I woke up feeling a bit uneasy. I wasn't able to get enough sleep last night because of how restless I was.
Today was the day I was officially moving into Mr Kareem's house and as much as I tried to remain calm about the situation, my mind and my heart couldn't stop racing with possibilities.
I turned to my left to see my sister's peaceful sleeping face. She stayed for the week to help me pack, and, in her words, 'spend this opportunity she has to live with me before I go'.
I reluctantly got up from my bed and made my way to the bathroom. After brushing my teeth, I made my way to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. It was still early so I still had time to get ready before Mr Kareem came to pick me up.
The thought of actually leaving this place never bothered me untill today, because there was no chance of me ever coming back.
I I took a good mental note on how everything in the kitchen was arranged, I will surely miss this place.
I got all the ingredients needed to make my toast and omelette with tea before preparing it. I was really hungry, and probably won't be able to taste my cooking for a while.
Once I was done with breakfast, I spent some time on my phone before making my way to the bathroom to get ready .
There was still some time before Mr Kareem arrives, but I didn't want to rely on that thought so I got up and headed straight to the bathroom.
The cold water running down my skin eases the stress of moving to a whole new environment. I'd be living with a complete stranger for a whole year. This thought feels so unreal yet true.
After a few more minutes, I stepped out of the shower and tie a towel around my waist before heading to my closet. Layan and I packed my bags yesterday and left out only the clothes I would wear today so it wasn't much stress finding what to wear.
I pulled out the clothes I would wear out from my closet before slipping it on. I stepped infront of the mirror to see how I looked. I wore an oversize grey shirt with baggy navy blue jeans and tied a black scarf around my head.
I didn't really mind what I wore, in fact, I didn't even care whether I looked presentable or not. My mind was just focused on the very topic at hand, my grandma's health. That's the only reason I was doing all this. And now I can't believe that I'd have to lie to her about my relationship with Mr Kareem.
I glanced at my sister, she was slowly waking up and blinked a few times upon noticing that I was awake. She slowly sat up and scratched her eyes before looking at me again.
"You've woken up". I said as I sat on the bed next to her.
"What time is it?" She asked, still sounding a little sleepy .
"Oh Layan, it's 12 noon. Mr Kareem is going to be here soon. Now if you want to see me off, get up and go get ready". I said and watched her as she sprinted off the bed and rushed to the bathroom, giggling at the corner at her clumsiness.
' I'll miss this'. I thought to myself before also getting off the bed and making my way to my box. I looked over at my dresser to see if I forgot anything. I glanced at my bedside table through the empty dressing mirror to see a photo frame on my bedside table.
'what? How did I forget that?' I thought to myself before approaching the table. I picked up the photo frame and observed it. My mom and dad were seated comfortably on a swing with my dad's hand over her shoulder. Though the picture was old, I still kept it close to me. A small smile formed on my face as I held the frame closer to my heart.
The sound of water rushing from the shower brought me out of my daze as I snapped back to reality . I walked back to my small box before opening it and carefully placing it in the box. Just to make sure I didn't forget anything, I checked all the drawers and cabinets and nothing other than some Layan's things remained .
I zipped up my box before rolling all four of them to the living room. Yeah I know, I have a lot of clothes but still though, most of them were filled with my toiletries and things I didn't want to part with yet.
I sat on the couch staring at the blank TV. ' I can't believe I'm actually leaving this place today's. I thought to myself as I continued to stare at the blank TV.
"Okay, I'm ready". Layan said rushing into the living room. She wore a blue, floral, gown and tied her hair into a small low bun before wearing a white scarf around her head. "How do I look?" She said before spinning around.
I checked the time on my watch. She spent less than an hour getting ready, which was good because then I'll be able to say my final goodbye before leaving. I turned my attention back to her. She did look good in the gown, she looks good in general.
I stood up from my seat and approached her before giving her a tight hug. I felt her hug me back and a small smile formed on my face before I pulled away.
"Oh Layan, tell me why you're dressing up to meet my husband, do you have any ulterior motives". I said jockingly, she rolled her eyes at me before laughing as well.
