Ma, I’m your dead son!

Salim Kheireddine, 67, from London

Aged 4, I had an epiphany…

‘You are not my mother and my name’s not Salim, it’s Fayez Eljaramani,’ I said, convinced my family were strangers.

Open-minded about reincarnation, my parents listened as I revealed more about my life as Fayez, a shop owner by the sea.

I insisted I was from Swada – nowhere near the water.

They were baffled. Until a man from a village called Sweida in Syria began working for my dad Ali. And he said the family I described existed! So, when I was 12, we visited my past… I was nervous. Worried I’d be disappointed. What if everything was the product of my imagination? First, we visited the family of my dad’s employee. I saw a woman who looked familiar. ‘You’re my auntie!’ I

shrieked. ‘Are you related to Fayez Eljaramani?’ Admitting she was, she told me Fayez’s parents were still alive. But when she offered to introduce me to them, I said no. ‘That’s strange,’ she said. ‘He wasn’t on good terms with his dad.’ She asked what’d happened to Fayez’s watch. ‘I gave it to Abu Assal,’ I said. At that, she collapsed, sobbing – her nephew Fayez died of a sudden heart attack at 22. Though I was pleased my past life was real, I felt uneasy. Back home, after hearing about us, Fayez’s mother Zena got in touch and came to stay. Unaware she’d arrived, while out with friends, I saw a woman alone. I just sensed it was Fayez’s mother. We hugged and sobbed. Staying with us for two weeks, Zena confirmed everything I’d been telling my parents for all those years. The fractured relationship with my father, the shop by the lagoon… After, we stayed in touch. That was 55 years ago, but it had a lasting effect on me. I don’t worry about a thing. Well, I know life goes on.

I was pleased my past life was real, but I felt uneasy