everyday.. Ali wakes up.. stays in bed for a while.. adjusts the silver necklace with the platinum ring around his neck.. he gets up.. takes a lukewarm shower.. gets dressed.. usually jeans pants, blue today, and a thin striped chemise, cream colored, his leather strap wrist watch & his dark blue glasses.. stands in front of the living room window watching the park across the street.. people jogging early in the morning.. it's autumn.. his favorite season.. the weather is always just right.. not too cold despite the breeze that flows all day.. not too hot even when the sun is shining bright.. he looks on.. playing with the ring with his index & thumb.. he puts on his shoes.. grabs his keys, wallet & cross laptop bag.. goes down.. rides his car & heads for work.. one street passes.. another intersection.. the next time he takes a right.. he never notices her standing on the sidewalk on the other side.. like everyday..
Marium is waiting for the bus.. number 21 heading downtown.. today she wore her maroon sleeved shirt.. dark slim jeans.. white snickers & backpack.. she puts on her headphones covered under her shoulder length hair & takes out the latest novel she's reading.. a romance as always.. about the same time he turns on the radio with hope of some mellow rock songs.. she always goes for a seat next to a window.. he always turns on the air conditioning.. he reaches work 10 minutes early.. 3 blocks away she's five minutes late.. they pass the day.. him through meetings.. designs.. calculations & deals.. the project he has in hand takes most of his time.. still relatively a junior but manages a multimillion project.. meanwhile.. she helps develop the next big strategy for the new item in the company's arsenal of decorative furniture.. all part of the firm plan to invade the market.. his office is on the 8th floor.. he picked the one overlooking the street.. neatly arranged.. stacks of paper to his right.. sets of pens, pencils & markers to his left.. & loads of sticky notes in front of him.. hers is on the 11th floor.. a split compartment she shares with the other new girl.. she likes her though she's a bit talkative.. & a bit of a fashion addict.. her mug on her right.. her pencils on her left.. her drawing, quotes & photos pinned to the separator between the two compartments.. not two pins with the same color.. time passes.. from meeting to meeting.. to chit chat & songs whenever they have free-time or work they do on their own.. research for her.. studies for him.. she gets out at five.. him an hour later.. both waste 45 minutes in traffic..
first thing she does when she gets home is take a shower.. he eats whatever food he bought on the way home.. she gets out.. makes some food.. and stares for a couple of minutes at the picture on the shelf next to her books.. he eats on the couch while watching TV.. she eats next to a radio sitting on the edge of the window watching the sunset.. 8 pm.. they both go out.. he takes his car.. she walks it.. it takes them only 5 minutes each to reach the cafe.. she meets her friends.. 3 girls.. all from high school.. & so does he.. two girls three guys.. all met by chance 7 months ago.. in this very same cafe during a match.. only that time he wasn't alone.. she always takes the third table on the right.. he takes the last one in the corner.. the one with the couch.. they never notice each other.. cause they're never looking.. even today.. when both get up at the same time.. go to the counter.. & ask for the exact same thing.. hot chocolate with whipped cream & marshmallows.. they talked for the very first time for what felt like a second.. a handful of words.. a couple if smiles.. & the hint of a sparkle.. but that's the thing about seconds.. there's too many of them.. but only a select few affect our lives.. we just may not know it at the time.. that's why when he got home.. got out of the shower & went to bed..
he kept playing with his ring.. the one that still has a mark around his finger.. the one that says Laila inside.. and he remembers two definite memories.. just as she was finishing a chapter in the story that was talking about how the hero confessed his love finally to the girl of his dreams.. and how he was afraid it was too late that she had just told him that she's moving away.. she closes the book.. takes a long look at the photo..
he remembers the day he proposed..
winter.. cold.. checkered pullover over a white shirt & gabardine pants.. she was wearing a white sweater.. blue jeans & pink shoes.. he took her to the last bench in the park where she liked to sit & look at the city landscape.. like a guardian overlooking the wide endless view.. he'd prepared balloons to be placed.. all white.. her favorite color.. a bouquet of white roses placed on the bench.. she grabbed the roses & turned around smiling.. only to find him down on one knee.. with a ring in his hand.. will yo.. he started.. she said yes before he even finished.. tears running down her red cheek.. his heart beat faster than ever now.. life had never been better..
the photo was old..
she was much younger.. shorter that the boy next to her.. in the lower left corner.. written with a blue pen.. she read the words she'd read a million times before.. no matter how old.. pretty.. or tall you get.. you'll always be my little sister.. she kissed the photo & held it to her chest.. saying a secret prayer.. asking God to keep him safe & bring him home from Europe.. she put it next to her and went to bed.. he always hopes he falls asleep before the second memory..
the adrenaline rush was enormous..
he saw everything in slow motion.. how the truck's headlights had came closer & closer.. how he was looking at her face as the car rammed the car from her side.. how her face suddenly came so close to his then suddenly went back to ram the glass.. how everything turned around over and over.. how he saw her close her eyes.. how it all became flashes of light.. her face.. and darkness.. the car got tipped on the other side of the road.. he lost his voice trying to wake her.. deep down he know it was hopeless.. yet he tried and tried.. when they pulled him out of the car.. he tried to fight back.. he was bleeding.. he didn't care.. his ribs hurt so much.. he didn't care.. he reached out for her.. he tried & tried.. till he passed out.. still to this day.. five months later he still tears up..
they wake up.. they restart.. they pass the day.. the catch a glimpse at the cafe.. fate put the wheels in motion.. so when they woke up one rainy day.. a week later.. when she missed the bus.. when he was running late cause of the rain.. when he saw her on the curb.. when he offered a ride.. when she thought why not.. when his memories began to fade.. when her brother said he was coming home.. how suddenly they joined the two tables.. how he one day forgot the ring on the bed shelf.. how she went out with him for the very first time.. how the rest.. is as they say till now.. is their own history..