One month later 1953:

What am I doing here? Why am I here? I'm stuck! I want to go home! Am I dreaming?! No, I keep pinching myself now and then to be sure. The size of my left arm is slightly larger than my right. It may sound funny, not when I am stuck in a different timeline. Clueless of how to get back. By now I know how I got here. Something that old man did to me in that weird drink that I came here. The weather is getting chillier here, and I'm sitting at Mohammed...or little Mohammed's as everyone calls him, his secret hideout at the rooftop.

Her first two weeks went bawling, confused trying to figure out what happened. She knew she wasn't dreaming. After the encounter with that old man, she concluded that he did some hocus pocus thingy on her. Why may you ask? Remembering the time where she was complaining about Sheikh Mohammed not being sensitive enough to his people. Well, she was here now. She sort of half expected that she would meet the adult one rather than an eight-year-old. Why an eight-year-old was a question beyond her imagination. She was unable to convince anyone about who she was or where she came from?

"Urgh...I take back. I take back my complaint...yallah put me back to 2011...!", I won't complain again... Why meeeeeeeee!", she whined.

Her rants were interrupted by someone's footsteps. She quickly turned to find out the teenage Maktoum holding what looked like blankets and a ceramic cup of coffee. " Oh didn't know you were here Aairah mam."

"Hey. What are you doing here?", she asked the youngster.

"Nah just like that. Wasn't sleepy.", he shrugged and sat beside her.

" then I guess you shouldn't have coffee; it will keep you up all night then.", she countered.

He smiled and sat quietly. "Hey, have this. I have the coffee." He said handing her the blanket.

"Uh-uh, kid. Nope let the adult have the coffee and you keep the blanket. You have school tomorrow.",she quickly snatched the mug and took a sip. " Now you can't have it. haha." Maktoum face fell. "Not fair.", he complained.

They sat there in silence enjoying the view. And damn it was so beautiful. The Zabeel palace in 2011 looked something else. The little city that it was. The stars were so clear strangely it was supposed to rain.

Maktoum's thoughts were interrupted, " are you here because of what your dad said today?"

He just replied,"mhmm."

"Hey, you do know he was saying it for your good. Right?", she tried to get him into getting comfortable.

" yes I do know that mam, but it does sometimes hurt you know. I mean I'm going to rule after dad. And I want my father to be proud of me. But it's just so..so.."

"Hard...well it always is... I don't know what it is like to be a royal but all I can say is that thing will be hard but when you do something for people and see the smile in their face because of you... I think that's one of the best feelings."

He was quiet for a while, "yeah I get that... But sometimes I don't want to do it... I want to do something I like whenever I like...does that make me selfish?"

Aairah scoffed, "of course not. That makes you more human. I mean it's good that you think that way...because I thought that you were an all-rounder machine...come on you are just 15! You are supposed to make mistakes. It's okay you know. It is. One day people will talk and they will forget. Mistakes are fine, and blunders are not. Besides you have your father and your Zayed uncle to help you."

Maktoum sighed. "I want to do right by everyone. How are you so sure of everything.?"

She chuckled, "Aaw you kiddo. You are such a good kid. Really at 15 kids at my time are so irresponsible. Remember any decision you take to think of Allah. If that decision doesn't keep you awake, Then you, my prince have done the right thing. Or...I wing it."

He laughs slightly and his expression changes into a questionable one, "Can I ask you something? Reply honestly..."

Aairah became a bit hesitant, "Ok alright...shoot."

Maktoum's eyebrows furrowed at her last remark but he brushed it aside, "Are you a doctor?"

She smiled at him lightly, "No honey...I'm not. I'm a surgeon."

His eyes widen, "Really? But you are so young!"

"Well...I'm a genius. What can I say.", she replied.

"But how? You have to be very good at studies. So as per what I know. You have to be 18 to have the permit to do all this right?"

He soon began throwing questions at her as to how she achieved it.

"Ya Allah! You are not from 1953!", he exclaimed.

It felt like she was thrown pebbles at her face. " wait for what?!"

