BENEATH THE DIRT

Her hair was midnight-black and it gracefully flowed over her shoulders. Her dazzling eyes stared blankly at the space in front of her. Her velvety eyelashes dropped with a dull thud. With a slow hand movement, her varnished fingernails rubbed her thick velvety eyelashes revealing a pair of rapture-blue eyes. A set of dazzling, angel-white teeth gleamed as she blew gently over her carmine-red fingernails. After a quick glance at her beautiful watch, Aaliyah sighed heavily as she adjusted her position, leaning backwards on the park bench. An incoming message flashed across the screen of her smartphone, notifying her that her friend Tara would be picking her up in a few minutes.

As Aaliyah sat silently on the park bench, a clumsy masculine figure plodded stealthily towards her and sat down beside her. His charcoal-grey hair was oily and unkempt as if he had not known the pleasure of a shower or comb since the reception days of World war I. His once-white jacket, transformed to filthy brown, covered the untucked, tattered and sweat-stained t-shirt under it. He wore an old pair of denim jeans that were shredded in the knees and rested three inches above his bony, protruding ankles. His eyes, filled with loneliness and despair as if he had realized a lack of purpose in his life were set in bags of black and purple rings two layers deep. His long entangled beard penetrated the depth of the abyss. The awful stench that oozed from his malnourished body could annihilate a whole housefly species.

"Well, here I am. What are your other two wishes?" chuckled the homeless stranger. Aaliyah burst into laughter, revealing her dazzling white set of teeth and pair of dimples on her ruby cheeks.

"Are you a time traveller? 'Cause I see you in my future!" added Steve, staring straight into Aaliyah's compassion-filled eyes.

Aaliyah could see a successful handsome man beneath the dirt. She felt a romantic connection with the destitute stranger. Steve's elated smlie amidst his predicament astonished Aaliyah. Time seemed to freeze as Steve and Aaliyah stared deeply into each other's eyes. A mysterious bond between the two was prominent in the romantic ambience. The rejuvenating song of the intrigued nightingales watching from among the trees filled the park with an aura of comfort. Steve leaned over towards Aaliyah.

The roaring of an elegant Range Rover parking adjacent to where the love birds were perching broke the silence.

"Hey Aaliyah, I am so sorry for keeping you waiting for all this time. I met heavy traffic along the way and I had no alternative route here. We should get going now. You must be tired," cried Tara, as she beckoned Aaliyah to join her in the whirring car.

"Hey Aali, who is that tattered man?" inquired the startled Aaliyah, "you mean he is..."

"Just a friend," interjected Aaliyah as she blushingly slipped a tiny piece of paper into Steve's rugged hand.

With slow hesitant steps, Aaliyah plodded towards the jet-black metallic horse, wading through a sea of melancholy as she left Steve behind. With a brief glance back at Steve, Aaliyah sat in the roaring car.

As the ebony Range Rover sped off out of sight, Steve unfolded the tiny piece of paper. It had a phone number written on it. He smiled as he spread out his lean body onto the lonely metallic bench. The fading evening sun cast long shadows on the ground. The slanting rays of the setting sun gave a warm tinge to the cloudy sky. The occasional barking of faraway stray dogs kept Steve's eyes wide open as he rehearsed the events of the day in his mind.

Perching on the edge of the cosy bed in the enormous visitors' room, Aaliyah could hardly lay her mind to rest as she thought about the prince charming. Huh!

"Has he had supper? Where has he slept? Has he met thugs on the way? Where did he go? Could there have been a snake nearby? Did a fox attack him? Oh no.. let me run!"

The beeping sound of her smartphone teleported Aaliyah from the captivating jungle of thoughts into reality. She woke up to a call from a strange number.

"Hello Aarl, this is Steve."

"O-oh y-yes Steve," whispered Aaliyah as she beamed into a wide smile.

"Been wondering if you reached safely. I can't sleep. I am thinking about you. Will be waiting for you tomorr..," muttered Steve as his talking credit gave up the ghost.

The following day, Steve and Aaliyah went out on a picnic. Silver rays of the summer sunlight slipped through the cracks of the blooming apple tree. Steve and Aaliyah sat right under it as it pixelated shadows on the dry grass blades, shifting and swaying as the wind gently blew through the evergreen leaves. The checkered carpet was soft and silky, with colours switching between red and blue, making the delicious array of food more prominent. The garnishing was so meticulous and the smell so alluring that Steve's taste buds began to tingle as they fathomed the unimaginable flavours infused in them. Steve and Aaliyah spoke intimately and laughed hysterically as they shared personal stories and aspirations.

"I wanna spend the rest of my life with you, Steve."

"Aaliyah, you are the part of the puzzle of my life that I have been waiting for. My heart is at home with you. I may not have a lot in this world, but having you as my only treasure is enough."

"Dear Steve, that spark you felt ignite inside you, that split-second version you had of yourself bright like the sun, believe that! A brighter future awaits you. Look forward to a brighter day, a more tranquil night and a bright infinite future. Your future is bright and beautiful. You don't have the power to change your past, but you have ultimate ability to create a better life. I believe in you, Steve."

Once the first tear broke free, the rest followed in an unbroken stream down Steve's bony cheeks. Steve bent forward where he sat on the mat and, cupping his ruby face in his palms, wailed with emotion. He could not believe that someone believed in him, that someone loved him the way he was and saw beauty in the broken.

"Here for you, dear Steve," whispered Aaliyah.