Yara’s Journal

Summary

• Yara recalls the day they visited a fortune teller, with the narrator's mother visibly tense and under a sort of trance.
• Despite Yara's curiosity, the mother remains silent about their destination, leading her children through the bustling streets of Fifth Avenue to an old building.
• They struggle up the stairs of the decrepit building to visit the fortune teller, a majestic woman in blue with kohl-rimmed eyes and hennaed hands.
• The fortune teller, recognizing the mother as Meriem, invites them into her apartment filled with crystals and a curtain of crystal beads.
• Instructed to watch her brothers, Yara observes curiously as her mother is led to the other side of the beaded curtain, where a ritual is to take place.
• Yara is intrigued by the darkened room and compares a palmistry hand decoration to her mother's necklace.
• Despite being told to stay put, Yara can't resist peeping through the beads to witness the fortune teller drawing a protective circle and reciting incantations.
• The fortune teller indicates the intention to perform a ruqyah, a ritual to remove curses or evil spirits, sparking fear in Yara.
• The mother appears anxious and out of place on the prayer rug, reflecting a recent avoidance of religious practices despite not being particularly devout before.
• The fortune teller places iron stones around Meriem and mentions their use to repel jinn, but Meriem remains silent.
• After an eerie silence, the fortune teller declares she cannot help Meriem, revealing that she has been cursed.
• Meriem's face shows a combination of confusion and understanding before letting out a pained sound, signaling her deep distress.
• As they leave, Meriem appears dazed and unable to maintain eye contact with Yara, showing a profound sense of helplessness.
• Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, Meriem collapses to her knees, overwhelmed by emotion, and screams.