Ashes of Al-Rawdha

The car was small, so he sat in the back seat. But as soon as he sat there, I was haunted by many thoughts, implications, and questions. I said to myself, Does he have a gun? Will he force us, on the way back, to stop in front of a station for Iraqi soldiers? And there, dark thoughts and nightmares kept rushing through my imagination, and perhaps Nawals imagination as well. Despite that dark feeling brewing in my heart, I composed myself and drove the car towards the house. However, I could...