You had teeth

"You Had Teeth": "You Had Teeth" is an elegy of longing and gratitude, written by a young girl who recalls the details of her relationship with her uncle "Al-Khidr," a character whose features embody Sufi sanctity, innate kindness, and the miracles attributed to saints. The heroine of the novel conveys the strange stories of her uncle—the father, teacher, and loving saint—in intimate scenes set in the palm trees of Al-Ain. She talks about beauty, death, love, God, and Rabia, Al-Khidr's wife, who was called "the crazy one," but with whom she learned the meaning of unconditional love. Brimming with love, Sufism, and contemplation of life and death, it explores the worlds of childhood and traditional Emirati society with a lucid narrative. It raises societal issues and addresses difference and loss in a humane and profound manner.