Dr. Mai Al Nakib's The Hidden Light Of Object

In Dr. Mai Al Nakib’s short story, The Hidden Light of Objects, we meet the protagonist Zaina who has been abducted by Iraqi Soldiers during Kuwait’s Liberation Day. She was taken away from her family for ten years, a decade in which she became alienated both physically and mentally. Her family back home yearned for her presence, especially since everything was changing, their country, the people, and they themselves. She was their light, their security and strength. Their mother’s abduction took a painful toll on them. They had to grow up without her, not knowing whether she was dead or alive. The maternal space had been suddenly snatched away from them and unrightfully so. They could not bear their loss. Zaina’s homecoming was a huge event for the family. They did not know what to expect. They had no one to advise them on how to act, what to say, how to make their mother feel at home. They were hoping to compensate for the time they had lost while she was away. They had experienced trauma throughout the years their mother was gone; nonetheless, they figured that their mother must have experienced a trauma that was far beyond their own. Zaina remained silent

I do not think that Zaina is deliberately resisting or refusing to speak, but that she is overly traumatized to the point that she simply cannot. Language is failing her. She is unable to express; therefore, she lets her silence be her form of expression. In a way she is taking control of her life through her silence. She is not forcing herself to do what she cannot yet do, despite everyone’s anticipation to listen to what she has to say. Zaina is taking her time to heal, although the scars are extremely deep, still very raw, and will take quite some time to mend. She is as loud as a siren through her silence. The voice she speaks with is a different kind of voice to what others would consider normal. She speaks from her body by not saying a word. Silence is now her