"Has your ghost visited you again?" Reema joked as they returned from the Koran class.

"It has actually. I always see it sitting in the graves when I'm walking home at night," Amani replied with a smug smirk on her expression so her cousin believed her words a lie.

Still, her smile fell. "You're joking, right?"

Amani shook her head. "No, I'm serious. It stands a little ways down the aisles of the cemetery. Sometimes, I can barely see it but it doesn't move at all."

"And you keep going back by yourself at that late hour, Amani? What if you get possessed or cursed by black magic?" Reema shivered at the mention of such foul thoughts. "There has to be some ruling over visiting the place of the dead after sunset."

But Amani only shrugged. "It doesn't run at me or anything. I think it's just lounging around, bored probably."

Reema didn't understand the simplicity in it. "Do you want to wait for it to attack you to stop going back there?" Before Amani could answer, her cousin hooked her arm through hers and yanked her closer. "Bas, tell me. Which grave is it standing beside? Maybe we can find out who the spirit belongs to and help it cross over or something."

Amani snorted. "We're not that capable, Reema. Besides, it doesn't stand beside just one grave. Most of the time, I don't know where it will be until I see it. It alternates."

The confession puzzled Reema. "Alternates?"

"Yes, moves around."

"Are spirits not supposed to stand beside their own grave? They're chained to it," she spoke confidently then second-guessed herself in anxious curiosity. "Right?"

Amani shrugged.

"I can't believe you actually see ghosts-."

"Shh!" Amani clamped her hand over Reema's mouth. She whipped her head around to make sure nobody had heard the foolishly loud words that her cousin had uttered. "Lower your voice. They already say I'm weird for that. If you confirm it to them, I'll never be able to actually fit into this place."

From beneath her awkwardly placed fingers, Reema raised a curious eyebrow. She slapped Amani's hand away. "You want to fit in now, do you?"

Amani rolled her eyes. "No."

"But you just said you did."

"I just mean that I might as well try to look at the positive side of being here until Baba takes me back. No use in being miserable the entire time, don't you think? I could make some friends," Amani mumbled, her lips pouted as if it didn't really matter to her.

Reema laughed. "Friends? You? The only friend you've been able to make is me, and that's because I'm your cousin. We're friends by default," she teased.

Amani glared at her. "Actually, I have other friends."

"Oh, really?"

"Fayza."

"Fayza Awad?"

Amani nodded.

"You know she's Muhsin's sister, right?"

"Purely by coincidence, Reema. We met when she was running from the Occupation's soldiers. I didn't know she was his sister then, but I don't think it would have mattered. She's likeable as her own person, not just because she's Muhsin's sister."

Reema nodded in agreement. "Did you hear that he grounded her? Apparently she pulled a really dangerous stunt a few days ago with the Occupational Forces and he was really angry with her. Nobody's seen in her in the streets since then, but I always hear her calling at people from their balcony to talk. She's a bold one, that little girl," Reema laughed.

"Oh, that reminds me. You'll never guess what she told me."

"Fayza?"

Amani nodded.

"What did she tell you?"

"Well, Yasmeen approached me to tell me she and Muhsin were going to be engaged very soon and their families were already planning everything together. Then I asked Fayza and she said she doesn't even know who Yasmeen is," Amani whispered, keeping her volume lowered and away from all the curious ears in the street.

Reema nearly screamed in laughter then covered her mouth so only her wide eyes peeked over her fingers. She laughed. "She came to you to say they were getting engaged soon? Yasmeen did? She didn't even know who you were when I mentioned you."

Amani nodded. "That's exactly what I thought when she called me in the street. She was telling me so much information that I didn't know and, honestly, had no business being informed about. All I was trying to do was go visit Sity."

"I don't like that girl," Reema shook her head.

"You're lying."

"I'm not. She isn't a good person to become involved with. Don't try to talk to her again, okay Amani? Yasmeen has never been good news for any of the girls in town."

