Muntaha al-Rayyeh
My mother’s plan worked. Nael was overjoyed by the birth of what he believed was his baby boy, two months premature. He obtained a birth certificate for him under the name Walid Nael Shakir Dughaybil using the stamped official document provided to him by the midwife, who took care of Walid at our house for a week after his birth.
He was always asking me about “al-Walid,” “the baby,” “the Walid.” He would say, “Where is al-Walid ?” and “How is al-Walid?” It got to the point where I even started calling him “al-Walid” instead of just “Walid.”
Nael came to be known as “Abu al-Walid,” and he loved to dote on him in a high-pitched voice while I held him in my lap. He made whistling noises with his mouth that sounded like a bird chirping.
As the months passed, I noticed al-
