When Ramadan Comes…

It is very funny to know that the holy month of Ramadan peaceful and soul reviving as it can be also tries the faith and patience of the faithful. I have barely managed to bring out what we see during the holy month of Ramadan. Bring it on is all about creativity and dynamism. You too can come up with your own creative story about people’s every day life. It is not magic, grab a pen and a book, and start writing by observing your environment and the people in it.

Snores were heard from a distant and it vaguely came again and again disturbing Fa Bakary’s peaceful sleep. He forced himself to sleep again on the rough and dry mat, but the noise became even more eminent, making its presence felt by all around it. Fa Bakary eventually and reluctantly opened an eye. He took in his environment and followed the origin of the noise keenly with his right and only good ear. He saw that it was a fat old man sitting on a chair. He later realized that the chair could gave way at any time under the man’s heavy weight. He prayed that he wouldn’t be a witness to that when the time came.

It was Ramadan and Fa Bakary had no stomach for rib-cracking laughs. He stretched, yawned and adjusted his “Grande booboo”. Being the petit man he was, he saw no reason why people should suffer from obesity. He yawned again, this time from hunger. His stomach rumbled and sang different incomprehensible tunes he could dance from. The sun was at its zenith and the time to break the fast was not near. He reluctantly stood up, rolled the already rotten mat and placed it under his arm as he searched for a cool and quieter place to sleep in. when he reached a mango tree; he spread the mat and lay down.

Fa Bakary was in his mid – forties, a recluse, unmarried and childless. His motto was “hakuna matata”. No worries no responsibilities was his definition of a problem-free world. Don’t get him wrong, he was one of the ugliest men on God’s green earth, and as a result had difficulty in marrying a woman. He never tried to lose sleep over that. He tried to get near his lord as near can be. He helped orphans, the needy from his meager earnings and always had a kind word or two for all around him no mistake.

Today was Saturday and not a working day, so Fa Bakary was making good use of it by lazying around.  Seconds later the aroma of a dish being prepared crept into his nose and he resisted the urge to sniff it in. Instead he said supplications to God in the Arabic language “subhanallah, wal alhamdullilah,” just like the dutiful Moslem he was.

After fighting the hunger within himself for some minutes, he drifted into a dreamless sleep. An hour later, the call of the Adhan for the Zuhr prayers awakened him as the muezzin blarred it through the speakers calling the faithful to prayer.

He dutifully got up, performed ablution and dutifully headed toward the mosque. The sun was slowly setting and the one fasting could count the seconds as it ticked by, anticipating the first taste of food when the time finally comes.