My name is Nouf

Beirut

A gentle, cold January breeze ruffled my hair, leaving a tingly, gentle feeling over my soft face. I ran my fingers through my hair pulling it away from my face and pushed my deep red shade colored lips into a faux pout in an attempt to look hot in front of Faris; the love of my life. "Oh my god he is staring!" I whispered loudly to my two best friends Noura and Shaikha. Noura rolled her eyes and murmured something that I couldn’t pick up to shaikha. "I saw that. tara 3indii 3yoon" I said grudgingly.


" Nouf. Just relax!" Noura suggested boringly.


"She's right, you try so hard, you've known him for a year baby, you must feel comfortable by now? Eshda3wa kil hal khabba" shaikha added.

 "I am comfortable! What's wrong with you girls?! I just want my beauty to strike him just like when we first met" my face turned a dark shade of crimson and I bit my lower lip.


" eshda3wa lal7een mastaw3ab ennich 7elwa" Shaikha raised her left eyebrow.


I rolled my eyes. "shaikho o yahad latet7areshain, ana weyah nenyaz ok? malich she'3il"


She sipped her skimmed hot mochachino, ignoring my latest comment.



This conversation took place many times before this once and I honestly had enough with this subject that I lost the ability to get mad at their mean comments. I didn’t know why my best friends didn’t like my boyfriend or the way I behaved around him. Faris was everything I imagined in my future husband. He was Handsome, wealthy and very sweet and romantic if he was in the mood for it, so naturally I tried my best to keep him comfortable and delighted with me, I didn’t want him to look at any other girl; I wanted him with me forever and I was blindly confident that he will be someday to the point that if someone ever asked me about Faris I would say "no he's not my boyfriend, he's just my future husband".


We were sitting in grand cafe  enjoying our warm cups of coffee and a variety of desert dishes which left untouched except for that vanilla ice cream. The girls watched their figures constantly ; they had acquired a delightfully small appetite and since Faris and his friends were sitting in the table before us I couldn’t take the risk of having one bite in fear of ruining my carefully applied red lipstick.


*Noufty, we are leavin* I received a BBM message from Faris. My face fell with disappointed and I found myself writing him as fast as I could * but it's too soon, laysh? :(*


*el shabab ta3aba benro7 enrayyi7 shwai*



*oh, ok 7abeebii ;* * he read it but didn’t reply.


"kil hal khabba akhir shai begomoon!" Shaikha said while playing with a shiny, small brown curl from the pool of brown curls which was her hair.


" yooh! Y3nii el nas matertaa7? om elsaan!"



" magelt shaii!" shaikha almost screamed. I glared at her grudgingly.


. " el7emdella wishikir, yanaitaw?" Noura finally participated in our small fight.



She was so serious and I couldn’t help but burst into laughter, the girls joined me and we laughed until we cried. The waiter started giving us disapproval looks and that’s when we decided to head back to our hotel.


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I shared my hotel room with Shaikha, while Noura stayed in a large suite with her mother and little sister, but it didn’t stop her from spending the entire night with us. We were inseparable me and my two girls. Despite our silly fights and major differences we loved each other as if we were our own biological sisters.


I took off my rhinestone Bibb necklace and stared at my familiar reflection in the mirror. I ran my fingers over my soft cheeks and smoothed my eyebrows. Sometimes I saw myself flawless just like most people would say about me. By general Kuwaiti standards I was considered beyond pretty and always wondered why he rarely comments about the way I looked. Faris wasn’t like the other men I had known, he wasn’t easily impressed and that was what made me desire him even more.



"eshfeech etkhozreen eb 3umrich?" Shaikha said with her mouth full of a snickers bar she had taken from the mini bar across the room.


"Huh? Um nothing" I murmured distractedly.



" wayhech 7azeeen" she stated. " eshda3wa, whats wrong nofooo" she stood up and put her right arm around my shoulder.


My eyes watered out of the sudden but I swallowed hard and tried to hide the pain I felt at my chest. " mafeeni shai 3aadi" my voice broke.



"ashkara Faris is involved" she curled her nose.




" mamalait minna, ebser3a raa7" I said finally letting my tears down.


She sighed "come here baby"

 I placed my head on her lap and sobbed. "God I miss him so much, he left early!"


