In this excerpt from Elliot Ackerman’s novel Dark at the Crossing, published by The Daily Beast, Haris and Daphne visit a hospital near the Turkish-Syrian border, where the consequences of war confront them through one displaced family’s impossible circumstances.
Inside the Hospital
The scene follows Haris and Daphne into the basement of a Turkish hospital, where Syrian patients and their families receive care under crowded and unequal conditions. There they meet Jalindar, his young nephew Daoud, and Jalindar’s critically wounded twin brother.
War, Family, and Difficult Choices
As Daphne negotiates the family’s departure from the hospital, Haris attempts to distract Daoud with a game of tic-tac-toe. The encounter reveals the emotional burden carried by children, caregivers, refugees, and those forced to make decisions when no humane option remains.
About the Novel
Dark at the Crossing is a novel of love, displacement, identity, and moral uncertainty set against the Syrian civil war. It was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction.
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