Just Another Uneventful Summer Vacation-RZ

July 12, 2006 was just another boring summer day, or was it? On that day, I was at my home in Hazmieh, just over the southern suburbs of Beirut arguing with my mom. Suddenly, we heard a horribly loud metallic sound, and we forgot everything and hid from the shattered glass surrounding us. My mother had been watching the news earlier today so she had a pretty good idea of what was going on. My mother turned to me and said, “Get in the car!” At that moment I thought I was going to die.

I tried to figure out what was going on, without asking my mom, because her confusion was evident. Five minutes later, we were in the car with the bags in the trunk and off we went. I felt scared and confused; I couldn’t even speak. I was trying to ask my mother what was going on, but the words just wouldn’t come out. Finally she turned to me and said, “Rudy we are going to your cousin, Sara’s, house, but don’t worry everything is going to be just fine.” My cousin’s house was very close, and I didn’t know how going there would help, but I figured being with family is better than being alone.

I will never forget the image of my cousins and my aunt’s expression that day. Their faces were red from crying. Their eyes were red like blood, and their mouth’s were like useless muscles hanging on their faces. My uncle was surprisingly cool and was trying to lighten the mood with jokes. We set our bags down and started to listen to the news. Just then we heard a louder boom, and we ran behind the sofa as smoke began to fill the room. All I could smell or taste was the smoke in the air, and when I looked out the window I saw the destruction under me. I was completely petrified, and I remember a definite ringing in my ears. I kept wondering if I was going to survive.

The next couple of days more bombs came, and I finally realized what had happened to cause this turmoil. Hezbollah had captured two Israeli troops, and attempted to trade them for Lebanese prisoners of war, like it had once done before. The fear of dying had conquered me, and I couldn’t take it anymore. I was just about to share these feelings with the rest of the family when Nassrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, came on TV. Nassrallah was very confident, and he showed no relentlessness. This made me mad just because I couldn’t think straight. I was a hostage in my own country. They had bombed all the bridges, airports, and ports in Lebanon. I felt nothing but anger towards Nassrallah, the man who was putting me and my mom’s life in jeopardy.

We went shopping the next day for supplies because we didn’t know how long the war would be. The people at the grocery store were like ants running every which way, filling caddies with water and bread. My family was panicking, and in turn I was panicking because panic is contagious. When we got back, Nassrallah was on TV when the most bone-chilling thing happened. Nassrallah said, “Now watch your Israeli boat as it sinks!” At that moment I saw three rockets come out of the southern suburbs and drop in the ocean. When this happened the thought of dying planted itself in my brain and wouldn’t go away.

Just then a bomb hit louder than ever and at that moment my uncle said, “If you guys can’t handle the sounds, do you want to go to Faraya?”

We all answered, “Yes!”

An hour later we were on hour way to Faraya. Three weeks later, the war had ended, and I felt a huge weight being lifted off me. I could smell the clean air, hear the celebrations, and see my mom’s joyful expression. I tasted the sweet taste of victory. I felt proud of Hezbollah and Lebanon for not only lasting more than three days against Israel, a new record, but also for beating them. My fear of dying had melted away like butter as I hugged my mom as tightly as possible.