i s h t a r r i a........

He stepped inside the office, and started shaking hands with whoever was there. He began with Al, who was the nearest; next came Larry, Jimmy, then the three Iraqi engineers. My throbbing heart struggled to get out of its cage on winged feet; a crazy shiver rushed through my whole body. I sat feigning business with my papers, and glancing occasionally at him. God, how I longed for his arms; how I wished I could cry on his broad chest and tell how mean Dina had been; to tell him how cruel he had been, leaving me alone, in such unbearable anguish; how callous was the world to me in his absence; and how ugly, lifeless and sterile the office seemed without him around. Having done shaking hands with the Iraqis, he turned to Gerhard who stood up to greet him. They shook hands. I sat, head down, eyes abstractedly fixed on my papers, waiting and wondering how it would be: just ‘Hi Liana’ , or would he shake hands with me too? ‘No please, don’t, not in front of all these eyes’, I thought to...