Longing For Paradise

Chapter 10

And the great mountains bow down,
and the great oceans split apart.
For a glimpse of your eyes,
my love even the world could abate.
~ Ghalbani bid Dhar

Noor sat on her knees, her back straight.

Firdous crawled towards her, seeking permission with his eyes with every breath. He inched closer. Noor closed her eyes before opening them again. She would keep them open. She was determined to. Her lips quivered. She could feel his breath fan her face.

He looked up at her, his hands on the ground. She knelt, looking down at his face, far enough to not feel his breath.

"Noor," he started. Noor didn't know where her tears came from but they did.

"Firdous." A shiver ran down his spine as she said his name. "Are you actually Ghalbani bid Dhar?" He nodded. He would say yes to anything she said tonight.

Noor closed her eyes, they were flitting from his eyes to his lips.

"Noor, are you Makhawi al Layl?"

"My poems come to me at night. At night, I am full of feelings." She fixed her eyes on his.

"My grandmother named me Firdous."

"I know. You told that to me in a letter once, but you never told me your actual name then, just the story."

Silence engulfed them.

They were on eye-level.

"What do we do?" Noor asked, her question echoing around the room. Firdous shook his head, his eyes soft.

"I had never thought I'd meet you like this."

"Neither did I." After a pause she asked, "Do you still have my letters?"

"Stored as safely and neatly as the day I received them."

"Do you have them on you now?" Firdous shook his head in response.

"They're back at my place." A slow smirk crept on Noor's face.

"I thought you were a traveller." Firdous couldn't help but smile.

"If I had known you were Makhami al Layl then, I would've destroyed everything in my path to be with you."

"Why is your love so destructive?" Noor smiled.

"For you, I am willing to be the devil himself."

"I had no idea even in real life you were so ridiculous."

"As ridiculous as I am, how come you were flirting with me even before you knew who I was? Do you always flirt with everyone?"

"Only if they're as good-looking as you."

"I'm being serious." Noor couldn't help but laugh at his pout.

"What does it matter? If our Fates have entwined us like they did, shouldn't we count it as a blessing that we share one heart rather than hate each other?"

"You know, I've been dreaming of the day I meet you. I thought you would've been more good-looking." Firdous wouldn't move on. Noor inched her face closer to his with a smirk.

"If I am truly as ugly as you claim, then why does your heart stop every time I'm near? Why do you drop everything and stare? Why do your eyes darken with desire?" Firdous immediately looked away as Noor laughed. He swallowed not daring to look back at her. "Look at me and tell me how terrible I look."

"You shouldn't test my desire for you, Noor." His voice was deep and her heart jumped when he said her name. Their breaths mingled, growing louder and hungrier. Noor kept her eyes away from his lips but her thoughts she couldn't control. She balled her hands and bit her tongue. What was in front of her was forbidden.

She stood up and marched out the door.

Firdous bit his lower lip. He was glad she left. He didn't know if he could control himself if he was in her company again. It's not good at all. His heart hammered in his chest. Her scent remained dancing among his nostrils, his eyes reminiscing her lips. He wanted to touch her, feel her in his grasps. But not like this.

He had thought that when he found out who his recipient was, he would simply ask for her hand in marriage and they would marry and live happily ever after. Who would've thought he be staying in her house as a guest? And it was her who figured him out first rather than the other way round. He could never credit himself with being a good detective ever again.

Firdous went back to his room. As the night deepened, the house fell back into its usual tranquil. He had heard Mr. Al Ansari return home with his son and the two immediately went to Mrs. Al Ansari. Of course Firdous didn't mind. Customs could go to hell where family was concerned. As as sleep overtook him, all he could think of was one person.

She paced about in her room. She had simply cast a net of her own doubt but she had no idea he'd be caught in its hooks. Firdous isn't who he said he is. And it should've bothered her but it doesn't. Him being Ghalbani bid Dhar was..was..was it good? Yes, he lied. But he's also the one man she's been wanting to meet for so long does it even matter anymore? It's no secret just how much she desires him, she knows this. She wanted him ever since she saw him but he wasn't Ghalbani bid Dhar and no one could suffice in his place. But now that the man she's been wanting is the same stranger boarding at her house, shouldn't it be a good thing?

They spoke of love, him and she. They never said they were lovers. But it was clear that they desired each other so it can't possibly be wrong that they marry, right? Right?

Noor needed to get her hands on Layla. Yes, Layla would know what to do. Where is Layla?

Layla leaned against the wall, her form languid on the thick balcony railing. The jasmine outside her room reminded very much of her friend, the friend who's life carried out in whirlwinds around her own life; Layla was just a footnote. She didn't mind. Really, she didn't. But the growing hunger in her stomach seemed to go wild in its fervour.

"Layla," Noor panted, her hands spread wide apart holding onto the door frame. Layla jumped down from the railing and met her friend half way in the room.

"Did something happen to Auntie?" She asked. Noor shook her head and sat down on her friend's bed. Layla offered her a drink from the side table and Noor gulped down the water.

"I know who Ghalbani bid Dhar is," she said after she was done. Layla froze. It took her a while before she put away the tumbler in her hand. Noor searched her friend's face.