Ghazal Mhanna, 15 — Trainers’ Academy, Tulkarm
He sat on his bench in the garden sipping his coffee quietly, enjoying the warm sunshine and the gentle spring breeze. Usaid glanced towards the wall to find that its shadow had disappeared…
The Candle That Never Went Out
Musab Maher Al-Sharawna, 15 — Deir Samet
“Magic candles! Magic candles!” In the old market, Zakariya heard a tall man with a long white beard that nearly touched the ground. He was carrying two bundles of long red candles. As soon as the man spotted him, he came over and bent down with a smile. “Magic candles, young man?” Zakariya liked the candles, so he said, “Yes, how much for one?” “One dirham,” the man answered. “Give me five,” said Zakariya. So the man handed Zakariya a bundle of five candles and took the coins… and vanished.
Zakariya was surprised by the man’s disappearance, but he shrugged, unconcerned, and headed home. He placed the candles on the desk in his room. Two days later, while he was having dinner with his family, the electricity suddenly cut out and the lights went off. Zakariya remembered the candles. He went to his room and lit the first one, and suddenly found himself on the shore at Jaffa. At first he thought he was dreaming, but when the waves touched his feet he knew it was real, and he felt overwhelming happiness. Then a strong gust of wind blew out the candle, and Zakariya found himself back home.
Zakariya felt sad and wanted to return to Jaffa, so he lit the second candle and found himself in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Mosque. He felt overwhelming happiness and wandered through the courtyards, but his joy did not last — one of the occupation soldiers came up to him, snatched the candle from his hand and put it out, and Zakariya found himself at home again. Zakariya felt sad and wanted to go back to Al-Aqsa to get the candle back from that wicked soldier. He lit the third candle and found himself in the Beisan valley: green lands and lush plains stretching as far as the eye could see. He ran among the almond, plum, peach and cherry trees, but suddenly he stumbled and fell, and the candle in his hand went out, and once more he found himself at home.
Quickly he lit the fourth candle and found himself floating on the waters of the Dead Sea. He felt so light, and found he could swim even though he’d never learned how. He swam and swam until he drew near the Jordanian side of the sea, but drops of water splashed onto the candle and put it out, and Zakariya found himself at home for the fourth time. Zakariya didn’t wait. He lit the fifth and final candle and found himself in the middle of beloved Gaza. There he saw that the electricity had gone out there too, and that darkness wrapped round every place. But his candle lit up every corner of the Gaza Strip. Zakariya was overjoyed and made all the people there happy. And that fifth candle of his was the only one that never, ever went out.
The End
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