Once Upon an Eid

by S.K. Ali

Now I know something I never ever want to forget, like I don’t ever want to forget to love purple-black: Special days start when you run toward them.

“If we can be strong enough to resist the stuff Allah has allowed, it makes it easier to resist the stuff that’s forbidden. I know Ramadan makes me appreciate the things He gave us that I usually take for granted, like food and water.”

The hall is packed with a lot of Muslims who only come during Ramadan. I know people who don’t follow most of the stuff, but when it comes to Ramadan, they go all in.

Others mention that my parents added their requests to a prayer notebook that they took with them, filled with the wishes of the community and our family.

He shivered, trying to do as Babba had asked, to look beyond the terrible circumstances that had brought them here, but he just couldn’t.

Soulful and melodious, Uncle Yakuba’s voice settled across the field, focusing their little community in prayer. As Bassem knelt, an ember rekindled in his heart, yearning for a connection with God.

Bassem grinned and realized with surprise that her stutter had momentarily disappeared. Like him, she’d forgotten—forgotten that they were refugees far from home.

Now for the main event: The gravy itself. The one component that holds every disparate thing together, like mothers do in families.

You’re going to help me cook? I ask. His glance is withering. Please. Your old man is a master at this. This ginger, for example . . . That’s galangal, Abah, I tell him, a giggle bubbling in my throat. That’s what I meant.

Exactly like my father lol

Did they foresee Eids bold and gentle? Eids loud and loving? Did they see their descendants—see you and me? Did they see us all someday free?

Joy and sorrow follow each other endlessly like moon phases, Maya Madinah. There are times of shining fullness and times of emptying out.

“Insha’Allah.” “I guarantee it’s God’s will that I have more phone credit, Mum.” “Insha’Allah.” “You’re not fooling me. We all know what a Mum Insha’Allah means.”