Abu Zar Khan
Bio
I find stories in the language of silence. I write about the echoes of loss, the strength found in memory, and the quiet melodies that lead to healing. Welcome to the space between.
Stories (4)
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The Inheritance of Silence
My grandmother, Eleanor, was a woman carved from silence. It’s the only way I can think to describe her. In all the years I knew her, I’m not sure I ever heard her really, truly laugh—the kind that shakes your shoulders and makes your eyes water. Her smiles were thin, quick things that never quite reached her eyes, and her stories were about the weather or the rising price of groceries. When she died, I felt a polite, distant sadness, the kind you feel for the end of an era, not the sharp, gut-punch of losing someone you really knew.
By Abu Zar Khan4 months ago in Families
The Geography of Memory
My dad’s mind had become a broken map. The places he once knew by heart—my mom’s name, our street, my own face—were turning into blank, unfamiliar spaces. Alzheimer’s is a thief, but it doesn’t just take the big things. It starts by picking the pockets of a life, stealing car keys, coffee recipes, and the punchlines to his favorite old jokes. What’s left is a confusing, heartbreaking landscape, with these awful, lightning-flash moments where he seems to remember everything, which is somehow even worse than the forgetting.
By Abu Zar Khan4 months ago in Longevity
The House That Silence Built
My father wasn't a man who used a lot of words to say what he felt. He spoke a different language, one of sawdust, solder, and the six vibrating strings of his acoustic guitar. Our small house was never quiet. It was a living thing, its heartbeat the thrum of a Neil Young solo vibrating through the floorboards while I did my homework, its breath the smell of coffee brewing to a James Taylor ballad. He wasn't just playing songs; he was weaving the very fabric of our family with calloused fingers and a gentle touch, creating the soundtrack to scraped knees and celebratory dinners. That music was how I knew I was home.
By Abu Zar Khan4 months ago in Families
