Nail Justice

Author: Khairy Shalaby

My heart began to writhe for a brief moment, during which I felt the immense gravity of the vague and terrifying loss that had befallen me. Soon, the grip on my heart released, pulled away by a phantom feeling like a fiery illusion in a dark moment. Then, a warm, joyful, playful whisper began to reverberate in my chest, appearing to me as a balm, an antidote, like the prophecy of an ancient, standing soothsayer urging me not to grieve, for there was no loss in the matter whatsoever. Instantly, I found myself in the open, behind me a door that must have been the door to that hall, and before me a wide, gleaming paved square, swept by a fresh, gentle breeze saturated with the scent of iodine, coming from a sea whose frothy foam was visible at the edge of my sight. A group of men and women in beachwear passed before me, carrying parasols and folding chairs. They turned their heads towards me, gazing at me with cheerfulness and delight, and I gazed at them with affection and joy. As soon as they moved away towards the sea, I remembered their faces and it became clear to me that they were a group of my old high school classmates. I rushed to run after them, trying to catch up, while an old reel of intimate events played in my mind, as my mind tried to connect the images with the names.