A taste to remember

Chapter seven

Ahmad pov

I try as hard as possible to erase Munnira's beautiful image from my mind, but it doesn't seem to work. Her dark, wet, soft hair cascades down her back, her sexy, pulpy pink lips are half-open, and her beautiful eyes, adorned with long dark lashes, sparkle with dripping water on her glowing caramel skin. What's wrong with me, I thought. I try to concentrate, but my mind wanders as we pack to continue our journey.

We walk for a long time, leaving the jungle behind, and head towards the rocks. This time, there are no trees, just huge rocks everywhere. As we climb, Munnira keeps a distance from me. When we reach a massive, man-made giant cave, the camp coach suggests we camp there. He also suggests we search for woods to make a fire, which he will teach us how to do. We're divided into pairs: Farah with Zaid, Khalid with Yesmin, and I'm paired with Munnira. Before she can object, they all quickly disperse, leaving the camp coach, who finds a spot to sit, and me and Munnira behind.

We ventured into the jungle in search of wood, relying on the map as instructed by the camp coach. Why didn't he say so since? We could have just gotten on our way," I muttered to myself. We continued in the same direction, leading us to the same spot. "Are you sure your calculations are correct?" Munnira asked, staring at the same mango tree we had seen earlier. My eyes were fixed on the map, scrutinizing it from every angle. "I'm sure there are plenty of mango trees around; this is a different one." "Are you certain, because this rock leaning against the tree looks just like the one we saw earlier, and I'm positive I saw those pink flowers too?" She folded her arms, gazing directly at me.

After taking my time with the map, i finally folded it. "You're right; we're lost." "Hmm, you're just realizing that now," she chimed in. She sat down, leaning her back against the tree, then quickly got up to search through the branches. Out of curiosity, I asked, "What are you doing? If we're looking for wood, it's everywhere; we can gather all these dry branches while we're at it."

"I'm searching for a camera; there should be a CCTV camera in case of emergencies or situations like this," she explained, continuing her search.

"Yeah, you're right," I said, getting up to help her. Just then, Munnira spotted something in the distance. "Is that an orchid?" she asked, breaking the silence. We walked towards it, and she removed her veil, using it to gather the fruit we found, forgetting the original reason we came out. "I'm sorry about yesterday; I didn't mean to. I saw him with the cloth, and when I saw the color, I figured it was yours; I really didn't mean to." She cut in, "It's okay, you don't need to explain; it's cool."

"I don't want you to see me that way, like I'm intentional."

She cut in again. "Really, it's okay; it's in the past now. How about we play a game to pass the time?"

"Okay, what do you have in mind?" I replied.

"Let's ask each other questions about anything. What's your favorite color?" Munira asked.

"Maroon."

She laughed, "That's a girlish color."

"What's yours?" I asked.

"Navy blue," she responded.

"Says the girl who just teased me about my color; it's a boyish color, my turn what's your darkest fear" I said with a smile.

"My darkest fear?" She paused, and continued "My darkest fear is to disappoint my parents; that's why I try as much as possible to make them smile every chance I get." She pointed at me, indicating it was her turn.

I remained silent for a while, listening to the sound of my heartbeat. "My darkest fear?" I repeated, "My darkest fear is to wake up and realize I'm all alone."

Munnira burst into laughter. "Okay, like seriously, what is your biggest fear for real?" She kept her eyes wide open, as if trying to make them bigger.

"Okay, my biggest fear is to be alone," I said, sitting down beside her and playing with a dry leaf.

"I'm scared of truly being alone. Since my mom died, the thought of it scares me like hell. Luckily, I have my sister around, so that cheers me up. My brother and I aren't that close, so I won't put him on the list."

Munnira sat next to me, speaking warmly. "Well, you have your cousins, your dad, your friends," she said, trying to calm me down.

I quickly got up the moment she mentioned my dad, why did she have to bring him up? "I think we should hurry and get as more, as much fruit as possible. Let's not keep them waiting. Let's not forget to get some dry branches too," I said, trying to change the topic.

We gathered all we needed and were searching for our way back to Rock Town when suddenly it started raining. We kept moving, hoping to get back before the rain gets heavier. Within minutes, the rain intensified. We hid under a shade we found, huddling together. At this point, we were a bit wet and cold. We were both quiet, enjoying the scent of sand, the sound of rain falling, and the lightning from the sky.

"You know, this is the point where you're supposed to give me your jacket," Munnira whispered, hugging her veil filled with fruits.

"Oh really?" I said, gazing at her.

"Yeah, don't you watch romance movies?" she said, wearing a cute smile. Somehow, her smile brightened her beauty even more, showcasing her innocence despite her attempts to appear mature.

I moved closer, and she kept backing away until her back was against the tree. It was as if a magnet was drawing me to her. I lowered my face, staring at her lips. I could feel her breath as she breathed faster. I then moved to her ears and whispered, "They also kiss in romance movies; you want to know how that feels?" She instantly dropped her veil, and all the fruits fell to the ground. I giggled and moving back, holding up both my hands in a defensive gesture.

"I'm joking," I said, trying to put her at ease. "You were scared; you actually thought I would do that. I won't relax," I added.

Her facial expression changed instantly; she was scared but tried to maintain a brave face. "No, I wasn't," she muttered.

I went into the rain, and insisted, she joined me. I dragged her in. We kept splashing water at each other, laughing. As the rain reduced, we found our way back to the cave. Everyone was there, except for us. They were surprised to see us drenched and laughing together.

