Mikaal

39: Mikaal

Honk honk!

"Just great!" Dalia said to herself, having not moved for at least fifteen minutes. What was normally a thirty-minute trip was looking like it would take her nearly an hour! 'So much for trying to avoid the morning traffic,' she thought begrudgingly.

She tilted her head up and tried to look ahead above the vehicles in their myriad of shapes and colours that made a multi-layer sandwich on all sides of her.

"What's going on?"

She glanced at the time on her dashboard; it was nearly 11:00 am. There would still be plenty of time to go to the library later and watch some lectures, something she was determined to start today, but she didn't know what to expect when she got to Scarborough Beach. What if it led her on another adventure that took up her whole day, or days for that matter, like seeking out that restaurant?

'The restaurant...' Dalia's breathing became languid at the recollection of yesterday. It felt surreal, reliving her memory of being with Mikaal during her forgotten history with him. Her lips trembled each time she thought of it.

Dalia shook her head and forced her eyes wide open to refocus. 'Scarborough Beach,' she reminded herself.

Her forehead creased. "Scarborough Beach..." she said aloud, needing to hear the words, sensing that there was something important she was forgetting. 'Think, think...'

"No, don't think," she said, recalling that she remembered things only when she stopped trying to and just did other things.

She reached over and turned on the radio.

"Eat like a champion this winter. Beef for protein, iron and zinc. Australian beef. Nature's best source of iron."

Dalia rolled her eyes at the commercial, reminded why she rarely listened to the radio. 'Just get to the music already!' She drummed her fingers on her steering wheel.

"Hang on!" She turned down the volume as another ad began. The talk of beef had triggered a memory.

"The Allergy Clinic!" She sat up straighter, a rush of excitement building. She remembered something.

It was on her way to the Allergy Clinic that she had stopped at Scarborough Beach, having some time to kill. Hadn't she felt faint when she was there? She had skipped breakfast that day, but let's suppose there was more to it.

Especially considering how she had brushed aside the significance of her dream even though it had haunted her from even before that day she met Mikaal in San Churros. It was like it had been trying to help her regain her memories all along.

So wasn't it possible that this wasn't another coincidence?

Dalia turned the radio back up, hungry for some heavy bass and drums to bounce to, to expend the new energy she now felt.

"So avoid Mitchell Freeway if you can. It'll take ages for them to clear that area. Two out of the three cars were complete write-offs."

"No!" Dalia glanced at her iPhone that was propped up against her air vent that led the way. She grimaced at the sight of the red line that indicated heavy traffic. She needed to consider a different route, maybe one involving back streets?

The traffic continued to move at a snail's pace. "Thank God!" Dalia said aloud as a small gap opened up that would allow her to take an early exit; luckily, her car was fairly narrow. It was a tight squeeze, only inches between her car and the car that was still stuck in the pile-up. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead as she manoeuvred her Lancer with extra caution, her eyes darting back and forth between her side mirrors. She breathed a sigh of relief when she managed her escape, now cruising on the straight bitumen road, heading towards the turning lanes marked with arrows pointing left and right.