"Familysick" I call it

Not "homesick" but "familysick"
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I try to sleep

I slowly close my eyes

I toss and turn

I try to get into a comfortable position

I finally do

A picture of him

Slowly starts to appear

Starts with the facial hair, white as snow

His nose appears next

Followed by his eyes, his beige musar and white dishdasha

I open my eyes… I don’t want to imagine him now

I stare into the darkness

The only light coming from the heater’s switch

I close my eyes again forcing myself to think of something else

I hear her voice

She’s sending her prayers to God

Nothing new about that

A picture of her slowly appears

Small eyes, big nose and a warm smile

I open my eyes… I don’t want to imagine her now

I stare into the darkness

The only light coming from the heater’s switch

I close my eyes again forcing myself to think of something else

We’re in the car

Music almost on full volume

One of these songs that makes you want to dance

We’re singing along

She asks the question we love to hate

“Where should we go?”

We list the places

They are always the same

We end up in Shatti Al Qurm by the beach

The famous area with all the coffee shops

We pick things from here and there

My phone rings… “Ummy Calling”

I answer and say we’re on the way

I lied

We’re still in Shatti Al Qurm

On the way back home we share our drinks

I open my eyes… I don’t want to imagine that now

I stare into the darkness

The only light coming from the heater’s switch

I close my eyes again forcing myself to think of something else

While doing so

A tear slips from its place

Down my cheek

.

.

.

I fall asleep