If That Means Crawling, Crawl

Although we all claim its what life is supposed to be like, traveling has to be my #1 favorite escape from reality. I remember hopping onto a jeep that drove us to a rather under-explored part of the bedazzling Sultanate of Oman, where we accelerated along a steep mountain-slope under a sky dressed in the darkest shade of violet. I call it a rare occasion that I wouldn't rather pull out my smartphone and browse through every one else's enviable Snapchat story. The gleam across the heaven I sat under looked like Jam spread over bread, only the happiness times infinity. I recall that night to the most deafening noise one could hear; silence. Just like what you hear on a day spent beside some one you can go on talking to, without saying a word. I popped my head out the window and let the winds undo my headscarf, taking in as much of the landscape as I could to engrave that picturesque memory for a lifetime. I have a lot of fears, fears of losing good friends, earned followers, and maybe even the last cookie in the jar. But in that moment all I was afraid of losing, was that moment. It taught me to keep going, even if that meant baby steps or even staying still, only to shine. I was drenched in the holy sight of so many, alike and distant but even yet unique stars. I wondered if any of them felt less special because of how much brighter some shun over the others... little do they know, without the dim, there wouldn't be any bright. A realization then struck me... as beings, we are incomparable! Because even if we can 'see' it, our shine can only be 'felt' by those around us. And so, we rode on into the darkness until an invisible cloak hid the precious stones of the sky only to spare their lustre for another time, giving daylight its awaited turn to catwalk...

Photograph by Hiba Aydeed