Under the Olive Tree

30. Thalathun

She asked if they could stop.

He told her they were nearly there.

She requested water.

He purchased for her a bottle.

She said her feet hurt.

He let her sit for a bit.

She whined about sand on her feet.

He cleaned her sandals.

She grew hungry.

He took them to a shawarma store.

Once they'd eaten and Amani drank to her heart's desire, she excitedly urged Muhsin out the front door so he may take her the rest of the way to this new place. The sun had set by the time they stepped into the street once again. Only street and store lamps illuminated their path. In the distance, Amani heard the loud music of a street wedding.

"Are you taking me to my wedding, Muhsin?" She asked, twirling in the empty street in front of him. The number of townspeople lingering around them had decreased as they neared the loud music heard through the speakers.

He raised his eyebrows in intrigue. Amani's improved mood easily lightened both of their steps. "You caught me."

"Oh, you shouldn't have," she teased.

"Then I will not. Let's turn back."

Amani's eyes widened though she was aware of his joke. "I would never. We have not come all this way to turn right around. Perhaps we should even spend the night in this town. Like a pre-honeymoon."

"OK," he said and Amani paused, believing for a moment that he was agreeing with her idea. But he was not. He couldn't possibly. "Close your eyes. I will walk you the rest of the way."

She swelled in excitement. "Are we there?"

"It's around the corner. Close them, yalla."

Amani pressed her eyes tightly closed and let Muhsin turn her around. His hands slipped around the tops of her arms to carefully guide Amani down the remainder of the path. She took careful steps but he maneuvered her around the potential unevenness of the trail so she would not hurt herself.

Soon enough, the ground leveled and the music that played distantly seemed to be the only sound around them. A gentle gust of wind blew across Amani's cheek and ruffled leaves ahead of them.

Muhsin's hands fell away. "Fat'hi."

Her eyes slowly opened.

She'd been here before.

The empty street of freshly washed turquoise travertine tiles and contoured crevices between each tile. The café-colored homes around them stood with doors and windows of a beautiful cerulean blue. She looked beside them at the same motorcycles she'd known would stand there.

Very slowly, as if she couldn't believe the familiarity of the sight, Amani moved along the dark column of stone lining the street's center.

Wooden chairs sat near the end of the walkway as if they'd been there for years but never once gone a day without harboring a rest for an older man.

She took a deep breath before lifting her gaze to the colorful lights decorating the covering of wood and leaves stretching across the street between both homes. The vines and lights seemed close enough to touch but if Amani reached out, she knew she would not reach. The music fell away until she could hardly hear it.

"This...," she began. How could she explain that she knew this? That she'd been here before and she'd been here with him.

Amani turned to Muhsin. He'd been quietly trailing her path, his hands clasped behind his back and his smile brighter than what the sun would have been if it dared rise and challenge his beauty. The lights behind her reflected in his hazel eyes with each step he took closer. Her heart skipped a beat and, for a moment, Amani's body was overcome with a powerful weakness under his gaze.