Sun & Moon: Chapter Fourteen

Life was attractively beautiful, the colors were awe-inspiring and out of this world. She smiled as she saw the jade green of the grass and the cerulean blue of the sky blend to produce a lovely colorful vibrant horizon. She felt alive and kicking, most of all she was breathing. The fields looked startling with the hints of golden yellow hay and emerald green meadows. Her eyes grew wider as she noted black and white cows; they were huge in comparison to those back home, nurtured in her family’s farm. The fast motion made her even more amazed at the beauty of God’s creation. But the rush came as she saw a blue and yellow swish in locomotion. She closed her eyes taking in the flood of emotion she felt. Looking around her, she noticed how fluffy and comfy the navy blue seats were in front of her, next to her and behind her. She felt elevated as the train, she was in, came to a stop; she never went through such a whirlwind of sensations before. Sanaa couldn’t help but fall victim to the charm this new dimension had to bring. Closing her eyes again to heighten the butterflies in her stomach as the train made its way in movement, she inhaled that familiar scent. His alluring charming masculine fragrance mixed with his aftershave. She opened her eyes looking to her side; a set of pearly whites met her glance, with a huge lens covering his eyes.  She felt a gush of affection and warmth flush her cheeks as she heard the sound of her black Nikon camera click. She looked at her knees avoiding the embarrassment she might cause to herself while enjoying the attention she was getting. He continued snapping pictures of her, hiding what his eyes would give away. Looking through the tiny peep hole, he was swept over by her beauty and presence; her tanned golden olive complexion, her fuchsia pink painted nails and her tranquil stare exhibiting her innocent charm.  He fixed his eye on her for a while as she smoothed her blazer from the fold marks and unwanted threads.  He was content with how everything turned out to be, but knowing the past which she shared with him, made him a bit apprehensive and concerned about her. He never wanted to hurt her like Hassan did. He never would want any harm to touch her or cause her pain. He smiled at her as she gathered the courage to pose and genuinely smile for him when he clicked the last picture.  She immediately snatched the camera from him to take a look at the pictures, she leant over and whispered to him ‘This is so cool’ as she showed him a picture of her seeming lost looking at the window.  ‘Thank You’ she said with the meaning and power those two words had. She was thankful that he was there for her, thankful that he never judged her like everyone who did back when she was home with her family and friends. Most importantly, she was thankful for being who he was; a blessing in disguise. ‘Thank You for everything’ she squeezed his arm and tried hiding her vulnerable self by gluing her face to the window beside her. She continued fantasizing of a magical world where times of yore didn’t have to be raw and distressing.  He nodded his head in acknowledgment and chuckled seeing her excitement of being on a train for the first time. Resting his eyes, he closed them wide shut; it was a long way to reach their destination; he needed to rejuvenate and feel refreshed.

He awoke from the screams and stomps he heard. Opening his eyes it was already night, he couldn’t believe how he slept for almost 24 hours. He sensed the commotion happening outside; the stomps, chats and yells. It was too loud to ignore. Bastiaan got up out of bed and headed towards the hallway to see what was going on. He noticed how almost every tenant was out of his room. ‘Fire alarm?’ he asked as it was always a habit that someone would sound the alarm, and being the heavy sleeper he was; it might have gone off but to deaf ears. ‘No man’ he got a response from his neighbor. ‘What’s wrong?’ he said as a police siren rang loud. ‘Pffft, that Arab girl and her problems’ he heard the phrase coming from the common room. Bastiaan feared for the worst as he hurriedly rushed to the staircase to Sanaa’s floor; she was the only Arab girl in their building. He hoped and prayed she was okay. A sudden outburst of tears wanted to make its way to his eyes as he saw paramedics rushing through. He felt his stomach turn with worry as he moved slowly; taking one step forward at a time. Bastiaan feared that he was going to face his worst fears. ‘Please let her be okay’ he prayed as he started biting his teeth nervously. Walking past the green and blue hallway, he saw the crowd of law enforcement personnel gathered along with all the Arabs living in the building. ‘La illah illa Allah’ one of the Saudi guys yelled as he shook his head in despair. Making his way through, Bastiaan closed his eyes praying for everything to be okay. Opening up his eyes, he saw blood drops on the floor. ‘Is this blood?’ he said faintly as he pushed his way into the room. He saw how the door was battered and damaged. He looked around as he saw Sanaa’s majlis area in a mess with the decorative shisha shattered into pieces. He started searching for Sanaa but couldn’t find her. ‘Sanaa?’ he called out for her ignoring the police who tried to move him out of the room. ‘SANAA’ he cried out for her name in grief. ‘Bastiaan?’ his ears were pierced with her voice and his heart got fuelled as he exhaled feeling immediate relief. He turned around in hopes of finding her but couldn’t figure out where her voice came from. Everyone remained quiet as they heard Sanaa’s sobbing sounds. ‘I’m here, where are you?’ he said as he started looking around frantically for the source of the voice. ‘I can’t’ Sanaa said in a muffled voice. ‘Why?’ he was gestured to continue talking with those around. ‘I just can’t’ she said for him to figure out where she was. Sliding the door of the bathroom, he saw her on the white pasty ground, her hands on her face, hiding next to the toilet seat. ‘There I found you’ he said quietly as he crawled and sat in front of her. ‘I’ll never leave you’ he said not even curious of what happened to her. All he knew was he had to protect her and save her from harm’s way, when he pulled her hands away from her face. He felt rage going through his veins as he saw the bruises on her heart shaped face; scarlet, crimson, and purple bruises were visible near her left eye, signs of struggle on her neck and bleeding across her hairline. His heart sank as he felt obliged to calm her cries and wipe her tears. ‘I am here and as long as I am, I promise you’ll be safe’ he said as he kissed her salty drenched in tears and red cherry wounded hands.

