Five and Thursday

Khamsa wa-khamis

There are very few tokens from my biological mother that I cherish. This hamsa is one of them.

She gave it to me when I was twelve or thirteen. (It was close enough to my thirteenth birthday that I don't remember exactly how old I was.) I've carried it everywhere since.

It's an unpleasant conversation starter when going through airport security, let me tell you. It often results in a second wipe down with the explosive detection wipes.