She yawned. “I can’t stay any longer. My eyes are closing on their own,” Nadine said, yawning again. She wasn’t the only one keeping a secret; Liam never told her that the conversation she had with Camellia on the other side of his apartment wasn’t a whisper one. The apartment’s walls are thin, and he heard everything. 

“Okay weirdo, later,” Liam said and chuckled.

Nadine ended the call remembering how he always called her weirdo whenever they spoke. Their friendship was a strange one that happened out of the blue two years ago. The only thing she remembered vividly was the day they met. They’ve stayed in touch despite living on different continents. They seemed completely at ease around each other.

Or it could be something else.

None of them could explain how they became that close or even how they kept their friendship strong.

Two years earlier, June 7, 2007.

As summer approached, Camellia was doing everything she could to make their summer destination a surprise for Nadine. Camellia knew Nadine wouldn’t come if she knew who would accompany them. It was one week before their flight. Nadine was in her office as usual.

She was putting in extra hours to cover a month without doing any work. For her, spending the entire summer out of the country was not a complete vacation. She would eventually work wherever she was. Nadine was in the middle of an intense conversation with a client when her phone rang; it was Camellia.

“Good morning, babe.”

“Get a boyfriend and stop calling me that.”

“You’re cranky.”

“I’m going to murder someone,” Nadine declared, covering her eyes with her left hand.

“You always say that what happened?”

“That stupid client. I really want to slap him across the face. He kept nagging, and he didn’t like anything. I changed the design for the third time, and he still wants more.”

“That’s perfectly normal. Not everyone has the same taste.”

“I’m not making a dress! I’m an architect; I must follow many rules! He wants unrealistic things that will cost a lot more money to build than he is willing to pay.”

In the background, there is the sound of an email notification. “Nadine, I just received an email from the hotel. Everything is in order.”

“Which country are we going this year?” Nadine’s voice was both loud and distant. She was walking into her office, gathering reports from various drawers.

“It’s a surprise! but I will tell you this: two of my friends will be there, and it will be a lot of fun.” Nadine inquired once more about where they would spend the summer, but Camellia refused yet again.

June 14, 2007.

Camellia went to DXB airport before Nadine; she was at her office signing some papers. She texted her multiple times and finally got an answer after a while, with Nadine telling her she was on her way to the airport.

It took her forty minutes to get there; she was excited to know which country Camellia chose, but what she saw made her realize it wouldn’t be a pleasant trip. Camellia was standing next to two women.

They looked like diligent nerds. Each one of them was obsessed with history, ancient civilization, and folklore, and they were always loud and talking nonstop. Nadine dragged Camellia away without looking at them. “You have got to be kidding me!” Nadine said in a low, angry voice after they were safely away from her friends.

“Don’t get mad, please.”

“Why! You have many friends that are fun to be around! Why this duo?”

“It happened by accident, I swear,” Camellia said and cringed. “I was talking randomly, and they just hopped in, and I didn’t know what to say.”

“So, you said yes! Just… three months, Camellia! Come on!”

“I’m sorry; you know they are nice. You’ll love them.”

“That’s the problem! Both are weird to be around, and you know I don’t like them.” Nadine took a deep breath and continued. “I thought it would be fun this year.”

“I’m sorry, I’ll make it up to you I swear.” Camellia held Nadine’s hand begging her to be good to them and reminding her they wouldn’t ruin anything. Nadine kept herself calm and went to them to say hello. Camellia gave Nadine her ticket, with Seoul, South Korea, as their next destination.

Camellia and her friends talked about every place they wanted to visit; it was all about the country’s ancient parts. Even before boarding the plane, Nadine was getting bored. It was an eight-hour flight, and for the first two Camellia and her friends got into a heated debate about how Chinese and Japanese mythologies differed but still influenced Korean mythology.

Nadine was overhearing their conversation and wishing she could have stayed in her office instead of being there. She would rather fly back to Alexandria than stay with Camellia’s friends. She disliked them from the beginning of their friendship with Camellia, who is a very sociable person with a lot of interesting and fun friends.

She sighed with boredom and reached for her drawing sketch and a couple of pencils. As she glanced over the pages, one of them asked, “Nadine, Are you still doing that?” Nadine looked at her with no expression on her face. “You should give up now. Your parents previously refused to let you. Why are you wasting your time now? In my opinion—”

“Keep it to yourself.” Nadine put on her earphones and began to draw.

The first three hours of the flight passed slowly as Nadine continued to draw. One of the cabin crew noticed her drawing of a blue lotus covered in blood in diverse sizes and angles while she was serving her cup of tea.

“Wow, it looks so real. You have extraordinary talent.”

“Thank you.” Nadine took the cup and began to drink. Camellia was sitting next to her, talking to her friends in the next row, while Nadine sat next to the window. Camellia became aware of what Nadine was drawing.

“Interesting, but why the bloody lotus?” Camellia inquired, intrigued.

“I’m bored and unable to sleep.”

“It’s dark.”

“I’ve seen it before. I’m not sure, it felt like a memory. Perhaps it was in a movie or something.” Camellia continued her conversation with her friends as Nadine closed the drawing sketch. Nadine leaned back and gazed out the plane window at the cloud.

Her eyes became increasingly heavy. She didn’t fight the urge to shut them. She felt a huge tug of energy, and she fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

She opened her eyes and looked around, standing in a massive room filled with candles hanging on the walls, giving the room a sense of intimacy.

