Home Away from Home.

Enveloped in gnawing sense of nostalgia, she sips her cup of milk tea, with the perfect ratio of milk to tea, just like teta used to make.

The sight of her teta (grandmother) and jedo (grandfather) sitting on their balcony on a breezy Friday afternoon quickly flashes through her mind as she reminisces the taste and flavor of her teta’s Friday sofra; tabouleh, maaloubeh, and kofta bel seeniyeh.

She thinks about the last hug she gave them or the last call she rang them, wondering when she’ll see them again.

She thinks about the times her teta screamed at her for not putting enough food on her plate, or the times her jedo greeted them with “ahlan ahlan” (welcome in Arabic) as she entered their beit (house/home in Arabic).

She could feel their absence in her heart for nothing could ever fill that void.

She takes another sip.

Her cup may be half empty but she sees it half full for she knows they will meet again.