"A patchwork memory is the shame of the refugee. Did I tell you that already?"
"Memories are tricky things, they can fade or fester."
"I think making anything is a brave things to do. Not like fighting brave, obviously, but a kind that looks at a horrible situation and doesn't crumble. Making anything assumes that there's a world worth making it for. That you'll have someplace, like a clown's pants, to hide it when people come to take it away. I guess I'm saying, making something's a hopeful thing to do. And being hopeful in a world of pain is either hopeful or crazy."
"Miracles are absurd by definition.
"If they weren't, they'd just be odd things that happened. Improbable things.
"But while miracles are impossible, they aren't coincidences. They're knives that cut into our reality, and they're messy, and weird.
"So all of a sudden, my mom had a six-year-old, saying she was a Christian, which--if you didn't know--was a crime in Iran.
"Not a regular one either, a capital crime, the kind where if you're found guilty they kill you.
"I suppose if you don't want to believe it, all you have to do is say my sister wanted to be like Ellie, or she wanted to harass my mom. Both of which were true.
"Or she was dreaming.
"Or the pain medication for her finger made her brain wibbly.
"Miracles are easy to explain away.
"It doesn't really matter what you believe.
"Because the point is that Sima, that's my mom's name, was forced at that moment to pay attention.
"She came to England unwilling to hear Ellie's (or Sanaz's) conversion story. When they arrived in England, they found a church that welcomed them. That made them Christians.
"Sima was a committed Shiite Muslim at the time, which meant--
"If they weren't, they'd just be odd things that happened. Improbable things.
"But while miracles are impossible, they aren't coincidences. They're knives that cut into our reality, and they're messy, and weird.
"So all of a sudden, my mom had a six-year-old, saying she was a Christian, which--if you didn't know--was a crime in Iran.
"Not a regular one either, a capital crime, the kind where if you're found guilty they kill you.
"I suppose if you don't want to believe it, all you have to do is say my sister wanted to be like Ellie, or she wanted to harass my mom. Both of which were true.
"Or she was dreaming.
"Or the pain medication for her finger made her brain wibbly.
"Miracles are easy to explain away.
"It doesn't really matter what you believe.
"Because the point is that Sima, that's my mom's name, was forced at that moment to pay attention.
"She came to England unwilling to hear Ellie's (or Sanaz's) conversion story. When they arrived in England, they found a church that welcomed them. That made them Christians.
"Sima was a committed Shiite Muslim at the time, which meant--
"You know what, you're not ready for this.
"You kinda have to know the history of Islam--which Sima knew-- and compare it to her experience in England as she heard about Christianity. Then you can compare the claims they make about Truth and Reality that we all share but also mostly ignore in different parts. Which is why we can see the same thing but come to different conclusions about how to heal all our broken hearts.
"Which we all have.
"Which is such a big part of our lives that we don't even notice the pain of it.
"We're completely numb to it, because it's constant.
"It's so true it's boring.
"You kinda have to know the history of Islam--which Sima knew-- and compare it to her experience in England as she heard about Christianity. Then you can compare the claims they make about Truth and Reality that we all share but also mostly ignore in different parts. Which is why we can see the same thing but come to different conclusions about how to heal all our broken hearts.
"Which we all have.
"Which is such a big part of our lives that we don't even notice the pain of it.
"We're completely numb to it, because it's constant.
"It's so true it's boring.
"Which is really our brains, terrified, hoping to ignore the fact that we have giant holes in our chests.
"That's why everyone is distracted with TV shows and no one likes to talk about it.
"Our broken hearts problem.
"But we're gonna have to talk about it soon, so gird your loins, reader.
"For now, here's a poop story to make you feel better. Or if not better, at least distracted."
"If you wanna know how rich somebody is, just look at what they eat and how they poop. Everybody does both, so it's not like comparing cars" (174).
No comments:
Post a Comment