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Chapter 2

  • “Will they let us wear swimsuits there?” Lia asked as she packed her suitcase and looked at her friend Mila.
  • “You can but only in hotels or resorts. Most of the time the citizens of that country would not be in these places. But on public beaches, it would be a big, No.”
  • Lia twisted her lips staring at the two-piece bikini that she found on promotion for being an old collection, and though she could wear those two beach bikinis that she never considered necessary to wear and had never worn in her life.
  • “It’s good to respect their culture,” she said, opening her drawer and taking the dresses that still had a tag on them.
  • Mila had stayed at her house last night.
  • It had been a week since she had given her the big news, and even though they were only a few hours away from leaving for Saudi Arabia, it seemed like a lie that she, a woman whom life had not taken much pity on, was going to visit a country that had always attracted her attention and that she had always dreamed of visiting.
  • Lia had graduated in business administration and worked in a small store with a slightly sore man. She kept his accounts and tried to get his small business to innovate, but it seemed quite a difficult task when Mr. Linkins preferred to exist in the stone age and still used his worn-out methods up to this age. He was a hopeless case.
  • Lia wasn't blessed with the best opportunities, but she graduated, thanks to her sister Anne, who helped her and covered her expenses most of the time. Anne James was more or less in the style of her friend Mila, she traveled for work, because she was a flight attendant, or mostly known as a stewardess.
  • There were times when she shared a lot with her sister, but times came when she wasn't around for a long time and, she didn't see her face even once.
  • Mila and Lia had been friends as they lived in the same neighborhood since they were children because when their parents were still alive they provided them with comforts that now only remained in their best memory.
  • And of course, after the accident in which they lost their lives on a trip from London to Liverpool while visiting an aunt and uncle who fell ill, both Lia and Anne were left to rely on the couple's savings to carry on with their lives. They changed homes, lifestyles, and even dreams.
  • Anne gave up her studies, took a professional flight attendant course, and studied several languages online, from which Lia benefited. Unlike Anne, she was able to finish her degree in administration, but in terms of jobs, she did not have the best results.
  • Her job was very normal and boring, even though Anne always told her that she deserved better, she had no nerve to leave all the burden of her duties to her sister. She was her older sister, and she saw her as an authority, even though they were four years apart.
  • “I can't imagine the look on your old boss's face when you asked him for a weekend off,” Mila laughed, zipping her suitcase.
  • Lia turned to face her, she admired her best friend considerably and loved her as much as her sister Anne. Even though they had moved to a less expensive residence, she still came around and was her best friend in the world she could ever have.
  • Since Mila's brother had been in the united states for years, she was the only child of Joneses living in London. Therefore, Lia and Anne were like the adopted daughters of a nuclear family.
  • Lia smiled back at Mila and lifted her shoulders.
  • ‘Well, I haven't had a single day off, despite his tantrums I had no choice...I kind of understand him, after his wife's death, he has been acting a little fanatic.”
  • Mila chuckled, because she had never liked her friend's boss, he was a stubborn piece of shit, and she agreed with Anne that she should find another job.
  • “Well, he must find himself another woman, it's been? how long since she died, about fifteen years?”
  • Lia felt a squeeze in her chest, sometimes Mila could be too harsh. “It's not easy to get over the death of someone you love, Mila,” she said in a low tone, as Mila sat next to her.
  • “It's not the same Li, I'm sorry if I was too blunt... but let's not talk about the old man, okay?” raising her hands in the air as if she was looking at the bright blue sky above her head, “Just think of the Arabian islands... the sun, the succulent and exotic foods, and that you won't move your ass once, because you'll have everything in your precious hands when you ask for that mouth.”
  • Lia couldn't help but laugh. It still seemed unbelievable that she was going away with her friend that weekend. And adding more, with everything paid for.
  • Thinking about this she stopped smiling, “Are you sure you won't have to pay any of my expenses?”
  • Mila denied, “Not a single euro.”
  • Her shoulders relaxed on the spot and she nodded. “I really thank you for this opportunity, not even in ten lifetimes could I have done it.”
  • “Now, now, we are not going to cry today, are we? we must finish this suitcase, and say goodbye to my parents to go to the airport in the evening.”
  • The trip to Riyadh would be about seven hours, with the induction in their hotel, and if they took off at eleven o'clock at night, as was stipulated in the flight, they would arrive at about six in the morning, on Friday.
  • Lia prepared a quick lunch for the two of them, and after an hour she saw how Mila had her mouth wide open and was dead asleep on the sofa. She took the opportunity to send some reports to her boss's email in case he needed anything, finished closing her suitcase, and put everything she would need.
  • Her heart was racing and she could feel it pounding in her chest every second. She was a little scared about such a long trip she had never made in her life, but she was a lover of those Arab countries and had always been in love with their traditions.
  • Since she was a little girl she had researched on the internet about their culture, well, only the highlights, and to be on the safe side she placed some money and hid it in her suitcase, she knew she would find the best hijab to buy, as a souvenir of this trip, as this could be her only chance in life to be there.
  • In the afternoon both girls went to Mila's parents' residence, where they had grown up, Lia loved Frank and Elizabeth, as she was also fond of Ian, her friend's older brother, although they rarely saw him in England anymore.
