band. I love stages, I enjoy the crowd and that is my royalty style, attracting public attention. That is why I let you cover me.”

“And what is the queen royalty style?”

“Personal Inspiration. Both of us, as the king and queen of Badulina, suppose to be roll-model for people. To remind them their right and duty to live in richness and happiness forever. I do it with poems and plays and fireworks. The queen does it by existing. She pass in the universe like a vitamins cloud and creates around her beauty and love her work can be done with no cover at all.”

“Let’s say you are right” I said, knew he was completely right, “what kind of damage will cause you or her majesty if I’ll cover her as well?” I heard some starching behind me, not that I can describe that sound particularly.

“To us? No damage. Nobody can damage the king or the queen cant you see? This contract is not for me, is to help you stay focus. You are not the first or the last who find every movement of her royalty deserves poetic metaphor but I don’t know how much you will hold on like that, the contract is your friend – keep it.

Maybe I invented the last words; I really didn’t listen to him. I just found a way to describe how a starch would sound: Like smell of bread in a middle of baking.

“Have it the way you want” he snored friendly “It’s your career. But maybe you should try as a sport, to keep the contract. Try once and then if you will decide different as far as I concern, you can turn this book to a recipe book inspired by her royalty breathing.
“WHAT? Not to mention the queen at all during the forward lines?”

“Starting now.”

We parked at a relatively new beach not so far from RaS-El-Satan (head of Satan- is a beach at the Sinai desert). Several strew huts on the beach, round shadow-balcony from palm trees, Hammocks from fisher’s rope. First day in Sinai is used, usually as an adjustment period. But the king went barefoot out of the car already and 10 minutes after our arrival you could have thought that he grew up here. Later that night we lay on carpets and cushions and drink Sachlab filled with raisins and other surprised. The king fumbled pleasantly the Bamboo flute he exchanged with a deaf Bedouin child for silver pendant.

Not so far from us a fire circle, few Israelis, Few Bedouins one Jordanian. the Bedouins play the drums and sing, the Israelis recognize one song and sing a long and suddenly, from another corner of the beach restaurant, one striking student like all the other students in Israel is bursting into the music: “Can you sing Jacob Jacob please resign?”

When I translate this to the king his eyes are shining “That’s it” he shout “Methadone!”

“His royalty smoked something?”

“The puzzle” he explained “Now that student helps me see the picture, you see? When I watched the magazine front page I understood that was a place where they give away something. The face and body language of the people didn’t hint nothing bed, they had kind of excitement, eagerness. I didn’t know what for. Now I understand it: Methadone.”

“Your honor?”

“Methadone. Remember we passed a branch at Jaffa, on the way to the port. And you explained me that they give free Methadone there. These masks, this invented war with Iraq that’s your methadone. The people in that picture, Old young and children they had the same body language like those 3 youngsters we saw next to the methadone branch, soon they are going to get their dish. Not the real stuff but that all they can get.

“And what is the real stuff?”

“A real war. Clearly. But this becomes a rare consumption in the world lately. In this place, ever since the Golf war you have constant infusion of Methadone. Helicopters pictures, Military spokesmen every time I visit an Israeli house they show me their shelter very proudly like it’s perfectly normal for every person to have an anti chemical–bioloical weapon shelter in his own home.

“With all do respect” I dare “I still am not amazed.”

“And that student now, she completed my picture. She is here in Sinai. Surrounded by all that peace and harmony. I don’t know who Jacob is, obviously he is not here. Here she has us, the locals and few other students that have chosen same as she did, to have a vacation and not demonstration.

So who does she shout “resign” at? At herself. That she will not be too relaxed, that she wouldn’t think that life can be fulfill and reach without no battle nor frontier. And her face, once she finished talking. Did you see that? Such a relief. She returned to her corner, and sat down relaxed. Didn’t wait for reply waited for reaction she was already total relaxed, the stuff is running in her veins the crisis passed. “

“are you saying that the students demonstration are methadone as well?”

“Right now you students are the best field battle you can have. The people are backing them up sending them food and drinks give them reductions at stores. The system is existing any way you have a practiced civilian force and now you can use it as well. And the students, If I get it right, are generation that grew up without a chance for a big rightness war and now they can enjoy the heroism of the frontier. At the bus they keep saying to them “good for you” “all of us behind you” since the citizens backup needs this methadone but students strike is a weak material in the original stuff the enemy must be highly evil not a Jacob, A crazed Muslim with a mustache let say.”

“One second here. You are carried away in this Golf war business we are not doing a thing. Saadam wants to bomb us because he has some unfinished business with the Americans; this has nothing to do with us. “

“That’s right so why all of you are running to the gas mask stations like a baby to the nursery?”

