White Heart

By Robert G. Rabil

Set in two worlds apart, where one is torn by violence and the other celebrates freedom and industriousness, White Heart—inspired by true events—juxtaposes in allegorical and anecdotal expression human frailties with resilience in a fictional collection of short stories. The transcendence, metaphor and candour of the stories shape the author’s belief in the supremacy of human compassion, peace and courage over malevolence, depravity and violence.

Though the author’s experiences in Lebanon and United States define the scope and spectrum of the stories, the thematic depth of the stories is inspired by the character of the author’s uncle, who was called White Heart for his profound good heartedness, unwavering courage, readiness to help those in need, and staunch appreciation of life even in the face of adversity and tragedy. Though the pain and bereavement of losing his only son to indiscriminate state violence affected the very core of his being, the lustre of his indefatigable character never lost its radiance.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley
• Release date: Feb 5, 2018
• ISBN: 9781370490462

Robert G. Rabil

Dr. Robert G. Rabil is an internationally renowned scholar. He is the author of Embattled Neighbors: Syria, Israel and Lebanon (2003); Syria, United States and the War on Terror in the Middle East (2006); Religion, National Identity and Confessional Politics in Lebanon: The Challenge of Islamism (2011); Salafism in Lebanon: From Apoliticism to Transnational Jihadism (2014); and The Syrian Refugee Crisis in Lebanon (2016). He received his doctorate in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University and was conferred an honorary Doctorate in Humanities from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. He is a Professor of Political Science at Florida Atlantic University.

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About the Author

Dr. Robert G. Rabil is an internationally renowned scholar. He is the author of Embattled Neighbors: Syria, Israel and Lebanon (2003); Syria, United States and the War on Terror in the Middle East (2006); Religion, National Identity and Confessional Politics in Lebanon: The Challenge of Islamism (2011); Salafism in Lebanon: From Apoliticism to Transnational Jihadism (2014); and The Syrian Refugee Crisis in Lebanon (2016).

He received his doctorate in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University and was conferred an honorary Doctorate in Humanities from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. He is a Professor of Political Science at Florida Atlantic University.

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Dedications

In Memory of my Uncle Raymond Rabil

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White Heart

Published by Austin Macauley at Smashwords

Copyright 2018, Robert G Rabil

The right of Robert G Rabil to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All Rights Reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with the written permission of the publisher, or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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A CIP catalogue record for this title is

Available from the British Library.

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www.austinmacauley.com

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White Heart, 2018

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd.

ISBN 9781788234528 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781788234535 (E-Book)

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First Published in 2018

Austin Macauley Publishers.LTD/

CGC-33-01, 25 Canada Square

Canary Wharf, London E14 5LQ

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Acknowledgements

I thank my wife Patricia for encouraging me to publish White Heart, and I doubly thank her and my children Georges and Grace for being my love, pride and joy!

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Table of Contents

My Life

Motherhood

Dream

The Teacher

Small Lights

Family

Fairness in the Jungle of Beasts

Valentine’s Day

Freedom

The Judge and Sickness

Mr Right and Mr Might

Indifference and Envy

Truth and Honesty

Love

Christmas

Music

Betrayal

Wedding

Waiter

Friendship

A War Story

My Old Village and New Land

Eva Sarkis

The Scaffold

The Garbage Collector

Politics and Politicians

War! Who is the Enemy?

My Brother

Time and Life

Dear Man

Migration

The Ghost and the Man

White Heart

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Preface

Written in 1991, White Heart was revised in 2016. At the time of the writing, I found myself incapable of submitting the manuscript to publication. I felt I emotionally laid myself bare. I could not bear the thought of revealing my inner thoughts, passions, beliefs and reflections. I imagined myself standing naked before all to see and dissect my inner reality, which, at the time, questioned the quintessential nature of human beings. This was tantamount to displaying my flesh before a pride of hungry lions.

I pigeonholed my manuscript until the time I was ready and secure in expressing myself without a shackle of guilt or a whiff of weakness and diffidence. In hindsight, I felt I swallowed my pride so as not to appear weak or soft-hearted in a gruesome world I demarcated its psychological parameters. So wrong I was! And how flagrantly amiss I was to believe that a kindred soul was a banner of vulnerability. Years later, I discovered how empowering it is to cathartically liberate my thoughts, feelings and beliefs. And how rewarding it is to scrutinize a deed, reflect on a consequential experience and ponder a reality transitioned into hope and expressed in a dream.

