Behind the Towel Rack

I had just put the kids to bed, closed the door and headed for the bathroom to make wudhu'. Coming out, I noticed their door slightly ajar, and annoyed, I closed it.

I performed Isya', unfortunately without much khusyu' because there was an aggravating noise that appeared to come from behind the door. So as soon as I was done, I looked behind the door but the noise stopped as soon as I did so.

From the corner of my eyes, I sensed a movement just outside the bedroom, near the towel rack. Without glasses, my sight was blurry, but I caught sight of something brown sliding down the length of S's towel hanging on the rack.

My first thought was a bug or even worse a rodent, somehow finding its way from the ceiling to the floor. Heart beating, (you can say I didn't look forward to the prospect of actually seeing a rodent) I grabbed my glasses. Still wearing my prayer garment, I put on my glasses rather gingerly and stretched my neck to look outside my room.

My eyes immediately zeroed in on the spot where I saw the brown thing last, which was practically on the floor. In one of those slow motion series of film reels, my gaze fell on something definitely brown, but to my greatest shock, I found that it was attached to a limb. It was actually part of a limb and for a horrible moment, I thought I had come across a foot of a human corpse. Though the thought seemed pretty disturbing, and should call for an immediate scream, my gaze travelled up the length of the limb and it was then that I realized there was more to the 'brown thing' than I thought.

As my sight traversed the path it naturally took, I found myself face to face with a very familiar face. Staring back at me was my third child: H. All kinds of reaction and emotion roiled in me. I was prepared to pounce upon a rodent while it was unaware, yet there I was face to face with something so unexpected.

"LA ILAAHA ILLA ALLAH!" I exclaimed, holding myself from screaming in shock.

I actually repeated the phrase again, and immediately dove to the floor as if in sujud. It was in that position that I suddenly found the situation to be so hilarious that mirth bubbled up from deep within, and out came a loud reverberating guffaw, loud enough to wake the dead. Unable to control myself, I howled with unstoppable laughter that was soon joined by another howl, yet of another kind: anger.

While I almost lay on the floor laughing my head off, H joined me on the floor writhing and bawling in anger. Pretty soon, two little girls, pretending to squint in the bright light, feigning grogginess from deep sleep, came out of their room to 'check out' the din. Of course, they saw their mother, still clad in her prayer garment, belly laughter bubbling out of her, and their little brother on the floor howling furiously.

Oh, what else is new? Same old, same old: S had said something, H had gotten annoyed thus dashed out of the room to sulk somewhere. Familiar pattern. I should have expected it. I have found him quietly sitting under the table next to the trash can in my room, next to the heater near our bed, behind the curtain in our closet, and amidst all the junk underneath their bunk bed, all in the name of sulking. Suffice it to say, I've been startled almost to death more than once by this little chatterbox.

Amidst the spotting I've been having today, this surely was a cheerful way to begin the night.