Half of a Whole

Field Trip

NELOFER

It was Eid ul-Adha. Nelofer and Nayera donated to charities helping the fellow Muslims in Yemen for their Qurbani sacrifice. They didn't do any animal sacrifices, but cooked a special meal together and bought halal champagne to celebrate. 

Nelofer did their both their henna, which they bought online. She loved creating designs with henna-tattoos on the spot, it was fun and liberating. Nelofer was also good with makeup. She believed makeup was a form of artistry, a means of self expression. She was happy to have left behind the toxic community that shamed and discouraged this form of self expression.

Although it was a very happy day, Nelofer kept thinking about how the day after she'd be saying goodbye to her sister...and the car. In the last month she'd relayed on Nayera a lot and had become dependent on her, if not financially, then emotionally. She didn't want to say bye to her sister not knowing when would be the next time they'd see each other.

As hard as she tried to put off thinking about it, the next day came and Nayera left for her college campus. Nelofer moved in the share house.

She didn't have the money to afford living by herself, she needed to share the costs. Nelofer's room was tiniest in the share-house. There was barely any space left after she brought in her clothes, art pieces and equipments. She could reach the window from her bed. She felt like crying from how stuffy that room felt compared to the beautifully spacious room she had in her parents' house. Nelofer reminded herself that the most successful of people always had the humblest of beginnings. Life wasn't meant to be easy. It was a test. And Allah tested the hardest those he loved the most. Thinking like that gave her strength and faith in herself.

She looked out of the window of her new room. The green of the woods right below was somehow calming, but she missed the view of the seaside she had in the hotel. The hotel she had stayed in with Nayera was perfect because it was in between the coast and the town centre, but now the share house was on the other side of the town and next to the woods.

Nelofer was determined to work hard. She wanted to do her best so she wouldn't have any regrets. People had often told her to "Live while she was young. Have fun. Make mistakes and grow from them." But she knew better than that. She didn't have the luxury to make mistakes. She knew that she needed to work the hardest while she was young and healthy and able to get back up quickly from failures. And that was what she was doing.

She worked at the café 4 days a week. Then she posted videos of her sketching and painting process for various art pieces on YouTube and social media once a week. She took a fan's advice and printed her most popular artworks on T-shirts and sold it as her signature merchandise.

She was working really hard and only got about 5 hours of sleep in a day. But even then she wasn't earning enough money. She could just about afford her living expenses so she wasn't able to save enough money towards her college-fund. All she had was hardwork, aspirations and dreams. So she pushed herself more and more. What else could she do? Her dreams were expensive.

She wanted as much inspiration as possible for the new Webtoon had started, which was doing better than any of her comics before, motivating her further.

Nelofer knew that she was lacking in skills, techniques and experience when it came to her artwork. That's why she took it upon herself to study as many techniques as possible. She was very serious when it came to work. She knew she had much left to learn. She was determined to study on her own as much ch as possible and therefore she decided to buy a ticket to the local museum and get a tour guide as well. She wanted to understand the art history of this small costal town and the legacy it had, maybe it would inspire her more than she thought.

The tour guide met the group of tourists at the meeting location. Nelofer had her notebook out and was taking notes as she was taken on tour around the museum. Her camera was hanging form her neck. Since the town was a tourist attraction, especially in the summer time, there were all sorts of people.

...............

CARSON

Carson was patrolling his allocated area of the town. He entered the town museum and swiftly scanned the area and the people. He checked for scents of supernaturals beings but couldn't pick up the particular scent he was looking for, only a few mermaids which was typical in a town by the sea. 

As he was exiting the building a girl wearing a brown headscarf caught his eye. She was wearing a white overalls with black stripes, a pair of Rayban sunglasses perched on her headscarf, a Canon camera around her neck, a notebook in her hand. He saw only her side profile but instantly recognised her. She looked even more beautiful without tears and makeup running down her face. He followed her gaze. She was intensely staring at an art piece on the wall. It was a painting of a picnic in very vivid colours, the people in the painting had very joyous expressions. He wondered what she was thinking so hard about.

Carson smiled without realising, but when he realised he started to walk past her only to freeze after a few steps. 

Her scent was amazing. It was intoxicating. He'd met thousands of people in his life, many had nice interesting scents, but never to that level. Her scent was so exquisitely delicious, it drew him in instantly. It somehow reminded him of when he was a kid and used to run into the huge fields with his parents, the sun would be shining and the warm rays would make everything glow beautifully, the different wild flowers created a unique scent of summer, the grass under his paws, the feeling of freedom and safety. He was reminded of the childhood he'd forgotten, when he was innocent and free of worries. All those evening barbecues, sitting around the bonfire making s'mores. Running in the fields with his werewolf friends, the crystal clear universe in the night sky above and chasing the moon to the horizon in unison howls.

 A peaceful calmness came over him as he stood there watching her with a nostalgia he couldn't explain. He'd never be able to erase her scent from his mind, it was the most unique one he had ever come across. For a second he wondered if she was his mate. It would explain why he'd felt so drawn to her scent.

He took a step towards her but stopped himself just in time. If she really was his mate, he should stay away from her. She was the one person in the universe most likely to get hurt by his curse. He glanced her way one last time before exiting the museum.