Sea Prayer

The blue sky is brighter now, but the figures are all shown hunched or crawling rather than upright. In the rubble of the bombs, people scramble and explore the wreckage. Marwan inspires his father by turning these changes into opportunities, seeing the possibility of a pool in what is literally destruction. However, the narrator is not able to shield Marwan from the realities of these horrors; Marwan has already learned too much about blood.

The narrator addresses Marwan as a singular “you.” Marwan is isolated from other children and people at this time. None of the figures on the page march in groups or walk in pairs. Instead they traverse this climb alone. None of the objects in this section are drawn in enough detail to make out their importance. These materials are completely obscured, just as this place and its contents would be unrecognizable after an explosion.

However, Marwan is able to find other people hiding under the questionable safety of slanted concrete and building debris. These people rest together; they are close enough that the illustration represents detailed patterns on their clothing. The crowds have become smaller as the group travels up to the page. Instead of banners, they hold belongings and the hands of children.