♛
She halted in her path to the bus stop seeing a big crowd spread along the length of the road.
“All in one night? How is this possible?” one man was saying to another.
“I don’t know. The cleric said he saw workers leaving when he was going for fajr prayers.”
Layla was shocked to see the broken pavement that used to have muddy puddles all over, replaced by freaking…. Marble tiles! A quarter of a mile all replaced by marble!
It was so clear she could even see her bewildered reflection in it. That must be ridiculously expensive. Had the municipality workers gone mad?
One man remarked out loud, “We’ve been asking to have it fixed for years. All these years they didn’t even bother with simple bricks and now all of a sudden they’ve put freaking marble tiles??”
“You people will find a way to be mad at everything. Shouldn’t we be grateful instead of nitpicking?” Another spoke enthusiastically.
“The municipality must be off the crackers.”
Layla didn’t have much time to stay there listening to them as she was going to miss her bus. Hesitantly she began to walk over it. It felt odd, her feet were used to the painful rocks and wet puddles not the new smooth marble.
Which is why she had barely taken a few steps when the sole of her khussa slid forth instead of holding via friction.
Bad bad move.
Her hands flew out, eyes turning wide, mouth falling agape, as her view turned from the ground to the clear blue sky. She had fallen back. Painfully. Shamefully.
She looked around in horror and embarrassment but it seemed that she was not the only one. Away from her a man and an old woman shared the same fate as her as they flew down with screams.
It was like beginners skating on an ice rink.
Straightening herself, and muttering prayers on herself she began walking again, this time far too carefully. She groaned internally, she was definitely going to miss her bus because of this stupid pavement.
God knows what the heck the developmental authority was thinking! Were they stupid or crazy??
Reaching the end she lit up! Though 10 minutes late the bus was still there. She began to run again before it would leave.
But as she ran and slipped to catch it, she realized the bus seemed to have no intention of driving away even though it had been more than 15 minutes! Her brows furrowed in confusion. It was as if it was waiting just for her…
She shook her head at the absurdity and quickly got in. Profusely thanking the driver.
The old driver smiled back at her warmly. “No problem.
This was another shock.
Layla seemed to hang. The driver was usually a very horrid and bad-tempered person who would scold on being late 1 minute let alone smile so kindly after waiting 15 minutes.
She felt like she was in a dream. A very confusing dream. Pondering over it she moved to a seat.
A seat!
Her hazel eyes widened for the umpteenth time, looking utterly puzzled now.
She always had to stand. She rarely ever got to have a seat, at least until someone got off.
She looked up to the half a dozen people standing and then the one empty double seat. Was something wrong with the seat?
With her mind feeling like a mess, she chose to stand as well.
YOU ARE READING
QAIS
Storie d'amore"She was his mirage, a dream he could only chase. He was her living hell, a nightmare she could not escape." Layla Mustafa is the only girl in her family allowed to go to university. Belonging to a strict patriarchal background, Layla, the shy and s...
