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Ever since they came to some sort of a truce and after learning each other's name, Nicolò hadn't spoken a word. Yusuf didn't know if it was a normal thing among men where Nicolò came from to stay silent all the time or if Nicolò was processing the events that had happened in Jerusalem by staying silent. But Yusuf was the kind of person who needed to talk or else the silence would become too much for him. So, while Nicolò stayed silent, Yusuf spoke. Once in a while, Nicolò would nod whenever Yusuf asked him something. That was how things had been for the last four months until this afternoon.
It all started when Yusuf asked Nicolò a simple question: "How do you want the fish cooked?". Yusuf hadn't expected an answer from Nicolò, so what happened next took Yusuf totally by surprise.
Nicolò had taken one look at the fish, then at Yusuf before Nicolò started to pace back and forth while gesturing with his hands and talking really loudly in what Yusuf expected was Latin. Yusuf didn't understand half of what Nicolò was saying, but what he really didn't understand was how a simple question from his side had broken the month-long silence from his travel companion.
After sitting down on the ground, Yusuf, at first, let Nicolò talk because it seemed like he had a lot on his chest that needed to be said, but after a couple of hours, Yusuf's stomach started to growl, and he realized he was still holding the fish in his hand. After putting the fish in the pot, Yusuf hoped Nicolò would understand him because Latin wasn't the language he spoke the best.
"Uhm, Nicolò," Yusuf tried. "Could I ask you something?"
It took a while before Nicolò even looked at Yusuf. The look on Nicolò's face told Yusuf everything that Nicolò was feeling right now - namely anger and sorrow.
"Sorry if I upset you," Yusuf said. "Do you understand me?"
Nicolò nodded.
"Your Latin is better than I thought," Nicolò said. "What do you want?"
"I won't ask you about the fish again," Yusuf replied. "I'm hungry. Do you want something to eat?"
"No," Nicolò replied. "I'm not done yet."
Nicolò returned to the pacing and shouting—this time at the sky. Yusuf decided not to cook the fish and ate some flatbread with honey instead. While eating, Yusuf watched Nicolò. Yusuf wasn't really worried about Nicolò (Yusuf's Imma also used to pace and shout at the sky. When that happened, Yusuf's Baba would tell him it was a matter between his Imma and whoever she was talking with and that he should leave her to it.) until later that evening when Nicolò suddenly collapsed where he stood. After checking if Nicolò was still breathing, Yusuf took a blanket and tucked Nicolò under it. Then Yusuf watched over Nicolò until he woke a day later.
"Hi," Yusuf said. "Water?"
Yusuf held out the waterskin, which Nicolò took before drinking a big slurp of the water.
"Thanks," Nicolò said. "How long did I sleep?"
"For a long time," Yusuf replied. "You seemed like you needed it."
Nicolò sat up and drank some more water. Then Nicolò noticed the worried look on Yusuf's face.
"I didn't mean to upset you. I'm just so angry," Nicolò said. "Do you understand me?"
"A little," Yusuf replied. "Latin is hard. I'm better a Greek."
Nicolò switched over to Greek when he spoke again.
"As I said before, I didn't want to upset you," Nicolò said. "When you held the fish, all the anger I have against my late Father resurfaced again."
Nicolò curled his legs up under him while he looked away.
"My Father was a fisherman," Nicolò said. "And every time I smell or see a fish, I...."
Before speaking again, Nicolò took a moment to think if he could trust Yusuf.
"I don't want to talk about it," Nicolò said. "And I don't want you to ask about it."
They sat a bit in silence.
"If that is what you want, then I respect it. We all got things we won't talk about," Yusuf said. "I just hope you'll speak with me instead of staying silent. I got so many questions about our dreams."
"So do I," Nicolò replied. "Let me get some more sleep, then we can talk."
Nicolò lay down and curled his legs up under him. When Nicolò was sleeping, Yusuf tucked the blanket around Nicolò. After throwing away the fish, Yusuf sat down to look after Nicolò. That night, Yusuf came up with his own conclusions about Nicolò's Father and promised himself that he would do everything in his power to keep Nicolò safe in the future. Yusuf didn't know yet why he promised himself that, but there was something about Nicolò and what he did to Yusuf he couldn't put words on. Luckily, Yusuf had time on his side to figure out why.