I Am Human.

I am a human, I die everyday and everywhere. I am a human, I get enslaved and mocked. I am a human, I see my dream flying away before my eyes to greed, war, to the pockets of the filthy rich 0.1% that rules the world. I am a human, it hurts me to see that the news of that celebrity's wedding is on the first page and I'm not, just because of profit. I am a human, it hurts me to see people doing jobs they hate to buy things they were mocked into needing by glamorous advertising while the advertisers win billions. I am a human, it hurts me to see multinational companies enslaving children, letting them work for the cheapest wages to minimize their costs and double their billions, screw their billions. I am a human, I hate seeing generals telling their soldiers what to think, what to eat, what to feel, turning them into heartless killing machines. I am a human, it hurts me to see an old woman in prison because she couldn't pay her debt while all killers are free. I am a human, I suffer to pay for my children's school fees, I suffer to buy them that glamorously advertised shoe they want, and sometimes I just sit down helplessly crying, watching hunger sharpen the beloved bodies of theirs to death, or watching a missile catch their lives before hunger can.

I am a human, I don't want to kill or conquer. I want the world to heal and prosper. I am a human, I don't want to live by other people's misery. I want to live by their happiness. I am a human, I don't believe in borders. I believe in unity. I want to fight for a new world, a decent world. I want to help everyone. I want to help black, white, old, young, religious, non-religious. I am a human, I don't want to see anymore machines, anymore planes, anymore cars, I want to see humanity and kindness. I dream of living on an earth with equal chances for everyone, on a good earth that has room for everyone, and can provide for everyone. I am a human, I want to see hate disappearing, and dictators dying. I am a human, I don't want to be told that I have the power to change because I have "democracy", in a world where the only thing that can give a man power is money. I am a human, and when I see news of people dying around the world, I want to cry. I don't want to share and like, I want to dwell in and cry, just to know that I am still human.

Nuri: A Light That Shines

 I encourage you to listen to the song above, and understand its lyrics while reading to be able to better understand the part of the short story written in italic. Thank you. 

 Nuri, the dreamer and passionate, the one with preserved innocence that she had embraced not because it was all she knows, but because she has seen it all. Nuri was raised from the godforsaken depths of loneliness where her only company was the echo in her mind, like a solitary traveler lost in a cave, to breathe once again. 

  Nuri, once filled with life and energy, a fearless soul and an indomitable spirit has set sail in the sea of love with cheap wood and thin arms. She thought she could never get hurt, and given the innocence she's always had she blindly trusted the good in others. Given the pure heart she is, she thought everyone else was just like her. She used to always tell herself that she was smart enough to stay safe from the bone crushing waves of heartbreak, a lie she told herself to keep herself calm in the frontlines of danger. But then the heartbreak came, and the person she loved with all her heart has so coldly left her alone to drown. It was like an awakening slap that reminded her of how amateur she was at sailing, how much of a stranger she was to suffering. Her heart was left like a city struck with a storm and abandoned, where the sun shines on the silence that follows to find no one.

  A whole year passes, and Nuri is still struggling with all what she has of power in her weakened body, struggling with the bitterly cold echo in her head that demeans her beauty and makes her, one of the most beautiful you can ever know, believe that she is nothing of worth. Nuri was in war with her own thoughts, her back against the wall and her happiness in the hand of that dreaded voice in her head. Everything about Nuri has changed by now, except one thing. That she was indomitable, refusing to give in. Her courage has set her sailing again into finding that thread of light in the darkness that can guide her to safety once again, she continued to sail like a maniac till it was only a matter of time that she finds the light. She started realizing that it was not her fault that she was left like that and bit by bit she started seeing herself in an all anew shade. She started appreciating how rare and beautiful of a heart she has, how brave and courageous of a soul she possesses and how she was the good person throughout. She started treating herself kindly as the magic of time healed her cuts and bruises, she promised herself that she will start focusing on building a life of ambition and potential so that her happiness and feeling of self-worth will never fall again in the hands of another person. She started dreaming, and her dreams multiplied her beauty in the eyes of those who see her speaking passionately about them, with a spark in her shy and captivating eyes. Her lively and energetic self has started to come back, she has even started explaining to her dad her new perspective on life. Her dad could not hold in his happiness, and started to cry.

 Nuri glows now as bright as ever, like a star whose light carries on endlessly even after its death. Nuri has only become a stronger person, but still innocent and golden-hearted just because she chose to let go of whatever pain that has been inflicted on her from the filth of others. She refuses to become a mirror image of the person who left her, or a mirror image of whatever ugliness there is in this world. She understands that she was born to live with a pure heart, to become a savior of the heartbroken and a warrior against injustice, she now knows that it is not just anyone who is worthy of this heart of hers.

Nuri: Power Of Quiet

  As a child, Nuri always preferred to sit on the head of her home's six chair kitchen table made of cedar wood, in a kitchen that is separated by a cabinet from the living room where her grandfather used to sit down on his rocking chair beside the warmth of the fire dancing in the hearth, dressed in his comfy housecoat, indulged in his history books. Nuri liked to sit on the head of the kitchen table because from there, she could see her grandfather through the hollow in the middle of the cabinet. She used to love taking a small break from her homework and start discussing history with him. Their topic would change almost every month, from Hitler to M.Luther King, from Al-Khawarizmi to Abraham Lincoln.

 What sparked Nuri's passion for history was an innocent question she had in her head throughout her childhood; how can humanity have the great and honourable, savage and horrible all at once? She usually asked her grandfather such deep and introspective questions like the one she once asked him, after which they stayed up all night till the warm winter sun rays cracked through the three inches of the window left open onto their feet as they sat on the ground; is the world such an ugly place to be for good people?

 Nuri's parents were aspiring scientists, working on their desktops for hours trying to figure out the algorithms and design requirements for an idea of a renovated artificial limb that they have built in their heads during the tens of hours of discussions they loved to have after their nights of love and closeness. Nuri loved to follow her parents to the university campus where she used to get treated like a princess by all the staff working there. She loved quietly watching everyone collaborated for a great purpose, she always made sure to join in by giving some advise or bringing everyone food for lunch break.

 On Sundays, the whole family used to enjoy quiet nights where everyone was curled on his own book or movie waiting impatiently for the savoury-smelling dinner getting ready in the oven. Such nights were Nuri's favourite, because she could enjoy the warmth and intimacy of having her beloved ones beside her while being able to wander in the adventure-land in her book at the same time. When dinner got ready, everyone left their books and laptops where they were and gathered around the table. Dinner time was the time when everyone got to share a part of the book they were reading, or the movie they were watching and soon into the night, everyone has become a part of a mind-stimulating discussion.

 Nuri's home was far from perfect, however. There were conflicts as in every home, but the only difference is that everyone knew what do in the time of conflict. The two in conflict would lock themselves in a room, and try to discuss their matters in the most gentle way they can. No shouting, cursing or throwing accusations was allowed in the house. Everyone made sure they learnt the art of clean and effective communication, so that harmony is achieved amongst all. The basis this house was built on were intimacy and harmony, honesty and strong consciousness, gentleness and putting the needs of everyone before one's own needs. It was her heaven, her escape from the cruelty and lack of logic in the world outside the window of her room. Nuri's home was an overwhelming feeling of warmth she would never forget, it is the place were she grew up to become the successful, modest and reflective young woman she is now. It was where she learnt to embrace the power of quiet.