A Whole New World: A Desi Disney Anthology

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— "Admire the stories the trees tell you."

They were on their way back home now. Mahrosh gazed out the window with eyes that were wet with crumpled spikes. She wasn't traumatized but her body was immobilized with fear still.

Wisterias flitted by.

Wisterias were everywhere.

Purple, violet, white, and mauve.

So many wisterias.

"I'm sorry, Mahrosh. I always put my stupid foot in my mouth." Daniya had apologized profusely and Mahrosh had begged her to stop but to no avail.

Her mind housed recent memories of agile arms, a rock-hard chest, and the warm breath of someone on her forehead who repeated the words 'I got you' like a litany until she believed him. She believed him.

Stop. It was a moment of weakness. That's all.

Haris drove the car expertly, familiar with the roads and maps of Raiya. Samar was riding shot-gun.

"No, please. I overacted, I was just not in the right state of mind." She tried to erase Daniya's worry.

"Cheer up, lads and ladies. The view at night is marvelous, especially when the fireflies come out." Haris bellowed dramatically, the jeep's tail lights flashed off. Maybe he wanted them to take in the scenery from behind.

"Fireflies?"

"They migrate over to the forest in the summers, this is peak season. If you're lucky you'll either find a sleeping mass of butterflies fresh out of their cocoons or a million little fireflies." He answered Samar, pointing a finger towards the forest. His face was pasted with a smile of pride. It was his home after all.

The wings of darkness loomed above them; in that time between sunset and the night where everything was a swathe of blurry greys with a bewildering, stillness in the air.

"Wow, the more I hear about this place, the better it gets." Her brother breathed out in reverence.

"Raiya is God's masterpiece."

Nothing could be more true.

But who would protect God's land?

His people or God Himself?

"Where's Mikail?" It was Samar who asked about him.

He'd left her with them in a rush, as if he couldn't wait to get away from her, rasping something about some work.

Well, she didn't care.

"He had an errand he needed to take care of."

Did he now?

"I'm so sorry for all the trouble and inconvenience at my expense. It was foolish of me to ride a horse I wasn't sure was trained or not." Mahrosh's tone was heavy with regret, she lifted her pleading eyes up to Haris in the rearview mirror but he only had kindness and compassion in his for her.

"It's pure luck, Violet was Mikail's latest inquisition and he was yet to train her, that's why she was in the outer stables."

That's why she'd been alone, separate from everyone else. The poor thing.

"She seemed harmless," Mahrosh mumbled, appalled at her own idiocy.

"I remember getting hyper too, I need to apologize to Mikail." Samar presented a picture of guilt and shame.

"He doesn't take these things to heart so don't be worried about hurting his sensibilities, you didn't offend him." He brushed it off like it was nothing, patting Samar on the shoulder.