EXISTENCE

CHAPTER 5: Aftermath

If only you were here. If only you could see him now.

I honestly don't know how I've managed to come this far without you.

Maybe that says a lot more about you than it does about me...

You always told me not to cry over things I've lost...but I don't know anymore.

He reminds me of you a lot, you know? Back when we were kids, especially.

The way he talks like nothing can stop him. The way he smiles at even the smallest of things.

He definitely has your smile. And your eyes. Your determination and your attitude are in him too.

It's been five years since you were gone. You would be proud of him, I know.

I can't explain it, but I don't think you're truly gone. Ever since they said you had died, I just couldn't believe it. You're invincible, aren't you? You promised me you wouldn't die. He seems to feel it too...

Mimi opened her eyes. She'd been having this same dream for a while now. But as much as she wished for it, she knew that this was nothing more than just that: a dream.

She took a glance to her left at a framed picture featuring her, her husband, and her two sons, Adam and Sammy. She smiled softly to herself. It seemed that no matter what she tried, only smiles came when she thought of her now deceased husband. Not a single bad memory came to her, and how could they? The last eleven years had been nothing but happy for the two of them. And now, even as he's gone, she still has her three sons, and a daughter in Nadia. Add in Adam's two friends and Rym, and you have one very happy mother.

She got up from her bed and walked into the family room. Inside sat Adam, watching highlights of a Real Madrid match that he had missed while eating several slices of watermelon. Mimi smiled. When it came to Adam, soccer was always at the top of his mind.

She sat next to him on the couch. "Who's playing again?"

Adam gulped down his watermelon. "Yemma, I told you a thousand times, if they're wearing white with the Bwin logo then they're Real Madrid!"

Mimi giggled. "Sorry habibi, it's just that these things tend to go over my head."

Adam looked at his mother. "You mean Baba never explained these things to you?"

Mimi thought about it. "He may have, but I guess I never paid much attention."

"You're a horrible wife."

"Am I really?"

"You don't listen! If I were a woman, I'd listen to anything my husband said, and pay attention to every word!"

Mimi laughed. "You're just like your father, Adoum."

Adam pouted. "That's nice and all, but I wanna be my own person. I want to live life as an original, not end up as a copy."

Mimi touched her son's forehead. "Well, maybe some people need a copy."

Adam stared at his mom. It sometimes slipped his mind that while he lost his dad, she lost her husband. He nodded. "I guess so."

Mimi smiled. It was like every second, her son seemed to be learning and growing. Was Tarek ever like that, back when they were kids?

"Hey, Yemma," Adam asked, "would you say you and Baba were best friends?"

Mimi stared. "Of course. What makes you ask?"

Adam stared at his wrist. "Nothing really. It's just that, I thought that if I ever did get married, it would have to be with my best friend, wouldn't it? Somebody I really trust, I guess."