My Aunt Zuhur

My aunt Zuhur or Hajja Zuhur is a woman in her sixties, tall, slim in body, white in complexion, a bright light radiates from her face, a mellow green tattoo in the middle of her forehead. The palm of her hand is the best evidence of the nature of her work and her constant activity.

Circumstances are what dictated my aunt Zuhur to live like this. Her husband, Haji al-Bashir, passed away years ago and left her nothing, neither a home nor a pension to help her after him.

My aunt Zuhur was blessed by God with three children, but their ages were short, so the Bouhamron fell ill on the way of life, so it killed them when they were young, so that my aunt Zuhur was left after them alone in her simple hut, with nothing but a puppy dog, a flock of goats, and some chickens.

With the first light of dawn, my aunt Zuhur and lights her stove, which emits smoke that floods the neighboring neighborhood, the residents smell its wind, and everyone knows that my aunt Zuhur prepares her coffee, as she is the only one who lives in a hut whose roof and walls are made of branches, sticks, straws and some pieces of plastic, until the frost protects her And rain.

As usual, she goes out every morning with a herd of goats to graze on the outskirts of the village, hoping to find some grass, which has become scarce due to the lack of rain, and my aunt Zuhur returns in the afternoon shopping her herd in front of her and a bundle of twigs on her back, these branches are for cooking and heating of course, because the hut is very cold and lit The fire inside is inevitable. Yes, my aunt Zuhur sleeps alone in this simple hut, which does not meet the minimum conditions of life, no door to prevent dangers, no electricity to light, darkness is complete, the water is far away, and she walks a long distance to get what she needs of water carried on her back.

My aunt Zuhur is an obstetrician, i.e. the village midwife, she is ready at all times, always at the service in order to help and free of charge. My aunt Zuhur’s relationship with the neighbors is very good, everyone loves her and offers her service, as she is the mother of all, and she is the great and sacred thing for the residents of the neighborhood.

Days and years pass and my aunt Zuhur is like this, but a new development began to take place, they are the boys of my aunt Zuhur, my cousins ​​Zuhur is what the people of the neighborhood call them. These boys are the ones who were greeted by my aunt Zuhur’s hand when they left this world, yes because she is the midwife who helps the women of the village on birth.

They used to see my aunt Zuhur they call her my mother like this, they are with her always except for study times and even sleep, some of them sleep in the hut with her and they are very happy inside the hut.

In the morning they go with her to graze and in the evening they come back with her, carrying dry tree branches and some herbs, and my aunt Zuhur mediating their gathering and she is accompanied by them in happiness and joy, and the wheel of time is moving, the boys have become young young men, among whom even work.

They became almost in the rank of men, and they are still on their previous terms, loyalty to their mother who did not give birth to them, but tenderness and kindness made her a mother and made them her children. At night, they sat around a stove or cannon, my aunt Zuhur's blazing coffee pot, spreading a sweet fragrance like no other. Every night in this state, they stayed up in a happy family atmosphere, talking about what was going on in the village.

One night, my cousins ​​Zuhur heard that the municipality will distribute financial support rations to the needy next Thursday, estimated at two rooms, a bathroom and a kitchen.

My aunt Zuhur says: “I met the prince and he promised me. He told me the next time. He said: I am honest this time, you are the first person I can benefit from.” The countdown has begun to Thursday, a state of anticipation and hope everyone is waiting, Wednesday night, everyone around the burning candle, tomorrow, Thursday, the promised day, the day of joy and the day of the beginning of the end of the hut and the beginning of a new era. .

The wish of my aunt Zuhur is a respectable house that meets the conditions of life. This is how she says: {The misfortune of this hut, to bring you a guest, and I will manage, and God is a condition..}. My aunt Zuhur is confident this time that she will get the benefit unlike the previous times. She asks her children to sleep tomorrow, Thursday, and they have to get up early and go to the town hall, which is a quarter of an hour away by car.

Everyone wakes up in the morning and they are all hopeful that the dream will come true. The car is ready and my aunt Zuhur points to the male goats and tells them that today they will be slaughtered and we will hold a dinner for them, as an expression of joy.

Everyone headed to the municipality and upon arrival they found large crowds and a list hanging on a blackboard placed in the spacious courtyard and people crowding, everyone looking for his name and finally Ali arrived and became directly in front of the list.

He checked the list and repeated the ball up and down. My aunt Zuhur, her name does not exist. He held his breath and nailed himself in front of the blackboard. Al-Mahdi caught up with him. He understood the matter but tried again, yes, her name does not exist, so Faisal said it.

Here, my cousins ​​Zuhur and Hagwa revolted. Hawari went looking for the mayor, who is not present. He fled, and the strange thing is that the beneficiaries are better off than my aunt Zuhur. My aunt Zuhurdid not pay much attention to the matter and worked hard to calm her children and asked them to leave immediately so that the situation would not escalate and the unfortunate consequences would happen.

Everyone arrived at the house, that is, the hut, in a deplorable psychological state, and most of them preferred silence. Mahdi interrupted this silence (tomorrow, God willing, we will start preparing to build the house), everyone was surprised, and how is that? .

Mahdi: I have a friend who sells building supplies.

Ali: I remember my father's owner, the contractor, Hajj Saad, who might help us.

Faisal: Oh God, God's blessing.

Houari: Rana with you forward.

Prepare everything needed for construction, including gravel, cement, and iron... The work process begins, and the works are in full swing. The work is almost continuous, day and night. My aunt Zuhur is very happy as she watches her children work, smiling a smile that bears

It contains a lot.

The works are almost finished, all that remains is to paint and paint two rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom. Yes, in a few days the house was painted and connected to the water network as well as the electricity, and everyone helps from the people of the village and my cousins ​​Zuhur are the leaders of the battle.

Today, everything changes, my aunt Zuhur is in the new house, but we need some furniture, a refrigerator, a TV, a bed... The young men go to the market and in the afternoon the furniture is inside the house.

Male goats are slaughtered with joy, dinner is held and everyone is invited. Today my aunt Zuhur sleeps in a house that has a door, a ceiling, lights, water inside the house, a heater and a television... Today she was born again, she is very happy with this work and tears are not She leaves her while embracing her children. It is the first day in the house and around her children sleep and she is in their midst. It is a great thing. My cousins, Zuhur, have become an example in the village and in the neighboring villages. They really deserve appreciation and thanks.

And the days pass. My aunt Zuhur has three years in her house and she lives a happy life with her children, and one day she felt dizzy and was taken to the hospital, I entered the hospital and the doctor ordered her to stay until she recovered, on the second day when the visit they found my aunt Zuhur preparing to go out, this is what the doctor said .

She came out of the hospital and went home, surrounded by her children while she was lying on the bed. She felt something strange happen to her. She was dying. She bid them last farewell and advised them to stay united like this. And here is my aunt Zuhur saying the two testimonies, going to another world where there is no injustice.

An indescribable feeling, everyone is crying, but this is the command of God. My aunt Zuhur, may God have mercy on her, united a group of young people, and thanks to her they became brothers. Sadness descended on everyone. It is separation, the separation of their mother, but this is God's will.

And my aunt Zuhur is carrying her final resting place, large crowds of people to bid her farewell, and to take a last look at her. May God have mercy on you, Aunt Zuhur.

On the other hand, does the conscience of the mayor move this time to hear about the departure of my aunt Zuhur and stop oppressing those in need like her, or does the mayor have no conscience until he moves at all?

THE END.