Laila

360 degrees

Laila continued to explore the roof and all the views it offered. Eventually, she settled on the edge of the railing of the roof, facing the grand Badshahi Mosque. Evening turned to night, as she continued to sit on the edge of the roof, old Lahore splayed in front of her.

She did not know how many minutes passed by before she heard the sound of soft footsteps on the roof. Expecting it to be Amina asking her to come down, she looked up and was utterly surprised at whom she saw.

It was Ismail.

Her cheeks warmed as she recalled what had happened the last time they had met. She was still ashamed of her behavior and had been meaning to apologize to him.

None of them offered the other a greeting instead Ismail walked closer to her and sat down about five feet from her, on the same railing.

She remained quiet as did he.

The silence, in no way comfortable for Laila. She didn't know what to say to him and was waiting for him to start a conversation. Or maybe just utter a sentence or a word.

After five minutes of dreadful silence, with Laila just about to get up and go find her best friend, his deep voice pierced the silence they so uncomfortably had held.

"I didn't know you were up here. I came because I thought Hassan and Amina needed some...privacy," he said and to her surprise, his face was adorned in a smirk.

Laila stared at him as he spoke. She kept staring after he was finished speaking. Eventually, she realized she had to give him a reply.

"Ah, yes. That's why I'm up here as well," she said, with a small smile.

He looked at her and nodded as if he already knew her reason for being on the roof.

Silence once again descended on the two. Not liking it one bit, Laila decided she wanted to talk to the stranger just a bit more.

"The view is absolutely stunning isn't it?" she said, glancing back at the night sky and now lit up mosque.

Ismail mimicked her actions and nodded.

"It definitely is," he replied.

Many minutes passed without the two of them saying anything. Laila looked at his profile from the corner of her eyes. He truly was an exceptionally handsome guy. His brown hair ruffling in the slight breeze, his tan skin shinning in the moonlit night. He was almost as spectacular a sight as the view that stood behind him.

"Ismail?" Laila said.

Then immediately regretted it. She winced.

His light brown eyes focused on her wide ones. What had she wanted to say again? Oh yes. Apologize for her appalling mistake the last time they met.

When she didn't say anything in response to his glance, he said,

"Yes?"

The shy beauty finally recovered from her thoughts to give him a reply,

"Um, I just wanted to say...I'm very sorry for what happened last week. I...I wasn't laughing at you or the fact that you didn't have a job. I was just thinking about something else," she said, making up a lame excuse in lee of something sensible to say.

Despite being shy to her very core, something in this man compelled, urged Laila to want to speak to him.

Ismail smiled at the apology, still not looking at the conceited girl. He knew what she was talking about. Her scoff at his house last week. His smile turned into a grin as he turned to look at the arrogant girl. Had she really bent herself to apologize to him? She had seemed beyond apologizing, ever, no matter what her fault may have been.