After several days passed, appearing unchanged, on that bright morning, Tala sat at her desk, arranging the laptop in front of her, tangled wires of small devices she was using mysteries to Rahaf. Rahaf silently sipped her coffee as she watched.
Rahaf, smiling and observing her sister's odd movements, said: "Looking to hack something today?"
Tala laughed proudly and answered: "No, but I'm working on improving the intrusion-detection software I'm developing with the professor. We're working on a user behavior analysis program for networks let's just say I've become an expert at signal tracking."
Rahaf replied with a half-smile: "Sometimes, you scare me."
Tala laughed as she closed the laptop and grabbed her bag: "Relax, I'm not a criminal. Just a girl who loves technology more than anything."
She waved as she headed out the door: "See you tonight."
On her way to campus, Tala was listening to an old lecture recording through her earphones while her eyes wandered across the street as usual. At a crossroad near a large café, she noticed a young man sitting at a wooden café chair, scrolling on his phone as if waiting to move at the perfect moment.
She stared for a moment... then stopped in her tracks. A memory flashed from a former image she saw on her sister's phone. A man with calm features, sharp eyes, a faint smile: "That's him... that's Yazan."
There was no doubt his features were unmistakable. Her heart pounded, not because she saw him, but because she realized something significant was unfolding... and Rahaf didn't know it. How? Here, in the city, while he was supposed to be with Karma in the countryside.
Yazan sat at the café overlooking the main road, waiting for his friend Rayan, who said he'd come pick him up and take him to the company today he wanted a private place to talk.
Yazan loved working at the company so far. Rayan had appointed him to a high position after Yazan proved his talent: Rayan offered him a challenge to design a tower on a small plot while including all necessary services. Yazan succeeded after hard work and design effort.
While waiting for Rayan, Tala approached him confidently and stood before him with a simple pretext: "Excuse me my phone's off. May I make a quick call from yours? Just a minute."
Yazan hesitated at first, then said: "Of course go ahead."
She grabbed his phone, opened the call log, dialed a fake number so no one would answer, just to save his number.
She held it to her ear. No one answered that was intentional. She sighed and said: "Sorry to bother you. No answer, so never mind. Thank you."
He nodded with a small smile and quietly left. Tala turned away with a slight smile, opened her phone, and saved his number in a draft so she wouldn't forget it.
That night, Rahaf was on her phone with her mother, Nargis she missed her dearly when Tala rushed in and set her bag aside, saying earnestly: "I need to tell you something please don't interrupt me."
Rahaf raised her head, concern on her face as she ended the call with her mother: "What is it? You seem nervous."
Tala sat at the edge of the bed: "I saw Yazan today."
The phone slipped from Rahaf's hand as if struck by lightning. In shock, she stammered: "What?!"
Tala nodded: "Yes. I saw him clearly. I talked to him… and I got his number too."
Rahaf put her hand to her mouth, incapable of believing it.
Tala continued excitedly: "Since then, I started tracking him. I used network-based location analysis tools and correlated his daily movements to a fixed place he goes every morning... I found he goes every morning to Rayan Construction & Development Company. Seems that's where he works."
Rahaf whispered, barely audible: "Yes... Yazan always dreamt of working here, in this city. But how could he leave Karma on the very days of their wedding?"
Rahaf paused, then picked up her phone and began scrolling through her contacts until she tapped Karma's name.
The phone rang and then her sister's voice came through, soft and hesitant:
"Hello, Rahaf?"
To be continued...