The Dobsons have their own sounds and tastes. For instance, there’s the great taste of Toffee, their tiny dog; she’s as sweet as candy but doesn’t get stuck to your teeth, and she doesn’t shed.
Toffee runs to the road in front of the house, and all three children chase her. Together with Sivan, their mother, they use pastel colored chalk to draw on the gray asphalt a picture of what used to be their reality before COVID.
Rani is flying high above the buildings; a red cape is painted around his neck. He lands safely and doesn’t miss the opportunity to climb a ladder and pick up some stars which he puts in a basket that he holds in his other hand.
Tiny Milli is relaxed. She has a crystal ball full of snowflakes that at the moment is only hers. She will take the last bite of the popsicle while standing under a yellow umbrella with a pink handle, but she will share the larger ice cream with four flavors with Rani, because some things require a little help.
Yotam is too old to get into a small, colorful caravan, so he might be nearby riding the ATV around the neighborhood. Or, he might be found doing a handstand, or jumping, somersaulting, flipping backwards, and stretching. He’s a born acrobat.
A few days later, Sivan will come out and hose down the colored asphalt back to its gray origin, preparing it for the next day. The wet asphalt will soak up the children’s adventures, and together with mom and pop they will sail in the coming few days to a new reality.
I believe Toffee will again run around their legs, barking and urging the whole family, just as it did this Saturday morning in the small eucalyptus grove, which they will remember as their childhood grove.
