The Vow
The luscious smell of freshly ground Turkish coffee encumbered the place... torrid fairies dancing as aroma escaped each sip..Fairuz's heavenly songs conjuring long-dormant passion and adding meaning to the morning..the sun won't rise on ancient allies of Beirut unless Fairuz warbles enshrining the souls with enough holiness to embrace a new day!The resplendence of ancient blocks hugs a bluish sky that whiffs the titillating fragrance of history. That's the sweetest addiction that covets for no rehabilitation!
In a cozy cafe down town ,Sara and Fouad witnessed the funeral of their dearest: love doomed to ephemerality..both inscribed the farewell speech with shaky hands and trembling minds!It was time for a death certificate to be signed..the patient's critical health condition triggered mercy killing!yes..that's what Sara and Fouad did ! mercy killing!an unhealthy love demanded a decent end..refused to plea for life in the abyss..in dark spots of human hearts...in dim chasms that beg for clear light of day...mercy killing is exactly what should happen when love bleeds under the very eyes of lovers who are so impotent that they can't even first-aid it!!
It was the last time Sara and Fouad met.A week later,she left for England to pursue her Master's Degree in Comparative Literature.The 21- year-old Sara who was still a fresh graduate could easily gain her parents' consent to let her move to London!As all parents here,they didn't fathom the idea of their daughter living alone in a foreign country. However,that was inevitable as far as Sara was concerned.They had to allow that to happen to send their daughter away from Fouad. They could never allow that love to survive.Sara was a pristine land that still needed cultivation and care.Her parents were too strict when things hyped posing a threat.Any parents in their shoes would do the same.How could they allow their beautiful young girl to be wed to a divorced man who was 30 years elder than her?!!That was way beyond negotiation.Such a quest required decisiveness.Sara's parents knew well how much she would suffer,but they were well aware that it's all a matter of time.Time would indubitably soothe her pain and quench her agitating heart. As Paulo Coelho said,“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to
achieve it.”,life conspired to help her parents break the vow Sara and Fouad once made.The two had to acquiesce to tricky fate that seemed to play its meanest gimmicks !
Fouad Rashed was a peaceful, well-rounded man who has sown his oats.His handsome looks and elfin grey hair added to his charismatic presence.To Sara, Fouad was an enigmatic character who bears no semblance to any .He was a professor of Linguistic Semantics,the study of meaning that is used for understanding human expression through language. Fouad or professor Fouad was different as words differ in ..taste..texture..connotation and denotation! Well,Sara saw him the guru..of everything..even love..she was queerly entranced by him: how he smiled..how he looked at her..how words wisely escaped his lips.Unlike girls her age,she wasn't interested in young men !Fouad was Sara's perfect match ,for she was an old head on young shoulders.Sara's inexperience didn't imply shallowness at all.She was a keen reader who experienced life vicariously.That made her a thoughtful,insightful person who was two steps ahead of her generation.Driven by passion,Sara couldn't resist attending all Linguistic Semantics sessions.Innocent feelings drenched her heart.As time passed,those feelings were met..reciprocity,what all lovers hunger for..After a long period of hesitation, Fouad revealed his long-slumbered feelings to Sara.He didn't say ," I love you."His eyes spoke the never spoken and said the ever unsaid.The master of words ..the wordsmith..fumbled through dictionaries yet barehanded he was..he couldn't grab words to speak his heart!the man of words went wordless!wordrupt!words fled as Sara was around for they knew well they would never give a hungry heart a fill.Sara was the fill Fouad was tensely waiting for..He got used to barrenness,yet when she showed up,his deserted heart felt those synaptic sweet pumps he assumed gone forever. He loved her where words fail to express and utterances can't go enough explicit,yet he wasn't ever a fighter.Peaceful men won't ever ignite a war.They sign a capitulation without even arguing any of the terms!Thus, love is lost that peacefully!Painfully,they both gave up on any endeavor to rescue the remnants of love and blow life into it!
