The Olive Farmer

Olive trees in Jerusalem. (Photo: Pixabay.)

Abram, a retired olive farmer in his late 70s, still enjoys a glass of arak in the evenings, Turkish coffee in the mornings (made with the cezve pot he bought when he was poor and alone) and when his children come to visit for Shabbat.

His children are not really his children; their father is the handsome Palestinian man his wife has kept chained in the backyard shed for 50 years. Abram has mastered the traits of an oblivious husband, which makes him a guest in his own home.

Despite it all, he takes great joy in watching the sun shine warmly on the trees over the land that belonged to the man in the shed.

About the Author

Fawzy Zablah was born in El Salvador but raised in Miami. Among his works is the short story collection CIAO! MIAMI and the novel RARITY OF THE CENTURY. His fiction has been published widely at Hobart, 3AM Magazine, Acentos Review and Expat Press. His new novel, This Modern Man is Beat: A Novel in Stories, was just published by SIMI Press: https://simipress.com/books/this-modern-man-is-beat/