About the Night

by Anat Talshir

Knowing about death means knowing how to live.”

“A few drops of muskroot oil diluted with water,” she said. “What does it do?” he asked. “It calms you down,” she told him. “It used to be used as a painkiller.” “What kind of pains?” “Pains,” she said plainly.

“When the wife loves the husband,” Nadira told him. “Not just loves him, but is crazy about him! Only then.” “Why?” Elias asked, dubious. “The wife carries the burden of the marriage on her shoulders,” his mother said. “Her husband, herself, both of them, their covenant, and everything else that gets added over the years. And all that is very, very heavy. It is in her power to keep the marriage alive and thriving, but also to drive it to the brink of crisis and back again. For whatever reason, men have not taken this role upon themselves.

Elias had entered her life and in the process had brought her back to life.