A True Story - Part 2

1983 - First of May

"Ahmed! when did you get back man?" Yahya greeted his best friend with a big smile and a hug.
"a couple of days ago. i heard about your father..i'm really sorry. how is he?"
"thanks, he's doing a lot better now."
"Alhamdillah..guess i've been away for quite some time."
"2 years is sure a long time..so you're back for good, huh?"
"yeah! ..i've had enough of the UK. five loooong years..i'm definitely done. what about you? how's work?"
"going great. i just got promoted. about time if you ask me. i've been working there for over 12 freakin' years!"
"haha, congratulations! you deserve it."
"thanks..how's Omar doing by the way?"
"oh, pretty good for a freshman, he's been to the UK for the past three summers, he's used to it by now."
"yeah. good luck to him. so? you're not going anywhere anytime soon right?"
"nope."
"great! means you'll be coming to my wedding."
"wedding? mashallah! bu ya3qoob! mabrook!"
righ then, the thought of Layla crossed his mind..it's been a few months since they've had that fight and stopped talking to each other.
her family is pressuring her with the many proposals she's getting and every time she asks him if he's going to do something about it, he'd repeat the exact same answer "i need to start working and make my own money first.."
"i can't wait any longer. my mother is already having doubts every time i turn down a guy..and this time she's asking me to choose between two of them..and she's not taking no for an answer!"
Layla..i love you..i'm just not ready.."

he knew he's disappointed her, she wanted something solid and he couldn't give her that..not yet anyway, he wanted to be an accomplished man..someone who can provide her the same lifestyle she has.

"Ahmed?" Yahya was wondering where did his friend's mind wandered.
"i'm sorry..i'm really happy for you man..so? who are you marrying?"
"She's a Beauty! Nasser's daughter..Layla."


1983 - 4th of May

she 's been up all night, the wheels in her brain were going round and round, she felt her head about to explode!
what is it he wants now? it's been five months since she last heard from him, it was about time she moves on..

she walked to the kitchen, desperate for a cup of tea.
a few minutes later, Fatma walked in holding the little red recorder her mother gave her. although Layla wasn't really interested in Music, but she's somehow memorized a few songs her friend was playing non-stop. Fatma was a huge fan of Abu Baker Salim, but never got the lyrics right. every time she'd sing along, she'd be singing completely different words..Layla always giggled as she heard her sing in the next room.
"i want you to listen to this, you'll love it! it's just the perfect wedding song!"
ever since Layla told her about the engagement, Fatma had placed herself in charge of the wedding, and thrown herself all over the wedding plans and preparations.
"it's not until December Fatma."
"i know! but you don't want to be 'panicking' when it's too late for you to find a proper song!"
she pressed Play, and a traditional Omani wedding song came out of the little old thing.
"isn't this played in every single wedding we've been to?"
"NO! just the best weddings..what do you think? perfect right?"
Layla forced a smile of approval as she was adding sugar to her tea.

Fatma paused the song and sat silent for a minute.. "you're calling him back aren't you?"
"i...i don't know..i need to know what is it he wants."
"suit yourself..he's not bringing anything better to the table. sure, he's a looker, an engineer, and comes from a good family. but he didn't have enough guts to propose!
..she paused for a minute, grabbed a cup and poured herself some of the tea Layla has made.
then went on "Yahya is a charming man, he's just as good looking. okay, maybe life was a little rough on him, and he had to work at the age of 12. but look at him now! a permanent decent job, good salary, and he's graduating from uni in a couple of years. not to mention the sweetheart mother he has! he's got the kindest mother! you're going to have the best mother-in-law!"
"i know...but"
she took Layla's hand in hers as she said: "Layla..you're more than a sister to me, you know that. i just want you to be happy."

layla smiled. as cliché as that might have sounded, she knew Fatma was being sincere. they've known each other for as long as she can remember.

she tightened her grip on Fatma's hand. "thank you."

Later that afternoon

the phone rang. Layla had what would Fatma call 'the panic look' on her face. for a second, she wished if Fatma was home to pick up the phone instead. but she went out to finish gift-shopping. after all, their plane takes off tomorrow night.

her heart was racing, and her hands were shaking as she picked up the phone.
the deep voice that has always got the butterflies fluttering in her stomach came from the other side: "Hello?"
she stood there for a few seconds..trembling.
"Hello? Layla?"
"...yes, Hello"
the were both silent for what seemed like eternity. holding her tears in..she felt as if she was suffocating. Finally he managed to speak another word.
"why?"
"...you never came.." once again they both fell into silence..