Penning the collection of White Heart’s short stories harrowed next to my existential nerve, exposing, criticizing, absolving then valuing lifetime experiences as both lessons to learn from and purposes to aspire to. Initially expressed as a rejection to harsh, indignant and radical transformative realities in war torn Beirut, White Heart strove to seek rays of light in the darkness of an individual yet inextricable universe blending people’s thoughts, actions, and dreams into rainbow colours unfolding onto a new land.

White Heart was the appellation given to my uncle Raymond, whose courage, decency, and village type personae enveloped a heart and consciousness as immaculate as the shining reflection of the rays of the sun on effervescent white snow. However, his goodness and white heartedness did not shield him from the murderer axe of war that deprived him of his only son. Deeply wounded yet projecting a deep faith in human beings, my uncle’s life had become enmeshed in my inner rejection and fear of war, yet in my outward celebration of dissembled courage; in my concealed resentment to perfidy, betrayal, deceit and violence, yet in my overt relish of fabricated audacity; in my covetous yearning of a soulful heart, yet in my blatant swanking of socializing; in my deep longing to embrace my new identity, yet in my tedious stubbornness to cling to the fairy tales of my old country; in my prayers to wake up with angels, yet in my nightly obsession to fence with demons.

White Heart offers a multi-faceted yet a distinctive story about questioning evil and cherishing good. Expressed in allegorical and anecdotal forms, White Heart weaves a tapestry of fictional stories, whose threads are inspired by true events.

I hope the reader will find the bitterness of White Heart’s enquiries as relevant to its sweet and noble hopes, dreams and aspirational humanistic views. I hope its stories bring a modicum of reflection and warmth to our world, whose coating at times needs to be scratched so our world’s White Heart can shine through.

Robert G. Rabil

July 2017

Boca Raton, FL

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My Life

My dreams direct me, my books enchant me, my challenge tries me, my character shapes me, my contentment blesses me, my courage fears me, my failure educates me, my faith believes me, my happiness sees me, my memory arbitrates me, my music speaks to me, my youth threatens me, my age honours me, my struggle bestows me, my opportunity finds me, my space enlarges me, my home earth mothers me, and my love shares, forgives and helps me. I am replete with gratitude.

I love the fire, the cold, the hot, the sin and the faith, and I enjoy the sun, the stars, the moon, the wind, and I fall deep into my religion. I am a Jew, a Moslem and a Christian to live and believe in one God.

I despise life hundreds of times, but I worship life millions of times.

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Motherhood

Hovering over his heavenly world, where whiteness encompasses every aspect, his wings carrying him alongside the twinkling of the stars, he decided to visit a planet he dreamed of.

The planet was earth.

Radiating with happiness and thrill, the white angel managed to open a hole in the sky; he embodied a huge crystal light and fell through the sky, leaving behind a red line marking the passage of his journey.

With wonder and a sense of fear, only a few people noticed the light. Still, they continued their normal lives.

He was happy and went to the highest peak on earth. He dove into the deepest bottom of the ocean, woke up to accompany the rich and the poor to work, and slept late to watch the fluorescent light of man-made stars. He sat with philosophers and architects, shared their views, harvested the fields with farmers and built his views as the builder lay down the bricks on a roof. He gathered his thoughts as surgeons sutured wounds and wives knit their sweaters with complex patterns. He merged information and traded laws with engineers and lawyers and travelled along the pages of life, crying over rudeness, greed, and selfishness, and smiling on love and compassion.

After his vision of life took on the pinnacle of its shape, he decided to go home and take with him the three most beautiful things he encountered on earth as souvenirs of his visit. On the fringe of the last-day of his visit his selection was determined.

. He went to a garden and chose the most dazzling red rose, one that contributes to our rich soil and enhances the beauty of nature.

. Then, he chose a book, with ample pages of inventions, the history of civilisation, a sampling of humans’ driving force for achievements and survival.

. And, his final selection was a handsome child with a gorgeous smile, the reward of innocence and youth.

He carried his beloved three souvenirs under his