A Moment...

Expectations rise high.

The idea of failure is cast aside.

They watch and hope.

Neither confident nor uncertain.

It doesn't matter, it's always the same.

I watch the grains of sand slip away through one side of the hourglass until there is none left.

I gather my things and walk towards the front of the room.

I hand in a piece of paper to a man behind a desk.

"Finished so soon? As expected of you, I'm sure I won't be surprised with the results".

I fake a weak smile and leave. Astonished eyes follow my departure.

A soft melody plays. I answer the call.

"How was it darling?"

"It was ok".

"Thank God, I was so worried but I don't know why I always do. You always get the best grades in any class you're in"

"Haha. Not really! I'll be home soon I just want to pick up some coffee"

"Ok darling take care and I'm so proud of you. Love you, drive safe"

"Of course, love you too, bye"

I make my way down to the coffee shop. It's especially crowded since the majority of the after-Fatoor classes have ended.

"Hey, it's good to see you again. How was your examination?"

"Hey Francis, it was alright, I hope I did well"

"I'm sure you did, so will it be the usual?"

"Not today, can I have a ... hmmm... yeah can I have a double espresso please?"

"Ok... ONE DOPYO ESPRESSO PLEASE. That will be 1KD please"

"Thank you". I hand him the money and I find an empty section to stand in.

Moments later...

"Hiiii... how are you! I haven't seen you in a while!"

"Hey, I'm fine, how about you? Yeah I don't stick around much anymore."

"I'm good. Yeah that's a shame, you should! Anyways I have to go, I'll see you later, it was nice seeing you!"

"Alright take care, see you around".

A voice came from behind me.

"Hey man, how you been?"

"Hey Talal, I've been great, how about you?"

"Good, good I guess. Man that test was hard! But wow you finished it so fast... you and your weird hourglass thing haha".

"Really? I thought I finished at a normal pace. I like setting a time limit for myself and I like seeing the grains of sand falling, it's relaxing."

"That must be your secret. Yo man I don't want to sound nosy but man that girl you just talked to really has a thing for you. She was smiling and giggling nonstop and her face was so red! Why don't you get to know her more?"

"Are you for real? I didn't notice any of that. She's a friendly person but I don't know, she's just not my type."

"Dude, she's one of the most prettiest girls in uni! You must be crazy for not taking the chance to get to know her better!"

"I don't care how pretty she is, I'm really not into her."

"Whatever man, you're weird. Anyways I got to run, I'll call you later."

"Alright man take it easy".

I hear my order being called out and I go and pick up my drink. I carry it to a nearby counter and start adding some sugar and I begin mixing it with a wooden stirrer.

I put my headphones into my ears and turn my iPod on.

I scroll through my music library until I find a song I like. I turn up the volume as to drown out the surrounding noise.

The words, "it's a beautiful day sky falls... you feel like it's a beautiful day... don't let it get away... in the maze of her imagination... take me to that other place" find their way into my ears.

"Can't get enough of this song". I turn around and heads towards the door. As I'm walking, I bring the cup to my mouth.

Thats when I saw her.

I don't move nor breath.

The cup rests inches away from my slightly open mouth. It stays open for a few moments.

The cup felt like it was getting lighter and lighter.

Some girls next to me called out to her.

She looked in their direction and waved back, knowing a verbal greeting would be of no use against the background noise.

For a moment, our eyes connected.

Her eyes... it was as if they were entering my soul and trying to find out who I was, what I was, and everything else about me.

I let them.

I told her how I felt at that exact moment not by voice nor by body but by how I looked back at her.

Now she was in my mind.

It's pitch black and the only source of light comes from the numerous white shapes.

Stars.

I can see her.

I'm... I don't believe what I see but... I'm holding her.

Her head is resting on my chest.

Her eyes are closed.

She's smiling.

Her hair... I cannot describe how good it smells... it's unworldly... it overwhelms me and I can feel my legs quivering in response.

Her chest slightly heaves up and down against mine as she softly breathes.

It's indescribable.

She suddenly looks up and gazes at my awestruck eyes.

She laughs.

I hold her even tighter and she does the same.

I try to tell her.

She raises her finger and places it on my lips.

No words are exchanged.

They don't have to be.

We both know.

Suddenly my surroundings change into a familiar sight.

I find myself still frozen in place.

She seems so far away now.

She smiles.

It's such a beautiful smile. The definition of perfect.

My chest feels warmer than usual.

I hear voices.

They don't make any sense.

She looks away, her gaze now directed at something else.

She seems so happy, happier than before in that starlit sky.

He tells her something and she starts laughing.

I can hear her laughter somehow above all the noise.

It's euphonic. The chirping of birds, nature's choralist, is nothing in comparison.

They both are surrounded by friends and relatives.

They seem like a perfect family.

...

I can see her now in a meadow. It's covered with so many colorful flowers.

She's older now but somehow even more breathtaking.

She's holding a child.

It's beautiful and resembles her in almost every way.

He takes the child from her and puts her above his head.

He starts running around now, laughing along with his daughter as they race through the meadow.

She watches and cheers them on.

The sunlight danced across her hair.

I was wonderstruck.

They eventually made their way out of the coffee shop.

The voices seemed so much more clearer now.

"I'm so sorry sir! That cup must have been leaky. Please have another one on the house and again we apologize. Here sir, let me clean that for you".

He attempted to wipe some of it off with some napkins.

I held his hand in place.

"It's... ok... really it was... my fault".

Everyone was watching me now as if I was an alien.

Some people suppressed laughs and some helped picking up some of my dropped things.

There was a pile of sparkling sand next to my foot.

A portion of the spilled sand seemed to sparkle more than the rest.

It was damp I realized.



I brushed past the crowd and headed outside.

I needed to see the sky.

It was littered with stars but it wasn't the same.




A friend followed me outside.

"Dude what's wrong with you? I saw you buy the coffee then you looked towards the door then a second later you just dropped the cup. You really do have butterfingers."



"Was it really only a second?"

"Ummm yeah? Ahh your shirt, you just bought it yesterday! Akhhh that sucks man. I have an extra one in my car if you want".

"I appreciate it, thanks. Listen I'll be back I need to get some tissue from my car to try and wipe some of this off before I send it to the dry cleaners".



I walked hurriedly to my car, I didn't want him to see.



I reached my car and got some tissue out.



There was a warm feeling trickling down my cheek.






I let it all out.