Nada on Nostr: I was visiting Mama in the southern part of the Gaza Strip after our house was ...

I was visiting Mama in the southern part of the Gaza Strip after our house was demolished. My family in the north had to leave and move south.
And when I returned to the north, I no longer returned to a familiar place, but like someone coming back burdened by a long path of pain—a path that brought me back to the last vivid memory I had with my siblings.
Memory led me to that last time… when we went together to the Rafah crossing to welcome acquaintances who had come to visit Gaza—Gaza, which, despite everything it had been through, was beautiful in an unforgettable way.
Oh, how wonderful those days were… and how heavy this longing is that weighs on my heart now.
I miss my siblings so much… they were not just brothers, but my true support in this life.
My eldest brother, a university professor, carried in his soul the wisdom of a lifetime.
And my other brother, a public relations director in one of the ministries, his mere presence could fill a place with strength and reassurance.
I remember the details of that trip as if it were happening now…
They were tired from work, yet they asked me to accompany them.
They didn’t know that until five in the evening, I had been immersed in preparing the graduation ceremony for the high-achieving students…
Yet I did not hesitate. I drove them myself, because they didn’t want to drive while exhausted.
I remember…
I had taken off my shoes while driving, and my brother lightly tapped my head as he laughed:
“Foolish girl, are you driving without shoes? Let me take a picture for your manager who’s so proud of you!”
Then he continued joking:
“Who’s the idiot that let you teach university students while you’re just a little fool?”
I smiled… and didn’t tell him I had been on my feet since morning.
As for my younger brother… he came closer, put his hand on my shoulder, and said with unforgettable tenderness:
“My sister… the most beautiful and smartest fool in the world.”
Oh God… how much comfort I felt with them around.
I wasn’t afraid of the days, as long as they were by my side.
But, even if this painful reality was forced upon us…
why can’t the memories be erased too?
Why do they remain alive with such depth, bringing us back to loss every time, as if the wound is never satisfied with us just once?
I cried a lot… I miss them to the point of pain.
My siblings were martyred… on the same day.
On that trip… I told them it was my first time visiting Rafah.
And Gaza… was stunningly beautiful.
I was proud of belonging to this piece of land.
I did not know… that one day I would arrive in the southern Gaza Strip as a displaced person, homeless…
Nor that I would return to the north…
With my heart burdened by all this loss, and all this relentless longing.
#Gaza #Palestine
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