There are some things you just don't get over.
No matter how hard you try, some memories just don't fade away. Even if the edges are hazy, the feelings resurface inside you every time a particular person crosses your mind. Laeeq Abdullah had one suc...
"He married a Gadsiwian." Laeeq clarified, referring to the city almost 10 hours far from Inersaw.
"Aah, no wonder." Joseph nodded. "How did it even work out? Gadsiwians are so different."
"We're living in the 21st century." Laeeq spoke. "If you still segregate people into boundaries of cultural differences, I can show you the way to the Psychiatry Department. You need a session on cognitive cleansing."
That's the smartest reply I've ever heard. Leila grinned as Fatima burst out laughing.
The sun climbed higher as Ahmad and his wife stopped by to collect their daughter. As noon arrived, the health camp was gradually filling to meet its purpose. Leila worked diligently with the doctors, amazed especially at Laeeq's communication skills.
He seemed to befriend the young and chat with the elderly almost like he had known them forever. There was a charm to everything that he did, somehow highlighting how much he loved his job. The care she saw in his eyes was like no other, it seemed to Leila that the effortless and confident smile he wore cured the worry people carried.
"You'll have to do the entire thing in water." Laeeq spoke glancing at her briefly, and Leila blinked. He was tending to a boy who had fallen down in the park, and she was supposed to be helping him.
She hadn't ever seen eyes that beautiful.
What was it about those dark mahogany brown pools of wonder that she couldn't forget even if she tried?
And Inersawian people were famous for their unwavering gaze.
"The orthopedic cast, the bandage you're holding..." He clarified, pointing at her hands.
"Oh, right." Leila nodded, submerging the thick roll of blue bandage into the tray of water. "Sorry."
What is wrong with me? She thought, annoyed at herself.
"It's okay, you're doing brilliantly even if it's your first time." He nodded in approval as she handed the damp roll to him, careful not to touch his hand.
Leila thought that was the best thing she had heard all day, for she was smiling even after lunch. It was only Fatima who noticed the slight changes, unbeknownst to Leila or Laeeq, she had been witnessing their exchanges since morning. It didn't really take a genius to tell that they were attracted to each other, yet kept brushing it aside.
It reminded her of her own seedlings of love. That love which had grown so much it had started to scare her just a little bit, but gave her relief in multiple folds. That love which she hadn't even realised until it was too much to ignore, for it had taken root in the parts of her heart she had never visited. That love which had taken her from her land and thrown her into the seastorm she had dreamt of.
"Samir!" Fatima whisper-screamed frantically, but he wasn't looking her way. Standing outside his classroom, his eyes were on the moving cars outside the orphanage. Fatima giggled, wondering if he'd get in more trouble if he talked to her.
"Samir!" She yelled, catching his attention.
"What are you doing here?" Samir whispered back, staring at the nine year old girl in shock.
"Come on!" She beckoned him over.
Samir threw a glance over his shoulder at the teacher in his classroom before running over to Fatima, worry etched all over his face.
"What are you doing here, Fatima?" He asked. "You could get into trouble."
"You could too." She said, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm already in trouble so it doesn't really matter, but what--" He froze, they could hear someone walking into the corridor. Without giving it a second thought, he grabbed her hand and they raced outside the building. It wasn't a particularly sunny day, and the winds danced in Samir's hair as they sat down on the benches of the orphanage's park.
"Why are you in trouble?" Fatima asked, glad that they couldn't be interrupted anymore.
"I sneaked out to pray Jumu'ah. It was really late by the time I came back." Samir told her with a grin.
"You went to the masjid? Samir!" Fatima complained. "We made a plan to go together, remember?" She snapped, annoyed at him.
"Yeah, but we're going to be in separate rooms anyway." Samir said turning towards her. "Fatima..." He grinned again, enjoying her adorable angry expression.
"Stop laughing." She said instantly. "You're so mean."
"Okay okay, but I got you this." He said, taking out a bunch of jasmine flowers and a few pebbles. "Look, they're so pretty."
"Aww!" Fatima cheered up as he dropped them in her hand. "They really are! They look like the ones in my garden."
"Oh, you already have jasmines in your garden..." Samir said, his shoulders drooping.
"Yeah, but these are prettier." She reassured him. "Thank you!" She smiled, and that was all he needed to forget his sorrows.
There wasn't much he could gift her, but whatever he gave her seemed to hold more value to Fatima than all that she owned. For when the hearts connect and souls come close, love fills the heart more than any materialistic thing ever could. If there was one thing he liked about her, it was her gratefulness.
"But how did you manage to come here all alone?" Samir asked, leaning back.
"I live only a few minutes away, I know my way around this place now." She replied. "I mean, we're friends." She emphasised.
"No." He shook his head. "We're not friends."
"What? We aren't?" She asked, half-aghast and half-surprised.
"I don't know what we are, but we're definitely not friends." He clarified. "I don't know why I feel like if I make you my friend, I could lose you. I had a sister and a Mum and a Dad, but now they're gone."
"It's okay Samir, I'll be your sister and your Mum and your Dad." Fatima spoke. "I will be your friend and your family, I will be your everything."
Samir laughed.
"I'm serious." She said, raising an eyebrow.
"Thank you, Fatima." He said, marvelling at the girl in front of him. "In the khutbah today, the imam said we can't be friends though. I asked him."
"Oh." Fatima's face fell.
"Let's not label ourselves as friends. Maybe... Maybe we could be something else in the future?" Samir suggested.
"Yeah, maybe." She agreed blindly, not really understanding what he meant.
Perhaps it was this moment that the seedlings of love were sown in their hearts, for you couldn't find one without the other. Perhaps it was this bond that turned so strong that even the universe changed plans, for the Lord of the world had sent stars falling apart to align their destiny. Their only barrier was time, but as time unwound, so did they. And before they knew it, everything had disappeared.
Or so they thought.
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