What's in a name? Part 1

He never made it to tell you all this, so I will tell you his story as related to me by his sister. Reality beats fiction, and this following story from real life will leave any people in doubt of that statement, as sure about it as the sun rising and setting everyday.

Libya, some two-three decades ago:

Hassan, not Libyan himself, was working there electroengineer as he was. He loved a girl. A typical story of impossible love? Not really.

She was seeing his best friend, and eventually became pregnant, out of wedlock. Even in Communist Bosnia (or Yugoslavia as it was at that time), it was somehow frowned upon. Hassan's best friend, left her without marrying her or taking care of the baby boy that would eventually see the light of day; Elvir.

It didn't matter to Hassan, and he decided to marry her anyway. His parents back home were not thrilled but they all agreed that should he decide to marry her he should under no circumstances separate mother and child. He wouldn't have done that anyway. He loved her too much.

He left Libya and started a new life in Bosnia with his wife and bonus child.

The child had been damaged a lot, especially during the pregnancy when his mother had tried to hide the fact that she was pregnant. Elvir couldn't speak properly and Hassan invested a lot of time and money in his stepson to get him speech therapists and whatever else to help him function as normally as possible.

Eventually they had a boy of their own. The only difference between the two boys was that Elvir kept his mother's last name, and the new boy of course got the name of his father. That is how she wanted it.

Who would have thought then, that it would have such dire consequences?

As time went by the children grew older and Hassan made sure never to favor his biological son over Elvir, sometimes resulting in being harsher on his own son. Anything so that his wife would not feel that her boy was not loved.

To be continued...