Longing For Paradise

Chapter 12

Tell me O lavender feathered bird,
what cage you've flown out of.
Tell me what kind of tales you spin
and the gold that could never take in.
Tell not the woes of the world for I care not.
Tell not the tales of oases I heard not of.
Tell me if the spindle that weaves our fates
has only one name written by mine.
Tell me my beloved is the end of that line.

~Ghalbani bid Dhar

Noor went over and over what she had said that night. She shouldn't have said obsession. She shouldn't have used that word. Layla, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry Layla, forgive me.

Noor paced about in her room, so drowned in her thoughts she hadn't noticed her lady's maid enter.

"Miss, breakfast's ready," the maid said, carrying a bowl of water and cloth in her hand. She stopped when she noticed Noor's sunken eyes, coloured dark underneath. "Have you been awake all night, Miss?"

Noor bit the inside of her lips.

"Tell Mama I've already had breakfast. I don't want to eat now." Noor paused before adding, "close the door behind you and don't disturb me."

"Miss, I know I shouldn't say anything, but I don't eat grass. I know you're about sneak out now, aren't you? Miss, your mother was so worried about you the last time, and she told me to watch you with hawk eyes. I can't just let you leave." The girl practically held onto Noor's dress.

"Warda, I'm not sneaking out. I'm just going to visit Layla. You can come with me if you want." Noor smiled at the girl, like a fox looking at a chicken.

"In that case, let me get your things ready. Oh, I've got so much to do. I've got to get one of the guardsmen to come with us and they're very icky about last minute plans despite being paid for exactly that. I've got to get the pastry the cook made this morning, they were very delicious, and I know because I took some without her knowing. Oh, I've also got to get the sweets from yesterday, I know Miss Layla loved them, and the soup Madam made because I'm sure we've got to take something for the house. Do you think I should clip some flowers too?" The girl asked in earnest and Noor smiled.

"Why don't you get me the sweets and while I get dressed, you can take care of the other stuff. Take the guardsmen to help you clip flowers from the backyard. I know Layla loves the ones I planted." Warda's eyes lit up with Noor's suggestions.

"I will get right on to it," she grinned as she rushed to follow Noor's instructions.

After receiving the sweets wrapped up prettily, Noor encouraged Warda to her tasks as the girl rushed out again. Turning away from the closed door, Noor looked out the veranda. While her room was on the top floor, it was not a high drop from the balcony. Plus, she had installed wooden footholds which for some reason no one figured out what they were for except for maybe adding to the aesthetic.

Dressed in her oversized garb, she made sure no one was looking before she climbed down. Jumping onto the ground, she dusted her hands and proceeded to cover her face before turning around to see Firdous with a sidewards head.

"Noor?" Noor cursed under her breath and waved past him, hoping he'd leave her alone. "I know it's you Noor. Nobody's going to jump out of your room in broad daylight."

"I just want to know how you know where my room was."

"You look very beautiful when lie down on the veranda in the evening."

"Are you sure you're not a creep?" Firdous smiled.

"Where are you going?" He skipped to her side as she started walking away.