No True Believers

1

 

We never see the world exactly as it is. We see it through whatever lens we choose. I never understood the difference until that sunny Thursday afternoon, the last day of April, when I stood face to face with Mariam in her driveway. In that moment the world became clear in all its stark ugliness. I was losing my best friend. Mariam Muhammad: my soul sister, lifelong neighbor, and general co-conspirator in all things. 

My eyes fell to the driveway. It was ridiculous; even the pavement made me want to cry. We d played hopscotch here. And there was no use spinning it as Oh, she ll come back to Arlington all the time. We knew better, both of us. Seeing each other from now on would involve passports and expensive airfares, clearances and checkpoints. Also, eight time zones. The truth was that she wasn t moving. She was fleeing. She and her whole family were now refugees--off to Dubai, the new Promised Land--an escape from Mason Terrace, a cul-de-sac so ridiculously safe and suburban that local real estate sites featured it to prove the entire neighborhood s safety and suburban-ness.

Comical, if it weren t so depressingly false.

When I looked up, Mariam was smiling, of course. Mariam the brave. Mariam the good. Cheery in the face of stress and sorrow. I lurched forward to hug her, the bright side of the Salma-Mariam moon. We were a unit in that way: visible yet detached, maybe a bit mysterious (we hoped)? Yes, we d stay in touch. Through Twitter or WhatsApp or whatever. Even old-fashioned letters! she d said. Mariam wouldn t let me slide, even though videoconferencing was illegal in the UAE. Which didn t help diminish the sudden and intense loneliness. Our moon would be all darkness now. 

How am I going to survive the rest of senior year at Franklin without you?

It s going to be okay, Salma, Mariam whispered in my ear.

I stepped away, wiping my eyes. Can t you just stay through

Rabiah York Lumbard is an award-winning author of the picture book, The Conference of the Birds . After embracing Islam at the age of eighteen, she earned a BA in Religious Studies from George Washington University and is currently completing her MFA in Creative Writing from Spalding University. No True Believers is Rabiah's deeply-personal debut novel which draws on her own experience as an America Muslim at home and abroad. She lives in Doha with her husband and their three daughters. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook, or visit her at rabiahyorklumbard.com.

"A thriller with a Muslim American teen girl as the hero will give readers a unique character to root for and a reminder that anyone can be patriotic. Bulletin

A page-turner that carries a message of radical love, regardless of faith. Booklist

"Recommended for readers who want a relatable and realistic portrayal of a Muslim teen with the twists and action of a suspenseful thriller" --School Library Journal

"Lumbard s novel succeeds in illuminating fundamental similarities across religions and portraying a harrowing situation that feels contemporary and plausible. --Publishers Weekly