Emeralds

Twenty-eight.

"Yes?" She replies from the other side of the room, looking at the mirror, fixing her hijab.

"Do I wear the black jacket or the grey one?"

She turns to look at me and rubs her chin thoughtfully, "I guess the grey one is better."

"Okay," I say dropping the black jacket on the bed and taking the grey one. "Ready?" I ask her.

"Yup," she smiles enthusiastically.

We walk through the old streets of Paris, the brick roads, the beautiful and classy architecture. The air is a little brisk, but it makes it all more beautiful.

"Even the street lights are different," Leen says - totally lost in the surroundings. "They're just... warm."

"Yes," I nod. "They're not distracting."

"Look," she points at a small restaurant around the corner. "That restaurant looks cool."

"I've eaten there before. The food's really good," I say grabbing her hand. "Come on."

The food arrives after what seems like an eternity, and only the sight of the plates approaching makes me realize how much I was hungry.

"So," Leen starts putting her fork down, "how many times have you been to France?"

"Let me see," I think. "Maybe ten times?"

"Ten?!" she exclaims.

"Four times for work, five times with my family, and this time with you," I explain.

"Aha," she says. "I wish I were a flight attendant then."

I don't know why when she says that Reem - the flight attendant who had a crush on me - comes to my mind, and it makes me uncomfortable. "You don't need to change anything about yourself," I say stiffly.

"Father used to bring us to France almost every vacation," I say changing the subject. "My grandma and uncle live here, so we used to visit them a lot. Also our company has a branch here and another in Dubai, and maybe that's the main reason Omar, Mariam and I had to learn French. Father was really keen on that. Aya was so young then, so she's not really good in French. However we haven't been here for a family visit in five years or something."

"Wow," she says. "The more I know about you, the more I find that I don't know."

I smile at her, already wanting to get out my heart and past years so she can know everything about me. "I promise you, there'll never be any secrets between us," I say. "The thing about marriage is to get to live inside the person you love, and get them to live inside you as well." Does this deliver the same meaning as 'I love you'? I hope it does.

She clenches her hands into fists and draws them under the table nervously. "So," I say to change the subject when I notice her reaction, "I was really surprised at the wedding when you introduced me to Salam, and I was really happy she could make it."

Her face immediately lights up and the tension fades away, "Yes! She completed everything on that day," she smiles. "It's scary missing someone that much."

"I know." I miss father that much.

When we're done eating, we go for a walk. Leen seems like corn that would pop at any time from her excessive anticipation to see the Eiffel Tower.

"I wish I had even longer legs," she says and it makes me crack up. She's so busy watching her steps that she doesn't notice the magical metallic curves glowing ahead of us, pointing to the sky.

"Lee, look," I say cocking my head in the tower's direction.

"Oh my God!" she freezes in her spot. "Wow!"

"Come on," I say grabbing her hands. She takes out her phone and takes a picture of the tower alone then hesitates before telling me, "I wanna take a picture of you here."

"Of me alone?" I ask in puzzlement.

"Umm... yes," she says shyly. I stand and she takes a picture, and I only watch her smiling at the photo. I pull her by the arm and make her turn so her back is to me, I wrap an arm around her waist and hold the phone with the other hand taking a picture of us. She then takes the phone and watches the picture for some time then looks at me and smiles, "You make me happy."

If I say those are the words I've been waiting to hear my entire life, it would be an understatement. If I say those words are powerful enough to shake my world, I would need a thesaurus to learn stronger words than shake. However, all I know is that making the one you love happy, and hearing it directly from them, changes your world, and brings a life to your days. Even if you've always ranked the first in school and university, and even if you've been always the best in work, you wouldn't know real success like making someone truly happy. Let alone someone who really means to you.

I don't think I need time to know that I love Leen. I know I love her since the day I wanted her to be mine, and wanted to be hers. The day I decided to dedicate my life to her as my wife and never consider any other girls. Everyday I will love her more. Everyday I will wake up, look at her, and make the same decision all over again...

"I will always make you happy inshallah," I say. "I love you."

~~~

An update in just four days! I hope you enjoy :D

Vote and leave your comments, and pray for your adam.. <3

Nouran.