Heart-rent ,Sara left bounded for London.She bid Beirut farewell...its " old souq*"..its cracked buildings that have witnessed the ferociousness and brutality of war for 15 years..yet still standing..braving absurdity of life ..saying no to any attempts to inflame new versions of the so called Lebanese War!Sara was one of those who favored enlightenment,stability and peace to narrow-mindedness intolerance,extremism and bloodshed.The Lebanon of Gibran ,Fairuz and Wadeeh Alsafi ..That peace of heaven deserves moral awareness,a sense of belonging and positivity. That sense of belonging made Sara's departure more excruciating.
To settle down in London,Sara opted for a calm neighborhood nearby university and rented a tiny flat of one bedroom,a kitchenette and a bathroom.The misty,foggy atmosphere reflected her restless mind.She felt that the cold weather was conspiring for her.She sensed that coldness oozing into her heart trying to pacify the flames that devoured her heart.Nonetheless,Fouad never left her mind.She breathed only as she recalled his warm breath and relished the beauty of nature around as she closed her eyes to see through his!Her passion was inextinguishable.At times,unrequited love enfeebled her heart and mind,so she just rushed into calling him.Never did she receive an answer!Fouad ,the father,controlled Fouad, the man in love.He neither picked up the phone nor answered any of the countless SMSs she had sent.Fed up with his cold manner, Sara stopped her futile attempts but not for a long while! Henceforward,she regularly attended university to kill time..rather than to fill it.
Two years elapsed.Sara and Fouad were never in touch.Sara kept essaying to call him and he kept turning her calls down.They both were sure that their distant hearts grew fonder .However,they did nothing to save their bedridden love.
On a breezy afternoon,Sara went to the public library to fetch some references for her thesis .As usual,she spent the time mucking around the shelves looking for the right books.At the left corner on a couch,a handsome man, in his late twenties ,was reading a book.It wasn't until she stopped her never-ending search did she notice that that man was gazing at her!To her surprise,she didn't mind his looks.Every time she went there,the same guy manned that couch.His eyes chased her as she moved swiftly among aisles .Each time their eyes met,Sara used to evade.However,as that lasted for two months ,her curiosity nourished her inquiring soul.A shy smile sufficed.That was quite inviting,so he approached her." Roy Grants.Civil Engineer.29 .half British,half Lebanese",he curtly said.Sara ignored all except the last bit.Her eyes glistened as she recalled those words!" cool ! " ,she thought." Sara Nasr. about to get through my thesis in Comparative Literature.23. Lebanese.",she ardently said.That was quite quenching for both.Henceforth,Sara and Roy became best friends,yet deep down Roy's heart ,some sweet feeling was blooming like teetering daisies on green pastures.Sara felt that Roy could be the right guy for her to settle and start a new life.It wasn't that easy to run her scissors cutting edges of a deep-rooted memory..that was like trying to remove a birthmark off an eyelid! never guaranteed..what if it got deformed?Likewise,the spirit could go amorphous when denied true,ever-flaming love.Thus ,Sara was torn and unable to make up her mind as she was incapable of subduing her heart!When Roy kissed her,she felt Fouad's lips invading hers! Fouad's arms running through her ribs!his looks consuming her in details!his breath blowing life into her dwindling heart!She left Lebanon yet forgot that it's way impossible to loosen the grip of love just by distance!Love isn't a suitcase we drop at a station and leave!! it's rather veins and arteries that pump life into the heart and without which we go perishable..we don't fall in love..love falls into us..goes deep..and settles till we bite the dust! and time is the fairy Godmother who harnesses her magic power to help love go more fortified as days pass!!!However,she decided to give herself a chance to love Roy.His decency and comprehensive soul gripped Sara's attention.He was the kind of guy every woman would aspire to love. He was the sort of guy who respects the woman he loves...who gets his beloved her favorite flowers on unexpected occasions..the guy who would ask her to dance making her feel that she is the most beautiful woman in the whole galaxy.Men like Roy were hardly resistible! She got used to his presence in her life till she had a soft spot for that.
