[b]When Walls Break[/b]
“You can do this. You are strong. You hear
me?”
Dilbar nodded as his father helped him into his
school shirt. His heart was beating wildly in his
chest, and he was sure the terror in his eyes
was discernable.
“Stop looking so frightened. This is an honor!
Do you understand?”
Dilbar nodded as his father finished with the
last button.
The school bus arrived the front of the Fahad
residence. Dilbar heard the honking of the horn.
He gazed out the window to see the familiar
yellow and black bus. It was the bus he had
taken to school every day for the past four
years. It was in this bus he first met his best
friend Nate, and it was in this bus he sat in the
back row and wistfully stared at the back of
Sasha’s head. Sasha always left him tongue
tied in her presence, and after four long years
he still couldn’t work up the courage to talk to
her. Instead, his heart skipped a beat and he
lowered his gaze whenever she walked past
him in the break room, or the hallway, or the
classroom. Nate teased him endlessly about
Sasha, calling him a sissy. Nate was right.
The horn honked again, and as Dilbar ran to the
front door, his mother was waiting with her
arms outstretched. She had tears in her eyes
and a sad smile. He rushed into her embrace
and she held him a little longer than usual.
Finally, she looked him over in the way you do
when you want to memorize every detail of a
person, kissed his forehead and watched from
the window as he walked away from the house
towards the bus. Fahad stood next to her and
held her hand. As Dilbar climbed into the
bus her vision blurred from the tears that were
already trailing down her cheeks. She looked
away, wrung her hand from Fahad’s grip and
went into her room.
Fahad watched his son walk to the back of the
bus and take a seat. As the bus slowly made
its way past the house, he had a look of
satisfaction and heaved a sigh. Dilbar was a
good, obedient boy. He would do as he was
instructed.
The bus made a few more stops around the
neighborhood to pick up other
children. Dilbar’s heart sank as he watched
Sasha walk from her front porch into the bus.
She smiled at him as she took a seat two rows
in front. He stared at the back of her head as
he always did, admiring the dark curls that
tumbled down to her shoulders. Today, as his
gaze rested on her, his usual feeling of longing
was replaced with a deep sadness. The bus
arrived at Nate’s house, but didn’t
stop. Dilbar was relieved. Nate was his best
friend. Perhaps he was sick. Whatever the
reason for Nate’s absence, Dilbar was glad he
wouldn’t be in the bus. Nate and Dilbar were
the only ones who occupied the back seats of
the bus. Today, he was alone. The wires in his
shirt made him uncomfortable. His father had
showed him how to detonate the bomb he
wore underneath his school uniform. The
thought of what he was about to do caused
shivers to run down his back. He did not
understand why he had to do it, but he trusted
his father who had told him that this was what
God wanted him to do. It was honorable to do
this. “God loves you. Do you believe that?” His
father had asked. He had nodded. “Then don’t
fail him.” Dilbar did not want to fail God.
Fahad dialed a number on his cell phone.
Someone picked after the third ring.
“ As-salaamu aleykum, brother.”
“ Wa alaikum assalam. ” Fahad responded. “We
will have news tonight.”
“This is good. You are sure he will obey?”
“He will go through with it. He is a good boy
and he knows what rewards await him.” Fahad
replied.
“Very good. I will keep watch for the news.
Today will be another victory for us.”
Fahad ended the call. He too would be looking
out for the news.
The bus made its way to St. Peter School after
picking up all the children on its
route. Dilbar knew that if he had to act, now
would be a good time. In fifteen minutes, they
would arrive the massive set of limestone
buildings that housed both the Catholic church
and the school. The instruction was to
detonate the bomb while in the bus. If Dilbar
didn’t do it now, the opportunity would be lost.
He felt the wires and sticks of dynamite press
against his chest. He looked down to see the
button he had to press poking from where his
shirt had been neatly tucked into his shorts. He
swallowed saliva. Beads of sweat formed on
his forehead despite the cool air blowing from
the vent above him. He looked up from the
button and gazed at the heads in front of him,
each head was familiar. Some belonged to
classmates, others to acquaintances. There
was hardly a person in the bus he did not
know. Finally, his gaze rested on the back of
Sasha’s head, and he quickly looked down at
the button. He could not afford to balk, he had
to do this. This was no time to be a sissy. God
was counting on him. He had promised his
father that he would not fail, and he knew he
would be honoring his family by doing this. He
had no choice. His right thumb gently caressed
the button.
“I’m sorry Sasha,” he whispered.
It was late afternoon when the doorbell
rang. Fahad had just returned from a meeting
at the local mosque. Amirah, his wife answered
the door. Two tall men stood in front of her.
They wore plain clothes but she sensed from
their demeanor that they were police officers.
Tears welled up in her eyes. The worst had
happened. Her son was gone.
“May we speak with your husband?” One of
them asked. He had long blonde hair and wore
brown khaki pants and a navy-blue T-shirt.
“Fahad,” Amirah choked.
Fahad walked briskly to the door from the
dining table where he was reading a
newspaper. He looked outside to see the two
men. He knew instinctively that they were law
enforcement officers. He saw the anguish in
Amirah’s eyes and tried to suppress a smile.
The deed had been done. Dilbar was
successful. Fahad already had a speech
rehearsed for law enforcement. He would
blame everything on Dilbar, feign ignorance at
the thought that his son was planning to bomb
the school bus, claim his son had been bullied
in school but never showed disruptive
tendencies, break down and cry. “How can I
help you gentlemen?” Fahad asked.
The second man in blue jeans and a red
checked shirt pulled out his badge and flashed
his ID. “I’m agent Cavanaugh and this is my
partner agent Smith. We’re from the FBI.
You are under arrest Mr. Fahad Karim.” Agent
Smith quickly moved in and grabbed Fahad’s
hands, placing them behind his back and
handcuffing them. Cavanaugh continued, “You
have the right to remain silent. You have the
right to an attorney.”
“What the bloody hell is happening?” Fahad
shouted. “What crime have I committed?” He
tried to scuffle and resist arrest but agent
Smith was larger and stronger and soon hand
him handcuffed.
Amid the confusion, awareness dawned on
Amirah. “Please, where is my son?” she
gasped.
“It’s a good thing you asked ma’am.” Smith
answered as he pushed Fahad towards one of
the vehicles parked by the side of the road,
where the red and blue lights of the sirens
flashed but remained silent. The door to a
van opened and Dilbar ran out.
“Oh! Alhamdulillah !” Amirah shouted as she ran
towards her boy and enveloped him in a tight
embrace. She was weeping and touching him
all over, trying to make sure she was not
dreaming this moment. This was the boy she
thought she would never see again. Relief
washed over her. He didn’t do it, she
thought. Thank God he didn’t do it!
Fahad was shocked to see Dilbar run out of the
van and his face turned pallid. He first felt
disbelief, then anger, then full blown rage. He
continued to curse as the police men shoved
him into one of the waiting vehicles.
Fahad was charged with terror crimes and
eventually pled guilty, giving the FBI the names
of the other brothers who were part of the
small mosque he headed, which also doubled
as a branch of a terror group he founded. The
school bus bombing was going to be their
second mission after they had successfully
killed a pastor during a Sunday service at a
local Baptist church. Amirah and Dilbar were
kept in protective custody until the trials were
over and the men were in jail. She
and Dilbar eventually moved to a different city,
and never visited Fahad in prison where he was
to remain for the rest of his life.
[b]End.[/b]