‘Hungry?’ Sanaa woke him as she smiled giving him a bag of stroopwafels. ‘Oh thank you’ he took the bag and began feasting on it with no hesitation. Even though, he wasn’t that hungry, Bastiaan could never say no to some sweet delights. They say the best way to a man’s heart is through his tummy and Bastiaan was no exception especially sugary temptations; his sweet tooth always won him over.  ‘I can’t wait for them to sing Viva La Vida’ Sanaa was as excited as a boy when given his very first set of miniature cars. He saw how her eyes sparkled at the thought of tonight with her heavily lined eyes and excessive makeup. He was amazed on how she managed to hide the truth behind how her face actually looked like with the yellowing of the bruises she had.   ‘You know I can’t wait for them to sing Death and All His Friend’ he said as he smiled back revealing the sticky caramel clinging on his teeth. ‘Really? I mean out of all the songs in the album? … You…’ she grew silent not wanting to sound mean, and deciding to settle for a simple smile instead. ‘How about we listen to music?’ she suggested to Bastiaan as she took out her earphones from her pocket. ‘You go ahead, I’ll just read for now’ he said as he showed her some philosophy book he had. ‘I hope she doesn’t find out’ he said to himself as he hid the handwritten A4 paper he held between his left index finger and the middle pages of the book; the written confession he had memorize. ‘Oh Lord please let it be perfect. It needs to sound right’ he said as he began learning by heart the first two sentences 

I swear, since seeing your face, 

The whole wolrd is fraud and fantasy

Staring at Bastiaan who seemed to be in a different world not paying her any attention as he avidly read, she shrugged her shoulders and enjoyed the landscape Mother Nature had to offer. Plugging her sky blue earphones and pressing play, the melody sang a lullaby to her healing soul and played with the strings of her heart. The clouds seemed as fluffy as the chair she was seated in. The red bricked houses were the perfect addition to the green of the field, blue of the sky and the spotless white of the downy clouds. Violet Hill of Coldplay was playing in her ears, the violent guitar strings mixed with the bass, the beat of the drums and Chris Martin’s voice made her drown in what was.

I took my love down to Violet Hill

There we sat in the snow

All that time she was silent still

So If you love won’t let me know

If you love me why’d you let me go?

The chorus struck a chord in her as she rolled her eyes sarcastically. It was ironic how Coldplay was playing in the background and all she could get her head into thinking was how Hassan was. Were his eyes recovering from the cooking spray she used? Was he recovering from the knife she pushed into his right leg? Was he okay? Was he better? Is he back home?

She tried to remove the sense of guilt and detach it from wherever it was clinging on her, but couldn’t. ‘He has done this to you for so many times’ she told herself. ‘He deserves DEATH’ she still felt the panic when he was trying to choke her, felt the anger when she chose to teach him a lesson instead. She felt the serenity when she finally was reborn to a brand new Sanaa. She smirked in content and looked over to Bastiaan engrossed into his book, ‘Now doesn’t he deserve a chance?’ she said enjoying how focused he was reading his philosophy book.