When the sun and moon collide

birthdays.

Maha's Pov
November 9th

Today was my 21st birthday, but I couldn't say I was too excited. Birthdays were never really my thing. As I walked to university in the pouring rain, my long abaya slowly getting soaked, I couldn't help but wish I had brought an umbrella. "Imagine if someone gave me an umbrella," Zafira said dreamily, lost in her own thoughts as usual. "What a cute love story that would be." Aarish rolled her eyes at her and scolded, "Shut up Zafirah. And watch where you're going." But it was too late - she had already walked headfirst into a lamp post with a loud thud. The rain continued to beat down on us, adding a layer of melancholy to the already dreary day.

Zafirah spoke up, "So why didn't you tell us that Asir Imran came over to your house?"

"That's old news and it happened weeks ago. How did you even find out?" I responded.

"It's a secret. So, how did it go?"

"Embarrassing. I tripped on the stairs while chasing my brother and he saw me."

"Ouch," Zafirah sympathized as Aarish laughed.

"Why are you laughing. Cow!" I told her.

"Because it's funny. It's like the start of a romantic story," Aarish joked.

"And you call me delusional!"Zafirah retorted.

"But seriously, can we just forget about him?"

"No way. Aarish is right, this is like something out of a love story. Asir used to come over to your house all the time."

"Yeah, but I rarely saw him because I was always in my room."

"Still, it feels like some kind of love story is unfolding."

"Like a classic tale where two people meet as adults and fall in love after years of being friends," Aarish exaggerated dramatically.

Zafirah snapped her fingers, trying to recall the name of a trope. Aarish chimed in with "Falling in love with my best friend's sibling," and Zafirah thanked her. I rolled my eyes and walked ahead of them, frustrated with how my birthday was starting and Asir Imran being a part of it.

"You two watch too many dramas," I muttered.

"Maybe, but you can't deny it," Aarish said smugly.

"Deny, what?"

"That you have a crush on Asir."

I scoffed. "You guys are crazy. I don't have a crush on anyone."

"Really? What about your obsessions with Dylan O'Brien or Thomas Brodie Sangster?" A smirk played on Aarish's lips.

"And that one guy from that Pakistani drama, Wahaj Ali," Zafirah added with a mischievous grin.

"They're just celebrities! It's all fictional. Unlike you, Aarish, who doesn't even have a crush."

"Hey, don't pin this on me, birthday girl. As much as I appreciate the attractiveness of the Maze Runner cast or Murtasim Khan, I just don't feel anything for them. You get me." Aarish smugly replied.

"Yeah, because it's filled with your love for dramas and other stuff. "

"Nah, her heart is small. That's why she doesn't have anyone fit in it. She might not have us in her heart." Zafirah being all dramatic pretends to cry. I looked at her with a scrunched face trying not to cringe and Aarish just completely blanked her.

"When do you guys finish?" I asked.
"Well, I've got a lecture at 10 am and a seminar straight afterward so 12pm."
"I finish roughly around the same."
"Ok, then I just have this morning's lectures back-to-back, so I won't finish till 1 pm. We have to be in the shop today and then I'll ask my uncle to cover us so we can go out to eat later on."
"But it's your birthday. Why are you working? Why are we working." Zafirah muttered.