Nuclear Bomb

Osama Alomar

Artwork by Olaya Barr

A nuclear bomb exploded deep inside Adham when he suffered a mental breakdown. Vast expanses of verdant land were obliterated. The seas and rivers were polluted with radioactive materials. Millions of creatures living happily inside him were killed. Thousands more became deformed and misshapen. Volcanoes erupted that had been dormant since long ago. Earthquakes destroyed amazing cities that had taken ages to build. Avalanches fell in towering mountains.

But a small patch of green grass in the farthest reach of his soul remained safe from this disaster. Little by little it began to expand. The wonderful world inside him began to form again. New creatures and lives more varied than before were born. Adham recovered his purity and his health. He became an active member of society again.

translated from the Arabic by Osama Alomar and Christian Collins

Copyright © 2018 by Osama Alomar. Translation copyright © 2018 by Osama Alomar and Christian Collins.

Click here to read a selection of Osama Alomar's fiction from The Teeth of the Comb, translated by Christian Collins and Osama Alomar, from the Spring 2017 issue.