An Eid Saturated with Disappointment

yemenat

Ahmed Saif Hashed

Children and young boys rejoice during the great Eid, a celebration long awaited with patience that nearly runs out on the eve of its arrival.

It is welcomed in the early morning with overflowing joy, filling the world with delight. However, my Eid that year was overshadowed by sorrow, reminiscent of an orphanage mourning a mother who has departed, leaving her young behind. A profound sense of orphanhood gripped me; it felt as if fate had marred the occasion, darkening its essence.

My Eid was burdened by my mother’s distress, as she was at her family’s home, overwhelmed by growing troubles and conflicts that exceeded all endurance. This Eid felt distant from her, a foreignness that enveloped me in grief and loss. I sensed a deepening disappointment swelling within me, reaching a point where it felt unbearable.

Loneliness, estrangement, and sadness cohabited within me on a day that should have brimmed with joy and happiness. On Eids, children adorn themselves in festive attire; joy sparkles in their eyes like birds, their faces illuminated with light.

Yet, the stillness, monotony, and frowns of the rest of the year were only broken by the Eid’s cheer, torn apart by the bursts and flashes of fireworks. The joy of the Eid should saturate the soul, as weary hearts await the morning festivity, only to be met with a cascade of happiness. Yet, my situation soured and was marred by fate.

This Eid was gloomy, affected not only by my mother’s absence but also by the slander of our neighbor’s son, who claimed that I stole “the fireworks” from my father’s shop.

I longed to escape to my mother, who had left my father a few days before the Eid to return to her family’s home. However, I still remembered