Chapter 20

“It is already hot!” he exclaimed. Indeed, while I was enjoying the fine spring weather of early May, he was already into the heat of summer.

“Ramadan starts next week,” he said, “and it’s going to be difficult. It is hard to get through the day when it is hot with no water. And the days are already long. It is so much easier when Ramadan comes during the winter. The days are not as hot, and we can end the fasting at sunset which in the winter is at the normal dinner hour. Now it will be late into the evening before we can eat or drink. That’s several more hours of fasting.”

“Amir, you be careful. It is not healthy to go all day without water when it is so hot.”

“That is true, Habibi. But we do it willingly because that is our responsibility under Muslim custom.”

I had to respect him for that. It had been a long time since I had practiced any sort of religion, and I doubted I would have the determination to do what he was so willing to do.