Shaikha was a typical Kuwaiti beauty. She could manage to be the hottest in a pair of Free City pants and a simple tee with her long brown curls, olive skin and pearly smile. She was effortlessly, heart achingly pretty. And she didn’t do one damn thing to earn it.



She patted my head gently. "Are you sure he misses you as much as you do?"


I pulled my head furiously from under her fingers and straightened myself. "Of course he does! Entail hatha elli fal7a feeh?!"


She chuckled. "I was just trying to solve your problem yal kalba! Khalas then latakhtheen rayey min el asas. Walla!"


"yekoon a7san"



"You do realize that we fight a lot recently because of your "Faris"?" she glared at me.


" entaw 7a6een doobkum o doobi! Getlekum I love him, he's good with me bes marrat madri shloon eseer because he is busy mu 3ashan may7ebnii"


" ashwa ennich entai elly teshtekeen, honey we are just trying to help. lamma ana o Nwair engoolich hal kalam mu ma3nata we don’t want you to be happy! It's totally the opposite, and you are fully aware that your boyfriend emgassir eb 7agich and that… 3yoona zay'3a." she clamped her hand over her mouth as soon as she realized that she gave away too much information. 

"sorry sorry wallaa I couldn’t control my mouth!" she apologized.



I sighed heavily. " Shaikha I trust him, I'm going to take a shower" I stood up and made my way to the bathroom with my BlackBerry in my right hand. I didn’t want to miss Faris if he called while I was busy showering.


When I was done showering I wrapped my head and body with the hotel's, fresh, clean towels and unlocked the bathroom's door. I was ready to make my way out of the bathroom when I  heard Faris's name. I froze.


" qaleel el adaab!  he was staring at me the whole time getlich min theech elmarra, tara khafeef o 3yoona zay'3a!" Noura muttered.


" I know, ana min awwal ma3arfta I noticed the way he looks at girls, o maskeena hal Nouf ga3da wetrage3la, I bet she noticed all that and she's in denial!" shaikha said.
"Even that time when we were having lunch with the girls last month, Taiba said that he  hit on her once, while he was with Nouf!" Noura shook her head.




" Nouf can do much better ! lo bes tesma3 kalamna hal ebnayya"


A chill shot through me. How could they talk about me behind my back? How could my two favorite people in the world say such things about me and Faris? I was starting to think that they were jealous that I got to have an amazing man like him. Screw them. I'll show them that we are deeply in love and that someday not far from today  he will propose. And that we will live happily ever after and nothing will ever stop that.



My phone vibrated in my hand making me jump and Fari's name appeared on the small screen making me forget what I had just heard. oh god I loved him so much.




to be continued...

akheeraan etgarra2t!

short story of someone I know who needs help, please share your openion ;*

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I hated my curly hair, mainly because he preferred straight, silky one. I ran my delicate fingers through my black, natural curls, checked my reflection in the rearview mirror and finally turned off my car's engine.

when I opened the chalet's front door , he was lying on the sofa , with the remote control in his right hand, snoring. he was asleep.

I touched his hand gently , freeing the remote control from his grip; he pushed me away involuntarily while he was still fast asleep. I sighed, he's a baby; my big baby.

"Khalid?" I called his name softly.

No response.

"Khalood?"

"Mmm" he murmured.

"Wake up 7abeebi"

"wakhray...wakhray 3anni banaam"

"yeet broo7ii , ana segt le hnii brooo7ii!" I muttered excitedly.

He finally opened his eyes. "laish waayed mestansaa? Awwal marra teyeen broo7ich or what?"

I was taken aback. "yes Khalid, ana akhaaf amshii masafat 6weela broo7ii , remember? especially le el chalet, ma7eb a..."

"shhh latagregeen 3la rasii wayed. yo3an" he said, interrupting me.

"oh, d-do you want me to cook you something?" I hid the pain I felt in my chest with my soft, loving words. I have never gotten used to his sudden, cold behavior towards me. He was like this most of the times, but I never had the ability to build a shield to stop getting hurt, although we have been together for six years.

"sheno eb te6bekheen y3nii?! mako shai bil kitchen and it's not like you're a great cook!"

