THE CAVE: From shadow to light

CHAPTER III - Eyes wide open

CHAPTER III
Eyes wide open

Riiiiiinnnnggg, riiiiinnnngggg !!!!

Aaah ! What's this ? What's happening ? What's wrong ? Ugh... I forgot the sound of an alarm and how horrible this feels when you hear it in the middle of a dream. It's 6:30 in the morning, the sun is already shining outside and it's reflection hits my windows, to a point that we could think that there is a white light on in the middle of the room. I'm getting closer to this window, curious to see how the view is from where I am, how does this country looks like, and I see a wide mountainous terrain, a stunning view, breathtaking, in the distance, the blue line of the horizon and the Arabian sea, the sky is coloured with a childish light blue, the mountains seem to be like crashes of huge stone, frightening and impressive in the same time, a nuanced color of dark to light browns dominates the land, sandy but clean, desertic but populated, there is life outside, but the atmosphere still seems calm, unreal, but beautiful, and that particular smell, always present.

Ting ! *Sms notification* :
- Good morning.

Oh .. Ali, I forgot him. I was so hypnotized by the beauty of the view that I entered into a meditation, to forget my responsibilities of the day.

- Good Morning Ali, I'm getting ready. Are you on the way ?
- I'm down.
- Sorry, 10 minutes and I'll be downstairs.
- Ok.

I jump to the shower, I avoid washing my hair for today, I put on the first dress that is in the most above of my suitcase, I grab my purse, my perfume, my wallet, my passport, my slippers, one last observation in the mirror to check if I am not too ugly, and  leave this room that served me as a hut to spend a night away from unknown dangers.
He is here, parked in front of the hotel, waiting for me patiently. Just by him being parked, I could still feel his softness, even his patience is soft !!! Have you ever seen that ?

- Ahlan wa sahlan Alia
- Good morning Ali, how are you today?
- Good, you?
- Good, thank you. So, where are we going today?
- You will see. Beautiful place. Take, coffee for you
- Waw... you brought me a coffee ? Thank's, that's.. kind.
- I know french love coffee for morning
- Indeed.. Smokers too.
- *laugh*

It's the first time that I see his smile, and hear his laugh, you're guessing what I'll say ? YES EVEN HIS LAUGH AND SMILE ARE SOFT !

On our way driving into the unknown, I didn't really stare at the roads this time, my curiosity and love of nature was asleep, I preferred to focus on something even more beautiful : Ali.

I stared at him discreetly, for the first time. The day before, I had not really paid attention to his face, being tired and just arriving, I was rather more curious to discover the scenery that surrounded me than the taximan.
His face features, are soft, not coarse, everything is perfectly drawn and balanced, light but not too much, without it giving feminine features, it remains very masculine, the line of his nose fell to such a perfect way that it agreed with the curve of his upper lip, slightly raised, his light and in the same time dark skin but not perfect, he probably had acne when he was younger, but it didn't make him ugly or disgusting, on the contrary, it gave him some charm.
He was focused on the road, totally distracted, unaware that I was analyzing him. A pure and natural beauty, damaged by the time and some skin problems, but a configuration of his features so harmonious, his beauty had suddenly struck me, a beauty so rare that I didn't get tired of looking, my eyes did not want to peel off, but to enjoy again and again. His attitude was both confident but shy at the same time, he was impressive, he exuded something not common, he was out of the ordinary, that it aroused my curiosity.

- Ali, tell me more about you ?
- Me ? *smile* What you want to know ?
- I don't know, your age, which city you grew up in, do you have brothers and sisters, etc..
- I live in city 4 hour from here, because I work taxi and the weekend I back home. I have 5 brother, no siser, my dad die, only my mom is living, all my life in oman. Sometimes I go Dubai with my family, but that's it. You ?
- Well, I live in France, I've 1 brother and 3 sisters, I don't work for the moment, I enjoy life, I want to travel and discover new horizons, I need to breathe.
- Why ? You have problems ?
- No, no, it's not that, I'm just fed up to always see the same things you know ?
- Yes. Travelling is good, everyday I have people from Europe coming and I drive to hotel. Nice people
- Yes, thank you.
- *Smile*
- Where are we going exactly ?
- You don't have patience ?
- Not really..
- *Smile* You will see, you will love too much. You love nature ?
- I mean I love nature more than myself so..
- Good ! You will love this nature more than yourself again
- *Laugh* Let's see if you tell the truth, I'm curious to know.
- If you don't like, ok, tomorrow you tell me I don't want go with you.
- Deal.
- Yalla.

His teeth were so white, his voice so soft, to every letter that comes out of his mouth. Life has accustomed me to men who speak a little loudly, or too low, or a lot, or not at all, or rudely, or falsely kind, or with a voice a little too deep, or with a speech that's too much elaborate and technical, or on the contrary, not dosed enough with manners, a little of everything, a little of nothing, but never such a softness.