parents

5

A Bouquet of Love

He gently laid the dried petals into the potpourri vase and swirled through them slightly. As the faint fragrance rose and wafted through the air, his mind drifted back to beloved memories of his childhood. He remembered his parents and how every week his father would bring a bouquet of fresh flowers for his mother. With a smile reserved only for his father, she would gingerly accept them and place them into her favorite vase atop the dining table. For the next week or so, the ornate vase and...

05 March 2013 | Relationships | , , , , , , | 5 Comments
8

A Palace of Dark Windows

Sometimes we think that just because there is light everything is clear. We fail to see the shades. We are blind to the shadows of their stories. On one of your semi-solitary strolls along the river of cement, you encounter a palace whose only openings are windows. You reach for a broad bright window and swing it open. There, you see a very respectable-looking man. Driven by curiosity, you observe him with his friends, his boss and his co-workers. Light seems to be radiating from all around him. So courteous,...

29 December 2011 | Abuse | , , , , , | 8 Comments
14

A Friend To Remember: Part II

Continued from ‘A Friend to Remember: Part I’ Kalia got upset at the worst of things. I walked over to my mother’s car after school, stepping over the cracks in the sidewalk in front of the school. Being called a terrorist was just something I ignored, something stupid that media sensationalized and used against us. What Jamie had said to Kalia was a failure of an argument, and it was senseless to play along with those who tried to anger her. ­I opened the car door and threw my...

20 December 2011 | Friends | , , , , , , | 14 Comments
7

A Friend To Remember: Part I

It was another year at beloved public school, another year at Valley Falls High – home of brand new desks and bats in the ceiling. Lockers slammed and kids laughed as I walked through the halls, bumping shoulders and finding pathways in the crowd. I sighed. Summer had flown by in a midst of summer reading and relaxing, but it was too late to run out of school now. Walking into chemistry, my first class on my first day of junior year, I noted the nonexistent “Welcome Back” vibe...

19 December 2011 | Friends | , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments
24

A Mother’s Gift: Part II

Continued From “A Mother’s Gift: Part I.”  Three days went by. I went to school after the morning at Daniel’s house, trying to forget everything and catch up on my work.  I wanted to graduate; I wanted to get out of the life I had thrown myself into after my father’s death. I spent more time with my brother at night. He, at almost nine years old, was slowly starting to read, and that was something I couldn’t miss in his  life. My little brother was born early, and...

16 November 2011 | Parents | , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments
8

Silent Mourning

A True Story | Anonymous Staff Writer “We’re leaving”, they said. The door snapped shut. Our home plunged into silent mourning. My mind sealed itself into a labyrinth of words spilt in the heat of anger and the coldness of heart. Earlier that morning, I had told my mother to let me be. I had told her that my disheveled closet was my own, and thus, I could do with it what I pleased. My voice had risen. My shame had dropped. Now, they were gone. My mother had...

06 July 2011 | Death | , , , , | 8 Comments
9

Love And Respect

Have we ever thought about the difference between love and respect? When we say we love someone, what does that mean? When we say we respect someone, how is different from loving that person? To this question, Imam Safi Khan of Dar-us-Salaam said, “Love is the ability to give something, while respect is the ability to take something.” Think about  it; when you love someone, you want to give them something that will make them happy. When you respect somebody, you are willing to listen and take from what they say....

01 May 2009 | Worship | , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments