Laila

Baby steps

Laila squinted as she stepped onto the roof, the grey sky proving to be too bright after her eyes had adjusted to the darkness of the compact, dingy staircase.

The rain it seemed had expelled all its fury and was now reduced to a few, occasional droplets. A slow wind was blowing across, there was no glaring sun as it was still covered up by the departing clouds.

Hassan and Amina were standing on one edge of the roof looking at the courtyard at the back of the house. Laila walked over to them, Ismail following. Down there, puddles of muddy water had formed in which little kids were jumping and splashing. The little boys purposely splashing water onto the squealing girls. Laila looked at them in awe, wondering how someone could be so happy with something so small. She had baby cousins that wouldn't even crack a smile if you offered them to play in the rain. They would prefer to be indoors in their air conditioned rooms with their iPads prematurely given to them by their parents. Who was Laila to judge? She was their adult version after all.

"Laila! Where were you lost?" Amina asked her but did not seem too concerned. She spotted Ismail behind her and a smile stretched across her face.

"Oh, I get it," she said with a wicked grin and a wink.

Laila didn't bother correcting her. Instead she chose a spot on the roof and sat down on the floor, cross legged not caring that her pants were getting wet. They were black so she wouldn't have a problem.

She could feel her legs still trembling slightly. She began pressing them to ease the tension in them and in her mind. The clouds were slowly disappearing and light began shining onto the roof as the sun reemerged. Laila smiled up at the sky, imagining all the rainbows this sun would now be creating and wishing she could see one.

She heard footsteps behind her and moments later Ismail was sitting next to her, a few feet away.

Unintentionally, a smile appeared on Laila's face. One that she hid behind her open hair.

"I heard you're going back to your University tomorrow," Ismail said.

"No, no not tomorrow but a week later. From next Monday," she replied.

"Oh, okay. And you're studying English?"

"Yes, English literature actually," she said.

He nodded but didn't say anything. Laila, after the events of the Sheesh Mahal was too scared to try to start anything with him. Ismail himself decided to talk about Laila's favourite thing in the world.

"So what's your favourite book then?"

Laila beamed, excited that he had brought up the subject.

"I wouldn't be able to pin point my exact, absolute favorite but maybe 'The Kite Runner'," she replied.

He nodded and opened his mouth to say something but before he got a chance to say anything Laila spoke again.

"But you know what it could also be 'Eleanor and Park. Amazing book. But it could also be 'Gone with the Wind'. Bad question Ismail," she said with a laugh. She didn't mean that at all. This was the best question anyone could ask her.

Ismail chuckled at her behavior and decided to let her enjoy this conversation a bit more.

"English literature student, I would assume your favorite would be a classic," he said.

Laila in turn got even more excited listening to him talk about books. She didn't pin him for a guy who would even know that the books she listed weren't classics.