ramazaan...

so ramazaan is in a month and a half. that was fast.

i was thinking- four ramazaans ago, i was waking up for sihori with feriha and eating froot loops in our apartment at loyola. three ramazaans ago, i was waking up for sihori with feriha and eating cheese sandwiches with tea in our apartment in cairo. two ramazaans ago, it was omelettes with meryam (cairo again).

last ramazaan, on lalitul qadr, i was sitting next to sakina the entire night- we were both wedged between our moms and we passed the night whispering between namaz and following the duas in our moms' kitaabs. she kept an eye on the time since she had a watch, and would wink at me when, every two or three hours, i would steal away to chat with t on the stairs for a minute or two.

and here we are. september 10th. this week it'll be a month- pretty soon it'll be a year. then it'll be ten. we'll all look at pictures we've taken with her, and she'll look exactly the way we remember her. and yet we ourselves will look different; no eternal youth for us.

i guess people as beautiful as her never should grow old.