"Don't lie...you are not from here. I can tell. I mean you are not from now...ah...I don't know how to tell. The way you talk or act. It's not traditional or like the women in our family and culture. Everyone thinks that you are a little...um a little.", he was hesitant and trying to find a nice word not to offend her.

"Mad? Yeah, I figured that out...I'm not that slow you know.", she sigh

"Well, I don't think you are mad. I believe there is some serious problem involved. I know you are of different...", he hesitated to find the right word as confusion marred his wise beyond his years face. Just showing his innocence. Just showing that he was a teenager. Just like anybody. Who had to grow up too fast.

"Time...the word is time... believe me, even I don't know how I ended up here. One minute I was in metro and next thing I'm here.", she sighed.

"Metro? What's that.?", He asked. His voiced peaked with interest.

Aairah's mouth formed an 'o'. "well its trains you know, but without a driver..."

Maktoum's face was that of a child that didn't believe it, but he was too curious and excited.

Aairah chuckled at his excitement. She cleared her throat and started. "Yes, and it doesn't run on fuel...petrol or whatever. it runs on electricity!!!". 

"wow....really!!!!", he asked in excitement." wait which year was is this?"

"2011!", She spoke excitedly waiting for his reaction.

His jaw dropped. He wanted to speak, but he was so much in shock that no words came out. aairah fished for her phone and her power bank which was on her last charge. And her phone was dead. She plugged it in and it sprung to life.

Maktoum eye widens in astonishment as his show with the light reflecting from her phone.

aairah went on to explain what it was, what it did and internet too. Maktoum heart filled with joy as he saw her family photographs and carefully showed little of what Dubai is now. Aairah went to speak about her family and she was careful to mention tiny things and not give away what happened in the future. She had watched too many movies regarding time travel. And trying to save the future by changing the past was a big big big NO NO. because the future would be DIFFERENT. And she didn't know till now why she was here. 

Before maktoum could see more,e she switched the phone off trying to carefully use the last of the battery juice. "why cant you use it by plugging it in here?", he asked  still peering at her Phone in his hands.

"thats a good idea...but the plug points and voltages are different and if i do plug it tehre are high chances of short circuit and electricians are rare in this palace. i dont want to cause any trouble...plus my phone would burn."

he suddenly went quite.

"what happened?", she asked puzzled at his sudden fizzling down of excitement.

"did i do any of this?", he asked quietly

"oh come on dont think less of yourself. i cant tell you what you did, but i can say you are capable of great things...yes you are", his eye had the flickr of hope of her last words.

"will i...will...um...will our family be happy...as in will they be happy to see me as the ruler?"

"o,h you poor child...stop thinking so much.! people will be, if you do your duty. i do not know about your family, because im not acquainted with your family. i only know what comes on tv or the newspaper. thats it. im a commoner. one of the residents of this city.", she finished smiling at him.

"i really wish you were mam...hey...which year were you born.?", he asked suddenly.

"haha, now you dont ask a lady her age. that isnt well mannered now is it? ", she obsereved him

his face fell a bit, and she knew that he needed encouragement and his questions answered. but most of all he should be allowed to make mistakes.

"I'm 22, and you are 48 years older to me. you could easily be my grandpa.", with that, she burst out laughing, and Maktoum's serious face was marred with a smile. "Anyways its getting late. We should go to bed. And I hope you finished the homework I gave you. Now..chop chop...off to bed.", she urged him to get up as she stood up.

"5 minutes and I will be off .", he requested.

"sure kid.", she replied and walked towards the door of the roof.

"Mam!", he called out to her.

"Yeah, kiddo?", she turned around.

"I do mean it...you know..if you were part of our family...um...if you...or when you go back to your time...will you come to see me? I would love to see you.", He asked a little sad but also a little happy for god knows what reason. He had this forlorn smile which made Aairah unable to answer to his request.

"inshallah." , she replied with a smile and walked off with a sad expression on her face.

Too bad she would never see him grow up.

She didn't have the heart to tell him that he was already...Dead.

HEY BITCHESSS!!!!!!HOW WAS THIS CHAPTER. HOW WAS THEIR BONDING? PLEASE DO COMMENT AND VOTE AND SHARE... LOTS OF LOVE

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