The job of a good father is to take care of his offspring. No matter what. More and more I found myself pondering the meaning of this as I look back at deciding moments of my nine-thousand-year existence. I first saw the light of day in what would later be called Somalia, long before Islam, and the conflicts that follow wherever followers of that faith tread...
This place is a prison, Malik Aurelius thought to himself as he walked through the crowded hallways of the Carleton University Center, heading out. Mid-April and the City of Ottawa, Ontario, was still cold as can be, although, thank heavens for small favors, there was no more snow. The tall, brawny young African rolled his eyes as a white male student stared...
"What's up, handsome?" I said to Dalton Cobb as I approached him casually, with a smile on my face. The six-foot-two, handsome Jamaican-Canadian stud smiled nervously, and I did my best to put him at ease. Well-dressed, smelling good and looking even better, Dalton was definitely worth my time. I've always had a thing for handsome brothers, and although I do...
"Get the fuck out of my way, bozo," I said cheerfully to the security guard standing at the entrance of Wal-Mart as I took off. The dude surprised the hell out of me by actually getting out of the way. Thus I made off with the three watches I snagged from the jewelry section. I cut a mad dash through the parking lot, and caught the OC Transpo bus. Once insid...
Lying in bed, feeling doggone tired after working an overnight shift as the only security guard for a grocery store, I feel dead. It's eight thirty on a Monday morning and I just got off the number nine bus from Hurdman Station. It stops right across the street from my apartment in Vanier, Ontario. A ten minute bus ride which I endured, half-asleep, sitting...
"Hello, there, you're always hanging around the library, you must be pretty smart, huh?" Vincent Endelkachew said, as he approached the tall, curvy and dark-haired young woman. She looked at him as though startled, an odd look in her somber brown eyes. For a moment, Vincent could have sworn that he could see right through her, but dismissed the thought. Afte...
"Fellow Angels, I'm no traitor, I simply did what had to be done," the Angel known as Selaphiel said vehemently, and she stood her ground, fearless before the might of the Archangels. In the court located at the heart of Heaven's Vault, a hush fell over the crowd of gathered Angels. Although the trials of Angels were far from uncommon, Selaphiel's status as...
"Sa-Sa, my friend, you must teach me how to pray," Samuel Rosewood said enthusiastically, and he pointed to the words 'Family in Faith' written on his new blue jersey, along with the description Muslim Scholars Association of the Mississauga branch of the University of Toronto. It was Islamic Awareness Week, and after much soul searching, Samuel came to the...
After a long day at work, Guillaume Etienne looked forward to finally going home. He'd been dealing with the drones at work long enough. Exiting the Place De Ville building, which housed the Revenue Canada agency for which he worked, Guillaume caught the double-decker 95 bus heading to the West end of Ottawa. At this hour, it was packed, filled with commuter...
I'd left work early as I had a dental appointment, my dentist was close to the office were I worked as opposed to being near my home, which was a bus ride away. I arrived slightly early and was ushered into the waiting room, dentist appointments were always late, so I picked up a magazine from the table. Being late summer and weather being good for a chang...