"You can walk inside and leave whenever," Luke said, dropping Sony and Naila at the guest parking and left with Aunt Mary.
"Wow, looks so good," Sony said. "There are lots if trees, plants, vines, and vibes are like some English cottage houses. It must be really expensive," Sony kept talking and then looked at Naila. "What happened to you?"
"I feel nauseous," Naila said.
"Water?" Sony asked.
"I'm fine. Let's walk," she said.
It did not feel like it's inside a compound. It actually felt like they were in Europe, the English country side.
Houses were built with rustic, uneven fieldstone walls, timber framing, and a weathered slate-tile gabled roof. Houses had small dormer window sits atop the left roof slope next to a tall stone chimney, while a covered timber porch shelters the wooden front entrance.
There were climbing pink and white roses wrap across the cottage facade, draped heavily beneath the upper-floor window and framing the porch beams.The houses had proper front yard with Gardens. Beds of colorful wildflowers and roses, yellow, purple, and red, line the foundation.
It had irregular flagstone pathway curves through a manicured green lawn. Along the right side of the wall sits a small outdoor seating area featuring two woven wicker armchairs and a small wooden café table. Clusters of pink rose bushes frame the bottom foreground.
And the backdrop was the star that stole the hearts. In the backdrop, steep, rugged mountains rose into the hazy sky, their rocky peaks touched by golden sunlight, flanked by dense green forest trees. It looked marvelous. It looked like the location came straight out of some fairy-tale.
Naila took a deep breath. The wind was chilling. Naila was wearing an brown knitted skirt with an off-white ruffled top and she had forgotten to take her shrug.
"It feels a bit cold here, doesn't it?" She asked Sony.
"It's up the hill. There is mist and winter is about to come. If it had snowed at night even lightly, then it would have been much colder," Sony explained. "But temperature is always a bit low comapred to our school's area. It always cold around my home," Sony wakked forward. "This place really feels like a village, not a gated community, you know what I mean."
"I agree," Naila said and they both walked in.
They walked around two kilometers inside and reached what looked like a junction. There were lots of shops like small grocery stores, fruit vendors, florist, a hardware shop, few cafes, and a food court. There also was a three-storied building with the signboard that said "cultural centre".
"Wow. This really does feel like a town."
A soft, genuine wonder coloured Naila's voice as she took in the surroundings. Stepping back to look up, her gaze caught on the plant creeping up the three-story building in front of her.
At its foundation, a bougainvillea vine anchored deeply into the earth, its thick, woody stem rising like a sculpted trunk. The thorny branches wound tightly against the weathered stone, tracing past the lower windows with a scatter of fresh green leaves and delicate pink petals. By the second floor, the vine thickened into a lush curtain of pink, magenta and white that spilled effortlessly across the window sills and wrought-iron railings. Higher still, where the brick met the rooftop parapet, it crested in full, riotous bloom, a breathtaking cascade of vivid colors spilling against the open sky.
Naila stood admiring it, with a smile on her face. She took out her phone and started clicking pictures. She had no idea that she was being watched.
Luke from the third floor of the cultural centre watched Naila with smile on his face. She looked a bit better comapred to their beach instance. 'What made her come here?' He genuinely wondered. 'What are odds?' He could not stop smiling. 'What are the coincidences, both of us ending up in the same town?' He thought as he gazed at her.
The girls walked over to the grocery store and got two cans of cold coffee.
Luke pretended that he did not notice them and walked towards the bench in front of the cultural centre. "Hey Luke," Sony called out.
"You girls have reached the centre," Luke said and walked towards them.
"Can you click a picture for us here," Sony asked, standing in front of the bougainvillea vines.
"Sony," Naila whispered trying to stop her.
"Stand there," he said to Sony. He took out his phone and started clicking pictures. After a couple of them, he looked at Naila. He raised his brows. Naila did not know what to do.
"Woah, he looks so handsome, does he not," Sony mumbled as she moved towards Naila.
"Sony, quiet," Naila whispered again.
Luke wore sharp black trousers paired with a black shirt, sleeves rolled neatly to his forearms. Without a tie, the unfastened buttons exposed just enough of his chest to feel deliberate. His dark hair was set well with a subtle sheen, every strand holding its ground. It was infuriating how effortlessly good he looked.
"What? It's true. Just look at him." Sony then giggled.
"Stop it," Naila then slowly looked at him but he was already gazing at her. Naila immediately turned her head, looking up at the sky but the sun was bright that it forced her to close her eyes. She had no idea that Luke was already clicking her candids.
"Stand there," he then said. Naila stood in front of the vines. She had a subtle smile. She watched him. It indeed was true. She looked at him, for the first time. Infact, looked at a man for the first time in an admiring way other than her husband. Theast time she did it was when she met Danish during her college days before her graduation.
Luke was taller, leaner, and looked more like someone who cares about the way he dresses. Naila then quickly looked away again, pretneding to tuck her hair behind the years. She smiled. 'Why am I smiling?' She asked herself. She then looked at the camera and smiled and looked away immediately again.
"That's enough," she said and crossed the road walking over him.
"Give me your phone," he asked Naila. Naila and Luke locked their eyes for a second. "Do you mind if I ask your number? I will share the photos with you?" He waited for her reply.
"Oh, okay, sure," she gave the consent and watched him as he gave a missed call to his number from hers.
"You can save mine too," he told her. "I will do quickshare now," he said.
Naila knew that he was bluffing and number exchange were not required for quickshare at all. She had no idea she just went with what he suggested.
"What are you doing?" Sony crossed the road and walked towards these two.
"I just shared the photos with her," Luke replied.
"Alright, see you around," he said and left.