"Why are you always so angry at me??" the words escaped my mouth , surprising both of us. I had never questioned the way he treated me, I never asked for answers neither did I complain, I was okay with everything as long as he was mine. I was so scared of losing him , but this time I didn't know what happened to me. Maybe I was PMSing or something , I really can't remember.

He watched me with shock and confusion in his beautiful, big brown eyes, but for my utter dissapointment and before he could open his mouth I walked out of the small living room and rushed into the bathroom, I locked the bathroom's door behind me and rested my back against it. Oh god, what have you done Muneera? what have you done??

A gentle knock on the door interrupted my thoughts and made me jump with fear. My eyes started getting ready to water when his masculine, familiar voice muttered my name. "Muneera" he said. " open the door 7ayaati"

"o-okay" I opened the door without hesitation and found his hand touching my cheek as soon as I was in his sight.

"I'm sorry, okay?" he muttered the words in an obvious difficulty.

"I don't believe you" I managed to shock myself again.

he sighed and rubbed his head. " Muneera! latnarfezeeni akthar min chethy!"

"excuse me?"

"what do you expect from me y3nii?? I'm khalid Al-fulani , et3rfeen sheno y3nii khalid al fulani?? y3nii I'm good looking, kil bnayya tetmanani! I'm rich, you're...not! I'm..., tadreen shloon? enty elmfrooth ta7mideen rabich enich weyay ANA!"

I stood there before him shocked beyond belief. I couldn't say a word, I wanted to cry, to beat him, to run! I didn't know what to say or do. My legs shook furiously but I managed to stand still. I closed my eyes for a moment , took a deep breath and opened them again.,

"Um, Khalid "AL-fulaani" yemken ana "not" rich , or yemken enta "a7la" menni o kil el banat yaboonik bes lo etlif el kuwait kellaha, KELLAHA maraa7 etlaagii wa7da faithful o zaina o tet7amelek nafsii! enta meno yet7amelek?? enta a9lan matta3ashaar! yallah take care!"

I took my purse and rushed outside his damned chalet.

that was a month ago. he still calls me and begs me to get back together with him. What should I do? forget him and move on or give him another chance although he does not deserve it?

yours-moi ;*

white(6)

hellooo lovely readers ;***, I miss yall tremendously!! especially those who sent me emails and commented while I was away! I decided to post part 6 of my last story, I know its very short! but it's just a reminder since I forgot the story myself!! hehe ;p , so you guys remember it? :o, anyway I'm inspired now ;p so I think I'll be posting alot! enjoy! xoxoxo

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The white pearly light blinded my eyes as I tried to take in the whole scene that was happening right before my wondering, innocent eyes. the world spun around me slowly and I miraculously fought the urge to surrender to the other side of the world, to faint. I ignored every object around me and focused on the amazing creature that was glistening and shining furiously. Beads of sweat trickled down the rusty dark body of the wings holder. I couldn't keep my eyes off of him , I was so mesmirized by his beauty that I forgot about Jon's arms tightly wrapped around me. He was suffering, silently. the creature was in pain; invisible pain.

I didn't know how I managed to slightly look away from the dazzling beauty of the creature and finally notice the beautiful glittering , human butterflies that were surrounding him, as if they were out of a beautiful painting.

I recognized one of the beautiful faces surrounding him, it was the guy I saw at Alex's house the day I went to thank him for saving my life. I recognized his beautiful face. cassius's beautiful face.

their beauty was so dizzying, or was it the blinding light that was radiating from them? I wasn't really sure but whatever it was , it sent me to the other side of the world in a blink of an eye.

"Nessa?...Ness?" I found Jon's soft voice whispering in my ears while his big hand stroked my head, reviving my heart again, and I was sent back to the real side of the world.

"I wasn't dreaming was I?"

He shook his head. "Nope"

"o-okay.." I gulped.

" Do you think you have the time to listen to a, um...different kind of story?" he asked.

I sighed. "why not."

a night in bora bora

I put on a short white caftan while dipping my feet in the warm water in the glass tub of the small dining table in our bungalow. The small bright fishes swam around my feet making me ticklish all over my body. A giggle escaped my mouth breaking the beautiful silence of the night. I ran my fingers through my sun streaked hair and picked my phone with the other hand. His gentle voice came at the other end as soon as I dialed his number. One of the things I love about him; he never makes me wait. " khala9tay?"

