The following is an excerpt from UZ Short Story Collection by Umm Zakiyyah: To anyone else, today was an ordinary day, even if a bit dreary....
Omar experienced a moment of revelation. Not a religious revelation, but a pure thought that came from outside himself. A puzzle piece falling into place.
Omar returns home but falls into a profound depression, leading his mother to make a shocking confession about her past.
“The man in the photo," Omar said, “Is your grandfather and mine.” Melo made a guttural sound, while Ivana's face darkened with anger.
“I have waited for this moment,” Nemesio said. "Do you know what happened to me? How miserable my life became? I survived only to destroy you."
Omar dashed between the traffic lanes, trying to make out the Mercedes driver’s face. But the man reversed, swung a u-turn and sped off.
The Mercedes’s engine came to life with a roar. Omar grabbed Samia around the waist and pulled her between two cars. She cried out in fear,...
‘If one day I am shipwrecked,” he whispered, “and a typhoon breaks my sails, bury my body near the sea in Venezuela.” The words comforted him.
Omar met Celio Natá's flat gaze. The man was the Black Knife: the Ngäbe-Buglé’s secret weapon. A one-man strike force.
What did he need a grandfather for, anyway? He had a wonderful life. In fact, his life was so good it sometimes frightened him.