Prologue
December, 2001
"Since the holidays are coming up, I thought it would be a great idea if we all learned about different holidays. I know not everyone here celebrates Christmas so for your last project before the break, I want you to present to the class the holiday that you and your family celebrate and how you do it. But if you celebrate Christmas, then tell us how your family celebrates it."
Ten year old Sarima remembered what her teacher had said earlier during the day as she sat in the living room, working on her math homework. Upon remembering, she placed her pencil onto the table and turned her head to face her mother who sat on the other side of the room, flipping through a magazine.
"Mom," she called out to her. Aliyah lifted her head from the magazine which she had been skimming through, to look at her daughter and smiled slightly.
"What religion do we belong to?" Sarima asked her. Her mother's smile faltered slightly as she closed the magazine.
"Why do you ask, sweetheart?" Aliyah asked cautiously.
"It's for school. We were learning about religions and Ms Woo told us to do a project about holidays." She turned around to fully face her mother as she watched her place the magazine on the coffee table beside the sofa.
"We're Muslims, sweetheart."
A thoughtful expression crossed the ten year old's face as she heard her mother's reply.
"Really?" she asked, earning a nod, "But I heard that Muslims pray five times a day. How come we don't do that?"
"Where did you hear that?" her mother asked.
"From Ms Woo."
Her mother sighed and ran her hand through her hair before picking up her magazine once again and opening it. She didn't say anything as she flipped the pages, causing Sarima to think that the conversation was over. She frowned slightly at the abrupt end of the conversation and turned around, intending to return to her math problems. But as she picked up her pencil once again, she heard her mother speak.
"We're busy people, Sarima. We don't have time to do things like that."
YOU ARE READING
Open Eyes
SpiritualEver since she was young, Sarima had noticed that no one in her family took their religion seriously. Placing the family business as their top priority, they ignored the basic requirements of them as Muslims and went about their daily lives without...
