City of Jasmine
Page 20
Hammoudi spots a figure in dark clothing on the other side of the road. Before he can grasp what’s happening, a small home-made bomb with modest explosive force comes flying into the room. He doesn’t hear the bang. The windows shatter as the people in the home wake with a start.
The local newspaper will report later that there was only one victim. They’ll publish an old black-and-white photo of Hammoudi next to the article. Readers will learn nothing about him other than his age and nationality.
Amal says goodbye to Amina and Youssef at Tegel Airport. If all goes well they’ll join her in ten days’ time. It’s hard for her to leave her daughter behind; they’ve never been apart for longer than a few hours. She can’t stop giving Youssef advice about Amina’s eating and sleeping habits even though he knows it already, probably even better than she does.
Seven hours later, she boards a Boeing to Los Angeles at Heathrow. As soon as they’ve reached cruising altitude and the fasten-seatbelt signs go off, she takes off her shoes, stretches out and falls instantly into a deep sleep.
She wakes with a start when the plane is already making its final descent. She dreamed of Hammoudi; a bad feeling rises within her. She sees the Pacific out of the window, an endless blue surface. The water prompts a sense of disgust in Amal; suddenly she can smell the sea and feel the cold in her limbs. She vomits discreetly into the paper bag in the back of the seat in front of her, at which the flight attendant asks in a latently annoyed tone whether everything’s alright. Amal doesn’t try to look out of the window again, and she resolves to call Hammoudi as soon as she arrives in Los Angeles.
By the time they reach the airport she’s trembling all over. The other passengers in the terminal keep an intuitive distance from her and take their children by the hand as soon as they see her disturbed state.
Amal automatically joins the queue for passport control. The immigration officer studies her and her visa for a long time and then asks her if she’s okay.
She nods, and the officer directs her to the nearest sickbay. Amal ignores his advice.
The other passengers’ faces are relaxed. A group of young women in short dresses is huddled in the duty-free shop discussing nail varnish. Amal tries to get hold of Youssef but it’s the dead of night in Berlin and he doesn’t pick up. Then she calls her mother and Svetlana answers straight away. They’ve only written sporadic emails since Amal’s last call, but this time Amal tells the whole story, she tells the truth about Amina and says she can’t stand the sight of the sea now. Svetlana lets her talk until Amal’s phone runs out of battery. After that, she feels a little relieved.
She collects her luggage, goes to the information counter and buys a return ticket to Berlin. The travel agent doesn’t ask any questions, thankfully, merely swiping Amal’s card.
At the check-in desk, Amal asks for a seat as far away from the window as possible.
‘Are you afraid of flying?’ asks the natural blonde with violet-shaded eyelids.
‘Something like that,’ Amal murmurs.
At last her flight is announced. She jumps up and hurries to the gate. Amal leaves the USA on the same plane she arrived on. It has been refuelled and cleaned ready to head back. A new crew has come on board.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My thanks go to my German publishing house Auf bau, especially to Lina Muzur and Gunnar Cynybulk, who made this book possible, and to Constanze Neumann, with whom I look forward to working in future.
I’m grateful for the generous and wise support of Karin Graf.
A big thank you goes to Oneworld Publications, especially to Juliet Mabey and Alyson Coombes, who believed in this book, and Will Atkins who worked so well on it.
And my great gratitude goes to the phenomenal translator Katy Derbyshire, who did an incredible job.
I’d also like to thank Inka Ihmels.
Thank you, Neal McQueen.
My gratitude goes to the Kulturakademie Tarabya and the Robert Bosch Stiftung for their support and to all the women who took care of my children and ran my household while I was writing.
My thanks to all the people who shared their time and knowledge with me, in Germany, Turkey, Lebanon and Greece, to the people who shared their stories with me (without wanting to be named), who answered my numerous questions, and whose help and hospitality made my research and my travels possible.
And above all, thank you to my family and to Ayham Majid Agha.
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IN/HALF by Jasmin B. Frelih
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Publication date: November 2018 (UK & US)
WHAT HELL IS NOT by Alessandro D’Avenia
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CITY OF JASMINE by Olga Grjasnowa
Translated from the German by Katy Derbyshire
Publication date: March 2019 (UK) / April 2019 (US)
THINGS THAT FALL FROM THE SKY by Selja Ahava
Translated from the Finnish by Emily and Fleur Jeremiah
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MRS MOHR GOES MISSING by Maryla Szymiczkowa
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A Oneworld Book
First published in North America, Great Britain and Australia by Oneworld Publications, 2019
This ebook published 2018
Originally published in German as Gott ist nicht schüchtern by Auf bau Verlag, 2017
Copyright © Auf bau Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin, and Olga Grjasnowa, 2017
English translation copyright © Katy Derbyshire, 2019
The moral right of Olga Grjasnowa to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and Incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
The translation of this work was supported by a grant from the Goethe-Institut.
All rights reserved
Copyright under Berne Convention
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Hardback ISBN 978-1-78607-487-4
eBook ISBN 978-1-78607-488-1
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