Chapter 1

Love... It is that fierce emotion that sweeps the strings of our hearts to ring with this gentle feeling of love, if it loves or needed that feeling of love, or even to remember persons who love or remember other ancient lovers with whom history books and poems of poets are full, the love of Qais and Lili; Romeo and Juliet, Antara and Abla; as well as Mahmoud and Huda; is still immortal in the hearts of lovers even if no one has witnessed it from the beginning or has been falsified in history books.

We do not love lovers for their personalities, we love the love itself and the idea itself, without considering the shape, character and body of lovers, you see yourself as the hero of their stories; the dreamer hero, the hope, waiting for the heroine of his own novel that may come or may never come. The heart beats with love and lives with adoration and may be tormented by it and killed because of it; but to be honest with you, dear, no one dies because of love; time passes and love changes, and the beloved changes and just the life is the only thing you have no other; It's not like the lives in games or science fiction films that can renew or given so do not waste it with a love has no future, or a lover doesn't care for your life or love; you should select the right lover in the right time and the right way, crazy love is amazing but never last.

The wrong love only tortures you, you are the only one to pay it from your life, time, money and energy.

In the high class district at Cairo, Egypt.

Mahmoud Hefzy is an accountant in a bank; he has been married to Hoda Zahran for twenty-five years, he is forty-nine years old, he has three sons; Omar is twenty-four years old and works as an accountant like his father; Hadi is twenty years old and studies at the faculty of science in Cairo; Taqa, who is seventeen years old.

Mahmoud was a strong man with a nice character and great manners, he is an ideal husband, he works hard and sincerely, he returns to his house at half past three in the evening; he only comes out of it for a necessary need for him or his house.

Mahmoud worked with all his effort and energy to be able to move to this luxurious apartment where he has been living with his family for seven years in one of the highest classes districts in Cairo; he was supported by his wife, Huda, who works as a teacher at one of the basic education schools in New Cairo.

As usual, every morning Huda prepares breakfast for everyone before she goes to work at school, and this morning was no different, so she prepared breakfast and then shouted at them all:

- Yeah, guys... Breakfast is ready.

- Yes, right away, mom.

Hadi: Thanks alot, mom it's delicious.

Huda: When will you get rid of your daytime lectures, Hadi?

Hadi: At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, mom.

Omar: Don't wait for me today, I will be late at work and I will have lunch with my friends.

Huda: we said that we will reduce the times of eating away from home, this is not healthy, Omar.

Omar: we said, yes but I will be late at work and don't want to make you delay the lunch time, also I will go out with my friends.

Huda: Why don't you join us here, Mahmoud?!

Hadi: Dad doesn't speak while eating, mom and is waiting for his coffee without sugar to wake up.

Huda: Be polite, Hadi.

Mahmoud: he is right, Where is my coffee?

Toka: I have come, I am sorry for being late, I take much time to get dressed I know it.

Omar : No,no... it's okay, sister, you are all like that, it seems usual.

Huda: eat quickly, Toka until I prepare your father's coffee. OK?

Toka: OK. Mom.

Mahmoud: How is your work, Hadi?

Hadi: no, dad, you mean Omar, I'm still studying.

Mahmoud: So how is work in yourcollege, Omar?

Omar: It's okay, dad, never mind every thing is good.

****************

At one of the big banks in Cairo.

Mahmoud Hefzy didn't know what was happening to him these days; since the new accountant Aaliyah Adel moved to the bank branch where he has been working since two months, he feels something different; so why he feels so emotional towards her, Does she really care about him as he sometimes feels? Is she trolling for opportunities to ask him about certain things at work? Why does he think so much about this? Is it not considered that thinking about her is somehow a betrayal of his wife Hoda, who does not hesitate to serve him and serve his children? Is it a midlife crisis or, as they call it, late adolescence?

He does not know for sure, his many thoughts have not led him to resolve this matter yet; he does not believe that this feeling towards Aaliyah is pure love, perhaps admiration or temporary fascination or a feeling of lack of something in his relationship with his wife led him to think and feel relief or attraction towards another woman.