"he's my best friend.."

A True Story - Part 1

1983 - 3rd of April

It's 9 pm, she's just got back from her last day as a university student, throwing herself on the bed and exhaling in relief. It was early April, the weather is perfect in Jordan around this time of the year. just a couple of more days and she'd be back home. the thought of becoming a married woman in just a few months was overwhelming. she stood up with a smile on her face, and walked to the wardrobe, looking for something more comfortable to change into. as she was extending her arm to grab a blue cotton dress, her eyes fell on a little note on the desk. must be from her flatmate Fatma.
the note read: Layla, Ahmed called.
her heart skipped a beat as she read his name..it's been over 5 months since she last heard from him.

"why now?" she thought.. so absorbed in her thoughts, she didn't realize Fatma had made her way through the room and was now standing beside her: Layla? ... Layla?

"Yes?!"
"i was knocking the door, are you ok?"
"oh yes, i'm fine.." she replied smiling. "i'm just anxious about the wedding."
"is that so? Fatma's tone was filled with doubt. "i was almost sure you looked like you were panicking.." the word Panic was one of Fatma's favorite words Layla thought. she's been saying it ever since they first learned it in school.
Fatma went on. "anyway, got the note?"
oh yes..the note, when did he call?
"sometime in the afternoon. he asked if he could speak to you, i told him you're in class."
pausing for a few seconds.. "you don't have to call him back you know.."
"yes..I..I know."
"you're an engaged woman, what is he thinking? when it's.."
"it's alright Fatma.. really. I'll go take a shower now."

1978 - Flashback

"Layla! Layla!" her mother was yelling at the front door.

"yes mama?" shouted Layla as she was running towards the car.
don't forget! you're having lunch at grandma's after school. she came back yesterday."
"inshallah!" she was already waiting impatiently for Wednesday.. Her Paternal Grandparents were her favorite people in the world. she missed them last week, but they had to visit a cousin in the interior.

she got into the car as she was enthusiastically greeting the driver back.
"if you keep coming late everyday, you're going to be late for school, and Ahmed will be late too, madam"
"i know. sorry Azeez.."

Ahmed moved to their neighborhood last weekend, and been riding their car to school with her for the past week. he's a relative she's known all her life, played with him in her old neighborhood back when they were kids.

they're both in their last year of school, even though he's two years older than she is, but she's been a bookworm all her life, she's started school at the age of 9 when they finally opened the first school for girls in Muscat.
she then started taking summer courses to skip a few years and graduate sooner..

Layla has never felt anything for a guy before, they just never seemed interesting enough to distract her from her studies..However, Ahmed was different.
she closed her eyes smiling, as she recalled the first time she saw him last weekend. when he came by asking for her father. she almost felt her feet melt into her shoes, she never knew he was that handsome.

the car stopped in front of his house. he opened the door to the front seat, greeted them, slammed the door shut, and said: "how are you this morning, Layla?"

her heart was beating so loud, she wasn't sure she heard him right, did he just ask how am i doing? "...Alhamdillah. how are you?"
"i'm doing fantastic, thank you."

looking down at her sweating palms.. she thought " i knew today was going to be a special day..the air smelled different the moment i woke up!"
as she rose her head up, she saw Azeez looking at her in the rear-view mirror with a smirk on his face.
he knew..

O' Perfect Template, Where Art Thou?

i need to be at uni in about...now. haha
i have no idea what am i doing here checking/updating my blog..

remember when i said i'm a very clingy person who's got trouble letting things go? ( our house has been renovated and refurnished twice now, and i still want it the way it was when i was 5 xD)
well..i was looking at my blogroll and let me tell you, 3/4 of them folks have either died, quit blogging or deleted their blog all together! but somehow i can't bring myself to delete the links..it's like i'm hoping someday i'll click on one of them, and there will it be, to my delight, a fresh entry on their supposedly dead blogs! you people suck!

can't blame them though, personally, the more interesting and blog worthy my life gets, the more boring blogging becomes lol, i barely blog once a month. (this month is an exception, i have finals coming up and i have nothing better to waste my time in but update.)

oh yes, almost forgot the reason why i'm actually updating lol..
*clears throat*

"my dearest regular Nella's blog readers,

my apologies if any of you are getting annoyed with the recently frequent template changes. i'm just not settled yet, i don't know what i want..so until i find a template i really like, i'm going to annoy you with this for a little longer i'm afraid..so bear with me..or something lol"

gotta run now, laters!

p.s: things are going according to plan, now all i need is a little bit of luck. even though i've been strangely lucky this week..too lucky in fact. hmm..