We made a fire, sat down to eat, and enjoyed the breathtaking view of the sky. The next morning, I woke up to the sound of my alarm. I woke the others, and we performed our ablution before praying. As I was folding my prayer mat, I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I lost my breath and couldn't breathe. I fell down, and Munnira held my head on her lap, telling me to breathe in and out. I could see the fear in her eyes. My vision blurred, and I suddenly blacked out.

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The aroma of Mama's cooking drew me to the kitchen. There she was, stirring a pot of soup. She turned and looked at me with a bright smile on her face. She was wearing her favorite gown, looking as elegant as ever.

"Come have a taste. What do you think? Should we add some more seasoning?" she said, signaling me to come. I slowly walked towards her. She used a teaspoon to fetch a little soup, blew on it to cool it down, and then fed it to me.

"So?" she asked, smiling happily, waiting for my response.

"It's delicious, Mom," I said, tears flowing down my cheeks. She continued cooking, and I immediately hugged her tight, savoring her amazing scent, which I had longed for.

"I miss you, Mom; I miss you. Everything is different without you," I said, crying heavier.

She kept the cooking soap aside, hugging me tight and calming me down.

Suddenly, I opened my eyes to find myself on my bed in our caravan house. Zaid was at the other end, speaking to someone. When they finished, he escorted the guy out. A few minutes later, Khalid entered, and when he realized I was awake, he gave me some pills to take and handed me a bottle of water.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

I replied, "I'm okay."

"You should rest; the pills might make you sleep. In case you wake up, there's food in the kitchen," Khalid said before leaving.

I slept for hours. After waking up, the van was empty. I ate and was just finished praying when Khalid entered the van. He was surprised to see me awake. He sat down by the edge of my bed. It was already dark; he was supposed to be in the field having a movie night, which was the last event for the trip.

"Are you bored watching?" I asked, breaking the silence.

He shook his head slowly, "No, we just finished watching the first movie, 'Two Hearts.' Actually, it's a three-movie romance, thriller, and horror movie. You would have seen Fara; she was crying at the end of the movie," he said, and we both laughed.

"Yeah, you know how she can be."

"The next movie is 'Red Notice,' and then 'The Nun.' You should come; I'm sure the second movie is just starting," he suggested.

I shook my head, taking a deep breath and leaning my back against the wall.

Khalid asked, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, I'm okay," I replied.

There were a few moments of silence. I could tell something was bothering him, but I couldn't figure out what.

He hesitated, then spoke, "Munnira came to look for you. That girl has been worried sick. She really likes you." He explained how she reacted when I blackout and how she kept coming to check up on me. "I'm sure you like her too."

We quickly locked eyes, and he smiled. "If you like her, no need to delay, just tell her. I mean, this is the perfect moment. We will be leaving soon," he said finally and left.

I knew everyone knew how I truly felt about Munnira, but I didn't know if it was mutual. I didn't know she felt the same way. After sitting indoors for a while, I came outside and sat on a bench in front of our van. I could hear the sound of the movie playing from the field, but I needed to be alone for a while. I kept staring at the beautiful stars up in the sky, lost in my thoughts.

"How are you?" a voice brought me back to reality. It was Munnira.

I smiled then responded " I'm fine."

"May I?" she asked politely pointing at the empty space next to me.

I nodded my head. She sat down and added, "Khalid said you were awake." Sure, he did, I thought. We both kept staring at the stars, enjoying the beautiful view and the fresh breeze.

"I dreamt of my mom today," I broke the silence.

"That's nice. How was she?" she smiled, nudging my shoulder with hers playfully.

Somehow, the thought of the dream drowned me in my emotions. "She looked beautiful as usual, happy, and all smiles. She was actually cooking, so yeah, it was nice." I paused, took a deep breath, and continued. "Actually, the moment I woke up, I missed her more than I normally do. I mean, I miss her so much. The world around me has changed since she left. It's never going to be the same again. So yeah, that part of me can never be filled."

At that moment, I could feel the tears forcing themselves out, but I contained myself, forcing them back in.

"It's okay to miss your mom; it's okay. The best thing you can do for her right now is to pray for her whenever she comes to mind. That's what she needs most. I'm here if you need to talk; I'm just one call away, okay?" she said, trying to calm me down. She started sharing her childhood stories to cheer me up, and it worked.

I decided to share mine.

"When I was 14 years old, I went to a boarding school for a year. I was bullied by my seniors a lot; they tormented me, stole my notebooks and food, not because they needed them but just because they wanted to. One day, they took my inhaler and locked me in a class; I was struggling to breathe, kept knocking on the door with all the strength I had until I fainted. I woke up in a hospital bed surrounded by my family. I was taken back to my old school, which was nice, but I heard a lot of issues back home. My mom cried a lot, and I saw a lot of drama. When she died two months later, my dad got married again. I was so depressed; he never really paid attention to me, so it got worse when my mom died. I moved to my sister's house but wasn't emotionally well. I didn't cry when my mom died, so I started taking drugs and somehow got lost in it. My sister found out and took me to rehab. Since then, I've been clean. My cousins, friends, and sister helped."

I spoke calmly, turned, and looked deep inside her eyes.

"Munnira, I'm not perfect, but I love you. I love you more than you think. I can't help it. But this is me; this is my story. Will you accept me for who I am?"