"Hey Nadira," now standing at his seat, which was two rows over and diagonal to hers, Jordan was turned to her flashing her that brilliant white smile.
Nadira's heart completely stopped. With no control over her own response, her eyes widened in stunned shock as she smiled back like a woman who had just been informed, she won a million dollars.
"Hi," she managed to stammer out.
"Unbelievable," a dark voice murmured.
The smile dropped from her face as she turned around in her seat. She expected to see someone standing behind her, a male presumably judging by the depth of the voice, but there was no one. Looking all around her, Nadira could only see two other guys in the back of the classroom, and both were engaged with a video on their phone, and both were way too far away. Replaying the memory of that voice in her head, she realized her heart was still pounding. It had felt as if for that briefest second, the noises around her had muted while only the rumbling depth of that deep voice existed.
Still uneasy, Nadira straightened in her seat and looked to the front as professor Sanders walked in and got started.
**
Dragging herself up the stairs, Nadira slowly walked into her bedroom. Tonight, might just be the night she actually got a full night of sleep. Taking off her jeans and shirt, Nadira closed her eyes and let herself just stand still for a moment. Muted noises of talking and television sounds drifted up from downstairs as her parents sat in the living room with both of her uncles and their wives. Tonight, was another family dinner filled with mountains of dishes, subtle digs of criticism, plastered smiles, and concocted plans from her aunts and mother on how to solve the biggest dilemma yet—who could they find to marry Nadira. As soon as she stepped through the door that evening, her time was not her own. Only when the meals were cooked, and the table was cleared was she allowed to excuse herself from their continued conversations. Opening her eyes, she caught the green cover of her textbook and let out a tired laugh. If it was a choice between working on schoolwork and much-needed sleep, then it was no contest.
Belting her robe around her waist she grabbed her shower caddy and walked out of her room into the bathroom down the hall. Only a month ago, she shared this bathroom with her sister. Setting the caddy onto the clean counter, Nadira reminded herself she no longer had to fight for space with all of Nazma's products and that if she wanted, she could very well leave her things in the bathroom and not use the caddy.
"Old habits die hard, I guess," she mumbled to herself.
Reaching down and turning on the faucet, Nadira waited for the shower water to warm. Removing her robe, she stepped into the lukewarm spray. Closing her eyes, she began to wash her hair, wishing she was using hot water instead of nearly tepid. Ever since she could remember, not one repair had been done in this house before an item was completely considered inoperable. For a year now, the water heater has been on its last dying leg, but her father refused to fix it. Saving money was that man's obsession. She often heard her parents arguing at night, their voices piercing through the thin floors into her room with her mother yelling at him about his frugality. She wanted to live like her sisters, in a nice new house in a better neighborhood. Living in a rundown dated townhouse in El Cerrito, California was not the lifestyle her mother envisioned for herself.
Stepping out of the shower, Nadira didn't bother with a towel. Standing in front of the mirror, she waited for the bathroom fan above to remove most of the steam and the mirror to clear as she rubbed a little bit of oil through her wet hair. Dabbing on a few drops of moisturizer into her hands, she finally could see her reflection in the mirror and noticed at the same time she forgot to remove the necklace before she showered. Reaching for the necklace, she lifted it to see that the stone and the brass frame keeping it in place seemed fine, even the tightly braided cord necklace seemed ok, a little damp but still strong and un-frayed. Dropping the stone to lay back on her breasts, Nadira scooped a handful of lotion into her hand.
A deep sound rumbled around her, causing her to freeze.
Her pulse spiked as she stood completely still waiting in the silence for another noise, but nothing came. Her mind replayed the sound over and over again, but it could not make sense of it. It sounded like a deep sound of appreciation, the same sound one would make when a plate of delicious food was sat in front of them. Or maybe it was just the pipes.
Exhaling the breath, she had been holding, she looked at herself in the mirror and noted her anxious expression.
Rubbing her temples, she tilted her head down in a groan. "Great, now I am hearing things," she murmured. Applying the lotion before pulling on her robe, she synched the belt tight around her waist. "I wish…"
A warmth spread throughout her body as if waiting for her next words.
"I wish I could have a normal night of sleep," she confessed slowly, each word coming out a bit slower than the last as exhaustion crept over her.
Going back to her room, Nadira didn't even bother taking off her robe and putting on her nightshirt. Laying on top of the comforter, she pressed her face into the cool pillow and fell asleep instantly.
**
Wind whipped through her hair and stung at her cheeks. Opening her eyes, Nadira stared with part fear and part amazement at the view around her. Standing in only her robe on the top of what appeared to be a mountain, Nadira let the beauty of the dark world around her sink in. Like waves frozen in time, the sand dunes of the desert undulated across the earth's floor like a beautiful carpet of maroon sand. Looking up, her heart swelled at the sight of the stars. The milky way shined against the pitch-black sky, purples with hues of soft blues against the backdrop of the glittering stars gave her a sense of wonder she hadn't felt since she was a child.
This was some sort of dream, she was cognizant enough to know that. She only hoped that she wasn't too lucid to make it somehow all end, wanting to bask in this odd serenity just a moment longer.
Shifting her toes in the cool sand at her feet, she realized the top of the mountain she was standing on was oddly flat. It was as if someone had cut off the peak of the large jagged rock formation, leaving a perfect indentation at the top where sand collected. It reminded her of a giant bird's nest made from rock and sand instead of twigs.
Turning around in the sand, she looked up to see a mist forming around her obscuring her vision from the sea of sand below until all she could see was the mist and the stars.
A deep familiar voice rumbled from the mist. "I want to thank you Nadira,"
Nadira jolted, what she thought was a wondrous dream seemed to be shifting into a nightmare as she whirled around looking for the source of the voice. "Why?" she called out, skepticism plain in her voice. "What for?"
"I have been alone for a long time," he answered. There was an air of gratefulness to his tone just as much as there was mystery.
Not understanding, she bit her lip as she frowned. Shadows moved within the white mist, and Nadira spun trying to keep up with the movement, but once she turned to where she thought she spotted the movement, there was nothing there, leaving her unsure if she saw anything at all.