Soccer Dreams

Bismillah

Hazrat Ali once said something to the effect of, "Youth is madness". He really had it right.

It started last week when Ameer asked his teacher if there was anybody who played soccer around here. Ustad Ibrahim did know of someone who played: a man named Atiq from London. Ameer met Atiq soon after, and was told that we were going to play soccer in a "grassy" field next Friday. Atiq told us to call him on Thursday.

Of course, one thing leads to the next. Between homework, Al Diwan, Tomatoes, and sleeping, the fateful Thursday came and passed. At 11:00 Thursday night, I and Ameer (in Arabic, "I" comes first). Atiq hadn't replied to our repeated calls.

"Alright then," said Ameer, "Here's the plan. We show up at Bilal Masjid tommorow for Fajr."
"WHAT! Fajr is at 5:20! It takes 20 minutes to get to Bilal Masjid. It'll take us 10 minutes to get ready."
"Good estimation Mustafa. We must both get up at 4:45 tommorow."

The next day, probably at 4:30, Ameer jumped out of bed, I groggily swam out, highly irritable. We pulled on our Nikes and as Ameer said, "Briskly walked". To me it seemed like, "Sprint for 10 minutes".

We prayed Fajr at Bilal Masjid. After prayer, Ameer used the cell phone to call Atiq. I didn't hear the phone call, but I did hear Ameer speaking into it.

"Salam. This is Ameer."
"You know, the Ameer you told last week you could take to soccer?"
"Mmmmhmmm. You're sick with fever? And you don't want to play?"
"Good good. Meet you at the crossroads."

Ameer never satisfactoraly explained what went on during the conversation, but said we would meet Atiq at the crossroads of Abbas al Aqqad and another street. What the other street was, Ameer would not reveal. As there are hundreds of streets meeting Abbas al Akkad, my irritation began to surface and I began to whine bitterly.

"Mustafa, you must have some patience. This virtue will help in your studies too!" With that quip, Ameer began to boldly walk down Abbas al Akkad.

In the Alchemist, there is a principle noted as Beginners Luck. When a person is on a way to a goal, everything in the universe transpires to help him at the beginning. Straight off, Ameer met Atiq. Atiq turned out to be a thin, thin, Londoner who had spent the last week with a burning fever.

We boarded a micro bus (little white vans with drivers who have no speed limits), zoomed off a hill, and got to the "Green Field." I have never played soccer in a car park before.

After all, in Cairo, there has to be a first.

-Mustafa.