"Who was that person with you?"
Menna: "He's my cousin. He checks on us every month because his father tells him to."
I calmed down a lot and felt relaxed.
I was sure he wasn't a threat.
Menna smiled and got closer to me. His eyes widened and their breaths mixed together. Then, Menna hugged him.
Ramy felt like he was in heaven. It was a wonderful feeling.
Ramy, in his mind: Is this real love? I don't care about anything except her. I wish I could stay in her arms for a long time.
She pulled away a little, then touched his cheek and smiled.
"Don't worry. There's nothing between me and him. Please, don't be like Joe Goldberg."
Ramy, barely able to breathe, his heart beating like crazy as if it would jump out of his body:
"Okay… I was just worried."
Menna: "By the way, I read a big part of your story."
Ramy: "What do you think?"
Menna: "It's good, but kind of boring. And very dark. But I felt sorry for the main character."
They sat on a bench in the street.
Menna: "The main character tried to protect his mom but accidentally hurt her. That's interesting… But how can a mother do that and not believe her son? And how could they throw him in an orphanage? Honestly, I feel bad for Reda. But please, try to finish what happened after he talked to the nurse."
Ramy: "Why don't you just wait and read the rest?"
Menna, begging: "Please, I really want to know what happened to him."
Ramy: "Alright, but I won't tell you everything so you'll still read it."
Menna, smiling: "Of course, Dr. Ahmed Khaled Tawfik."
Ramy lightly tapped her on the head: "Shut up."
---
Flashback
Reda kept visiting the nurse all the time, like he found a new mother.
He loved talking to her. She was the one who helped him keep going and try to live with what happened.
"Reda, my little one, I want to tell you something."
Reda smiled: "What is it?"
The nurse, with pain in her voice: "This is my last month at the orphanage."
Reda was shocked: "But why? What will I do without you?"
The nurse hugged him: "You're a smart boy. You'll know what to do. And don't forget, I'm like a book. You learn from me, then leave me."
Reda tried to hold back his tears: "But I didn't get enough of you."
The nurse: "I'm getting married. My husband has a good income, so I don't need to work. Also, the house is far from here."
Reda smiled sadly: "Congratulations… But I have an idea. Why don't you adopt me like I'm your son? I'd be okay with that."
The nurse, feeling pity and sadness: "I'm sorry, dear. But my husband works in the police. He might find out that you shot your mother and say no. Also, I want to have my own children and focus on them."
Reda couldn't hold it anymore and cried.
"I'm really sorry." She hugged him.
Reda: "Even you… You think I did it on purpose. When… when will people believe I'm innocent?"
---
Present Time
Menna: "What a depressing story… Is it really possible for all this to happen to a child under 12?"
She looked at her phone for a moment, then looked back at Ramy and saw him crying hard.
Menna went silent, trying to understand what just happened.
She started to wonder… Is Reda actually representing Ramy in the story?
Right away, she hugged Ramy.
She gently ran her fingers through his hair.
"Don't be sad. I'm here with you. Calm down."
Ramy, in his mind: Thank you, Menna… but this is acting. I just wanted a hug from you. I really love it. I don't think I can live without it. I think your book is the only one I can't throw away like the others.
Ramy: "Let me explain… I'm not the one in the story. It's true I was in an orphanage, but it's not me."
Menna, with a warm and kind smile: "Don't worry. I don't care about anything except you. Just relax."
---
"Where are we going at this late hour?"
Ramy was standing under Menna's house.
"Come on, hurry!"
Menna came down after her mother agreed.
She got in the car.
"Where to?"
Ramy: "The beach. There's a beautiful view there."
They reached the beach.
There was a small boat, as if it was waiting for them.
Ramy rowed the boat until they were far from the shore.
Ramy, smiling: "Look up, Menna."
Menna looked up and saw the sky filled with stars.
It was breathtaking.
So beautiful it made the heart happy just by looking at it.
The blue sky was full of stars, lighting up the whole world.
Glory to the One who created such beauty.
Menna, amazed: "This is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life."
Ramy: "Let me tell you something."
Menna, in a happy mood: "What?"
Ramy, smiling: "I love you, Menna. I want to be with you forever."
"Let me answer you after this."
Then Ramy lit fireworks in the sky.
It was a magical sight, impossible to look away from.
Menna, in the middle of this beauty, smiling: "I love you too, Ramy."
They hugged in a cinematic moment in the middle of the sea.
---
Ramy dropped Menna off.
They were laughing and in the best mood, deeply in love.
But behind a streetlight, someone was watching them.
Is he good or evil?
Is this the calm before the storm?