Amani didn't argue. She's easily sensed the unfriendly energy that had followed Yasmeen since the first day she saw her in the street going on about how Muhsin always took the long way home to see her. So she just nodded in response to her cousin.

Reema smiled, both of them coming to a pause as they neared her home. "You know what that means though, don't you? She feels threatened by you. Her friend at the pharmacy must have told her about the time he paid for your bandaging. Otherwise, she would've continued ignoring you as she's been doing since you arrived in town."

"Good," Amani joked. "She should be."

"Oh? Is there something I should know, baby cousin?"

"Nothing worthy enough. Not yet, anyway."

"Reema!" Reema's mother called down from the rooftop. "Finally, you've come home. Come up, I need your help. Did you take the box of fertilizer to Muhsin? He called about it this afternoon?"

Amani saw her cousin's color drain. "Yes, mama. I was just coming back from the garden. I'll be right up."

"We were in class-," Amani began, but stumbled as her cousin yanked her up the three steps and into the first floor of her home. She flinched when Reema pushed a box into her chest.

"Take this to the olive garden for me, will you?"

Amani frowned. "What? But I-."

"Muhsin is waiting there. He'll take it from you."

"Is he really?"

Reema nodded. "See, perfect opportunity for you. The garden is down the street to the right of the bakery. Walk straight through the houses until you get to the open land. He should be in the plot between the two cornfields by the creek. Be careful not to step in the mud or you'll slip, it's really slippery."

Amani turned as her cousin pushed her out the door, opening her mouth for clarification just as the wooden door slammed shut in her face. She huffed but, with the box in her arms, made her way back the way they'd come until she arrived at the closed bakery.

She followed the instructions, continuing down the long trail between the homes until the tall green grass appeared in the distance. The creek was a short walk to her left and a narrow parting between both cornfields was enough to carefully walk through. Amani watched the cracked floor as she walked, wondering why her cousin had warned her of mud when the ground seemed so dry. But when she stepped on the cracked floor and her foot slid forward with a speed that made her question if she'd accidentally stepped onto black ice, Amani understood what Reema had said.

Instead of falling and ruining her green abaya though, she let the box fall and grabbed onto the corn beside her. It splattered in the wet soil and sprayed the bottom of her dress. Amani huffed at the box that had definitely done that on purpose as revenge for how quickly she'd abandoned it. "Really?" She hissed.

Once she peeled it off the ground, Amani held it at arm's length as she walked through the tall trees. She'd been pondering about their presence because Reema hadn't mentioned trees in her directions and considered turning around when Amani came to the vast field before her. It was vast but the baby trees were small against the brown dirt. Only one stood large in the distance, barely a foot or two taller than her. The others didn't rise much further than her knees.

She walked slowly when approaching, cautious of the dirt beneath her feet to keep from slipping again. "Muhsin?" She called out into the empty field, stepping past a small wooden shack in search of the man who was nowhere to be seen. It wasn't like he could be hiding behind any of the trees unless he was crouching and somehow folded his body to match their thin branches.

Had she taken too long? Amani prayed that he hadn't walked to Reema's home for the box she'd walked so far to bring all the way here.

"You've got to kidding me," she dropped her head back toward the sky and groaned. "What a waste of a nice abaya. I got mud on its tail and he's not even here to take what he asked for. Unbelievable!"

Then his voice came. "Reema?" It wasn't a question of whether her cousin had arrived, but of why she was speaking the way she was because Reema would never speak like this. Amani rolled her lips into her mouth in regret as the window of the stable opened beside her.

He'd definitely been close enough to hear everything.

She closed her eyes in embarrassment.

"Nope," Amani did her best to pretend like she hadn't just been caught going on about her abaya. She pulled a smile on her face and turned toward the small wooden building. But he wasn't standing in the window when she glanced through. "Amani...?" She stepped closer to peek inside and search for the boy.

