The Desert Rose

Announcement

My thoughts whirled around I complete jumbles. Keeping me awake. 'What an unusual day this was! A kaleidoscope of events. All kinds of things have happened.

It seems that happiness had come knocking on her door. There was a chance to avoid the Wedding. 'Why am I so anxious? Maybe I'm possessed by an evil spirit?'

Zulieka was sleeping peacefully. 'My mouth is dry from this worries.'

Climbing out of bed, Yasmin quickly went to the kitchen.

***

"A drink of water could help a lot." 'I wonder what father is doing?'

Her eyes began to grow heavy, but she wanted to check on her father

***

"we have to speed up the process. There's no time for discussion. I'm glad you agree." Kabir said to someone on the phone.

Hiding beside the door, Yasmin overhead this. 'What is he talking about.'

"Even if It Yasmin is a against it." Kadir said to the person.

"What?!" Yasmin was suprise to hear her name that she forgets to keep quiet. Thankfully, her father Didn't seem to notice.

"I insist on planning the wedding for this month." Kadir said again

Yasmin was shocked by what she heard, I chance to excape could be pretty slim. 'Th-this month...? Is this a dream?! Did I hear that right?! We won't have time to do anything about it.'

Yasmin left for her room, not interested in what her father might be saying again.

She didn't remember how she got to her room. Her thoughts were disorderd, forming into childishly naive plans.

She felt the compulsion to abandon everything--run to the ends of the world. But running away seemed foolish, a very rash decision. Yat she no longer cared.

***

A few days later...

Yasmin was hastily throwing her belongings into an old bag. "This is not how I imagined my first packing for a journey."

The logical part of her mind wanted wanted to appeal to her father's sense of reason. But Yasmin knew him far too well. 'I need to wear something reconciling so that I won't be recognized.'

She checked through her clothes and finds a black hijab that cover her whole body, leaving only the gap for her wrist and her eyes to be visible. It make her look mysterious.

The woman looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. This mirror, this room, and these walls didn't seem real anymore. They seemed to her like an illusion that was about to shatter.

'Zuileja...I won't see her anytime soon. Will I ever see her again...?' This thought left a bitter taste in her mouth. 'I asked her to let me go to the old market. If only she knew...I hope she'd understand me when she reads the letter.'

Soon enough, all the essentials were packed. 'Its time to say goodbye, my room.'

On her desk near the bookshelves, there was a map of the world. 'How many times have I marked the countries I would visit one day.'

She needed to get rid of all unnecessary thoughts. 'It's time, now it really is time.

***

Outside the gate, the unsuspecting guards wished their mistress happy shopping.

The way to the airport lay through the old market and the square.

'I'll call a taxi from here.'

Yasmin Walked through the old market. The old market welcomed every guest. It absorbed them completely, making them remember the warm, bustling atmosphere forever.

"Miss help yourself with with some fresh figs."

"Shukran." She choosed a fresh figs and payed. 'I'm in a hurry, but I always lost myself in this place.' It was like the market was drawing her in. It was a special world, so difficult for a stranger to understand.

It has a special smell: spices, coffee, herbal tea.

It makes a special sound: a mix of crisp bills and Arabic songs, curses, and compliment.

'Right now, I feel emptyness--my new home. Having excape from one Abyss, I fell into another.

I walked to the square. The square was crowded as always. 'I need to keep my bag safe.' She noticed the crowd going in one direction. "Hmmm...where is this crowd headed?"

The people were walking towards the monuments, spellbound. 'There are so many of them, I can't even see a taxi!'

She instinctively followed the crowd, getting list in the shifting mass of bodies.

"Hey, watch it! You stepped on my foot!" A man yelled at her. Yasmin wanted to protest, but that will take aol lot of her time and she had little to share. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you here by yourself? Without a man?" The man asked again.

'I wish he could just leave me alone.'

Salvation came suddenly in the form of a voice. A voice that made everyone stop and listen.

The person was covered from head to toe in a deep blue robe and turban. Even their eyes were shilded.

"Every person can make their own choice! But we've become part of a system that controls us. It directs us, then crushes us like bugs!" The person had a male voice.

Yasmin stood rooted to her spot and listened. Then she looked up, peered closely at the speaker. 'I can't see his face. It's hidden behind a scarf. Blue clothe, like a parody of a Bedouin!'

It suddenly seemed to the woman that the stranger was looking straight into her eyes. This thought alone made her scared. "Ah?!"

She had an inexplicable urge to come closer.

The crowds were buzzing--they liked the rebel's words.

"This party is full of freaks!" The man continued. "Yes! Hypocrites! Murderers!"

There weren't many women. Most of them are hudfled together in groups and Didn't speak. But they clearly agreed to everything that is being said. The rebel reveled in this attention, and continue his speech.

And Yasmin kept moving. Getting closer, closer, closer...

"What's happening now is a triumph of the upper classes. They don't care about the common people. The Bukra party promised us a bright future. Instead, we have only an endless, anxious present. Poverty, homeless children, lawlessness in prisons...Officials hide behind the good, but tyranny is a scourge. They put collars on us, just like they put bracelets for their women. We want only the food for our Homeland! Let no one see my face or Knoe my name--power should be devoid of vanity. The people themselves should be power!" The man shouted.

The crowd went crazy. "Yes! Yes!"

'It's been quite a while since I've seen such unity.' Yasmin smiled.

Suddenly, other sounds joined the street symphony of freedom. The alarming sounds of police sirens.

"Oh, my faithful friends! You're here again to become part of an unforgettable performance. If there are terrorist in the crowd, don't Leave. watch. This is how eastern tales begins." He reached inside his pocket, and then... nobody could see anything.

Red sand flew everywhere. She and the stranger were englobed by the red sand. Everything had turned red. 'I should be brave and open my eyes.' And she manages to overcome her fears, but it gripped her again. The rebel was looking down at her. She so nothing but deep blue fabric, but for some reason, it seems to her that the man is smiling.