Mikaal

25: Mikaal

Dalia sat behind the driver's seat of Mikaal's silver Suburu Impreza Hatch - that looked more like the 'Suburu Wagon' Meagan was obsessed over - the contents of her backpack sprawled on the black material seats. She squinted in spite of the sunlight that shone through the tinted windows and open door to her right, thoroughly examining every nook and cranny of her belongings for her missing keys.

"Any luck?" Mikaal asked, peering over her shoulder, his right arm resting on top of the open door.

Dalia met his gaze but shook her head, before returning her eyes to scrutinise the organised mess in front of her, too overcome by distress to form words. 'What if I don't find them? What if I have to leave my car here, or even tow my car while I arrange to get new keys? Can I even get new keys? How long will it take?' On and on, the questions swam around her mind, stirring her fears like a boiling pot, causing her head to feel as if it was ready to explode.

"Stop it," Mikaal's voice suddenly interrupted.

Dalia turned to look back up at him, confusion written on her face.

"Stop those voices in your head," he said, his eyes knowing yet his expression light hearted.

Dalia didn't respond, initially surprised by his intuitiveness, yet she supposed he would be just as worried as she was had they been his keys.

"We'll keep tackling this by elimination. So it's definitely not in your backpack. We already checked your car and it's not there either..."

Dalia nodded in affirmation.

"Do you remember when you last had them?" Mikaal asked.

"I'm sure I put them in my pocket. I usually do that when I go for a walk... What a stupid thing to do on a hike! I should've put them in my backpack and -"

"Hey," Mikaal cut in, "even if they were in your backpack, there's a chance the same thing could've happened. We're only human. We can't predict every possible future scenario."

"Yeh I guess..." Dalia said, her voice growing quiet, silently unconvinced.

"Okay, so let's assume they were definitely in your pocket, do you remember when you might've reached into one of your pockets?" Mikaal continued his gentle questioning.

"I don't remember touching my pockets at all; I was too distracted by how peaceful the bush was... actually, I did reach into my pockets to get my phone out when we got to that lookout point with the beautiful view."

"Great, that wasn't too far into the trail," Mikaal said, his face full of optimism.

"But what if they're not there? We walked for three hours up and down and all over the place! We can't walk the whole trail again when we might not even find them!"

"Dalia," Mikaal said, a command in his tone, yet his eyes somehow remained kind. It was strange, peering into those pools of green - although he didn't say a word, it was like his eyes spoke. There was just something in them that assured her that everything would be okay.

Dalia felt her senses calming under his reassuring gaze.

"Let's walk up to that part of the trail," Mikaal said. "It's such a beautiful, cool day for a hike that it's a shame to end it so soon anyway," he continued. "But let's eat something first so we have more energy." He paused, throwing her a sly grin. "I wasn't going to let you go so soon anyway and was going to suggest brunch. Now I get to have brunch and spend more time with you," he said, his eyes now playful.

As if on queue, a growl came out of Dalia's stomach.

"See, even your tummy agrees," Mikaal said through straight white teeth.