The Eid family wasn't a family of note for the history books. They went through their lives, quietly accepting change while the wars and leaders in power fought through the eons. They grew hungry and starving, but somehow, they always pulled through, just barely. Abasi Musim Garai, most likely due to his strong name and his equally strong senses of morality and willpower, was stumbled upon by an ancient ghost.
It is unknown what happened during this encounter, other than the solid fact that it happened. A curse had been put upon Abasi so he could not explain the situations, nor the consequences. But it soon became clear that whatever Abasi had done, it clearly had angered the sleeping gods. For weeks, terrible things happened to their family. Food went old and rotten within hours; powerful winds would whip at their house throughout the days and nights, pelting anyone who tried to enter or leave the house with thousands of sharp bits of sand; ne'er-do-well's and thieves continually fell off the beaten track and stumbled upon this poor family and robbed them of whatever goods of worth they did have left.
Finally, Abasi died, and the curses, for a time, disappeared. The family returned to somewhat normal lives, though still in fear of what may happen. One year to the day of Abasi's death, Miguel Zuberi Abasi, his grandson and only heir to the Eid family line, was confronted by this same spectral figure, and the same meeting occurred. Miguel was asked to help this ghost take revenge upon the family who had murdered him in "cold blood" by destroying the entire family line in the night while they slept. Holding to this same moral compass, Miguel denied this, and angered the ghost.
Rather than allow the curses and destruction to fall on him and his family, he quickly gathered up all that he felt he needed, including a book on protective charms, amulets, and spells, that he had found by a lucky chance in Cairo on one of their rare trips. Once done, he boarded the first flight to America, deciding that of all places, this would be the one where magic would leave him alone.
He changed his name to Porter, made up a story about being an orphan, and forged some important documents.