Evil Eye: A Novel

Yara returns to campus to retrieve her belongings. She sees Silas, and he asks her what she plans to do next. The two have a conversation about their dream careers. Yara realizes that she does have some control over her life and her decisions. She resolves to continue journaling and figure out what her next steps will be.

Fadi returns from work on Yara’s first full day at home and, as usual, just wants to watch television until he goes to sleep. Yara asks if the two could take a vacation for their upcoming 10-year wedding anniversary. At first, he says no, but she begs him to just think about it, and finally he acquiesces.

Yara recalls the last time she saw her grandmother, which was when Teta told her about the Nakba, the displacement of thousands of Palestinians from their homes by the Israeli army in 1948. At the time, Yara was perplexed by Teta’s need to tell the story over and over again, though she now realizes that refusing to acknowledge pain makes things worse. Yara remembers how she was overcome by sorrow hearing about how Teta’s family was forced from their home and into the refugee camp.