The Poor Mother
A Jar of Jam - The Poor Mother
Our son is going to Quran competitions”,” His dad had said. The mother had recently found out he went to the frontline. Now, she was brabbling with us, insisting we should go and bring him back right away. She was repeatedly hitting her head and face. Her husband finally arrived. “Sorry we caused you trouble. His mother is impatient. We only have this child who is obsessed with Quran and religion and frontline”, he said with embarrassment. “Didn’t you know he left?”, I asked. “I wanted to tell his mother little by little, but she found out all of a sudden”, he replied. Then, he turned to his wife. “He was in a haste. I couldn’t hold him. He was desperate to go to the frontline”, he told her. She remained silent the whole time. Their son had returned the next time I saw them. He had gained his mother’s consent and went back. He went for the third time and now we had to bring the news of his martyrdom. I was wondering how to tell the news of martyrdom of their only child and how they would react afterwards. We entered their home. I hadn’t told them anything yet. “Thank God my son passed away in the path of Quran. May God forgive me for not allowing him to go for two years. T his kid was not meant to live on earth”, she said softly. She whispered and kept an eye on me like she was trying to comfort me. Maybe she was trying to make up for her behavior on that day. She talked and quickly wiped tears off her face. “Thank God, Thank God his wish came true”, she said repetitively. She thanked God, but her tears and restless face showed that her heart was burning from the inside. Despite all that, she was like someone who had promised not to cry, but the …tears fell one by one. Poor mother
