'Latifah,where's my juice?I'm parched!',called Jamal from the parlor.Latifah made a rude sound then threw the sponge on the kitchen counter .She started to walk towards the fridge,then stopped halfway.With a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth,Latifah turned around and went back to washing the plates.
'Come and get it yourself!',she shouted back.
Latifah Jamal,I don't believe those words are coming out your mouth!',scolded Mama.
'Now go and take your poor cousin some juice.'
Latifah threw down the sponge for the second time and got the juice making as much noise as possible..
“You Fool! How abysmally obtuse and stupid can a person ever be!” blubbered Aunt Carla.
A small somewhat subdued sniff escaped through my lips as I picked up the crumpled copy of the old newspaper and fisted it tightly in my hands as if it were to sprout up legs somehow and run away...
You’re standing in front of a tall Tower. You reach out and feel the foundation, it’s real enough. You rap against it with your knuckles and the solidness of it kind of hurts, send shivers into your hand. You pass your palm along the wall and it is smooth, flawless. There is no question at all about whether the Tower exists. You smile to yourself and lean against the building whistling a happy tune.
Then someone comes along and looks at your Tower. They pay no attention to the nice, strong foundation, but they look up to the sky where the top of the Tower vanishes and ask, “So, what color is the roof?”
I sit and I spot her the look of frustration yet determination. She stands in the back prayer line because, “that is the best one for women,” between her mother-in-law and sister-in-law, newly arrived from “Back home.” Married only 1 year, newly converted to this religion she ‘thought’ she was beginning to understand.
“I’m so tired”
“Tired of what?”
“Of all these people judging me.”
“Who judged you?”
“Like that woman, every time I sit with her, she tells me to wear hijab.”
“Oh, hijab and music! The mother of all topics!”
“Yeah! I listen to music without hijab…haha!”
“Maybe she was just giving you advice.”
“I don’t need her advice. I know my religion. Can‘t she mind her own business?”
“Maybe you misunderstood. She was just being nice.”
“Keeping out of my business, that would be nice...”
Stories 
