But we aren't there yet. With about a mile left to go, Abu Hassar puts his hand on my shoulder. "So you will come visit when the war is over?"

"Of course," I say. "If it's safe for someone like me."

"It would have to be. You would never pass for a Muslim." He points at me and speaks to Abed: "He is such a Christian, he even looks like Jesus!"

I glance at myself in the rearview mirror. I haven't shaved in a couple of weeks. My face is a bit gaunt, my kinked hair a bit unkempt. "Maybe I look like Einstein?"

As we pull over by his brother's shop, Abu Hassar and I are still laughing.

"If I look like Jesus," I say, "you look like the Prophet Muhammad." Abu Hassar shakes his head. "No, I don't look like the Prophet, peace be upon him."

He opens his door and a cold breeze fills our car. I can feel the rain outside hitting my neck. Abu Hassar grabs my shoulder with his thick and powerful hands. He pushes his face close to mine. Again he is grinning. "I look like the Mahdi."

This article by Elliot Ackerman originally appeared at Task & Purpose. Follow Task & Purpose on Twitter. This article first appeared in 2019.

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