I'm Sorry, What?

When you're short on money but high in spirit, you got to do what you can do and not what you want to do. Since I did not have enough money to visit the typical vacation spots like Hawaii or Paris, I decided to jump on the unconventional bandwagon and booked my self a trip to Pakistan. Now, of course it wasn't my first option but when you are short on money and you get to go to another country basically for free then it doesn't matter what you want. Pakistan was generous enough to get me a deal where I had to pay barely peanuts and still have an exceptional time, only I had no idea what they meant by an exceptional time.

I should've checked the authenticity of the company which offered such a cheap deal for an above-average looking resort in Abbottabad, the city where I was to spend the next few weeks in, before confirming my trip but that's on me. Now, when I arrived at my resort, the first thing I noticed was that it wasn't like the pictures at all. It looked more like the Parantheon in Rome but smaller and with cheaper looking golden corinthian columns. It looked out of place in such a cold city hustling and bustling with traffic, military scouts, rugged men and far from elegance. I knew I was in deep shit. I pulled my bags up the stairs to where a tired looking police guard held open the door for me with a spark of fascination in his dark brown eyes. Perhaps it was because I was a foreigner, or maybe I had dressed inappropriately. I glanced at my body self-consciously but I was fully covered. Whatever, I thought and smiled, said "Hello" and then I was inside.

The inside was just as lavish as the exterior of the resort, or at least they tried to continue the rhythm. I got greeted by the hotel manager who introduced himself as something quite peculiar that I can't seem to recall. It was perhaps Aziz or maybe it was Ajiz? Anyhow, he seemed overjoyed to see me and that put me at ease for perhaps a few minutes before it all went downhill. He started talking to me in English, which although a little unpolished, was good enough for me to understand. We talked about the payment, the services they provided and my room, which he promised to show me shortly. My bags got carried by what I assume was the bell boy to my room and the manager told me to take a seat in the lobby where there were two other people, both men, who looked at me incessantly. Staring must be the national sport here, I thought, because these people are winning it.

"Are you from America?" the fatter of the two inquired.

"Yes," I replied with a smile.

"Your first time here?" He asked.

"Mhm."

"Welcome to Abbottabad." He smirked. Maybe that was a harbinger to what was to come next. His words weren't warm, instead they sounded more like "Welcome to the place where they'll scam you. Man, I feel sorry for you naïve white woman". Now, let me tell you what happened, because if you have come so far with me, then you should come a little farther. When I walked into my room, followed by the manager, I did not expect to see suitcases other than mine in the room. However, no one cares about what you expect, they only care about how they can scam you. Words of wisdom by me. Of course it was all my fault to begin with. A trip to the country of such rich history and culture shouldn't have been so cheap to begin with. I should have done my research. But I didn't so let's not cry over spilled milk. Where was I? Yes, as I entered my room, there were more than the two bags that I had brought with me. It confused me, of course, because I thought we entered into the wrong room.

"Whose bags are these?" I said as I pointed an inquisitive finger towards the two grey bags on the floor next to mine. The manager unfalteringly smiled and opened his mouth to respond but before he could do so the bathroom door cracked open and out came a naked man with a towel wrapped around his narrow waist. He nonchalantly extended his hand and greeted the manager and then turned towards me and without meeting my eyes, extended his hand towards me. When I didn't shake his hand, he casually retracted it and started conversing with Mr. Aziz or Ajiz. Then the both of them turned towards me and the man now looked into my eyes.

"This is your roommate." The manager squeezed the other guy's wet arm.

"I'm sorry, what?" I hoped I didn't hear what I did.

"You must be Angelina?" the guy sounded more fluent in English than the other people I had run into so far. "Those are my bags."

Completely ignoring what he said I shifted towards the manager who smiled his annoying smile again. "I'm sorry but I'm paying for a room for myself."

"Yes. I am sorry ma'am but there are a lot of guests and very less rooms so we had to 'commodate." I was petrified and outraged and wanted to throw them both out of the suite, and mind you it was nothing like one. I thought I was going to get kidnapped or worse.

"I'm sorry but I want another room or I leave."

He used his hands a lot, the manager. When he spoke, they would move in every direction. "Look, madam," he now switched his tone to something you would use to talk to a little kid. "This is the suite we have arranged for you. No more rooms. This man, his name is Hafeez, is a good boy. He won't harm you, ma'am."

I wanted to bang my head against a wall. I turned to Hafeez, who was still half naked. "Did you know you were going to share this room with someone else?"

He shook his head. "No. Not until an hour ago."

"I will just go somewhere else." I nodded my head at them both in preparation to leave.

"Ma'am don't worry. The room is big."

"Mr. -, look, I didn't come all the way from America to your country for you to treat me like this. I want a separate room. This is very rude."

"I'm sorry, Miss Anjleena. But a lot of people applied for our offer and we didn't want to refuse."

"Well you could've told me and I would've cancelled the booking." I shook my head. "I'm sorry but I'm leaving. I'll find another place."

"Ma'am listen. Stay here we will take care of you. All the other hotels will be very expansive. It is the season for tourists so I rec'mend you stay here as all the hotels will surely be filled, ma'am," the manager complained in his thick accent.

"He's right." Hafeez thought it necessary to chime in.

Next thing I know, I was sharing a so-called suite with a stranger.

"I hope you don't feel uncomfortable around me. I'm sorry I stood their without a shirt for the entirety of the conversation. I'm a decent guy, you know." Hafeez explained himself from his side of the suite.

"Decent guys don't go around telling others that they are decent."

"I just felt the need to. Sorry."

