Under the Olive Tree

8. Thamaniya

Instead of falling and ruining her green abaya though, she let the box fall and grabbed onto the corn beside her. It splattered in the wet soil and sprayed the bottom of her dress. Amani huffed at the box that had definitely done that on purpose as revenge for how quickly she'd abandoned it. "Really?" She hissed.

Once she peeled it off the ground, Amani held it at arm's length as she walked through the tall trees. She'd been pondering about their presence because Reema hadn't mentioned trees in her directions and considered turning around when Amani came to the vast field before her. It was vast but the baby trees were small against the brown dirt. Only one stood large in the distance, barely a foot or two taller than her. The others didn't rise much further than her knees.

She walked slowly when approaching, cautious of the dirt beneath her feet to keep from slipping again. "Muhsin?" She called out into the empty field, stepping past a small wooden shack in search of the man who was nowhere to be seen. It wasn't like he could be hiding behind any of the trees unless he was crouching and somehow folded his body to match their thin branches.

Had she taken too long? Amani prayed that he hadn't walked to Reema's home for the box she'd walked so far to bring all the way here.

"You've got to kidding me," she dropped her head back toward the sky and groaned. "What a waste of a nice abaya. I got mud on its tail and he's not even here to take what he asked for. Unbelievable!"

Then his voice came. "Reema?" It wasn't a question of whether her cousin had arrived, but of why she was speaking the way she was because Reema would never speak like this. Amani rolled her lips into her mouth in regret as the window of the stable opened beside her.

He'd definitely been close enough to hear everything.

She closed her eyes in embarrassment.

"Nope," Amani did her best to pretend like she hadn't just been caught going on about her abaya. She pulled a smile on her face and turned toward the small wooden building. But he wasn't standing in the window when she glanced through. "Amani...?" She stepped closer to peek inside and search for the boy.

Instead, she found a large horse standing near the other corner and watching her. Its expression either neutral or judgmentally unamused by her presence. "No way," Amani leaned in to search the empty stable. She pointed at the horse. "Did you just... talk to me?"

It blinked.

A cough came from behind her and startled Amani so she nearly jumped through the window in fear. She spun to find Muhsin standing behind her, his hands clasped behind his back and his eyes on the ground. Her hands flew to her mouth in what he must have assumed to be fright from his arrival. In reality, it was shock at how she'd managed to embarrass herself a second time in front of him before even seeing the boy.

"Oh. It's you." Clearly.

"My horse does not speak." He said it blatantly in the same emotionless way she was used to from him. But this time, Amani could feel the teasing tone that he was likely using in his mind.

"I know, I didn't- I was talking about you."

"But I was here. Not in there."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you mocking me?"

The corners of his lips twitched. "I was only clarifying."

"Well, you don't need to. I already know that horses can't talk."

"Alhamdullilah."

She gasped at the confirmation that Muhsin was definitely mocking her for thinking the horse had spoken. It wasn't her fault he'd spoken then disappeared and left only the animal in her direct sight. Under her astonished gaze, he forced the corners of his mouth down and looked past her to distract himself. "I came all this way to give you that box and you laugh at me," she glowered.