Strings - Capstone Amal Al Shamsi (1)

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before looking up at him. Her face was full of sharp edges, down the bridge of her nose to thepoint of her chin, but her gaze made it all seem soft like she was trying not to scare him away.Standing like this, she was a good head taller than him, he suddenly didn’t like the way she waslooking down at him.He realized she would stay put until he said something, so he did. “All right.”“Want anything?” she asked him.Hamza took a seat. The metal chair scraped against the concrete floor loudly, makinganother noise as he sat down. The envelope seemed slim. He debated to himself whether thiswas good news, slowly tearing open the flap.The document inside was stern, it stood upright in his grip without a crease. The eagleinsignia towards the top confirmed this. Hamza’s eyes ran through the document once, thentwice, then he turned it over to see that it was blank on the back.His son was to report to a hearing for petty theft. Jasem’s name was clearly printed incapitalized letters. A date, going back to a few months ago, was stamped into the bottom. Withone swift motion, he tucked the papers back into the envelope.Beside him, a couple was moving their table closer to the window. The screeching madeHamza feel sick.In front of him, Reem was adjusting her navy sheila, tightening it by gathering it at herchin, then with an elegant motion, tossing it over her shoulder.He stood up, causing the table to shift with another ugly sound. Pinching the envelope bythe edge, he picked it up and made his way out of the door. He could feel her eyes on his backbut kept moving. He didn’t want to hear her ask about it or have to explain anything.Moving past the park, wanting to go around the corner as quickly as he could, he startedto fold the envelope as small as it could go, until it could just fit inside his front pocket. Afterthat, he felt he could exhale and stopped for a while to shut his eyes. A shoulder knocked againsthim and he jolted forwards to brace himself but still, he did not open his eyes.On the subway home, he felt like a stray penny in a ratty tin can, knocking on the sides asit was shaken up and down and side to side. Except he was soft. No, he was a little piece of lintthat fell in from someone that had dropped the penny into the tin can. Hamza sat there, jostlingabout, the corners of the envelope digging into his thigh.Later that evening, Reem called him to tell him that his son was actually being held forbribery and attempting to unlawfully fly home. She suggested that he got over there and sort it95
out. She did not address him deserting her at the cafe, she just said her bit and bid him goodnight.The airport terminal was cold and he hung around the convenience store, loading andreloading the sky scanner website. It was the same place where he had picked up Jasem, half ayear ago. He was many hours early, but Lamya would not stop calling him to make sure he leftthe house. The sun was barely even up, but Hamza had stayed up all night anyway. It waspathetic, worrying about Jasem, when all they could do in the meantime was wring their hands.As he watched the little airplane icon move across the screen, he thought of the sound ofa rolling dice before it landed. In his mind, the dots spill across the table.He had shared the news with Haya and her mother back home, he had to. Now, hisdaughter was on her way to him, and had made those plans despite his annoyance andinsistence that she was making a big deal out of it.At the end of the long hall, filled with the clamor of clunky wheels hitting the rubberfloor, Haya emerged. She appeared to stretch, growing as she singled herself out of the crowd.,Hamza could only think of the most obvious thing, that Haya was real. He felt that if she foundhim and looked at him with recognition in her eyes, he would be real, too.His daughter wore the hood of her jacket over her head and the strings tucked inside.Her dark hair was pressed to one cheek in messy strands. As she searched for him, her eyesseemed to fill her whole face. He thought of Lamya, raising his arm to fetch the girl’s attention.She slid over towards him “Oh, baba, I didn’t recognize you in a sweater,” she told him,kissing his cheek.He laughed, pulling her suitcase towards him to safeguard. She pushed it away as shehugged him around the middle tightly. When he looked down at her, he saw her eyes werescrewed closed.He brought his hand to the back of her head, holding it there. Hamza had so manyquestions to ask his daughter, but none mattered.“Can you believe I’m here?” she asked into his shoulder.He could not.96
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StringsAmal Al Shamsiaas1005Literat
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LeavingThe kids in the neighborhood
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Lamya looked at him sideways, picki
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Walking through the now-abandoned r
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They continued to discuss the futur
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StringsIn two instances, Hamza reme
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She had overcome the urge to press
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FamiliarWhile they were young, most
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Neck of the Hourglass“Is it hered
Page 19 and 20:
Hamza leaned his head back exaggera
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“Let me at least put my things do
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“I read that in a poem.”“When
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out a hand, making the introduction
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The living room was indistinguishab
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That was one of their last outings
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Faisal was suddenly re-animated for
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CavityFaisal left New York, in stag
Page 35 and 36:
Salem tried to take the basket from
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across the soiled mattress. Hamza q
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West VillageA quarter of a lifetime
Page 41 and 42:
Picking up the cutlery, he began to
Page 43 and 44:
They were in Hamza’s apartment. H
Page 45 and 46: father’s Suzuki Patrol while his
Page 47 and 48: “Because then Sara got married an
Page 49 and 50: JasemThere were things that Hamza f
Page 51 and 52: falling. The boy was starting to cl
Page 53 and 54: “Right,” he told her.“If you
Page 55 and 56: Hamza stood before the history clas
Page 57 and 58: especially in a city that was flock
Page 59 and 60: ThiefWhen the day reset, he decided
Page 61 and 62: “Who is Eisa?” one of the other
Page 63 and 64: Almost CrescendoAfter a brisk walk,
Page 65 and 66: Hamza stared at the glass table bef
Page 67 and 68: “Thank you. But it’s a little b
Page 69 and 70: “Hamza, you could know and not wa
Page 71 and 72: “Lamya had let it happen.” Lamy
Page 73 and 74: “My hands are broken, just for yo
Page 75 and 76: She partially closed the door, but
Page 77 and 78: “I hope you didn’t do anything
Page 79 and 80: It occurred to Hamza a couple of ti
Page 81 and 82: exhale smoke. She continued to laug
Page 83 and 84: with reverence. But that was anothe
Page 85 and 86: “Sorry,” he said, trying to tak
Page 87 and 88: KickingThe sound of children came f
Page 89 and 90: When she returned, before she got t
Page 91 and 92: Hamza could maybe trace it all back
Page 93 and 94: She looked up at him, almost in sur
Page 95: DiceHe got a call from the woman at
Page 99 and 100: “Baba, when we get home, can I us
Page 101 and 102: “Everyone is so relaxed,” she s
Page 103 and 104: Pajero friend’s sister, she had a
Page 105 and 106: Jasem managed to move his hair out
Page 107 and 108: DetourThe desert only gets hotter t
Page 109 and 110: Oneway Street“Who is this cake fo
Page 111: .The door closes in the New York ap
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Strings - Capstone Amal Al Shamsi (1)

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