The honking of a car from outside made us turn our attention to outside.
"Do you think that's him?" Layan asked after some time.
"I don't know". I said before making my way outside and sure enough, it was him. I could tell it was. A white lexus lc was parked right Infront of my apartment . Three men wearing all black suits were seated in the car.
"Yeah... I think it's him". Layan whispered slowly behind me as the two of us stood there idly and watched as one of the men got out of the car and approached us.
He stopped just a step below me before saying,"are you going to stand there staring at me all day or are you going to enter the car. The driver is going to take your luggage from inside". He said blankly before walking back to the car. I stood there and watched as he entered the car and the driver stepped out.
"Who's the third guy in the car?" Layan asked once the driver was inside.
I turned back to look at her .I almost forgot she was standing behind me. "I don't know, probably his lawyer or something". She just shrugged before she continued staring at something behind me. I turned around again to the third guy in the car staring at Layan. I notice the two of them staring at each other but refuse to say anything.
"Well, whoever he is, he is good looking". Layan whispered to me once more before inviting me for a hug. I hugged her back and felt her pat my back softly." I'll miss you. But don't forget to call me everyday and tell me if that grumpy guy you call your fiancée does anything ". She whispered to me and I just roll my eyes.
"I will miss you, and I will call you everyday, but I don't promise to report my husband to you". I say in a childish voice before pulling away. " Bye!" I wave to her before walking to the car, just before the driver makes his way out of the apartment with two out of three of my boxes. I open the car door and sit down next to Mr Kareem. He stares at me for a while before turning his attention to the driver who just got into the car.
I watched him for a while before turning my attention to a waving Layan standing by the entrance of my apartment. I slowly waved back at her just before the car started moving. I watched as her figure slowly become smaller and soon disappeared into the background. I watched as the trees and buildings soon became blues that kept shifting into the background. I turned back to look at the statue who sat idly scrolling through his phone . I too took out my phone before I started scrolling through my socials, nothing really interesting to see just didn't want to make the ride more awkward than it already was.
...
A whole hour passed by before we finally reached his house and I can tell you with honesty that it was nothing like I'd expected.
As soon as the car stopped in his driveway, I pushed the car door open and stepped out. I stood there in awe as I stared at the beautiful structure that stood before me. It wasn't a mansion or anything too luxurious. It was a beautifully designed modern duplex. It was big and looked spacious, it just looked, amazing.
I felt a shoulder brush over mine and turned to see Mr Kareem just a few feet Infront of me.
He turned back before saying," aren't you coming inside?" I immediately snapped back to reality before rushing behind him.
The outside of the house was brown and black with a few big glass windows revealing the inside. There were three big windows, one from what looked like a master bedroom which had a balcony , one for what looked like the dining room downstairs and another from the living room.
I walked next to him and watched as he turned the key and pushed open the door, revealing his living room which was by our right hand side, the dining which was by our left hand side and the kitchen which was at the far end.
I took a few steps into the living room when I noticed that my boxes weren't in the living room and I turned back to look at him with confusion written all over my face.
"The driver took it to the guest room upstairs. You can take a tour round while I speak with Imran in my office". He stated blankly before heading to the stairs with Imran which apparently led to his office.
I stood there for a few minutes taking in the new environment.
'well, I guess I should get started with my tour'. I thought to myself before I began walking towards the living room. It was big and spacious. The walls were painted white which gave off a modern vibe to the whole room . The grey tiles added more colour to the black, brown (coming from the glass table) and black room. There were three couches each placed to surround the glass table at the middle. The TV table just a few feet away from the table was colored black with some books and a small potted plant on it. There were also two fake potted plants at each corner of the room.
At my far left, the dining room consisted of a not-so-long glass table and four chairs which were brown and black. The tiles were the same colour as the living room. There wasn't much to the dining room, just a small bowl of fruits at the middle and a small shelf that had a few potted plants and books arranged randomly.
