This war that defies science fiction

I’ve tried explaining ‘this’ to him using the simplest words. I’ve tried breaking down the facts, simplifying them for him. I’ve tried describing the scene in the most basic way, as one would speak to a child, but R. just couldn’t understand. “I can’t wrap my head around it,” he told me, wide-eyed. ‘This’ completely overwhelmed him. Of course, R. was following the bad news that was pouring out of Lebanon every day, hour by hour, on his screen. Yet logic failed to grasp ‘this’ that I was exhausting myself trying to explain. So, I gave up my attempts to explain ‘this’ and showed him the video so he could see it with his own eyes.Like in a video game It was a beautiful day in Lebanon on Saturday, Oct. 19. A perfect sky, whose deep blue magically blended with that of the sea along the bay of Jounieh. Here, on either side of the highway,...