The Turtle of Oman

Aref tells his mother about his worries that his cousins will not take good care of their cat. This is one of many thoughts he has about bad things that might happen while he is gone. He shifts his focus to the brochures of Michigan that his parents bought for him. He is excited to see Know Your Michigan Turtles among them, and he packs that one. Then he decides to go for a bike ride. At the end of an alley, he looks out over the valley and tries to make sure that he will remember this moment. He wishes that there were a single day on which everything moved backward, “as a sort of time experiment changing the view” (76). He thinks about how English script runs left to right while Arabic script runs right to left. He wonders if he will feel backward in Michigan. On his way home, he sees Ummi Salwa. She blesses his travels and gives him a pack of tangerines and a box of chocolates. Aref kisses her hand and thanks her, then returns home.