21

Daddy dearest,

Well, it’s New Year’s, with all the usual happiness, sadness, and surprises. There’s something new at home, though. You must have heard that Mommy hired a lady to give Lynne and Mona private lessons. I think it’s a great idea. They were having a lot of trouble in math. They really don’t have a choice in the matter — they’ve got to pass their courses in order to finish high school and get into university. She seems nice enough, but a little sad. But Lynne and Mona say she really knows her stuff. You know how unusual it is for them to like their teachers, so now I’m hoping they can improve their marks and pass their courses.

Nothing new on my side; I’m hoping this semester will be as good, if not better, than the last. For a couple of weeks now it’s been snowing steadily, and the whole town is covered with a blanket of white. In fact, the snow hasn’t stopped falling. And it hasn’t gotten any warmer either!

And how are you doing? I know how busy you are, and that you can’t afford to pay us a visit, but why don’t you call me more often? Give it a try! Here I’m beginning to make friends at university. Know what? I joined the Muslim Students Association! And it’s not bad at all. There are students from just about everywhere — Pakistanis, Arabs, and even some Canadians who converted to Islam. It’s a cool place. And nothing like the closed-minded people you find over there.

I met a Canadian girl who became a Muslim — Louise is her name. She’s really nice, and we get along very well. We organize lectures on various topics. That way I feel I’m doing something positive and also I can learn about a different world. I’m anxious to hear your voice. Take care —

Your daughter,

Lama

Lama stifled a yawn; it was time to turn in. She laid the letter down on her night table. Tomorrow she would post it. This session was shaping up to be much harder than the last. She’d signed up for a course in accounting that demanded a lot of effort. But challenges didn’t frighten Lama; she’d done well so far and had every intention of keeping up her good work.

Once she began to make friends at university she had felt less pressure to return to Dubai to live. Of course she missed her father — she could barely wait until summer, when he would visit them — but university was a new world for her. It had nothing to do with high school and all the adolescent foolishness that went on there. Was she growing up or was it simply that Lama was ready to break out of the family cocoon and build a different world for herself? Probably both. Lama was no rebel determined at all costs not to identify with her mother. But thanks to her friends, she was learning to recognize another face of Canada.

Lama’s efforts to find a foothold, to put down roots, were beginning to pay off. She divided her time between her courses and socializing with her new friends at the Muslim Students Association. Never once did she regret her decision to join, and she attended meetings regularly. She became involved in charitable work and chatted with other members about the stress of exams and the burden of classwork. No longer was she alone, but was surrounded by people just like her. Each one had his or her story to tell; each one was motivated to learn from life.

She thought about Louise, how kind she was, how open-minded. Lama was sure the two of them would become good friends. Nor had it taken her long to figure out that Louise and Ameur were in love. He was always looking in Louise’s direction, as if he was afraid of losing her. But Lama had noticed something strange in that young man’s eyes. She kept her distance; there was something about him she didn’t trust.