"ee shway o nazlatlik"

"Don’t make me wait"

"enshallaa"

I stood up, my feet still in the tub. I grabbed my purse and my little diamond studs which were lying on the small dining table. I replaced the studs on my ears, wiped my feet with a fresh towel and wore my tacky Swarovski encrusted flip flops.

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'' 7abeebti, don’t you think your dress is short?" I found his warm mouth whispering in my ear, making me shiver.

"No" I said without looking at him in the eye. "I mean it looks short, but… it's not really that short, besides nobody's around!"

He rolled his eyes. " ba6aweflich now because we're in our "honeymoon" "

It was my turn to roll my eyes. "Fine, let's go!"

I grabbed his hand and we left the hotel.


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"Oh my god!" I laughed out loud. "barrrrddd but I'm enjoying this!!"

"3asa matemarethain wallah" he gave me a disapproving look.

"You're a typical Kuwaiti! Aren’t you?! Come on baby this is fun! Ahem this is why I wanted to come here in the first place" I splashed water on his face and tried to run as fast as I could but accidently fell hard on my bum.

He bursts into laughter. " testahlain! And I'm not going to follow you, you little sneak!"

"Ouch, my butt!" I shot him a resentful look. Suddenly the rain started falling harder than before making my vision blurry.

"wow!" I almost shrieked. "HH come here this is amazing!"

He came to the edge of the ocean immediately offering me his hand. But I refused to get up and pulled him back down with me. "I always wanted to shower under the rain" I said innocently.

" '3aragtay mo bas tesaba7tay!" he grinned at me teasingly.

I brushed his wet hair. "You don’t know how to have fun!"

"Me?! etrahneen?" he challenged me defensively.

"No you don’t" I shook my head. I knew this was going well.

He stood up, took off his damp shirt and ran over the sand and into the dark, cold ocean. He disappeared.

I scanned the ocean; it was too dark and too blurry for me to focus. "HH" I called out his name. "I can't see you"

"Don’t you wanna join me Moi?!" he challenged. "It's freezing"

"Oh, there you are!"

" yalla, come" he motioned with his finger towards me.

" o-okay" I hesitated. "I'm coming in"

It was cold, yet it felt warm since I was already so wet. I swam into the middle of the ocean and found him waiting for me with a charming smile plastered all over his handsome face.

I clung to him as if I were a baby chimp on my mother's back and He kissed my hand that was wrapped around his neck.

We swam for a while, wind blowing us with rain and enormous waves from the deep ocean. I didn’t stop shivering and deep down I was sort of…bored. "um, HH…?" I called out his name.

"Your lips are purple" he said.

"Get me out of here!" I said desperately.

He chuckled. "6ala3tay ekhre6y, emshay, I have a better idea"

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I wrapped my body with the white bath robe tighter while sipping my warm hot chocolate. I was still shaking and dripping wet when HH's voice came louder than I expected making me jump.

"It's ready" he announced.

He was already waiting for me next to the Jacuzzi tub. He took off my robe and held my hand. "Ready?"

I nodded.

Next morning I was sneezing and coughing like a pathetic old lady. after all we are really a typical kuwaiti couple.

the ballad of J&T

awwal shay mubarak 3lekom el shahar 7abaybeee;*** o 3asakom men el 3aydeeen wel fayzeen...I was away for a couple of days so mamedaanii abareklekom bel shahar..sam7ooni 3l eg9ooor in this blog :( adri kelesh mo ma36eta 7agga bas I promise I'll make it up;** and I hope you guys enjoy this post!

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A wave of pain hit my chest for a second but I stopped it before it cut my heart slowly. I tried to think of what will happen instead of what would've happen between us if we never broke up. It's not late, yet. He's not married, I'm obviously not either. He still has feelings for me. I'm crazy in love with him and…I need him so much! If I don't see him now I'll …die! Yes, yes! I need to breathe again. I thought.

Two weeks later we met. He was even sexier than I remember. He looked so mature and simply breathtaking in that crisp white Dishdasha. and his scent surprised me. His scent didn't change at all; aprege lanvin with a hint of tobacco.

"I'm turning 31 this week, I should find a wife" he said casually while we sat across each other in his car.

