The Phoenix

Mansour Eid

French journalist Bernard de Lo arrived in Lebanon to cover the events of the civil war, or perhaps it was pure chance that led him to that village, on that particular day. Damour, like other Lebanese villages, had been wiped out by shells. Amidst the rubble, Bernard heard a little girl's voice calling "Papa." At first, he thought he was hallucinating and that the caller was his daughter Marianne, whom he had lost in a tragic accident. How could he leave her there, an orphan, homeless, and with amnesia? He took her with him, smuggled her out of Lebanon, and raised her in Paris, the capital that embraced many Lebanese. Marianne de Lo grew up happy, oblivious to suffering, until she met a compatriot, saw familiar faces in his countenance, and heard notes in his voice that tugged at her heartstrings, bringing back memories of a girl named Wedad.