  • “I hope you have a good time, don't forget to send pictures...”Frank added raising a cup of tea in his hands.
  • “Well, Lia will be able to send them, remember that I will be working most of the day,” said Mila, receiving a brownie that Elizabeth was handing out.
  • “I'll take pictures of her meeting with the Arabs, can you imagine Mila meeting a hot Arab?” Lia teased a little.
  • Frank almost choked on his tea at Lia's comment, while Elizabeth had nothing to do but laugh.
  • “Maybe we'll find your sister Anne a husband to stop her tantrums,” Mila defended herself by sticking her finger out at her.
  • “I want Anne for my son, so don't put her in debt,” after Elizabeth's comment, an awkward silence proceeded.
  • Everyone knew that Ian and Anne hated each other like boiling oil and ice water.
  • “Well...” Frank started with the same story. “All I know is that this young lady will fulfill her dreams with that fetish to know the Arab world, although I tell you, not all that glitters is gold, I saved Elizabeth from a wedding with one of them and....”
  • He was cut short because Mila's mother rolled her eyes and we both snorted again listing to the same tale she always used to tell about the evil Arab who was going to marry his wife.
  • Everyone knew the story, but Elizabeth had explained that it was all a product of her ego. She had never even gone on a date with one, and the tale was only because back in her college days one of them studied in her class and had fallen in love with the woman. But from there, to save her from a depraved Arab, the story changed a lot.
  • Mila tried to wriggle out after more than thirty minutes of storytelling and with Elizabeth's help, they headed home to get the suitcases and leave all the keys locked up for the weekend ahead. And the moment it got dark, they decided to have a light dinner at the airport, hoping that there would be no delay in their flight and that things would go as they had expected.
  • Of course, they had to be about three hours ahead of time, and in that time Mila opened her laptop to work, while Lia started dialing her sister to see if she could talk to her for a few minutes. Right now she didn't know what country she was in, nor did she know what time difference they might have.
  • Even after five rings, she was about to give up when she heard Anne's sleepy voice.
  • “Sister...” Lia smiled saying, “Thank God you answered.....”
  • “Honey,” a long yawn came through the receiver as Lia covered her other ear to better understand her voice, “It's two in the morning here....”
  • “Oh, I'm sorry, sometimes I forget the time difference... Where are you now?”
  • “New York...” She replied.
  • “Wow, you should visit Ian, we just talked about him today!”
  • “I'm not in the mood for jokes, Lia...”
  • The girl lowered her shoulders. According to their personalities, they were two opposites, and although they were very close, her sister's character was black and he was white. They were very different, even in looks.
  • “Well, I was just calling to tell you that.” her phone was peeled away from her ear as her eyes widened, she hadn't had a chance to talk to Anne directly about this surprise trip, and right now she was nervous about her reaction.
  • So she watched as Mila began to talk to her sister...
  • “We are going to Saudi Arabia, no, she is not a child, relax.” She watched as Mila blinked her eyes upwards explaining to her sister while she nodded several times. “How many times have I disappointed you, nothing will happen, besides you never answer... yes, yes, ok, but you must not scold her.”
  • Lia pressed her lips together, she knew that Anne was angry, but sometimes she went too far treating her like a little girl.
  • Her friend passed the cell phone to her and made a few faces at her not to give her too many explanations and as soon as she placed the handset to her ear she knew that her sister was already wide awake.
  • “Lia?” She pressed the cell phone hard against her ear and stood up, taking a few steps away from Mila who was looking at her from the corner of her eye.
  • “Don't worry... Mila is going to work, everything will be fine, I'll be enjoying myself in a hotel with everything paid for, you know I'll never be able to do this otherwise.”
  • There was a silence after this explanation.
  • “I promised you we would go as soon as I save up.” Anne sounded upset with her sister's decision.
  • “Anne...” Mila called her sister's name.
  • “No problem, enjoy. But please, I don't want any trouble, don't separate from Mila... and always keep me informed. How long will you stay there?” Anne wanted to know all the details.
  • “We come back Monday morning, well... Mila says it depends on how everything goes, but I must be here in the afternoon, otherwise Mr. Linkins will kill me....” Mila added.
  • A snort was heard on the other side as Lia bit her lips.
  • “Don't worry, okay, then we'll go together, we'll save and... we'll travel together around the world.”
  • “Buy me something,” she heard her sister finally change the subject.
  • "Of course, I will."
  • After hanging up her phone, Lia sat back down and looked at the screens. Her flight was marked at the time of the ticket, but the instant she understood that she was about to leave her country for the first time, a feeling swept over her, creating some uncertainty.
  • She slowly turned to Mila, who was typing like a robot on her computer, and although she knew she was busy, she couldn't help but ask her, “Mila...”
  • “Hum”
  • “Have you ever felt that feeling as if your life is never going to be the same from one point to the other?”
  • Mila stopped typing as she looked at her twitching eyes.
  • “That never happened to me, why?”
  • Lia sighed turning her eyes back to the screen where it said, London-Riyadh
  • “Because that's how I feel now... I don't know how to explain it, but there's something inside me that tells me that my life will never be the same again.”