"Yes you should" I agreed.

" kel mrra agool chethy o ba3den a'3ayer rayey, fekrat el zawaj ebkoberha eta3eb!" he sighed.

" hathy sennat el 7ayat" I said jokingly. "o enta mo s'3eer"

"you don’t have to remind me yal s'3eera" he rolled his eyes.

"eskit eskit, I'm six years younger than you! Dad!"

" bas enty eb sen el zawaj, ya3ny ana weyach nafs el 7ala" he shrugged.

" allah kareem, bas ana mo mesta3yela" I said defensively.

" weddy ashtrey sayara yededa" he said cheerfully. He was obviously trying to change the subject. Typical.

"Then do" I said coldly. For some reason he was pissing me off.

"I love speed. It takes my mind of off things" he muttered while staring at my eyes directly.

"Great" I stared back.

"walaht" he said. And suddenly my heart softened and I was no longer angry at him.

"walaht 3laich jana. Ta3abteeni" he sighed.

" tawik etgool? I was around you know"

"matabeeni…you broke up with me, remember?" he stared at me again.

" manesait, latkhaf"

"you suppose to say I miss you too, shay chethy"

"I miss you too, shay chethy!" I said sarcastically.

He chuckled. "Not funny"

"I waited for you" I almost whispered, I didn’t want to be defeated by my emotions.

He extended his hand to reach my hair, and brushed a lock of hair with his fingers swiftly. "jameela" he murmured.

My cheeks turned crimson pink like the shade of my fingernails and words caught up in my throat. I had nothing to say so I stared at his pretty face.

"enty lel7een teste7een?" he teased. "makebartay 3la hal sowalef?"

I chuckled. "ley bacher"

" amooot 3lech" he said.

" I've been in relationships after you, o adri enta ba3ad, bas all I wanted was you"

" I loved someone...but she wasn't you" he admited.

" so you're single now?!" I asked, hoping for a positive answer.

He nodded. " agolech zawjooni etgoleli you're single! ofcourse I'm single"

" and by the way I love your new hair" he added.

white(5)

My pillow was damp with tears as I struggled to surrender to sleep. I couldn’t sleep that night. I got so used to the simplicity of our relationship that I didn’t even imagine complication would hit it. And unfortunately it did. I sobbed to the thought, I didn’t know why I felt so hurt, I was going to see him again, what all these tears were for? Besides he was only a friend, a friend I got used to so much that his departure made me hurt so deep.

When I finally slept I saw the same dream, except for one small difference. I was lying on the same bed, hurting, Alex was there looking at me blankly and Jon too. Except that Jon was crying, because I was in pain.

I woke up in the middle of the night feeling disoriented. I rubbed my eyes and covered my body with the soft blanket tighter. The bitter cold outside the bedroom window tried to seep in and work its way under my covered body. I shuddered furiously. Jon invaded my feverish mind. Jon was all I heard, all I saw, and all I wanted. Jon, Jon, Jon.

I sighed heavily and extended my arm to reach the cell phone I rarely used on the nightstand. I gazed at Jon's saved number in the contact list before I pressed dial. The phone rang several times before someone picked up. "Hello?" a crisp deep voice answered the phone. I recognized it, it was Alex's.

"Hello, um can I speak to Jon please?" I didn’t know why but Alex intimidated me.

"Whoever you are, don’t you think it's a bit late to make phone calls?" he asked coldly.

"I don’t think it's any of your business; if Jon is awake please give him to me!" I snapped. Suddenly I felt really furious towards him, he didn’t have the right to speak to me that way.

"Give me the phone" I heard Jon's soft voice on the other end.

"It's 3 am for god's sake!" Alex almost hissed.

"Hello Vanessa" Jon's friendly voice finally filled the other end.

"What was that all about? I thought this was your phone"

He sighed. " Nessa it's late"

"I don’t sleep remember?" my voice softened a bit.

"Yeah right, you're voice is filled with sleep" he said desperately trying to get rid of me.

"I don’t need too much sleep" I muttered. "Why are you awake? Isn’t a bit too late for you too?!"

"What do you want Nessa?" patience was running out from his voice.

"I need to talk to you" I almost whispered.

"Couldn’t you wait for tomorrow morning or something?"

