LOVERS REUNITED

Fatima Junaid thinks that romance is underrated.

In their society, romance is an afterthought, something that blossoms after years spend in each other's company. Her parents' love bloomed like petals of a sunflower unfurling under the sun, turning to each other on the darkest of days and finding solace in one another. Fatima's own short-lived affected for the boy next door withered like a rose, dead petals turned damp under the rain of her tears, like the rain thundering down and soaking her as she smiled and pretended her heart wasn't breaking as she encouraged him to seek his dreams.

She watches dramas from various countries, eyes gleaming with the shadows of yearning as people fall in love with people, arms resting on her knees as she waits for her turn to come. Like how the birds watch the sun rise and admire its beauty, Fatima admires the love around her - only an admirer, never an indulger.

Romance is a yearning, far away concept for Fatima Junaid, or at least it is, until the boy next door comes back into her life.