3000 miles apart

#1# Fatakaat

                                                                                         Sama

I finally arrived at the shop. The late night was making it a little hard to read the unilluminated sign. The cold air touched my face. It's good that I brought my jacket with me. It was early March after all and it gets relatively cold here in Egypt. I open my jacket and frown as I try to read the name of the store.

'Fatakaat we Antiqaat'

Despite that, I had come here a thousand times before; I was sure that I had never seen the shop before. Probably because it was at the far corner or the fact that most of the time I'm stuck in my thoughts and focus little on my surroundings. A disturbing and sometimes troublesome habit I do.

I peek into the glass to see if there is any sign someone is there at all. The dim light shone behind the odd statues of historical Egyptian figures such as Taha Hussein, Gamal Abd ElNasser, Ahmed Zuwail, and Om Kolthoom. I also saw other bizarre goods, such as old-fashioned furniture. This place looked like a museum for the 1800s. Who in their right mind would buy these kinds of things? Probably stupidly rich people who would love a room full of furniture that reminded them of the good old days when the economy was better and people lived happily before the invasion of the British Empire in the early 1880s. Despite the fact that I might not have bought anything from here even if I had the money, I would still like to come and wander around.

I look at my watch, and I read 10:13 PM. The mall does not close until 11. I still have time. I should also hurry because Mom must call soon to get home. Here in Cairo, it is normal for it to be midnight, and many people are still roaming around in the streets. Many people wake up and sleep late (except reluctantly when there is work or school) despite how unhealthy it is.

I push the door open causing the bell to ring and I hear footsteps coming from inside. I prepare in my mind what I want to say. It should go something like this:

Hello, I found a website that provided me with a 5-digit number code and hopefully referred to this address that has led me here. Can you...

I was thinking of the rest when an old man approached me. He wore midnight blue chemise, old-fashioned beige trousers, and shoes. His short brown hair also had strands of white ones. Despite the wrinkles and black bags under his eyes that indicated long tireless nights, he smiled at me warmly, and his kind brown eyes looked at me.

"Welcome to Fatakaat We Antiqaat, We opened just yesterday and the opening sale is still on ma'am." He announces.

"Are you searching for something specific?" He asks me

I don't think anyone who would come here would have something specific in mind to buy, but I ignore this thought and focus on how I will explain to him the reason for my visit.

"Umm... I think this shop was referred to in an address on a website I found online... and umm... they also gave me a code or something... and.." I struggled to explain, and his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes squinted.

"It might also be an error from my side too, I probably entered the wrong shop. Sorry for the disturbance," I say apologetically, and he sympathetically assures me that I did not cause any. I pull up a small printed piece of paper from my pocket to look at it for the 20th time today, and as I turn to leave the store, I hear the old man say:

"Is that printed paper in your hand from the website? excuse my interference, but I think I saw familiar symbols that were written in it," He says.

"Umm... Yeah," I say awkwardly.

"Then I think there is nothing wrong with your directions, ma'am," He quickly replies, smiling and putting his hands behind his back.

"Follow me, please," he finally adds before walking to the cashier counter, and I follow with no expectations of what is going to happen.