Gilad is no longer just a poster. He is more real now than ever before - alive and moving. It is around five in the evening. Two Yasur (Seahawk) helicopters circle Mitzpe Hila twice, as requested by Gilad. He wants to wave to the people below. On the ground, people line the road in his honor, all the way to his home. Neighbors, activists, and excited citizens from remote areas all dance in unison, draped in national flags. Some sing Hatikvah (the national anthem), some hug each other, some throw flowers on the vehicle that carries Gilad home. Some girls put white roses in the hair of some boys. Even police securing the event cannot hold back the tears when they hear the words "Am Yisrael Chai" ("The people of Israel live"). Eva Drori, a neighbor who lives opposite the Shalit family home, appears to be worried despite the happiness. "He spoke quietly, but we will strengthen him. All of us. We, and his mother, will strengthen him. We will feed him some home cooking." Someone decides to celebrate the upcoming holiday of Simchat Torah a bit early, and begins to sing loudly, quickly gaining support from all those around him, "Sisu Vesimchu Besimchat Torah" ("Rejoice and be happy on the day the Torah is celebrated"). Religious and secular alike, all sing, including the strangers who came to take part in this historical event. One of the visitors to Mitzpe Hila, Azam Azam, an Israeli Druze businessman who was incarcerated in Egypt for eight years on charges of spying for Israel, said, "Who can stay at home on a day like today? Gilad is a soldier who belongs to all of us. He is especially important to someone like me, who knows what it is to move from the darkness into light, from the grave to life. In Gaza they are happy? Think about it, more than 1,000 terrorists went home. We taught the entire world a lesson. More than 1,000 terrorists for just one of our soldiers. They have reduced their own value and consider their own people cheap."
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