We were just finishing dinner when my husband heard the knock at the door. Yezid got up from the table to answer it. He was out of his seat and racing down the hall as if he was expecting someone. He was wearing socks and skated halfway down the hall like he always did. We all heard the door open. And we all heard Yezid talking with someone. His sister says she heard at least two other voices. The conversation was friendly. Yezid’s sister is sure that he knew the boys who came to the door.
When we heard the door close, we thought nothing of it. Yezid used to disappear after dinner all the time. In summer, he was always in a hurry to go outside for another game of soccer. Or to go play video games. What was it he liked – Grand Auto? It could have been any of his friends from upstairs. He never even put his shoes on.
We never received a note or a ransom demand. No one ever found his body. None of his friends ever came forward to tell us anything. No one here would ever talk to us about it. It took us a long time before we connected it to what was happening at the university. I stopped going to work. Yezid’s father began to pray for the first time in his life. He’s probably praying right now! When the internet is working I check email. I’ve been writing to people in Europe to see if there are any university positions in clinical psychiatry. Do you know of any?