There was a small mosque in the student center and Sudah told him that she would pray there. Matt convinced himself that it was just more of those hostile looks keeping him on edge. That’s when he first got an uneasy feeling that they were being watched, but he didn’t see anyone specific. He also wanted to see the area she’d be spending so much time in for himself and make sure that it was safe for her. “We will not change a man’s mind unless he wants to hear something new.”Įarlier in the day he drove to the college campus with them so that Sudah could see the route she would have to take. When she politely told the man she was Pakistani, the old guy guffawed and said “same thing.” Later, Sudah explained to Matt that she didn’t think it was worthwhile to argue. Matt almost lost his temper with the old man, but Sudah’s light touch on his arm calmed him. One old man even called Sudah an Aaa-Rab and made fun of her head covering. He was very aware of the hostile looks they received earlier in the day while touring some nearby towns.

But even her positivity wasn’t enough to dispel his foul mood. “If they bothered to speak to you they would find out that you do.” His wife always made excuses for people she never wanted to see bad in any of them. “Maybe they worry I don’t speak English?” “You’re my wife Sudah and I want people to respect that.”

“They see the color of my skin and my scarf. “She didn’t even give you the courtesy of asking you the question.” “Matt, why are you angry? Sudah shook her head gently.

Hyphema by Chelle Cordero