War

In the winter of 1991, Taly's parents were carefully following the news. As an elementary school student, Taly didn't know what was going on, except for the fact that someone, with a huge mustache, which rules a country far, far away that is called Iraq, is threatening to send "dirty" missiles to Israel.

Taly didn't know what "dirty missiles" mean. In school there were very frightening demonstrations on how to wear the gas masks and how to shoot a drug with a special syringe in your thigh. She felt suffocated inside the mask and couldn't stand it, but the nice female soldiers who came over to her school for the demonstartions had told her it is very important to wear those whenever she heard a siren.

Not a week has passed by and already the siren started shouting. It was a Shabbath eve and everyone were in their beds when the high pitched sound of the siren started, going up and down. Up and down. Taly's parents were rushing her to the "safe room" and pulled out the wet towels and shoved them beneath the doors. Taly's father was rushing her to wear her mask quicklier, but he wasn't wearing his and Taly felt very frightened for his safety which had made her fight longer with the straps of the mask. She started crying and wanted to drink some water right away, which was difficult at the moment because of the mask. She could hear the explosions and saw her father's uncovered face turning as white as the sink in the safe room.

No one knew whether the missiles were dirty or not. It took a long hour before they were relieved. Not long afterwards it had happened again, and again, and again - until the war was over.

No dirty missiles were sent.



--Time's up--