Kafir -

A word meant to separate can become a bridge, if we are brave enough to pour our water into another’s jug. The real "covering of truth" is not a different creed, but the act of seeing an enemy where a thirsty human being stands.

Rashid lowered his bucket into the well. When he pulled it up, he did not walk back to his village. Instead, he poured half the water into Eli's jug. "Take this to your children first," he said. "Tomorrow, you will pour for mine." A word meant to separate can become a

He took a heavy jug and walked to the well. There he found Eli, also carrying a jug. When he pulled it up, he did not walk back to his village

The next day, the two villages did not merge, nor did their beliefs change. But they dug a second well, together. And when a child from the east would ask, "Is that a Kafir from the west?" their parent would reply, "No, child. That is an olive farmer who helped us dig. Their name is Eli. Or Tariq. Or Sara. Use their name. That is the only word that matters between neighbors." "Tomorrow, you will pour for mine

Eli did not argue. He nodded, and walked back to his village.

Rashid spoke first. "You are from the other side. My people call your people a word that means 'coverer of truth.' I have used that word. But standing here, seeing you also carry water for the thirsty, I realize I have been the one covering a truth: the truth that your child's thirst is the same as my child's thirst."

Eli was silent for a moment. He then said, "My scholars have a word for someone who reduces a living soul to a label. It is a form of blindness. I have been blind too."