Humans I Met I Would Want to Turn Into Book Characters
I like to think that each person picked a quest in life. Before I knew there was such a thing as anthropology, I tried my best to roam about this country and meet people from all walks of life. Here are some notable mentions.
#They Called Him “Boha”
He was a chubby kid, one of five kids. He had a tiny younger brother. No one saw the remaining siblings. I was told they had varying degrees of disabilities. The neighbours would always make some joke about the way he walked. Boha died when he was 15 and so did his older sister.
#Her Name Was Alia
She was known to be a simpleton. She kept her hair short and always wore casual summer dresses. She was very serious about greeting people. She would make a point of making eye contact, smile and Aslema. She was not allowed to go out much except to buy bread. She would intentionally walk slowly to the local store to find people to greet: on her way, in their balconies doing their business. Some of them noticed, got annoyed and started avoiding her on purpose. She died at 40.
#The Guy With No Name
Everyone forgot his name, because crazy people are called by their nicknames. He would sometimes pick up fights with random people, throw fits in the street. Kids enjoyed the impromptu shows of violence. Thinking back, it should not be so entertaining in popular neighborhoods. His “madness” was not constant. Sometimes you would hear people gasping about him “regaining his sense” and attending prayer. Not the most reliable criteria for redemption. He still managed to get married and have kids. An odd way to brand oneself pre-social media.
#Fiona
They say she was a beauty when she was young. She had green eyes and refined features. Her husband died quite young and left her to raise 5 kids. People whisper how they are not “born here”. Their parents escaped to the coast during the war. Her eldest was born on the very day the country became a republic. She was a cunning saleswoman. She managed to import clothes and sell them overpriced to the avid townies. They hated how she never offered discounts. She bought several houses and went to Hajj several times. She lost one of her sons to a car accident. She lost many infant boys before, but this one hurt. He was a promising adult and he had a family. When she developed Alzheimer’s she started to go out for random walks and get lost. They took her jewelry away to “protect” her from strangers. She passed away at 60.
#She Was a Party Girl
She loved the night. She loved calling people up, getting a group together and off they went, to party the night away. She would have the afterparty at her place. She loved having the company of the “cool” rich people. The ones who paid for the drinks. She claims she used to be an alcoholic because of one of those terrible call centre jobs, now she is enjoying it again. She had a terrible relationship with her family. They robbed her of her innocence and youth. She started chasing money and luxury after meeting a terrible man. Her sister left the country doing her dream job: an air hostess. She was rejected for being too short. After years at a dead end job, had enough. She illegally left the country.
#She Was a Communist
She slept all day and partied all night. She never attended her college lectures. She played the role seriously: she smoked, fell in love frequently, every single one of them was “the one”. When she did not go out at night, she would rewatch all seasons of “Friends”. Maybe that is how she picked up her flawless American accent. She dropped out without getting her BA in English, but she went on to become an interpreter. She was well-connected in civil society. She claims she used to be a prodigy child and just got tired of the label.
#The Daughter of the Diplomat
She had the embassy’s driver pick her up for every single outing from the girls’ dorm. They did not think it was safe enough for her to rent a house on her own. She was pursuing a degree in Economics in Lybia until the war. The poor thing had no choice but to take whatever she could although she barely spoked Arabic. She was placed in the University of Ez-zitouna and kept failing every single test. The teachers were helping her retake them. She used to fry bananas for breakfast. She cooked the Indomi packets like real ramen. It was delicious.
#The Newcomer
She came to town when we were 12. Her dad was a small salesman who was unemployed most of the time. Her mom was a housewife. She was very good with people for that age. She made friends with everyone, she caught on the social value exchange very fast. It helped that she was from the capital. She was self-conscious about her weight although she never brought it up or even showed it. She handled the occasional mean comment and tasteless jokes like a champ. She was into 90s rap and R&B music. She knew every classic and became a reference for it. In High School, she had a Goth phase, a satanic phase, a dancing phase. Her girl friendships were always complicated. She liked the assertive girls from rich families. Their parents were nice to her. She hated the girl code rules. She knew better than to trust or be a “loyal’ friend to a woman. She liked hanging out with the partying, sporty and gamer guys. They were fun and they never saw her as a girl anyway. She slipped up though and went public with a few scandals that people refused to let go. This coastal town is conservative, first and foremost. She is planning to leave the country.