Longing For Paradise | ONC 2022 |

Chapter 7

Under the blooming night,
all I remember is you and me.
Under the setting moon,
it's your warmth I dream of.
Under the broad daylight,
You pretend I don't exist.
Under the broad daylight,
I pretend I'm okay with it.

- Ghalbani bid Dhar

"How long is he staying for?" Layla asked.

"I guess until he finds himself some place to stay." Noor and Layla shared their spot under the oak tree on the charpai.

"Which family is he from?"

"He didn't say."

"Did he come from far?"

"I don't know."

"Noor," Layla snatched the piece of news pamphlet from her hands. "What's going on with you?"

"Just read that pamphlet," she replied. Layla examined it thoroughly.

"It's a government report on the disturbance in the Ba's area near the marketplace. They say that the people did not comply with the soldiers and so they took a bit action. Other than that, there is nothing to worry about. I don't understand."

"It's a lie, the soldiers ransacked people's houses and beat whoever was in their way." Noor did not breathe.

"How do you know? Don't tell me you were there?" Layla looked at her friend. "Noor, are you alright?" She demanded. Noor bit her tongue and breathed out.

"I'm fine," she nodded.

"Is that how you met that guy? Did you save him?" Noor smirked.

"Actually, I saved him. Also, I have suspicions about him. He knows way too much about our city's politics and rules for someone who's just 'passing by'. He even defended the Emir."

"So, keep you friends close but enemies closer?" Noor nodded. "Still, isn't it dangerous? What if he catches on? What if he tells on you?"

"I don't think he's going to do that, he doesn't seem like a dishonourable man."

"Because dishonourable people have dishonourable written on their foreheads." Noor snorted.

"No, he doesn't seem like that. Plus, he's pretty." Layla raised an eyebrow.

"So is that why he's staying?" Layla grinned. "Are we going to get good news soon?" Noor swatted her friend away. "How good looking is he? I want to see him now." She immediately stood up and headed toward the front garden, Noor hot on her heels, calling after her.

As Noor caught onto her friend, they both stopped behind the half wall, stooping down as the leaves surrounded their faces. Layla poked her head out to get a look at her friend's choice, Noor's head beside hers.

They watched him as he admired the flowers in the garden, stopping in front of every plant as the gardener with a puffed-out chest told him of the soil composition and where he bought them from and how each plant requires different nutrients and how their colours depend on the soil. Listening like a herbology student, Ferdous examined each leaf and petal as the gardener, seeing his enthusiastic student taking an interest, explained how spot the type of plant from the veins on its leaves.

Their heads touching, the girls observed their subject, his strong muscles that couldn't be hidden by his robe, his hands behind his back and his straight gait that gave him a royal air.

"Not bad," Layla smiled. Safe to say she was satisfied. It was Noor's mother who wrung her hands.

She called out to him, breaking the gardeners flow as he greeted her and scurried way, leaving her and her guest alone. Fatima didn't know how to begin. Noor already knew was about to happen and revealed herself from behind the wall and marched towards them, Layla following behind her.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" She asked after greeting both her and their guest.

"Auntie, I think the curry's going to catch fire," Layla told her before she could reply to Noor's question. The curry which she aching began preparing took away all of Fatima's attention and Layla dragged her inside.

"What was that about?" Ferdous asked.

"Her curry was burning." He stifled a laugh.

"It's really nice to finally see you." Noor raised an eyebrow.

"You saw me last night."

"Exactly, I saw you at night. It's different from seeing you during the day. You seemed so much more approachable last night."

"And today I'm not?"

"That's not what I meant. I meant, you look, beautiful." He managed. Noor shook her head.

"Are you getting back at me for calling you pretty last night?"

"I was trying to, but I guess real beautiful are unfazed by simple words of compliments."

"Then faze me."

"What?" He blinked.

"Say something that will throw me off, since that's what you've been trying to do," Noor told him. Words were not among his thoughts at that moment.

"How can I faze someone who catches me off-guard all the time?" He finally said.

"What do you do for a living?"

"I expected your mother to ask me that, not you." A smile grew on his face.

"Are you a scholar, a poet? Is there a reason you can't reveal your identity?" Noor pressed on.

"I guess the traveling excuse didn't work?"

"You knew too much about this city." Noor pointed out as he sighed.

"I'm a poet," he told her. It was Noor whose thoughts ceased this time.

"Who are you?" She asked, raking her brain over all the poets she heard of. Ferdous waved his hand dismissively.

"It doesn't matter. I'm more interested in you."

"Me? What about you could possibly interest me?"

"Where do I even begin? From last night's rendezvous to this morning's questions. At all times, you were always charging, as if you're leading troops to battle, or in our case, leading me away from soldiers and questioning me like I'm a criminal. I want to know what made you do all that, I'm fascinated by all of it and even more by things I cannot mention on grounds of being improper despite it being only a day since we met. Tell me Noor, why am I so curious when it comes to you?" He wasn't smiling anymore, and his eyes were glinting as he stood over her, closing the distance between them. A poet has their way with words and he knew how to make people shudder, Noor thought. She stared up at his eyes, the air between them hotter every moment.