Once Upon A Time

He looked at her stoically. The aura of indifference seemed like a ray of light shining from his emotionless face. Typical, she thought. She remembered a few months back, when they had just met. She never paid much attention to him in class. Didn't know who he was, wasn't aware that he even existed. Probably the crowded classroom was to blame, or maybe the relatively large distance that separated them both.

It was not until the time when the teacher announced that the class has to do a pair work with the opposite gender that their fate officially intersected. She scanned the room for any boys who haven't found a partner and her eyes caught a risen hand. They had immediate eye contact, and became team members after a few mutually understood gestures.

"You have to think of an innovation," revealed the teacher. She, being not that familiar with boys (due to the fact that she was a really timid girl), felt a bit out of place to be in the same work space as an unknown boy. It wasn't the boy, of course. He did nothing wrong. Seemingly he, too, felt the same way. The girl, not wanting to waste more time indulging in this awkwardness, broke the death silence.

"So, what do you want to do?" she questioned as if expecting that the boy already has an answer lingering in his head. She knew to the contrary, but what else was she to ask? He gave her a slight shake before grabbing the laptop in front of them and googling something. As he did so, the girl's eyes were unmistakably fixed onto him. Not that she herself was aware of it.

A faraway voice, a cross between a shout and a whisper, reminded her, "You shall not fall in love. Not now. Not ever." However, the voice vanished in a split second as the boy showed her what he had found. After a few discussions, they hatched a very brilliant idea and decided that that would go as their presentation.

Then came the drawing part. "I'm not good at drawing," admitted the boy. "Me neither," said the girl with a tone of despair in her voice. Who would do the drawing then? Finally, they agreed to do it together. But before the boy even finished his first drawing, the girl jerked the pencil from his hand with a gasp. "You know what, just leave the drawing to me," She smiled to herself as she leaned down to start doodling. He's a pretty funny guy, she thought.

When it was their turn to do the presentation, somebody pointed out, "Hey, your names sound similar." She felt a rush of warm blood on her cheeks, although she hoped that it did not show on the outside. The boy proceed in a professional manner, stating one by one about what they had planned and discussed. The girl, too added in more details. Deep down inside, as the guy spoke, the girl stood in awe, listening to how clearly the information was conveyed. A sparkle of admiration and curiosity can be vividly seen in her eyes, if only one were to look closely enough.

She was shaken back to present by the azan, a calling for Muslim prayers. Five times a day. She looked back to the spot where the boy whom she once regarded as her close friend had left her with no more than questions bugging her juvenile mind. She doubted herself that she'd be able to find love. Love. What does that word even mean? She shoved her hands in her pocket and stared at the ground. She started walking slowly. Where to, she knows not.

Perhaps she will once again find courage and confidence to believe in what fairy tales note as true love. Perhaps this was just one of the chapters in life that teaches a human to have faith in God. Perhaps Allah was just putting His slave in one of His trials, that will one day guide her to stay strong.

She paused, just a few metres from a classroom. She looked up and saw a figure trying to hide from her view, as if it had been spying. There was something familiar about that figure, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She continued her stroll, letting her mind wander about the world and all its inhabitants. Not wanting to waste any more blissful moment.