The Lost Myth

𝟒 - 𝑲𝒐𝒂

'Koa?'

I say not out loud but inside my head, stunned and staring down at the floor. It can't be him. It can't be. He's not real. He never was. He's just a person I most likely created in my mind to make my nightmares more bearable. There are plenty of guys who look like him. But then again there aren't. I could recognize the shape of his eyes in a crowd of a million men with his similar looks. I freeze in my seat trying to breath, and also trying not to look at him or bring attention to myself. I try to keep my eyes away from his direction but they seem to attempt to hyper-focus on every move he makes. I hold my head in distress trying to figure out how to go about this without feeling like I'm loosing my mind. Maybe I should just take my fries to-go and forget about the drink. I'm definitely not hungry anymore, my stomach feels like it's hit the bottom of the floor. I actually consider leaving until I hear a "Are you okay?" coming from my right. I know that it's him talking to me but I secretly hope it's not him. I hope that its' just someone else in the bar talking to another person. I then decide to be brave and glance over at him to make sure, only to see him already looking at me with a concerned look on his face. His dark eyebrows knitted together and his eyes focused directly on me. I've seen that face about a hundred times before. I try my best to answer him but looking at him makes me tense up again. "huh? Oh...no. I'm fine. I'm just, I'm not used to the heat here. I'm a little dehydrated from being out earlier." I lie looking away. I've never been good at lying, but he doesn't know why I'm lying so I guess he won't be able to tell. "Are you sure? Do you need any help or anything?" He says slightly leaning towards me "No. I'm-i'm really...today's been a long day. I'm on a little emergency came up and it made the whole day stressful." I say watching my lie break into a million pieces. 

"Oh, I'm so sorry about that." He says turning towards me now. "No, it's okay..." I say before the waiter comes back with my fries and my Asab. I thank the waiter and then take a soft fry. "So, where are you from? If you don't mind me asking of course. You know how to speak a little Arabic apparently." He says referring to me thanking the waiter for my order.  "Yeah. I'm originally from California, but I've always wanted to come to Egypt! Ever since I was a child I've always loved the culture and the sights that Cairo was famous for so this trip is a dream for me. I've been learning Arabic for a few years now. Mainly preparing for this trip." I say getting a little bit more comfortable talking to him. This interaction is a much more peaceful than the ones I've had in my dreams. "Nice! Cairo really is a beautiful city. I hope that you enjoy your stay here." He smiles and I watch the corners of his downturned eyes smile up at me as well. "It really is, Thank you." I smile back taking a sip of the Asab and feeling my eyes widen as I realize how amazing it tasted."Oh my gosh! This is so good!" "Oh, did you get Asab? Yeah, it's a favorite among foreigners. It's not as sweet as you would think it would be. Considering it's made out of pure sugar cane." I nod taking another big swig from my glass. "Yeah I know! I've always wanted to try it. I've read all about Egyptian cuisine and I have to tell you everything I've eaten has been the best thing I've ever had." I say smiling now. "Well, I've lived here for as long as I can remember and I have to agree with you. Everything I've had has been delicious." He laughs a little bit, making me realize that in my dream, Koa doesn't laugh. And i'm pretty sure if he did that it wouldn't sound the same as his. This guy's laugh feels warm and mild in all the right places. No trace of fear in sight. 

 "So, I've told you a lot about myself so far. What about you? What's your backstory?" I say smiling and also trying to make sure that he's not a potential creep. He rubs the back of his neck laughing. "Well, as I said before I'm not very foreign to Egypt. I grew up in Aswan to a fishing family. I've traveled a few places here and there. My favorite being France, which is somewhere you absolutely have to go. I currently work as a fisherman for my family, I love to write, My favorite food is my mother's Kofta Tarb and my favorite drink is pomegranate wine. Anything else you feel like knowing?" I feel a comfort in knowing that none of these things match up with the guy from my dreams, meaning that I was just being paranoid as usual. "Yes actually. Tell me more about your writing. I actually work for a book editing corporation back home, maybe I can give you a few tips or even help you get published!" I say excitedly but I notice his demeanor goes from calm to slightly anxious. "Well... I mainly just write poetry in my journals and stuff. Nothing too big like stories or anything like that." I've been obsessed poetry since I was a teenager so I immediately became interested as soon as he said the word. For years I memorized poems by Maya Angelou and E.E Cummings just as a hobby for most of my teenage days, refusing to recite them to anyone but always keeping them close to my heart. "Thats fine, do you have any of your poems with you? like in a journal or anything?" I say intrigued. "I do actually, But they're not that great." He says pulling out a pocket sized leather journal from the back pocket of his pants and sliding it over to me nervously. "I don't show my poems to anyone consider yourself lucky!" He says kind of embarrassed like in an adorable way. "Don't worry! I'm a poetry nerd myself. I understand the anxiety of showing people your writing ." I laugh opening a random page from inside the journal and carefully reading it.