Azure_895
Legacy Name: Azure_895

She was 23, stopping by the hospital to have lunch with her mom. As one of the doctors working in the ICU, Az's mom was often busy, and this was one of the few ways they were able to sometimes connect. Their relationship often seemed more polite and acquaintance-like than anything else, but still, it was more than some people had. Az was glad her mom helped so many people, and that her affluent position meant Az had her horses. So maybe Mother and Daughter weren't super close. Az was always able to make friends easily, and when all else failed, her horses were there. She was okay with this.

Meanwhile, as she was finishing her lunch and her mom was returning to work, Tariq found himself staring from across the hospital cafeteria. A flash of something had caught his eye, and now he couldn't turn away.

“Her eyes look like the stars,” he thought to himself interestedly, and then nearly choked on his sandwich when he looked up to find her standing in front of him.

“Oh my god, are you okay? I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you! You looked so deep in thought, I guess I wanted to make sure you were okay – this is a hospital, after all – but I think I just made it worse!” the girl rambled. “I should have realized you’d be startled – deep in thought and everything – shoot, I’m sorry, I – “

“No, I’m fine, it’s okay, everything’s fine – brilliant, in fact,” Tariq cut in, regaining his voice. “Really, I should be the one apologizing, I’m sorry, I was just – thinking.”

The girl smiled and tilted her head. “You have an accent. I take it you’re not from here?”

Tariq shook his head. "I grew up in England," he explained.

“What brought you to Alaska?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” Tariq replied truthfully. “I seem to have lost about a month’s worth of memories. I just remember snow and waking up in a bed here, with an awful lot of broken bones," he said, watching the girl's reactions carefully. If she showed any pity or uncomfortableness, he'd have stopped and let her make some excuse to leave. Instead, he saw her lean in toward him the tiniest bit; she was interested in what he was saying. Tariq inwardly breathed a sigh of relief and continued. "But as you can see, I’m doing better – there are some wonderful physical therapists here, in case you ever need one – but I don’t recommend suffering any injuries, better to just take my word for it,” he teased.

“I’ll remember that,” she said with a smile. She slid into the seat across from him and held out her slim hand. "I'm Az - it stands for Azar, I know, it's weird. Persian. My parents did a lot of traveling before they 'settled down' in this snow-covered land and got real jobs," she explained, entirely unselfconsciously.

Tariq grinned. "Az. I'm Tariq. It's Turkish. My parents traveled too - from Turkey, to England," he said playfully.

"So your name is genuine and mine is stolen," Az noted.

"I wouldn't call it stolen. More like 'gifted' to you. I think it fits you well," he said sincerely.

"Oh yeah? Why's that?" she asked curiously.

"'Azar,' meaning 'Fire'. I know a little bit of Persian. I was studying history - particularly Turkish history, Ottoman history - in university. You startled me before because I was just thinking that your eyes sparkle a lot - I thought of stars, but fire is fitting too."

From just about anyone else, that could have sounded corny as hell, Az thought. But for some reason, it just sounded normal coming from him. Maybe because he was uniquely sincere about it; it wasn't a come-on, it was just a statement. She looked at him again and wondered what to say.

"Why stars?" is what popped out of her mouth.

He smiled, almost to himself. "That's a long story. The short answer is, they've been on my mind a lot recently. And also because your eyes are a really deep blue. Just reminded me of the night sky, especially here. In England, our sky doesn't seem to be quite as…deep."

Az nodded, knowing exactly what he meant. "This sky is my favorite, too. It feels like forever."

They were quiet for a second, and then Az was suddenly struck with a bit of self-consciousness. Where in the world did this conversation come from? Time to go back to more neutral territory.

"So. Ottoman history. Any interesting?" she asked Tariq.

He chuckled. "I guess not to everyone, but I like it."

"Well, give me an interesting bit of trivia! Something fun."

Tariq thought for a moment, then smiled. "One of my favorites is the aslanhane, or the lion-house. Really, it was a full menagerie, part of a circus attached to the royal palace in the 16th century. It was one of the first ones in the world, and people had rarely ever seen the animals that were featured - giraffes, rhinoceros, elephants, leopards…but a main part of the show was the horse and rider act. There were other human acts too - acrobats and the like. It's really quite fantastic. I'd have loved to see it."

As Tariq was talking, Az began grinning from ear to ear. Finally, Tariq noticed, and shot her a questioning look.

"What?"

"I haven't told you much about myself yet, have I? For instance…I haven't said a thing about what I do for a living, did I?" Az asked, teasingly drawing out the suspense.

Tariq's curiosity was immediately piqued. "No, you didn't. So what do you do for a living, then?"

Az's eyes were dancing. "You're going to like this," she said, still refusing to answer.

"Come on, then! Out with it!" By now, Tariq was grinning too.

"Hey, when do you get released from here, by the way? Do you know?" she asked, changing the subject.

"The doctors say if all keeps going well, I might be able to get out in a week. Now no changing the subject! What do you do??"

"Can't tell you. Have to show you. I'm going to give you my number, and you're going to call me when you're let out, and then you are going to come see." Az was already jotting down her name and number on a napkin. "And don't think you can get out of this - my mom works here, I can track you down, so you better call!"

"How could I not? You have it all planned, and now I need to know!"

"Good! And actually, I better get going, didn't notice the time, have to get back to the - well, you'll see soon enough. If you don't call, I'm coming back to get you!"

With that, she walked out, leaving Tariq sitting at the table, finally with a reason to start healing.

Art and Credits

11/22/11: Your friend hipster has given you the pet Azure!

profile by Slavic

story/character by myself

song lyrics from "Detours" by Sheryl Crow

Charahub for more info

Stars; she just couldn't get over how many there were, and how different they could be every night. Right now, for instance, they were scattered across the dark sky like someone had dipped a paintbrush in white paint and ran their finger over the bristles, spattering dots and streaks everywhere. So simple, and so lovely. Just yesterday, it had been entirely different, seeming like a personal show for her alone, with comets dancing in front of her eyes, distracting her from everything that had been bothering her.

And with that thought, pain shot through her heart. Az sat on the fence rail, with Panik laying down in the snow at her feet. She turned up the volume on her iPod higher, trying to drown out her thoughts, but Sheryl Crow came on, singing the words she was feeling:

Now what do I do with this sweet love of mine? Do I give it away and hope someday I'll find someone half as awake as the moon and the stars? Mother, teach me to love with a paper-thin heart.

It was true, she really believed it, he wasn't good enough for her, she deserved something better than what he had been…but God, he had been all she had.

As if reading her thoughts, Panik stuck his nose under her hand, forcing her to pet him, and she couldn't help but smile. Okay, so maybe she had a few good things around her still. Panik was certainly there for her, the crazy little pup. And the horses, of course. She looked back behind her on the hill, enjoying the sight of their comforting silhouettes against the backdrop of the snow and barn. The moon hung low beside the stables, just a thin silver crescent, but beaming so bright she almost couldn't look at it. Instead, she turned her head back to the open fields in front of her, and the mountains far away in the distance. Just then, Panik looked straight up into the sky, and Az followed his gaze. Suddenly, a shimmering veil of color erupted, waving in folds of opalescent greens and blues and purples. Involuntarily, Az sucked in a deep breath; the contrast against the rest of the dark sky was startling, and it made her forget to breathe.This wasn't the first time she had seen the Aurora Borealis, and it wouldn't be the last, but right now it was just what she needed. Among the fading lyrics of the music in her ears and the dazzling display before her, she felt that maybe, just maybe, there was more waiting for her just beyond what she could see.