Ten months later,it was time for Sara to meet Roy's parents who got divorced years ago .The couple was on good terms despite that. His father was even willing to meet his son's bride to be ,so he paid Roy and his mom a visit to their place in the countryside .Sara had to join them for the weekend.That galvanizing yet inept moment bugged Sara.She was pretty sure she would blush like never .Roy's complacency helped her slightly conquer that unease .As they arrived at Roy's place,Sara was astounded by the overwhelming tranquility that added serenity to the atmosphere.It was an old-fashioned mansion that centered a vast garden where flowers of
breathtaking shapes and colors entangled in a harmonious manner and ever-green trees shaded the whole place! " Edenic!",Sara pondered as they strolled along the footpath leading to a wide marble terrace.There,matchless bamboo seats surrounded a flat rectangular table . " Please,make yourself at home.I will call my parents.",Roy abruptly said.Bewitched by the heavenly beauty of the garden and the relaxant, ambrosial scent of roses, Sara was quite relieved.That heart-filling silence was only broken by a familiar stern voice from behind saying,' Fouad Rashed,Roy's Dad."
" I have mom's family name..that's a long story..", Roy interrupted.Awkward silence prevailed..only Sara and Fouad could decipher the unsaid!
souq* ( an arabic word): market
Fouad Rashed was a peaceful, well-rounded man who has sown his oats.His handsome looks and elfin grey hair added to his charismatic presence.To Sara, Fouad was an enigmatic character who bears no semblance to any .He was a professor of Linguistic Semantics,the study of meaning that is used for understanding human expression through language. Fouad or professor Fouad was different as words differ in ..taste..texture..connotation and denotation! Well,Sara saw him the guru..of everything..even love..she was queerly entranced by him: how he smiled..how he looked at her..how words wisely escaped his lips.Unlike girls her age,she wasn't interested in young men !Fouad was Sara's perfect match ,for she was an old head on young shoulders.Sara's inexperience didn't imply shallowness at all.She was a keen reader who experienced life vicariously.That made her a thoughtful,insightful person who was two steps ahead of her generation.Driven by passion,Sara couldn't resist attending all Linguistic Semantics sessions.Innocent feelings drenched her heart.As time passed,those feelings were met..reciprocity,what all lovers hunger for..After a long period of hesitation, Fouad revealed his long-slumbered feelings to Sara.He didn't say ," I love you."His eyes spoke the never spoken and said the ever unsaid.The master of words ..the wordsmith..fumbled through dictionaries yet barehanded he was..he couldn't grab words to speak his heart!the man of words went wordless!wordrupt!words fled as Sara was around for they knew well they would never give a hungry heart a fill.Sara was the fill Fouad was tensely waiting for..He got used to barrenness,yet when she showed up,his deserted heart felt those synaptic sweet pumps he assumed gone forever. He loved her where words fail to express and utterances can't go enough explicit,yet he wasn't ever a fighter.Peaceful men won't ever ignite a war.They sign a capitulation without even arguing any of the terms!Thus, love is lost that peacefully!Painfully,they both gave up on any endeavor to rescue the remnants of love and blow life into it!
Heart-rent ,Sara left bounded for London.She bid Beirut farewell...its " old souq*"..its cracked buildings that have witnessed the ferociousness and brutality of war for 15 years..yet still standing..braving absurdity of life ..saying no to any attempts to inflame new versions of the so called Lebanese War!Sara was one of those who favored enlightenment,stability and peace to narrow-mindedness intolerance,extremism and bloodshed.The Lebanon of Gibran ,Fairuz and Wadeeh Alsafi ..That peace of heaven deserves moral awareness,a sense of belonging and positivity. That sense of belonging made Sara's departure more excruciating.
To settle down in London,Sara opted for a calm neighborhood nearby university and rented a tiny flat of one bedroom,a kitchenette and a bathroom.The misty,foggy atmosphere reflected her restless mind.She felt that the cold weather was conspiring for her.She sensed that coldness oozing into her heart trying to pacify the flames that devoured her heart.Nonetheless,Fouad never left her mind.She breathed only as she recalled his warm breath and relished the beauty of nature around as she closed her eyes to see through his!Her passion was inextinguishable.At times,unrequited love enfeebled her heart and mind,so she just rushed into calling him.Never did she receive an answer!Fouad ,the father,controlled Fouad, the man in love.He neither picked up the phone nor answered any of the countless SMSs she had sent.Fed up with his cold manner, Sara stopped her futile attempts but not for a long while! Henceforward,she regularly attended university to kill time..rather than to fill it.