Instead, she found a large horse standing near the other corner and watching her. Its expression either neutral or judgmentally unamused by her presence. "No way," Amani leaned in to search the empty stable. She pointed at the horse. "Did you just... talk to me?"

It blinked.

A cough came from behind her and startled Amani so she nearly jumped through the window in fear. She spun to find Muhsin standing behind her, his hands clasped behind his back and his eyes on the ground. Her hands flew to her mouth in what he must have assumed to be fright from his arrival. In reality, it was shock at how she'd managed to embarrass herself a second time in front of him before even seeing the boy.

"Oh. It's you." Clearly.

"My horse does not speak." He said it blatantly in the same emotionless way she was used to from him. But this time, Amani could feel the teasing tone that he was likely using in his mind.

"I know, I didn't- I was talking about you."

"But I was here. Not in there."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you mocking me?"

The corners of his lips twitched. "I was only clarifying."

"Well, you don't need to. I already know that horses can't talk."

"Alhamdullilah."

She gasped at the confirmation that Muhsin was definitely mocking her for thinking the horse had spoken. It wasn't her fault he'd spoken then disappeared and left only the animal in her direct sight. Under her astonished gaze, he forced the corners of his mouth down and looked past her to distract himself. "I came all this way to give you that box and you laugh at me," she glowered.

Muhsin shook his head. "I do not believe I laughed."

"Not out loud."

"Is a laugh not external?"

"It can be in your mind."

"Then you would not know."

"I can tell."

"There is no way to tell."

"From your eyes there is," she took one step forward to shorten the long space between them. She touched the outer edges of her eyes. "When you want to laugh, they crinkle here. Even if your mouth doesn't, your eyes expose you."

His expression grew serious as the humor sunk away. He took a step away to Amani's frustration and cleared his throat, looking past her with wandering eyes. "Did you bring the box?"

She turned to pick it off the floor by the window, peeking once at the horse still standing within. "Here you go."

Muhsin's eyes fell to the mud staining its base and he frowned, holding it away from his clothes. "You dropped it?"

"I slipped in the mud and it fell."

"You fell?"

"No, just the box."

He nodded. "Thank you then." Muhsin moved behind her to open the box and determine if its contents were still usable. But her focus shifted onto the garden behind him. Amani's ankles brushed the edge of her dirtied dress as she moved toward the nearest tree. It rose just above her knee and glimmered with the light leaves, but even those were still the size of pearls on its thin branches.

"You did all of this on your own?" She asked, letting her fingers softly run over the soft leaf growing on a branch's end. She wondered if it smelled of olives yet or if it would have to grow them first?

Muhsin was nowhere to be found when she turned though. Amani sighed. Why was he always disappearing on her?

She stood and walked into the stable to search for the boy. But this time, it really was only the horse in the corner that turned to her as it chewed whatever green food he'd provided for it. Amani remained near the door, intimidated by its size. "Hi," she waved nervously.

"You have not left?" Muhsin appeared through the door on the opposite side, his hands freshly washed of the muddy box he'd gripped at its base.

"The garden is really nice," she pointed. "I didn't expect so many trees to actually be growing again after... so quickly, I mean."

He began untying the horse's rope. "Thank you."

Amani stepped back, her body tense when the rope dropped to the floor as he closed the iron top of the basket it had been eating from. "What are you doing?"

"I'm walking Shajar."

Its feet clicked against the floor as it moved back, its fluttering tail nearly swiping her arm. Amani tensed. "Can you-." It moved closer to the door and she reached for the door, contemplating shutting it to secure herself away from the tall mare. "-hold it?" Her tone was begging, interlaced with anxious nerves.

Muhsin gripped the rope then turned toward her, keeping his eyes on the horse beside him. "Are you afraid?"

"No, just...," her dry throat parched her voice and revealed her lies. The horse tried to move toward her once again but Muhsin's grip tightened around the rope and it remained in place. "Yes."