I didn't speak to him for the next 2 hours and then for another 2 hours because I left the resort to explore the city. Apart from the noisy main road, Abbottabad was a beautiful city. In the distant you could see the mountains invitingly covered with pine trees. After I came back, smelling of chapli kababs and tea, I found Hafeez sleeping on his bed. I felt sorry for him then and guilty for how I treated him, however relevant my anger may have been. I went into the bathroom and took a quick shower. I took my clothes with me and changed into them after I was done. I wrapped my head with a towel and came out to find Hafeez gone. When he had left, I did not know, but it felt good to have the room all to myself, just the way it was supposed to be. I turned on the television and switched through channels to look for something to watch. Most things were in Urdu, which was the national language and the stuff that wasn't were sports and gardening channels and I had no choice but to watch an old man transform his backyard into a vegetable garden. I then fell into deep slumber due to my jetlag and awoke to the sound of the door opening and then closing. A blurry figure appeared out of the hallway and when my vision cleared I saw who it was. Hafeez. He had in his hands a few plastic bags which he placed on the coffee table in the corner of the room and then waved at me.

"Hello."

"Hi."

"I got food."

I rubbed my eyes. "Really?"

"Yes. Why would I lie?"

"I don't know, perhaps you bought it for yourself but it would look bad to eat it by yourself so you offered me some."

"I didn't offer you."

I cocked my eyebrow. "You said "I got food" like you did."

His lips cracked into a toothy smile. "No, no, of course. I bought it for us both. I figured you'd be hungry."

"Well, thanks. I am a little hungry but not too hungry so you can start if you want."

"How were the kababs?"

"How did you know?"

"I could smell them when you walked in the room. I had some in my dream because of you. That's why I woke up hungry and went straight to the shops to look for food."

"Hm. So what did you get?"

"Seekh kababs. They're like the ones you had but better. Let me show you." He moved towards the steaming bags of food.

"No, leave it. I'll see later when I eat. You can start if you want."

He looked a little disappointed but he ate like a lion and finished up more than half of the kababs. He let out a big belch and it was rude and I told him so and his brown face turned red and he excused himself and left the room.

That whole day I mostly rested and acclimatized to the new environment. I told myself to see being in the same room with a stranger as being in a hostel, that way it was a little more bearable. I was still grumpy from the fact that I had to share my room, being someone who didn't easily adjust to change, but I was lucky nonetheless to get paired with Hafeez because it could have been anyone, even Bin Laden's relative. Hafeez was mysterious sure, but also kind, which made him harmless to me. He came back some time later with another plastic bag in his hand.

"What is it?" I inquired.

"I bought a movie for us to watch."

"Did you really?"

"Damn, you really don't believe me do you?" He threw one of his hand in the air.

"My apologies. What movie?"

"Um, Mission Impossible."

I made a face suggesting I was not interested.

"It's good."

"Alright." I decided to watch it since we were going to be practically living together for the a few weeks so a movie would do no harm. After it ended and I had finished the kababs Hafeez had brought, which were delicious by the way and a little spicy too, we had, or should I say I, had loosened up a bit. The movie wasn't half as bad either. A knock on the door indicated room service. I opened it and it was the bell boy asking what we wanted for dinner. We skipped it that day. We were full.

The both of us sat down on the partially worn out sofa and looked out the window towards the concrete buildings and behind them the mountains. Pakistan was home to beautiful peaks like Nanga Parbat and K2, and according to Hafeez, also Miranjani, which he pointed towards. It was barely visible in the dark but a silhouette could be seen.

"You are Pakistani, right?" I asked him.

"Yes, but this is my second time here."

"So you live abroad?"

"In America, where you are from."

"Of course. The accent."

He laughed. "Yeah."

"You don't have a family here?"

"No. not in Abbottabad. I have family in Lahore."

"You won't be visiting them?"

He turned towards me a little more and folded one leg on the sofa. "I will be. We are all planning on going higher north this year. I will meet them at Nathia Gali in a few days, which is very close to Abbottabad."

"For vacation?"

He nodded in the affirmative. "What about you? What are you planning on doing?"

"I still haven't figured that out. Any suggestions?"

He pondered for a moment, then smiled widely and suggested I go with him. I hesitated and told him "no" and a "thank you". He didn't seem to mind, instead he gave me alternate suggestions, which all sounded equally enticing.

"I'll have to sleep on all these suggestions. Tomorrow I hope my mind is made up. You've put me in quite the jam."

"My offer is still valid. It expires tomorrow." Hafeez said as he readied his bed for the night.

I breathed out a laugh. "Why tomorrow?"

"I leave tomorrow. Gotta catch up with my family in Nathia Gali."

"You're leaving so soon?"

"I have to and is it just me or do you almost sound sad?"

I was disappointed. "I thought you were going to be my tour guide."

"Mr. Aziz's son is a great tour guide. He'll be more than willing to show you around."

Aziz. Knew it. "But you and I were just starting to get along," I joked.

He laughed and got into bed. "That's an achievement."

Shortly after, as I lay in my bed, a change of mind occurred. "Hafeez."

No response, only his small snores.

"Hafeez!"

He didn't move a muscle.

I had no choice but to throw the nearest object at hand at him. I picked up my floss and as it hit his temple, he jerked up. I put my hand over my mouth. "Oh my God! Sorry."

He was still half asleep.

"Hafeez."

"Jee?" He mumbled. That meant "yes" in Urdu.

"I will go with you."

"Hmm?"

"I said I will go with you. Tomorrow."

He smiled his smile and yawned. "I like you."

I put my head back on the salubrious pillow and smiled. "Me too."

"You like yourself or me?" I could feel his smug face.

"You can't make me say it. Goodnight."

"I know."

"Sleep tight."

"Achay khwaab dekhna*." The bed creaked. He had turned around. Soon, the sounds of his light snores filled the room and to their sound I fell asleep.

*Have sweet dreams.