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to-do list:

- Study dammit!

- Pray on time.

- Clean the room and start packing. i hate packing, i hate it!!!! ****ing agonizing!

- Do last week's laundry!

yes..the past week has been a lucky one, but that doesn't mean i don't get to procrastinate! that's my all time best thing to do :D i'd procrastinate anytime of the day! oh wait..i already do that.. hehe

Undone

"I keep comin' back everytime I leave"

1- i hate this state i'm in right now..the 'reality hasn't hit yet' state. i wish if i could realize what just happened in order for me to react the way i will wish i did in about a week or whenever reality is gonna hit me..HIT ME DAMN IT! HIT MEEE!

2- i've been a complete scatterbrain today, and i'm afraid this is gonna last for quite sometime until i breakdown and then start to recollect myself..
BAD TIMING NELLA!! you've got a presentation next week and finals coming up in a couple of weeks.

3- i think i'm gonna fail in one of the subjects i'm taking, it's just too hard! xD and that damn prof has this weird way of coming up with exams. dentistry students are always shaking before entering the exam hall , and crying after leaving it. i on the other hand am pretty much desensitized when it comes to studies, the worse thing that'll happen is that i won't smile in relief once the exam is over. i really hope my kids don't turn out this way. 'Oh god, please let my future husband be a hot nerd.' =P

4- when i kill insects i imagine this little blue light leaving their bodies and heading up to heaven..weird i know, but thats what i imagine every time i kill something. oh, and i never kill ants. 'cause for some reason i start feeling guilty the minute i do. those hard working little things aren't up for breaks.
i've always admired ants, ever since i was a kid.

5- i miss swimming, yup..it's that time of the year again lol, i remember back when we were in grade school, and how we'd walk around el 7osh (backyard) barefoot and get as hot as possible and then run and jump into the pool. it feels GOOD! you should try it sometime.

6- i've been craving qabooli (an omani rice dish, prepared with either meat: laham or chicken: djaaj) laham for the past week. and to top it, i've talked to my grandma today (happens to be the chef who makes the best qabooli i've ever had in my entire life)
haha, everytime we're at my aunt's place (where she lives) for lunch it's either qabooli laham or dajaaj.

my cousins always laugh about it: grandma! they'll get sick of this qabooli if they're gonna have it everytime they're here! two more times and it'll become a tradition.
- Grandma: they like it! you don't have to eat!

ugh, i miss her so much! i miss everyone and everything as a matter of fact, even the ones i don't usually miss, i miss them this time. guess it's coz i'm all alone up here for the first time.
ugh man, i'm crying..


goodnight

Draft Vol.4 (10/8/2007)

now this draft is missing a LOT of stuff! since back then, i had so much going on, the thought of blogging about it was just tiring lol, but since it's a draft it'll remain unedited. i'll leave it the way it was saved. =)

note: last draft..yay! :p

"things are slowing down.."

it's been awhile since i've posted a serious update, i was thinking of posting something that needed lots of editing, then i changed my mind. it's better to post something fresh and recent.

nothing much has happened recently, my cousins left for their summer vacation, my other cousins returned from their vacation, and we didn't leave to return. sitting here in Oman and enjoying the not so hot weather, i think this summer is cooler that the other past summers, don't you think?

i noticed that i talk about my dreams quite often, and that's because they're more interesting than the real thing xD

apart from the deaths in the family everything is quite normal..swimming, staying up late..the usual summer vacation.

current wishlist

ladies and gentlemen i present to you my very first materialistic post :P

this the Puma Blackberry wine handbag that i've been dreaming of but couldn't buy 'cause i was broke at the time, remember? lol
but as usual, once i had the money, it was already sold out, and they didn't have any left at the store. i'm jinxed i tell ya..jinxed! =(



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i love Skullcandy.. beautiful. they were outta stock at virgin megastores. they only had a black/gold one which was very unappealing to me lol




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i'm not a heels person, since i'm a 5'6 ..but this, i really want.





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this little baby Coral snake is beyond adorable! i know it's venom is almost fatal, and it's as poisonous as of an adult coral snake. but i was dying for an adult coral snake, now that i've seen this..i want it even more! =(





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and lastly, i have 5 almost empty bottles of perfume, i'm thinking of repurchasing a couple of them and adding this to the collection


that's pretty much it for the time being. nothing interesting i know, but since i have no idea what is it i want right now, i thought i'd post the things i know i want.