“Maybe because we don’t feel like dying from gas attack?”

“Look here” smiled the king “If you are a duck, lets say, and you don’t feel like getting shot, you wont jump in front of the hunter – that is busy with other things right now – and paint a circle on your arc shouting: help, help he wants to kill me.”

“I don’t think that is the reason for that. Israel is located on strategically junction. Empires always fought here above the citizen’s heads.”

“That may be because always there were ducks here that jumped high and painted targets on their arcs.”

“You are the one who paint target around your arrow now. You say that there were wars around here because we are addicted and I say its because of this junction who says that you are correct?”

“Sinai is also a junction like that>

“Yes. So?”

“Is someone pointing toward Sinai a little spoon of gas?”

“Now today but in the Yom Kippur war …”

“Don’t disturb yourself with facts it cant prove a thing. 50 years you are talking about living peacefully, every week you have a reason for a new war so why don’t you give the old theories a rest? You might be to close to the picture to observe the details and don’t take it personally please, I am not saying anything bed about you or Israel. Let’s face it you are in trouble and I’m ready to help.”

“OK. Lets say you are right what could Israel do to avoid the Iraqian treat?
“Body language” he said and before I could ask for clarifications he joined the fire circle. He was sitting there a moment or two silently shaking his head, sucking the rhythm and then he bowed into his Bamboo flute observed him like a hidden hunter and next started play. His entry was so perfect that you couldn’t remember how the music sounded before the flute arrival. He met the Arabic drums with Flamenco rhythms creaming the space between the sharp metal wires of the Sumsumia (a music instrument) . This will be appropriate place to remind the queen and to tell how she danced but instead of that I will turn you to my poetry book which is soon to be published in self addition “the flower queen of Badulina” (page 166 with discount to workers organizations).

Later that night all three of us were laying in the royal hut balcony watching a crazed Meteors shower that accorded aspecially for the royal couple once in 33 years. Lights were exploding in the endless sky of Sinai with red, blue, yellow, orange and purple. You could have just watch the see silky and shiny and see reflections of fire-works deep inside it. For long hour we didn’t say a thing and by the end I asked: “What do you mean body language?”

“Body language you can’t explain with words.”

“You say that we are war addicted. Right? That because of that our life filled with wars and enemies. Ok then, what do we have to do for rehab? To stop it?”

“First of all, enough with that “we” thing. There are no we. There is only “me” in the world. 5 milliard “me” that gather in groups and split all time by there interest or external manipulations. I have no “we” not even with the queen. When you live according to “we” your ability to change and to be more flexible is minimize, everyone hold onto each other feet nobody goes anywhere unless everyone walk. I have seen this in India, You are the only people who travelers with big groups. So now every one of these “we” must find his own rehab program. It is very simple “You don’t want trouble and wars? You don’t need to.”

He closed his eyes and I could only guess that he is concentrating on the pleasant tickling of his stomach caused by 5 long thin fingers that are not connected to our story in no way. The sky continued giving their 70’s show.

“What do you mean we don’t have to? Isn’t it…”

“Shhh. You continue focusing in what you don’t want in your life instead of what you really want. Rehab program is about diverse the attention. OK. I have a present for you. The most ancient meaningful saying in the Badulina’s culture. It’s graved on the gate of my palace. Are you ready? This is very deep.”

I took out my notebook my heart pulsing strongly.

“BETTER TO BE HEALTHY AND HAPPY THEN POOR AND MISARABLE.”

“Are you serious? This nonsense is your national Motto?”

“I told you its very deep. Sleep on it. You must know dangerous false saying like “better to be poor and happy then rich and miserable” right? As if being rich and happy is too much to ask for. Sleep on it.”

When I fell asleep I dreamt (how confusing), that I’m a duck. I was floating in a golden lake that starts reflected in its water. I have no idea if there where hunters over there. I just remember the pleasant sensation of sweet water between my feathers. The victory moment of swallowing a fish, the little silvered bubbles that tickled my feet when I dived . Further on the king refused to talk to me about Israel or anything that wasn’t part of our immediate surrounding. We spoke very little. Together and separately we swime, we got tanned, we ate, we traveled and played. The royal couple see no reason in wearing anything when they feel hot and after a while I got use to do the same. On the third day I didn’t think even once about Saadam or the students’ strike and I didn’t miss it as well.

On the way back at the border I saw the striker student with her little car. She was tanned and shining and the orange sticker on her car was covered dust and sand. She wore her sandals only when she was at the Israeli side of the border.

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