dangers and illegal activities of certain areas, particularly after sunset.
At first Ramia ignored him, projecting irritation and bravery. But since the man seemed sincere, she was respectful enough to answer him.
“I’m waiting for my cousin.”
“You should wait for your cousin
inside,”
he snapped at her.
The two men at his side began to chuckle before Saleem silenced them.
“Enough!” he snarled in their direction.
The men swallowed their pride and stopped their chatter immediately.
‘You find your way back inside to wait for your cousin safely,” Saleem advised the girl. He added, “This is not the place for tourism.”
Recognizing the man’s honorable position and power, Ramia backed down from her tough stance and decided to heed his warning. She nodded and was embarrassed, heading silently and quickly back toward Basim’s apartment building. She knew that a tough-minded and principled man was watching her back. Even the two mocking Indians fell silent as she returned past them.
Who in the world was that?
she asked herself as she walked. She then noticed the pickup of aimless energy out in the streets as the sun set. There was random car traffic, human transactions and the noise of menace that came with any overpopulated area.
Oh, my God!
she thought in a panic. Suddenly, she couldn’t wait to get back to the building.
Up on a fifth-floor patio in a building directly across the street, a stern-faced Egyptian man watched Ramia’s entire short-lived walk to the corner. When she made it back to safety inside of her building, he smiled and grunted before walking inside himself.
Ramia rushed back inside to wait for the elevators in her building, only to find Basim waiting.
“Basim, when did you get home?” she asked her cousin excitedly.
Basim looked back in alarm and frowned at her. “Where did you go? And why are you out of the room?” he barked. With thin-rimmed brown reading glasses, Basim looked more like a student, and he was still dressed in the yellow-shirted uniform from his job at the gas station and convenience store. The twenty-eight-year-old was usually calm and caring. But at the moment he was irritated by Ramia’s defiance.
“Basim, I can’t just sit in there all day and night. I need something to do.”
“You will have something to do as soon as a job calls,” he told her. “Then you can start school at the university.”
The plan was for Ramia to attend the Women’s University of Dubai or even American University of Sharjah. But without the money to afford it, they realized that their plans would have to wait.
In frustration, Ramia pouted. “I know, I know. But I just get so tired of sitting around and reading in the heat. Your room does not even have a patio.”
“Because I don’t want to waste the money,” he snapped. “I have no intentions of staying here, so why would I pay extra for a room with a patio? I told you I wanted to move to a new place before you even came.”
“You were just taking far too long,” Ramia snapped back. “So I just wanted to take a walk.”
She stepped past him and climbed onto the opening elevator as the other tenants overheard their argument. In her extra week of idleness, she was really beginning to irk her cousin. They did not even speak as they rode the elevator up to the third floor.
“What are you going to do—drag me back inside the hot room?” Ramia added sarcastically as they climbed off the elevator. “I didn’t even stay out there long.”
Basim shook his head, exhausted from his day. “Don’t you see what kind of people are out there?” he asked her. Surely she wasn’t blind. Basim did not like the area at all.
Ramia ignored him and used her key to reopen the door to the room.
“I just wanted to get out,” she repeated.
“And when I get home, you can,” he insisted.
Ramia turned to face him at the doorway. She was so bothered by her cousin’s chauvinistic tone that she wanted to hit him.
At first Ramia ignored him, projecting irritation and bravery. But since the man seemed sincere, she was respectful enough to answer him.
“I’m waiting for my cousin.”
“You should wait for your cousin
inside,”
he snapped at her.
The two men at his side began to chuckle before Saleem silenced them.
“Enough!” he snarled in their direction.
The men swallowed their pride and stopped their chatter immediately.
‘You find your way back inside to wait for your cousin safely,” Saleem advised the girl. He added, “This is not the place for tourism.”
Recognizing the man’s honorable position and power, Ramia backed down from her tough stance and decided to heed his warning. She nodded and was embarrassed, heading silently and quickly back toward Basim’s apartment building. She knew that a tough-minded and principled man was watching her back. Even the two mocking Indians fell silent as she returned past them.
Who in the world was that?
she asked herself as she walked. She then noticed the pickup of aimless energy out in the streets as the sun set. There was random car traffic, human transactions and the noise of menace that came with any overpopulated area.
Oh, my God!
she thought in a panic. Suddenly, she couldn’t wait to get back to the building.
Up on a fifth-floor patio in a building directly across the street, a stern-faced Egyptian man watched Ramia’s entire short-lived walk to the corner. When she made it back to safety inside of her building, he smiled and grunted before walking inside himself.
Ramia rushed back inside to wait for the elevators in her building, only to find Basim waiting.
“Basim, when did you get home?” she asked her cousin excitedly.
Basim looked back in alarm and frowned at her. “Where did you go? And why are you out of the room?” he barked. With thin-rimmed brown reading glasses, Basim looked more like a student, and he was still dressed in the yellow-shirted uniform from his job at the gas station and convenience store. The twenty-eight-year-old was usually calm and caring. But at the moment he was irritated by Ramia’s defiance.
“Basim, I can’t just sit in there all day and night. I need something to do.”
“You will have something to do as soon as a job calls,” he told her. “Then you can start school at the university.”
The plan was for Ramia to attend the Women’s University of Dubai or even American University of Sharjah. But without the money to afford it, they realized that their plans would have to wait.
In frustration, Ramia pouted. “I know, I know. But I just get so tired of sitting around and reading in the heat. Your room does not even have a patio.”
“Because I don’t want to waste the money,” he snapped. “I have no intentions of staying here, so why would I pay extra for a room with a patio? I told you I wanted to move to a new place before you even came.”
“You were just taking far too long,” Ramia snapped back. “So I just wanted to take a walk.”
She stepped past him and climbed onto the opening elevator as the other tenants overheard their argument. In her extra week of idleness, she was really beginning to irk her cousin. They did not even speak as they rode the elevator up to the third floor.
“What are you going to do—drag me back inside the hot room?” Ramia added sarcastically as they climbed off the elevator. “I didn’t even stay out there long.”
Basim shook his head, exhausted from his day. “Don’t you see what kind of people are out there?” he asked her. Surely she wasn’t blind. Basim did not like the area at all.
Ramia ignored him and used her key to reopen the door to the room.
“I just wanted to get out,” she repeated.
“And when I get home, you can,” he insisted.
Ramia turned to face him at the doorway. She was so bothered by her cousin’s chauvinistic tone that she wanted to hit him.
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