In this book, you will find love, forgiveness, faith, imagination, as well as critical thinking. The book contains stories from many parts of the world and presents love and forgiveness that are found in all faiths and cultures. But if you are looking for pure love and forgiveness, then you won't find them in this book; you will only find them in a mother's heart. You will read the story of Carol, from Iowa, whose friends set her on a discovery mission to find out about Sufi . In her travels, she meets many people who wish her well, and these newly acquired friends are eager to enlighten her in the ways of the Sufi s . . . but first she must reveal her reasons for being who she is and why she had to come halfway around the world on her pilgrimage to peace and serenity. Eli hides from life behind his beard and his beer. Not until he meets an ex-girlfriend who broke his heart many years before, does he really look at himself and his life. Her directness-"You look much older than your age . . ." and the memories she stirs up make him realize he has to change if he wants to be happy. The book also focuses our attention on what really matters, which is our behavior towards other people. What we believe or don't believe is a matter of debate. But how we actually act? That makes a real difference in our lives and the lives of others.

Breakfast With Satan

8 Inspiring StoriesBy AR Benali

BALBOA PRESS

Copyright © 2012 AR Benali
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4525-4789-3

Contents

Prologue....................................................xiStory I Love in Silicon Valley..............................1Story II Proud To Be a Woman................................15Story III Dialogue Above the Clouds.........................31Story IV Guess What, Mom! I Found Love!.....................51Story V Jasmine and the Lady Saint..........................63Story VI The Ordinary and the Atheist.......................77Story VII Out into the Desert...............................109Story VIII Breakfast with Satan.............................123

Chapter One

Love in Silicon Valley

There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love.

Sophia Loren

It was December 23, 1984. Eli woke up around noon, really hungry and miserable. He opened the fridge, and inside were leftover hummus, one boiled egg, and two pieces of small, round Arabic bread. On the door shelf, there was a one-liter Pepsi bottle filled with tap water. Eli thought, This will be enough for now. He arranged the food on a tray. Turned on the TV, but there was nothing exciting. The news was even more mind numbing and he decided to call some friends and chat while eating his breakfast ... but no one answered.

He decided to call Jeno, his bartender friend. He usually opens the Lucky Lion Club around 3:00 p.m.

"Hey, what's up dude?" he asked.

"Nothing much. Where are you, Eli?"

"At home, bored, cold, and broke."

"Come on over. I'm alone here!"

"How can I come? I'm broke and won't get my paycheck until next week," he answered with shame. He truly felt like throwing himself from the third-floor balcony.

"Don't you worry. You always pay back what you owe." There was silence for a moment, and he said louder, "Come on over. I need some company. The first two drinks are on the house. How about that?"

An hour later, Eli parked his 1973, light green Plymouth in the empty parking lot. When he entered the club, it was deserted, but Olivia Newton John's "Let's Get Physical" played loudly.

He looked around and did not see Jeno. He turned around, and there went Jeno — roller-skating by on the dancing platform. "Hey, man, what are doing? You know you're not supposed to do that," Eli shouted, a big smile on my face. "I'm going to tell Jerry, the club manager."

"Go grab a beer. Serve yourself. I am just practicing my roller-skating skills."

He finally stopped, took a deep breath, and asked Eli to throw him a towel. He excused himself and entered the women's washroom to change and clean up. That's the Jeno I knew! When the manager is not there, he always does silly things.

After he came out, he looked at Eli, laughed, and said, "You must have been dumped, as usual. How come you're alone?"

"Come on, Jeno, no one dumps me. Remember, I am a foreign student. My family is all back home, in Lebanon." He took a big sip from his cold, draft Bud mug.

After a few hours of chatting, Jeno suggested, "Why don't you come over to my parents' house tomorrow? We are going to have a family gathering for Christmas Eve. We would love to have you."

"I am honored, but I am not sure if I'll be free tomorrow evening." He said apologetically as he didn't want to obligate himself.

He insisted, "Come on. You'll enjoy my parents' company. My sister will be there, too. You'll be the guest of honor. I'm going to call Mom now and tell her you are coming."

"Okay. What should I wear? I mean what's the dress code."

"Just casual."

That night was one of those unforgettable good times for Eli. Jeno's parents, Jane and Casella, were so kind and pleasant. His mom and his sister, Carol, took turns singing Christmas songs. Some of the songs stayed in Eli's memory for a long time, songs like The Twelve Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me A partridge in a pear tree. On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me Two turtledoves And a partridge in a pear tree....

The food was delicious. The turkey tasted yummy, so yummy ... for a hungry college boy. When Eli was about to leave, Jeno's sister came up to him and gave him a nicely wrapped gift. He impatiently unwrapped it right away, while they smiled and giggled at him. "Wow, it's a book." That was exactly what Eli needed to help pass the time and ease his loneliness during the holidays.

A couple of years later, Eli graduated from college with a degree in computer science and was recruited for a promising job in Silicon Valley. He had had a few not so serious relationships, mainly because of the long hours he committed to his work.

One day while grocery shopping, he met a nex-girlfriend who had previously dumped him to run away with her high school sweetheart. He hadn't seen her for years. She recognized his voice while he flirted with the cashier.

"Is that you, Eli?" she asked him.

He looked at her for few moments and thought, It is her. She is just as gorgeous as she always was.

"Yup, that's me, Eli. Who are you?" he asked pretending he didn't recognized her.

"I'm Tina. I didn't recognize you either. You look much older than your age, but your voice is still the same."

He thought, That was mean. Then again, she was being direct and forward as always.

He took few steps toward her, hugged her carefully and whispered in her ears. "What happened to you? I thought you were gone forever. What brought you back?"

"It's a long story. Maybe sometime we can meet for coffee and talk."

While driving home Eli thought, She might be right about the age thing. I haven't shaved regularly, in years. I haven't laughed or done any exercise. All I've been doing is working, smoking and drinking. He attributed the wakening shock to the visit with the past that the meeting had forced on him.

When he got home, he stared in the mirror for a long time. It felt like the first time he had truly seen himself for what he was. He thought, Who in hell is this fat, beer-bellied man with dark half-moons under his eyes? Who is that balding man with the thick, tangled gray beard? In the end, he could not deny it — that man was he and his looks disgusted him. His memories took him back to the days when he was with Tina. He remembered how athletic and joyful he used to be.

The next morning, Eli called work and requested two weeks' leave. The makeover has begun, he thought. It's never too late to start living your life free from the chains of narcotics and alcohol.

One day, as he was re-arranging his books, Eli came across a book that was given to him twenty-seven years ago titled, How to Be Young Again. He thought, What a coincidence!

Eli hired a few helpers to clean up his house full of junk. His hording was not a compulsive disorder, just laziness and lack of motivation. Now however, his outlook had been changed by a memory from the past and Eli was determined to change and become a different man. He was determined to transform his life ... without seeking help from anyone.

Next was a visit to the neighborhood barber where he hadn't been in years.

At the barbershop, while he waited he read How to Be Young Again. Joe, the nicely dressed, gay stylist looked at him and said. "Is that you, Eli? I can't believe it. Come on, I don't want to miss the chance. Come on, if you get...