* * *

That night as I lay in bed, I began scrolling through the photographs from Meena’s wedding once again. There was one in particular that I was looking for. My fingers moved quickly, swiping through each image on the iPad until finally the photo I wanted came onto the screen. I held it up.

It was a picture of me and Meena on the night of her mehendi ceremony. I tapped the screen to zoom in closer.

Everything in the background was blurred except for the two of us. We were sitting on the stage while she was getting her mehendi applied. I was leaning in close as if telling her a secret, and Meena had both her arms outstretched, her head tilted back, laughing. She was radiant. I closed my eyes, thinking of her in that moment. Where would the girl in that photograph be if she had had the choice to live out her life the way she wanted? Would she have become an interior designer? Would she be traveling the world? Living in some glamorous city? Would she still have married Haroon? I looked once more at her image. There was something captivating about her smile. It was so full of . . . hope.

I swiped to the next image. It was a photo of Hisham with his mother. He had his arm wrapped around her shoulders and they were both grinning from ear to ear. My fingers gently grazed the outline of his face as I thought about the deal I had made with my parents nearly three months ago. I would have to tell them that I had failed to deliver on my promise. I just needed to figure out when the right time would be.

My phone suddenly buzzed. It was Annie.

“Hey!” I said, setting the iPad down. “How was your trip?”

“Incredible!” she said, her voice energized. “I was on a remote island off the coast of the Philippines snorkeling through shallow hidden caves with manta rays, sharks, and stingless golden jellyfish. It was surreal!”

“When did you get back?”

“I think a week ago? Everything’s a blur. My body reacted to one of the delicacies I ate at my homestay, and I spent the first couple days confined to my bed.”

“Oh, that’s awful. What did you eat?”

“Bat soup. At least I can say I tried it, right?”

“Your life is so much cooler than mine,” I said, laughing wistfully.

“I don’t know about that. From what you told me last time, your life doesn’t seem to be lacking in excitement either. So, how did your dating dilemma work out? Did you find what you were looking for?”

“Unfortunately, the odds didn’t work in my favor,” I said, glancing at the photo still on the screen. “Was I crazy for thinking they would?”

“Honestly . . .” Annie paused. “Yeah.”

I cringed at her bluntness.

“You do have a habit of setting yourself up for disappointment, Leila,” she said. “So what now? Are you finally going to let go of these fantasies and move on with your life?”