"No" I answered honestly.

He was silent for a minute before he spoke. "Fine, what do you want to talk about?"

"Yesterday" I kept my answers short and straight to the point.

"Nothing happened yesterday Ness, we had dinner and then I left because I needed to get some sleep, what was the problem?"

"I don’t see anybody asleep, not you Jon!" my voice was raising involuntarily and I couldn’t help the anger and pain I felt inside my chest.

"What's with the attitude detective!" his voice got higher too.

"Look who's talking!" I snapped. "You're unbelievable!"

"I thought we were friends" he concluded.

"So did I, goodnight Jon" I hung up the phone before he could say a word. That was better.

I got up from bed and into the bathroom directly. I needed a hot bath to clear my feverish head.

My body was fully relaxed when I came out of the bathroom; I changed into short shorts and put my wet hair up into a ponytail high on my head. It was past five o'clock in the morning, I must've slept in the bathtub.

I ate breakfast slowly to waste the long time I had before going to work. I washed the dishes and the entire kitchen too.


After two hours of productive time wasting I was downright exhausted but it felt good because I didn’t think of Jon or any of whatever was happening while I was at it. I sprayed cherry vanilla; a perfume I mixed a long time ago and became my signature, which consisted basically of wild cherry and French vanilla.



Work was getting repetitive and I didn’t enjoy it today like I usually did. I yawned and looked at my watch. It was still too early to leave and I couldn’t stay any longer so I mixed two easy perfumes and told Wendy that I didn’t feel well, she was kind enough to let me go without questions.

The next couple of days were the same; I spent most of it alone, between my house and the scent shop. There was no sign of Jon, he never came to see me or even called and I missed him terribly.

For some reason work ended quickly today and I had to close down the shop. Wendy was already gone since I stayed here longer than usual, avoiding getting back home as much as I could. I dreaded loneliness after meeting that amazing friend I got attached to so quickly and easily.


I saw a shadow leaning against my little house's door when I reached home. "Jon?" I muttered his name loudly as I approached the door.

" Nessa" he nodded. His cute face was clearer now that I was closer to him.

"What are you doing here?" I said without looking at him, I unlocked the door and got inside with him right behind me.

"Aren’t you happy to see me? " he asked. I ignored him.

"Fine! I came here to apologize"

That caught me by surprise. I turned around and looked directly into his eyes. "For what?" I played stupid. I wanted him to say it.

"For what happened last night"

"Sure, what happened exactly Jon, why did you leave when I mentioned that…thing?"

"I think I was upset" he said apologetically.

"Upset? Why?"

He looked down. "It's complicated. You just won't….understand.

"People are just so selfish, when someone's different they start talking and making terrible judgments" he added.

"So you're telling me that Alex is different" I frowned. "But how?"

"I told you, it's complicated"

"Why were you awake at three am yesterday? And why did Alex answer your phone?" I asked suddenly. My questions caught him off guard.

" I came here to apologize, isn’t it enough? I don’t see the reason behind all these unnecessary questions!"

"Are you in love with him or something?" I narrowed my eyes suspiciously.

He rolled his eyes. "What are you doing Nessa?"

"I don’t know! I don’t get this" I sighed heavily.

"I've missed you" he said. I gazed at him, his expression filled with strange pain and sincerity.

Something inside me twisted, subconsciously moving and I found my arms draped over his shoulders and pulling him closer to me. I hugged him as tighter as I possibly could. It wasn’t a sexual hug, I didn’t have those sorts of feelings for him, I guess I just needed him and I really did miss him.

He hesitated for a second before he pulled me even closer to his body. He brushed my hair with his fingers softly. "You have some double personality disorder, don’t you Ness?" he whispered into my ears.

I pushed him away slightly. "You stupid devil!"

He laughed and pulled me again into a bear hug.

"Jon" I mumbled through his shoulder.

"yeah?"

" I'll let you spend the night here and I'll cook a very delicious supper" I began.

"Sounds good to me" he said.

"In one condition" I challenged.

He looked down at me. "uh oh"

" please Jon, I want you to tell me why people talk about Alex and why is it so complicated please" I begged pathetically.

" I will, since you became a close friend of mine and that means you're already involved in this" he said matter-of-factly.

