Lucky charm

The sunbeams warmed my empty soul in the old streets of the northern parts of Morocco. I walked miles already, and there were miles to come, yet I kept going with no exhaustion or weary. I walked with symphonies in my headphones, staring at the faces of people. Some have found in the smile solitary, and some have grieved their way into a frowned face. The smell of street food has gotten the best of me, and my stomach sang the national anthem of hunger. My eyes caught something on the floor I haven't seen in years, perhaps since my early childhood. I kneeled down and touched the smooth hold of the paper, it was a type of calendars that you don't see very often anymore, while everyone carried a calendar in the comfort of their phone. This calendar isn't an everyday regular calendar, but one that carries a story within it, a story that only I and few have carried and you dear reader will soon do too.

I remember the smell of the paper and the hint of glue on the side, the touch of the small papers, and the simple Moroccan font on the back of each one. Its style came from the western calendars, where you would rip a page each passing day, but in this design, you would find a quote on the back of every paper. This calendar was the cornerstone of our family, while my grandfather carried nothing but a few dirhams in his pocket, a watch in his hand, and a calendar like this in his bag with a few old clothes. He used to lose track of days and nothing to remind him of the time but those calendars. Nothing helped him through his loneliness more than the quotes on the back. Even during his travels to Algeria and Spain, he found the smell of home in those small papers, found sanctuary in the Moroccan touch of its quotes, and found the prayer times on each of them.

It’s funny how he grew old and taught his kids to use calendars and watches to be punctual because that's the key to a good life. He even looked for the manufacturer of the calendar and asked to be a business partner, he considered bringing him luck and fortune. The business owner kindly refused, but they became friends nonetheless.