I will! I'll show you, I can do it myself. I think I just tied it a little crooked this morning.
[ Everything in life changes. Everything changes every day from insignificant to earth-shattering-- the immovable, the enduring, the good, and the bad. And for Kalim, that fact was something he never had to question until he learned in the hardest way possible.
Looking back on it -- over the span of his entire life -- he knows now that Jamil has always been his blind spot. Kalim could put himself through the wringer with unkind words; he took advantage of Jamil, underestimated him, overlooked him, undervalued him, overshadowed him. And if that's how Jamil felt about it, then it must be true. But that was never Kalim's truth. It was never what he meant to invoke. There are things he'll never understand by virtue of his privilege and his upbringing, but to Kalim, Jamil was only ever an extension of himself. Someone he tried to lift up and support and believe in and honor, just the same as he did for himself. Like two halves of a whole. Inseparable; the two of them against the world.
He still hasn't parsed through the notion that his entire life has been a lie, at least in that regard. All he can do is take things one day at a time and slowly unravel all the pieces that bind them together. He can do it. For both their sakes, they can be two halves. They can each be whole in their own right. They just have to learn how.
Sometimes Kalim is obliviously obstinate, but in this, he'll be knowingly stubborn. So, all right, if Jamil insists, he'll take a study break. Kalim rolls out of bed and then flops onto the ottoman at his vanity, ruffles his scarf out of his hair, and shakes it out over his lap. ]
You should study too! Or go have a nap if you didn't sleep well. Don't worry about snacks and lunch and headwraps. I'll tell you if I need help with anything.
[ He won't, in fact. Kalim's been remarkably tight-lipped lately. Jamil doesn't have to worry about a thing. ]
no subject
[ Everything in life changes. Everything changes every day from insignificant to earth-shattering-- the immovable, the enduring, the good, and the bad. And for Kalim, that fact was something he never had to question until he learned in the hardest way possible.
Looking back on it -- over the span of his entire life -- he knows now that Jamil has always been his blind spot. Kalim could put himself through the wringer with unkind words; he took advantage of Jamil, underestimated him, overlooked him, undervalued him, overshadowed him. And if that's how Jamil felt about it, then it must be true. But that was never Kalim's truth. It was never what he meant to invoke. There are things he'll never understand by virtue of his privilege and his upbringing, but to Kalim, Jamil was only ever an extension of himself. Someone he tried to lift up and support and believe in and honor, just the same as he did for himself. Like two halves of a whole. Inseparable; the two of them against the world.
He still hasn't parsed through the notion that his entire life has been a lie, at least in that regard. All he can do is take things one day at a time and slowly unravel all the pieces that bind them together. He can do it. For both their sakes, they can be two halves. They can each be whole in their own right. They just have to learn how.
Sometimes Kalim is obliviously obstinate, but in this, he'll be knowingly stubborn. So, all right, if Jamil insists, he'll take a study break. Kalim rolls out of bed and then flops onto the ottoman at his vanity, ruffles his scarf out of his hair, and shakes it out over his lap. ]
You should study too! Or go have a nap if you didn't sleep well. Don't worry about snacks and lunch and headwraps. I'll tell you if I need help with anything.
[ He won't, in fact. Kalim's been remarkably tight-lipped lately. Jamil doesn't have to worry about a thing. ]