"Thank you Jon"

He looked away without saying a word.


I made grilled cheese sandwiches which were the easiest and fastest since Jon wanted to show me instead of telling me as he had put it. And I wanted this meal to be as fast as possible because curiosity began killing me slowly.


When we finished our meal we got into his car and he drove off to a very familiar place that didn’t even need a car to get to. He drove to my happy place.

" I know this place" I said.

He ignored me and pulled over. He opened the door for me and led me through a narrow path between the big palm trees and greens. After a few minutes we reached the rocky mountains of the island. He turned around to face me. " what you're about to see now is different. It's something you never witnessed before. It might seem wrong to you, but if you see it from their perspective..er I mean ours and only ours it will seem the most normal and right thing you've ever saw, so I just need you to believe in what you'll see, after that I'll tell you everything" he said calmly.

I nodded.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

I sighed and nodded again.

And then he opened a door I wasn’t aware of before this minute and I was facing the most abnormal thing I had ever witnessed, the thing that changed my life…forever.

I wasn’t aware of Jon when he clamped his hand over my mouth because I gasped louder than I should.

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"white is the color of clarity and innocence"

Yet every cell in my body ached while I lied on that white bed....

white(4)

El marath thabe7ny...I'm literally sick, god. I can do nothing but lay on the sofa. my family is travelling next week and this is when I wish I wasn't married. I wish I can go with them, summer is so boring here. and marriage is not really perfect if you ask me. *sigh*

they say: * a perfect writer can make an emperor weep*, hope you guys enjoy this part;**

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I poured the gravy carefully on top of Enola's special chicken and potato dish and put it down with the rest of the dishes on the big, wooden dining table. The strong odors of the cheese, garlic and curry made my stomach growl louder. I hadn't eaten all day and I couldn’t wait any longer.

We gathered around the dining table noisily and started reciting our prayers together, it was some sort of a tradition here to pray, and connect with each other through the food. Food was a symbol of love and care in this family that I belonged to now.

"Hey, Iris, your mother told me that you worked at that pink house in town" I stuffed more grilled potato in my mouth and shoved it down my throat with a big swig of lemon juice.

"What pink house?" she frowned. Iris was Enola's younger daughter and she used to work at houses to pay her college funds.

"Donna carina's house" Enola answered her.

"Oh, yeah that house was creepy" she made a face.

"Creepy? Why?!" I bit my lower lip in confusion.

She looked around the table, examining the curious faces, including the kids, fortunately for me they were distracted. "How do you know about that house Nessa? I thought you hated going to town"

" um, actually they're kinda my friends. Alex and his cousin Jon" I admitted.

" Nessa, I don't know about Jon, but you don’t want to be friends with Alex" she warned.

"And …why is that?!" Although he wasn’t really my friend, I felt defensive towards him.

"He's not really nice" she said. "And people say that he was cursed and his mother was a…sorceress" she was whispering by now.

"A what?" my eyes bulged out and my body became hotter. "And you believe this shit?!"

"Well, I've seen the mother, she looked normal" she shrugged. "But that house looks different and people talk, anyway how did you meet him Nessa?"

"He's the man who saved me" my stomach did a back flip as I muttered the words.
When I got home that night I was unnaturally and utterly exhausted, I brushed my teeth, combed my long hair hastily and put on my long, white night gown. I climbed into bed and covered my body with the sheets. The bed sheets were soft and welcoming as ever, I buried my face against the soft, fluffy pillow and sighed heavily before I fell to the darkness of that other world I rarely visited.

I struggled to wake up but couldn’t, the dream held me too tightly in its coils. It was the same dream I had a few days ago, same white bed, same pain. I couldn’t breathe or move, the pain hurt so much that it felt real. And Alex was there. He was wearing a white lab coat and was staring at me while I was moaning and screaming with agony and he didn’t do anything to stop it.

I was really dazed when I woke up first thing in the morning. I took a quick shower and spent longer than usual in front of my little closet. I wasn’t really obsessed about the way I looked. We all dressed the same in this island, especially in the village, since we lived near the beach and the weather was always so sunny. But this once it was different, I wanted to impress Jon since he was coming today as I promised him to bake him cookies. And Alex might come along with him. I wanted to impress Alex too.