What bothered him the most was, ' what could this attraction end up being?' Is he going to marry her? Does she agree to marry a married man? Does she see him as a suitable husband, and he is fifteen years older than her?!

The worst thing that a person experiences is the feeling of permanent inferiority, psychological instability, the constant feeling of uselessness of any work or purpose of life; it is death however being alive, fire under the ashes; you do not see it, but it flares up and energizes, waiting for the spark.

This torrent of thoughts and questions was interrupted by a thin voice that has been singing to his ears for two months, a very beautiful bird's voice has been tweeting to him every morning, a voice that sends love and energy he longed to them for years that he does not think they will return soon or never, the voice was her voice, as if she had come out of his mind to face him face to face:

- Good Morning, Mr Mahmoud.

- Morning... Good Morning, Aaliyah.

- Sir, Are you okay?!

- Yes, very well but why do you ask?

- I just... banged on the door a lot and it seems you didn't hear it.

- Yes, l just.... was thinking deeply about some thing.

- Some thing at work or at home?

Mahmoud smiled and thought about his feelings that she cares about him.

- Are you really Interested to know?

- If it's not bothering you.

- Of course not, by the way I have a question for you at first.

- Come on in.

- Why are you still single till now?

- I think it's my fate, you can say I didn't find the one who can share me life till now.

- But you have all things men seek these days, you are good looking, have a good career and a perfect smile by the way.

Aaliyah smiled and said:

- May be it's not sufficient these days to be like that, Sir.

Aaliyah continued:

- It may be considered that I have an independent personality, and people don't like or bear it, and it may be that young people don't prefer marriage or are unable to burden it, these days. I really don't know exactly.

- Things have really changed a lot these days, but not for the better, unfortunately.

- OK... Can you tell me now what was you thinking of before I have come to you?

- It's one of my friends has a big problem, and yet I have no solution for him.

- What's the problem?

Mahmoud was not happy talking to anyone before, as he was happy talking to Aaliyah, who managed to rob his admiration and impress him with her beauty, elegance and charming smile, she succeeded in arousing his curiosity and pushing him to invent some problem to continue talking to her, he did not know what to say to her, nor about any friend to tell her, nor about any problem:

- It's really a big problem that you forgot about me again, sir.

- Huh ... Indeed, my friend has suddenly lost all his passion in life and for no reason, suddenly he feels that he is not happy or satisfied with his life.

- It's really painful; He must please himself at any way and quickly.

-I am not going to leave him alone and I will tell him your advice.

A person continues in his usual life calmly and normally without any problem until his subconscious mind begins to chatter and return from a far to the old memories and habits of the past, suddenly you remember your old hobbies such as reading a novel with a cup of tea on your balcony, fishing, playing cards or dice with friends or longing for love the days of adolescence and youth before marriage.

It's as if the mind activates your happiness hormone just by reminding you of all these memories and brings back to you the passion of the beautiful past.

His old princess was one of the medieval princesses whose faces were filled with the beauty and splendor of the queens of this era of history, and their eyes were like a deep sea whose silt you can never touch, just dive into it and swim without reaching the shore or expecting to survive.

His beloved girl was named Amira Olwan; they were not destined to marry, she could not wait for him to be ready to marry her, so her father married her to another young man; she could not refuse any more without convincing reasons for her family, she married five years before him, and then he knew that her husband emigrated to work in Australia and went with him, and he has not known anything about her since then.

Huda, his wife, succeeded in fulfilling her role as a wife and mother to the fullest, Mahmoud loved her and forgot his old love little by little over the days, and lived with her for twenty-five years with all love, sincerity and happiness; Huda was an example of an ideal wife, making her husband happy and not carrying him what he could not bear; not blaming or complaining about her work or the needs of her husband and her children; she was an example of sacrificing everything in order to make everyone happy and maintain stability and tranquility for the house, and this was especially what makes it difficult for Mahmoud to talk to her about the latest changes of his life, his changing feelings and his current needs.

- You wandered again and forgot about me, sir.

- Huh... No, no... I am here with you, What were you saying?