When Life Happens

I walked casually to the door after hearing the rattling of the postman trying to push in the letters through the pigeonhole. My 3 years old would soon run to pick up all the letters for me as she normally does, but for some reasons that morning I wanted to do this myself.

I was expecting the result of my postgraduate assessment. I had toiled effortlessly in class, I was one of the intelligent few in the class, my views on the subject were highly valued. All my assignments attracted the highest grade. The last and final part of this course was the assessment which took place at work and I was looking forward to the outcome.

(more…)

Continue ReadingWhen Life Happens

Don’t Feel Sorry For Me.

” Aww, I feel sorry for you. You still have to wear the thingy in this heat”.

“Oh, I bet you’re boiling under your scarf”

“How do you feel wearing that in this heat?”.

You see, I am a Muslim and I wear hijab. No, I wasn’t forced to wear it. I did not just pick it up after my marriage. In other words, my hijab has always been part of my life.

But with the temperature soaring above the bearable comes the same old look, gesture and utterances I felt quite uncomfortable with.

(more…)

Continue ReadingDon’t Feel Sorry For Me.

The Knots in my Heart.

Of all the love stories I have read and heard, my grandmother’s love story stands out tall above the rest. My grandfather was a merchant who traveled far and wide with his bicycle. As a result, his trade took him to a tiny hamlet where my grandmother was born and raised.

At this time, there were many girls of marriageable ages in the hamlet. Men travelled from neighbouring towns and villages to seek their hands in marriage.

(more…)

Continue ReadingThe Knots in my Heart.