Rumaysa by Radiya Hafiza

Author:Radiya Hafiza
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Ayla looked round. A boy wearing an ornate mask studded with black gems was looking at her.

Ayla blushed. ‘Um, yes.’

The boy laughed. ‘I’m just joking.’

‘Oh, right,’ she said, looking away.

There was an awkward pause as he stared at her without saying anything. Then:

‘Yourdressisbeautiful!’ he said in one breath.

Ayla looked back round. ‘Th-thank you,’ she stammered.

The boy smiled at her. ‘Have you been to the palace before?’

Ayla shook her head. ‘No, this is my first time.’

‘Are you enjoying it?’

Ayla wondered why this boy kept asking her all these questions. She really just wanted to eat her samosas, but she answered him anyway. ‘Yes, I am. Have you been here before?’

‘A few times,’ he said casually, his golden cheeks turning red.

‘Right,’ Ayla said slowly.

‘Sorry, I’m really terrible at this. I’ve never spoken to a girl like you before.’ The boy was falling over his words.

Ayla found herself smiling. ‘It’s OK – you don’t have to apologize. I find talking to new people a bit scary too.’

The boy smiled sheepishly back. He had olive-green eyes framed by dark lashes and a kind smile that Ayla found warming.

‘Would you like a samosa?’ Ayla offered.

‘Thank you,’ he said, taking one. ‘I’m Harun, by the way.’ He inclined his head in a bow.

‘Nice to meet you,’ she replied.

He looked at her curiously for a moment. ‘Are you enjoying the show?’ he asked, looking rather amused.

‘Yes, I loved Layla and Majnun! It’s such a beautiful story,’ Ayla gushed.

He looked taken aback. ‘Really? I think it’s terrible. Majnun just cries about wanting to marry Layla and it being forbidden – if I were him, I would just go and get the love of my life.’

‘But they hide Layla from him!’ Ayla countered. ‘He spends his whole life waiting for her!’

Harun grimaced. ‘What kind of true love waits? You don’t just wait around for someone; you have to do something to get them!’

‘But that’s the whole point – their love doesn’t depend on being together or what they get from each other. They love each other regardless,’ Ayla said defiantly.

Harun looked unconvinced. ‘Why wish for something when you could just make it happen?’

‘So what would happen in your version?’ Ayla asked, offended that Harun was trying to crush her perception of Layla and Majnun.

‘Get this,’ Harun said excitedly. ‘Majnun is forbidden to marry Layla, right? So instead of rolling over, he takes all his riches, and whatever else he needs, gets a horse, breaks Layla out and they run away to somewhere no one can find them. Job done: they all live happily ever after.’

Ayla stared at him, unimpressed. ‘Where’s the story in that? Did you ever think that maybe Layla could break herself out?’

‘Would you rather they weren’t together?’ Harun said, shocked Ayla wasn’t impressed by his version of events.

‘No, of course I want them to end up together, but with a bit more excitement! There needs to be a battle of some sort where they fight for each other, and some difficulties on their travels before they get to live happily ever after.

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