Evil Eye

by Etaf Rum

In moments like this, her daughters’ heads pressed to her, their skin warm against her own, Yara never felt happier. She wished she could capture this feeling, stretch it over her entire day for protection and comfort.

Think of what Kahlil Gibran wrote,” Mama said. “‘Travel and tell no one, live a true love story and tell no one, live happily and tell no one. People ruin beautiful things.’”

“Our emotions are energy,” Yara continued. “Energy in motion. The point is to move the emotions through and out of your body. When you don’t express your emotions, when you keep your feelings inside, the energy gets trapped. So it’s important to feel emotions and talk about them, because when you keep them bottled in, you start to feel sad and down and heavy.” “Is that why you paint?” Jude asked. “To move the energy out?” “Yes,” Yara said, smiling. “I think it is.”

To surrender to the vulnerability of love and allow ourselves to be loved by others—isn’t that the most courageous act of all?