I finally decided on an orange embroidered shirt and my same old jeans. I braided my hair and wrapped a colorful scarf around my head. I knew the permanent scar on my face would be showing fully with my hair away from my face but I just didn't care.

When I reached the scent shop it was already opened which meant that Wendy was already there.

I entered the shop, and to my surprise Wendy wasn’t alone, Jon's cheerful face appeared next to her's. "Good morning Wendy, Jon" I greeted them.

"Morning, you look good" Jon smiled that dazzling smile of his.

"Yes you look good" Wendy chuckled. I shot her a hard glance.

"Thank you Jon, you're… early!" I muttered excitedly.

"You're late" he laughed. " Nessa it's 10"

"I don’t come early on Saturdays"

"Oh, um. So can I steal you now?"

"I don’t think so, I have to be at least here for two hours" I said apologetically. His face fell with disappointment.

"You know Nessa I can manage alone" Wendy smiled at me.

"You sure?" I asked her.

"Oh please, go!" She ordered. I laughed.

"Thank you" I mouthed the words silently.

I took Jon around the village and showed him my favorite places, including my former happy place. He wasn’t amazed by the beauty, he sounded as if he had seen much better than this in his life.

"Nice" he said.

"Nice? This is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!"

"Ok ok, calm down" he grinned.

"You're mean!" I laughed.

He looked away and continued walking to the beautiful, glistening turquoise sea. I followed him and he turned around, facing me now.

"Breathtaking" he said.

My mouth opened involuntarily to say nothing in particular but he answered my thoughts. "Your eyes. They remind me of the beach, they are a different shade of blue obviously; hyacinth-blue, but they are so deep that’s why they remind me of the beach" he blushed.

I laughed. "That was so poetic, thanks, I guess"

"Yeah" he grinned.

We then walked along the beach and talked a lot. Jon was an easy person to be around, I enjoyed every second of being with him, I didn’t even feel self conscious with that hideous, big scar on my face and he didn’t seem to notice how ugly it looked. Instead he admired my eyes.


When we went to my house to bake the cookies I was already starving, we ate olives and drank water because that was the only thing in the kitchen that was ready without cooking.

"How's Alex?" I asked him.

"He's fine" he said with his mouth full of olives.

"wh-why didn’t he come along with you?" I hesitated.

" you want him to come with me?" he asked.

" I don’t care" I lied.

He smiled. "Aren’t they ready yet?"

"Oh, they'll take long" I grinned. "Sorry!" I looked apologetically at the oven.

"That's okay because it means I'll enjoy more of you" he said and laughed at the way he said it.

"You're definitely a poet, I'm sure of it!" I laughed along with him.


In the upcoming days we became closer, we'd meet every day and spend the entire day with each other, and I enjoyed it a lot, I didn’t want this simple friendship to end.


One day after I finished work, I closed the shop and headed home. Jon had promised me that he would come by for dinner tonight. It was seven pm and I was very tired, I had a long day and I didn’t have the time to cook a decent meal.
I changed my clothes quickly to a more comfy shirt and pants, washed my face and headed to the kitchen. He was there.

"How did you get in?" I asked him. I wasn’t surprised, I was just happy.

"The door was open" he said, smiling.

"I brought something, thought you’d be hungry"

"Oh I am, thanks Jon!" I put down two plates on the little, wooden table along with two forks and knives.

We talked a lot while we ate, as usual. I loved talking to Jon a lot, he was a good listener and a good well, speaker.

"I heard something very strange about Donna Carina's house, and…Alex" I said, finally deciding on telling him.

He looked up in surprise. "What did you hear?"

"That…that he was cursed and" I broke off hesitantly. " and that his mother is a...sorceress"

His face turned red, he looked utterly angry. "That's plain bullshit Nessa"

"I'm…sorry, I know it's not true" I looked away in shame.

"It's okay, people talk a lot when you're different" he sighed.

He was silent for a minute before he spoke"You probably need to sleep now, I'll see you tomorrow Ness" he put his fork down

"No!" I almost screamed. "Don’t leave, please. I don’t really sleep early, I barely sleep"

" it's okay Nessa I should go" he stood up.


Suddenly my eyes filled with huge, warm tears when I realized that he was gone without even looking at me in the eye.