2 Ramadan 1443

Its beginning is mercy.
Its middle is forgiveness.
Its end is freedom.

Today was a quiet day. The house is quiet. The streets are quiet. The birds are quiet.

I stayed lying in bed until noon. I prepared for class and read another chapter of There There. I went for a swim. One of my advisees recognized me, and I heard her voice saying “Hi Dr.Ullah!” before I saw her happy face. I initially had concerns about swimming while fasting, but water has a way of drowning out all the noise. It’s why I keep going.

My body is tired and hungry; my mind is calm and at ease.

And I won’t cook iftar tonight.

There will be a community organized iftar at the church not far from where I now live — and I haven’t attended a community iftar ever since the pandemic changed the way we gather in 2020.