Two years elapsed.Sara and Fouad were never in touch.Sara kept essaying to call him and he kept turning her calls down.They both were sure that their distant hearts grew fonder .However,they did nothing to save their bedridden love.
On a breezy afternoon,Sara went to the public library to fetch some references for her thesis .As usual,she spent the time mucking around the shelves looking for the right books.At the left corner on a couch,a handsome man, in his late twenties ,was reading a book.It wasn't until she stopped her never-ending search did she notice that that man was gazing at her!To her surprise,she didn't mind his looks.Every time she went there,the same guy manned that couch.His eyes chased her as she moved swiftly among aisles .Each time their eyes met,Sara used to evade.However,as that lasted for two months ,her curiosity nourished her inquiring soul.A shy smile sufficed.That was quite inviting,so he approached her." Roy Grants.Civil Engineer.29 .half British,half Lebanese",he curtly said.Sara ignored all except the last bit.Her eyes glistened as she recalled those words!" cool ! " ,she thought." Sara Nasr. about to get through my thesis in Comparative Literature.23. Lebanese.",she ardently said.That was quite quenching for both.Henceforth,Sara and Roy became best friends,yet deep down Roy's heart ,some sweet feeling was blooming like teetering daisies on green pastures.Sara felt that Roy could be the right guy for her to settle and start a new life.It wasn't that easy to run her scissors cutting edges of a deep-rooted memory..that was like trying to remove a birthmark off an eyelid! never guaranteed..what if it got deformed?Likewise,the spirit could go amorphous when denied true,ever-flaming love.Thus ,Sara was torn and unable to make up her mind as she was incapable of subduing her heart!When Roy kissed her,she felt Fouad's lips invading hers! Fouad's arms running through her ribs!his looks consuming her in details!his breath blowing life into her dwindling heart!She left Lebanon yet forgot that it's way impossible to loosen the grip of love just by distance!Love isn't a suitcase we drop at a station and leave!! it's rather veins and arteries that pump life into the heart and without which we go perishable..we don't fall in love..love falls into us..goes deep..and settles till we bite the dust! and time is the fairy Godmother who harnesses her magic power to help love go more fortified as days pass!!!However,she decided to give herself a chance to love Roy.His decency and comprehensive soul gripped Sara's attention.He was the kind of guy every woman would aspire to love. He was the sort of guy who respects the woman he loves...who gets his beloved her favorite flowers on unexpected occasions..the guy who would ask her to dance making her feel that she is the most beautiful woman in the whole galaxy.Men like Roy were hardly resistible! She got used to his presence in her life till she had a soft spot for that.
Ten months later,it was time for Sara to meet Roy's parents who got divorced years ago .The couple was on good terms despite that. His father was even willing to meet his son's bride to be ,so he paid Roy and his mom a visit to their place in the countryside .Sara had to join them for the weekend.That galvanizing yet inept moment bugged Sara.She was pretty sure she would blush like never .Roy's complacency helped her slightly conquer that unease .As they arrived at Roy's place,Sara was astounded by the overwhelming tranquility that added serenity to the atmosphere.It was an old-fashioned mansion that centered a vast garden where flowers of
breathtaking shapes and colors entangled in a harmonious manner and ever-green trees shaded the whole place! " Edenic!",Sara pondered as they strolled along the footpath leading to a wide marble terrace.There,matchless bamboo seats surrounded a flat rectangular table . " Please,make yourself at home.I will call my parents.",Roy abruptly said.Bewitched by the heavenly beauty of the garden and the relaxant, ambrosial scent of roses, Sara was quite relieved.That heart-filling silence was only broken by a familiar stern voice from behind saying,' Fouad Rashed,Roy's Dad."
" I have mom's family name..that's a long story..", Roy interrupted.Awkward silence prevailed..only Sara and Fouad could decipher the unsaid!
souq* ( an arabic word): market
