In Character: Zaira Fayed

Another blog from the perspective of a character in the book in progress, written as a letter years ago....

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Dear Leila

This is the first of many letters I'll write to you. Some day they'll be yours, so that you can read my words, and see how much I love you.

As I write this, you're lying nearby in the hospital room, asleep in your crib. You look so peaceful. You came into this world yesterday, just six pounds seven ounces of tender joy. I carried you inside me for nine months, nurtured and nourished you... and brought you into the world. You're my little girl... and as fate would have it, the only child I'll ever have.

Your father and I are lucky to have you. It was a difficult pregnancy, and I won't be able to have another child. It doesn't matter to me. You're enough, Leila. You're all I could have ever hoped for. And you've got your father wrapped around that impossibly small finger of yours, you know.

He's a good man, Leila, and I've loved him from the start. Tamir will give of himself completely to help others. He's a teacher... a professor. He believes in the law, and in justice. In this part of the world, that can sometimes feel a long way off. We both want you to grow up in a world without trouble... in peace. That's what we believe in. Hopefully one day when you read these words, that will be a reality.

I have such hopes for you. I look at you there, so small and delicate, and I think of what the future holds for you. I can see you growing up... making your way in the world. I can see you on your wedding day... or holding your children in your arms. And that kind of thought makes me smile, Leila. I didn't know before how completely a child could captivate a parent. It took feeling you moving inside me... and hearing your cry as you came into the world... to make me see that. I love you very much, little girl... and I promise, I'll always be there with you.

Author's note: I could definitely see Juliette Binoche playing Zaira....