Covered with loads of hieroglyphs inscriptions all over the walls, ceiling, and the ground in rhythm and harmony. An aisle in the middle of the room and on both sides were peaceful lakes that somehow appeared connected despite the ground aisle between them.

The clear water of the lakes showed a reflection of her standing body in the middle of the room. Willowy figure and long black wavy hair. She was dressed in a white tight-fitting sheath dress.

At the end of the aisle were two square boxes floating in the air as she walked. Hundreds of blue lotuses floated on the surface of the two lakes. A sudden rich earthy, floral, and aromatic scent evoked a narcotic warm misty atmosphere.

A soft fading female voice called her name. Nadine looked in the voice’s direction; she felt a sudden chilly wind coming from behind the two boxes. She got closer and stood in front of them, it moved away, revealing a dark hall behind it. The same voice called her again, this time was clearer and louder.

Black glowing wisps came out of the hall, reaching her body within seconds. It covered her completely and tugged her inside the dark hall. Everything went into darkness with no sound but her terrified screams.

Strong turbulence. Nadine opened her eyes terrified, Camellia looked at her and held her hand to calm her down. “It’s okay, it’s just a bump.” Camellia tapped Nadine’s hand.

“I…. what…” Nadine’s voice was quivering. “It… hurts!” Nadine touched her neck. She felt a terribly painful sharp pain in her throat.

“Are you okay?... What happened to your voice? You need something to soften your cords.” Camellia told one of the cabin crew to get her tea with herbs. Meanwhile, Nadine looked out the window, terrified.

Seoul, South Korea, June 22, 2007.

Camellia and her friends wanted to go to the oldest coffee shop in Seoul called Hakrim. A vintage-looking café with every part seemed to have loads of stories. Nadine cared little about how old the cafe was; she only wanted coffee.

Camellia was sitting with two of her high school friends who lived in Seoul for three years; she was excited to practice some Korean words with them. Nadine wasn’t enjoying the vacation from the beginning. Lena called her after they checked into the hotel, telling her about a new project. She had the drawing sketch with her, and she started working while they were at the cafe.

Camellia was so busy with her friends that she didn’t notice Nadine at all. Nadine had already ordered two cups of coffee, yet she felt uninspired and bored. After she finished her coffee, she went outside the cafe to breathe fresh air; the weather was glorious and refreshing.

She took her sketch and sat on the ground outside. Nadine was desperate to draw anything. She had to finish three original designs in two weeks.

Across the road was a man in his mid-twenties standing in front of a bookstore talking on the phone; he was a handsome man, yet his watch was the only thing that caught Nadine’s attention. A unique watch with a dark silver case, light silver bezel, navy blue hour markers, and deep black strap.

Her eyes were glued to the watch. I saw it before; she thought.

Without thinking too much, she drew his muscled left arm while wearing the watch. She wasn’t listening to anything but the music from her earphones. He noticed her and after he finished his call, he crossed the road and stood in front of her.

Nadine wasn’t looking at him; she was heavily drawing his muscled arm in incredibly realistic details. “Wow.” Nadine didn’t respond. He squatted down to reach her eyes. Nadine was startled and took off her earphones. “Hi there.” he said in a husky deep voice.

“Hi.” Nadine was a little confused.

“I noticed your eyes fixed on me, so I had to come and say hello.” His smile was charming; a smile of a confident man.

“Right! Your watch caught my attention.” Nadine smiled, and her deep dimples appeared.

The man smiled back, moving his eyes between her eyes and her bright smile. “Are you an artist?” — Nadine shook her head no — “You should be, you’re fantastic.”

“Are you interested in that type of art?” Nadine said, raising both of her eyebrows. She looked innocent and like a cartoon character with her big almond-brown eyes.

“No, but my father is an expert at drawing people. I admire anyone with an outstanding talent like yours.” He stared at her pretty face, not blinking.

Both stood up. Nadine closed her sketch and took a deep look at the man. “So, you must know how to draw, then.”

“No, I am awful about it. I’m Liam Choi.”

“Nadine Azmi.” They shook hands and went inside the cafe while talking. They took another table and sat with each other for a while.

Camellia noticed Nadine had disappeared, so she texted her. Camellia looked behind her after Nadine texted back, then went to their table. “This is my cousin, Camellia,” Nadine said and pointed at her, who took the chair next to him.

Nadine told Camellia what had happened earlier. “Again!” she said and chuckled.

“She did that before?”

“Every time we travel, she draws someone randomly. She keeps staring at them till they freak out. You’re the first one to talk to her.”

“That makes you a complete weirdo then,” Liam said and smiled at Nadine. “I couldn’t help myself; she is a beautiful weirdo.” She smiled back and ordered three cups of coffee from the waiter.

“Liam, are you fully Korean? You look mixed,” Camellia said suddenly.

“Great question, not weird to ask someone you just met,” Nadine said deadpan. That made Liam laugh.

“I swear I meant nothing bad. I’m curious about genetics and cultures,” Camellia said in a lower tone, raising her hands apologetically to him.

“No worries, my father is Korean, and my mother is an Australian of English and Irish descent,” Liam said, smiling.

“Interesting!” Camellia said with a bug-eyed look. Nadine smirked.

“I don’t see your point of being obsessed with it; I bet you she’s already imagining what your DNA looks like.” Camellia hit Nadine’s shoulder, causing her to groan in pain. Camellia’s punches were always strong and quick. Liam laughed at their small interaction and from that one round of coffee, these three spent the whole three months of summer together.