A Tale as Old as Time
Khadija Zafar
Somewhere out there, across the vast and tumultuous seas, lies an unseemingly lively town called Tromsø. It was in this unlikely place that a caravan of travelers, all from various walks of life gathered.
The beginning of the week started, with weary travelers arriving with hopes and dreams. Lagged by the ever perplexing concept known as jetlag, confronted with the very new concept called “The Polar Night.” Even so, the travelers thought to themselves: what would we see during this most exciting week? Reindeer? Whales? A glimpse of the elusive, awe-inspiring Aurora Borealis? Or would we see something deeper, a glimpse of ourselves unburdened by the constant demands which had prompted this retreat.
The travelers arrived spell-bound by this snowy landscape. They met for a family dinner in the lobby of their humble lodgings. Introductions where made. Intentions were founded. Stories, laughs and recallings of past events all found their place that faithful night, which ended in the recitation of Surah Al-Mulk.
The first day all the travelers gathered in the lobby. A slippery walk through the streets and soon they found themselves at the front of another establishment, where they would embark on their first bus tour through the fjords. What would they see, they wondered. Well what they saw was far beyond their imaginations. Snow covered mountains rose seamlessly out of the earth. The tops of trees poked like tiny branches from beneath the blanket of snow. The snowy terrain tumbled down to the frigid ocean, which shimmered in icy shades of blue. And in the distance, giant windmills slowly turned.
It was at such a fjord that the travelers unloaded from the bus and trudged through a foot of snow to the beach, where a feast of hot chocolate and cookies awaited them. Overlooking the Norwegian sea northward towards the pole, a “party” occurred nearby, what an absurd phenomenon. Indeed how could anyone say they had a beach “party” in such a land? Only this merry band of travelers could say they had.
Indeed, that was how the week passed, weary travelers merry at last. Northern lights were spotted indeed. Thanks, in part, thorough the marvelous work of a brave soul. Whales were sighted after a long day at sea. Stories were made and friendships formed, thanks in good part to the caravans’ leader, without whom such a wonderful sojourn may not have turned. When would such another journey occur? For the travelers that is yet to be explored. Yet the leader’s purpose had been fulfilled, to gather travelers for an intentional journey, throughout the lands of Allah swt’s creation. And might I say, twas a marvelous thing to witness, and something to forever carry with me.
