“A soldier who looked as if he were around fifteen, with soft, smooth cheeks, lay next to Ilan with his eyes closed, curled up and mumbling quickly, devotedly. Ilan touched his leg and asked him to say a prayer for him. Without opening his eyes, the boy said he wasn’t praying. He wasn’t religious at all, he was just reciting chemistry equations. That’s how he used to quiet himself before matriculation exams, and it always worked. Ilan asked him to say a few equations for him.”