I turned my attention to the open kitchen at the far end. I walked towards it and noticed that it was a bit small. It was separated from the staircase by a long mirror at the middle. I walked into the kitchen. It had a galley layout . And unlike the living room and dining room, the tiles in the kitchen were white .Even the kitchen had the same brown, black and white interior. Doesn't this guy have anything with colour? I noticed that everything in the kitchen seemed untouched, but then I saw a small door at the end of the kitchen, I opened the knob just to see a room filled with foodstuf, well it wasn't filled, just a few shelves full.
I also noticed that there was another door at my right. I opened it and stood there in shock at what it revealed.
A library, yes a big beautifully displayed library. I rushed into the room only to see that it was two stories tall and had shelves on every wall. The room was big and spacious and had a little fire place at the middle with two arm chairs, facing each other, next to it.
The room had this ancient feel to it. Especially the fact that there was this tall window at my left. It made the sunlight reflect on the shelves and the books.
I walked further inside to see a staircase that lead upstairs, it formed around the second floor of the room. The staircase also came down by thebig window . I stood there at the middle of the room and looked around. The place was just... beautiful. Who knew this guy loved books so much?
I took the stairs and opened the door that led outside the library. I turned the knob and was met with another door right Infront of it. I opened the door Infront of me and saw a room. It had my boxes at the center so I guessed it was my room.
The room wasn't that big but it was bigger than my room back at the apartment. The walls were painted grey and the bed had grey covers and everything. Practically everything in the room was grey.
It didn't have much colour to it but it did seem comfortable and all. There was this big window not too far from the bed that illuminated the sunlight.
I walked further into the room, the closet was facing the bed directly and the dressing mirror was right beside the closet. The bathroom was not too far from the bed as well.
I glanced at my watch. Apparently, I'd been on this tour for so long that a whole hour had passed. I turned my attention to my boxes.
' It's really time I start unpacking '. I thought to myself before I started opening the smallest box...
I started by arranging my clothes in the closet ( which took less than half of the actual space), then I arranged my toiletries in the bathroom, then I arranged skin care products on the dressing mirror and then finally pit up a few of my photo frames on the wall.
I felt exhausted afterwards and went to go take a shower and changed into my pajamas for the night . It was already past six and I was exhausted. I hadn't even seen Mr Kareem since he left to go speak with Imran, and that reminds me...
I picked up my phone and dialed my sister's number, she needed to know everything that happened today.
"Hello?"
"Hey! Okay now tell me EVERYTHING! How does his house look? Is it big? Are you two sharing a room?" Layan asked curiosly after I spoke. I knew this was how I'd conversation would start, and I wanted it to continue that way.
"Okay why don't we switch to video call and I show you how my room looks and I could even give you a tour on the house if you want?" I asked, knowing she'd say yes, and she did.
I switched to video call and saw her sitting comfortably on my couch, hugging my pillow.
"So now that I'm not around, you get to hog all the couch space?" I asked as I stood up from my bed and began walking around.
"Wow! Your room looks quite big but dull. Doesn't this guy have any colour on him?" I heard Layan ask in-between munching. And now she gets to mess up my couch with potatoe chips too.
"Yeah, I wondered the same. The library is the only antique place in the house". I said before making my way to my bed. My stomach started hurting a bit but it was probably because I hadn't eaten anything since morning.
"I thought you said you were showing me around the house? I really want to see how it looks. I have an image in my mind and I hope it looks the same". She said calmly before standing up from the couch.
"Okay fine, but like, maybe not today. My stomach doesn't feel right so I'd just go make something to eat". I said trying to ignore the aching feeling in my abdomen.
"Okay fine, but you've got to show me that library. I really want to know what you mean when you say 'antique'. "She said before sitting back on the couch.
I knew I was going to have to walk past that library when I go to the kitchen.
"Yeah sure, and I heard that the guy you were staring at this morning, his name's Imran and I guess he's Mr Kareem's lawyer." I said as I started making my way down to the library.
"Are you serious? Anyways, I'm gonna end the call now since I need to finish this movie, but I'll call you back, maybe tomorrow". She said as I rolled my eyes, before ending the call.