“Make sure he doesn’t get lost again.� Once we were back on the highway, I asked Auma what Zeituni had meant about my getting lost. Auma shrugged. “It’s a common expression here,� she said. “Usually, it means the person hasn’t seen you in a while. ‘You’ve been lost,� they’ll say. Or ‘Don’t get lost.� Sometimes it has a more serious meaning. Let’s say a son or husband moves to the city, or to the West, like our Uncle Omar, in Boston. They promise to return after completing school. They say they’ll send for the family once they get settled. At first they write once a week. Then it’s just once a
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