The Cover Of It All

Chapter The First

    I woke up as usual on an aljamea*. Wait? I thought. Did I hear talking? That couldn't be right. Maadar and Pedar never talk anymore. Mostly because he was busy all the time. But also because at one point Maadar contradicted Pedar. So he slapped her across the face. She hasn't spoken to him since. It also didn't help that she quit talking because he got mad and threatened her own Maadar. Which made her dislike him even more.
         I checked again. No that wasn't Maadar talking. It sounded deep and rough. Wait. Did they say mosque? Did I hear the word bomb? Are they going to bomb a mosque? I realized that Maadar must be right. There was no way that was the Islamic way. No Muslim should ever talk that way about the holy church. A mosque was the place to honor Allah. Not something to joke about bombing.
         I'm going to tell Maadar. As much as I respect Pedar, bombing isn't something to joke about. "Maadar!," I called as loudly but quietly as I could. "Yes Abena?" She replied. "I was needing to talk to you." Seeing as the men were still in the room I quickly added, "Privately"

        "What is it?" She asked as we walked into her room. I was thinking of how to explain.
"Huh?" I said.
"What do you need?" She told me impatiently.
"Oh! I overheard Pedar and that other man talki-"
She cut me off, "You mean you were eavesdropping?"
"No Maadar. I really did just overhear them."
"Fine. Continue please."
"Well I overheard them talking about bombing a mosque."
"WHAT?!? THEY ARE BOMBING A MOSQUE?" She screamed.
"Maadar!" I said with surprise in my voice. "Don't scream, they'll hear you."
"Oh! Sorry Abena, I just can't believe Abu would do such a thing."
Oh no. She's using Pedar's first name. Not a good sign.
"Maadar." I stated calmly, "Don't get mad."
"Don't worry Abena, I'll take care of this."

Little did I know that the next day I would be on my way to a new culture. England.

*aljamea - Friday in Arabic
Padar - Father in Arabic
Maadar - Mother in Arabic