Broken Compasses

The crisp autumn air filled my lungs as I took a deep breath. My grandmother had promised that it would have a wonderful revivifying effect, but to me, it just felt like a cold slap in the face. We had just arrived at the little woods near my house, which laid on our path to the river. My mom had forced me to join my grandmother and little sister’s nature excursion, claiming that “it would be good for me.” Personally, I think that she just wanted me out of the house for a while to do a thorough cleaning of my “messy teenage habitat,” as she likes to call it.

So instead of being in my cozy and heated room, I was out here, trying to avoid the bird poo that littered the ground, while keeping my wind-blown scarf out of my face.

“Aisha, slow down a little bit,” my grandmother called out to my overactive and overly-excited sister, who was running too far ahead. “My dear old body can’t keep up with your quick legs!”

“I’m sure you can keep up, Mammy! Sana’s the one with the old lady body!” replied my sister while running back towards us. I scowled at her and she smiled back innocently before asking, “Which way is the river? There are four different paths.”

“Let me just check Google Maps and I’ll tell you in a second,” I said whipping out my phone. The only good thing about this little nature walk was that I still had service, thanks to the wonderful cell towers surrounding the woods. At least I wasn’t completely cut away from civilization. The app slowly opened and began trying to pinpoint our position. Come on, come on, load! Why are you taking so lon–

“Hurry up slowpoke!” my sister yelled, interrupting my impatient thoughts. “Mammy knows the way!” I looked up to find her and my grandmother already a few meters away from where I was standing. How did they get there so fast? They were heading towards the path on the right. I looked back at my screen where the app was still loading, sighed, then followed them on the trail that led deeper into the woods. There was no way my cute ankle-boots were going to survive this outing.

We reached the glade near the river after a ten-minute trek through the trees. My grandmother had pointed out a bunch of different plants and birds along the way and this had captivated my sister’s attention. A small miracle, considering that she has the attention span of a one-year-old… I wondered how my grandmother knew all those things, especially since she didn’t even live in Canada and was only here for a visit.

At the sight of the river, my sister ran ahead to greet all the geese, ducks, and seagulls that were around, as if they were long lost family members. Ha! I always knew she was adopted.

Next to me, Mammy sighed. “Isn’t this beautiful? MashAllah! SubhanAllah!” She was right. The view was breathtaking. The river glistened and reflected the bright colors of the fall foliage which surrounded it. The various shades of green, red, orange, and yellow looked like something out of a painting. I got my

Mammy sighed again and said “You know, my Sana, about twenty years ago when I came while your mother was pregnant with you, this river was almost crystal clear. Now it’s all murky... I wish you could’ve seen it.” With that, she walked away towards my sister, who was amusing herself by collecting miscellaneous items, like acorns, leaves, and twigs. To her delight, Mammy started helping her. Satisfied that I didn’t have to entertain that tiny bundle of energy, I sat on a large rock and started going through my pictures to pick the best one to post.

After a while, my little sister and grandmother made their way back to me. I had been scrolling through social media, and Aisha interrupted this very important business by demanding that I look at everything she collected. My mom was going to freak out if she brought all of this natural paraphernalia home.

While listening to Aisha’s palpitating tales about how she found every single item, I looked over to my grandmother to see what treasures she brought back, and couldn’t believe my eyes.

“Mammy! Is that trash? Why would you pick up trash?” I asked in disgust.

“It’s because removing harmful things from the road is an act of charity,” my sister jumped in, happy to know the answer. “Right, Mammy?”

“You are quite right, my Aisha,” confirmed my grandmother over her shoulder as she walked towards the garbage bin. “After all, whoever does an atom’s weight of good will be judged on it, and whoever does an atom’s weight of bad will be judged on it.”

Whenever my grandmother starts quoting the Qur’an, you know she has won. I mean, it’s not like you can argue with the words of God.

Aisha finished her nature exposition and I went back to my phone.

“Hey!” Aisha cried suddenly. “What’s wrong with the birds?”

Surely enough, the birds were going crazy. They were flying every which way, landing, taking off again, and sometimes almost colliding into each other. They looked drunk. Could birds get drunk?

“That is so weird,” I said. “It’s like they don’t know how to fly anymore. As if their inner directional compass is broken.” We all stayed silent for a few seconds, staring at the birds as they continued their peculiar movements.

“My dear girls,” started my grandmother, “the world is full of broken compasses. Because of this, many of Allah’s creatures become lost and confused. A loss of direction often causes a loss of purpose, which can only lead to a path of evil. This path holds dreadful consequences for those who take it, as well as for those

who don’t, unfortunately. Even Google Maps won’t be able to help you if you embark on that path,” she finished with a smile.

I laughed. Smooth, Mammy, real smooth.

“But you know my girls, lost things can always be found. Broken things can always be mended. The possibility of recovery exists as a mercy from our Lord. That is the beauty of life’s essence. Just like this river, it is a continuous flowing stream that offers countless opportunities for renewal. It is only by developing an awareness of this ever-present chance at redemption, that God’s creatures will be able to realign their compasses and find their way.”

There was a beat of silence, followed by my little sister saying, “Mammy… What are you talking about? I’m so lost…”

The End