"Shajar is peaceful."

"I know."

"But you're afraid?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Come here."

"I'm better here."

He ran his hand over the black length of her main, keeping himself standing at her side. "I'll hold her. Don't be afraid," Muhsin spoke.

For the first time, her gaze slipped off the horse and caught onto the man. His focus remained on the animal in front of him as if he didn't care much for her response. "I don't know you well enough for that," she answered.

"You're interested in me but you do not know me?"

The question was enough to take her mind off the horse.

"You do not trust me?"

Amani's mouth had been open because she believed she'd find an answer to his first question but, when he spoke the second, she knew he'd won this discussion. She pulled in a breath so the oxygen would infuse her lungs with the confidence to keep calm and let her lips come together in established silence. Muhsin's attention on the mane faltered when he heard her footsteps begin moving toward them.

"Here," she stopped beside him, a single step behind him so Muhsin's shoulder was all the protection she'd receive from the horse. It was better than nothing. "I trust you."

He took a step to the side and let his touch slide down the horse's neck until Amani could reach from where she stood. Muhsin was taller than her and an entire foot closer. "Place your hand here."

"Where yours is?" She'd have to touch him for that.

Muhsin nodded and Amani reached forward, excited to finally be allowed permission to. It was unusual how she'd gotten so many more touches from the boy she'd left back home but, with the man standing beside her now, a touch seemed so intimate. She would gladly touch the horse with her hand on his because it meant touching him, like actually feeling his skin.

It was insane how happy the thought of it made her. Not to mention the way her heart had hugged itself so tight she held her breath in anticipation of how it would feel.

But Muhsin lifted his hand away as Amani's fell onto the mane's neck so her hand pressed into its soft skin.

She gasped and yanked her touch away.

The horse snorted in surprise, its feet bouncing strongly against the floor as it reacted to her sudden movement. Amani held her breath and jumped behind Muhsin who tightened his hold on the rope as the animal attempted to rise from the floor. For a horrifying moment, she thought it might free itself from him.

"Shh, bas Shajar," his jaw tightened as he wrapped the cord around his hand to secure his hold. Under his touch, its startled steps slowly eased until it huffed against his hair. Muhsin scrunched his nose and pressed his lips together as its strong breath blew across his face. Then he smiled. "Ba'ref."

Amani stayed behind him. "What do you know?"

He turned his head toward her but, being so close to his back, he couldn't look at the girl. Not that he would have anyway. "You pulled your hand away too quickly. It startled her."

"I startled her?"

"Try again."

Amani shook her head. "I don't want to."

"She won't hurt you."

"Because you held her. If you weren't here, she could have trampled me. Not that I would have come into this place at all," she glanced toward the setting sun outside and fingered the buttons of her abaya, her heart beating so fast the blood wouldn't reach her legs.

"Then you should not be worried when I am here."

Amani still shook her head. "Ma bidy, Muhsin."

He slipped his hand beneath Shajar's mouth and took another moment before he nodded. "Okay. I need to take her out to see the sun before it sets. Will you wait until then?"

When he began moving toward the door, Amani claimed the first step out to make sure enough space was between her and the mane. "Wait?" She repeated in question, feeling the ache in her legs after the heart attack she still struggled to recover from.

"So, you won't walk alone."

"No, it's okay. I can go by myself."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. "There's still a little time before it gets dark. I should be able to make it to town by then, at least. Then it'll be OK."

"It's not safe."

Amani smiled, nearly reaching across to playfully punch his arm before she remembered who she was speaking to. The forbidden fruit, that was one way to describe Muhsin. "I'm used to it, remember? You can walk Shajar for as long as she wants to be out that way. Maybe then she'll relax a bit." The last sentence she directed sourly at the horse standing beside him.

Muhsin hesitated then agreed.

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Amani and Muhsin's banter is so cute actually, its so comfortable and back-and-forth. We love that!