NEW LIFE : A SECOND CHANCE

Sophia was led to one spot on the table that actually did have cutlery. For everyone else, though, it was only the plate.

"We eat using our hands," Ali explained, "Specifically, our right hand. Our left hand is considered unclean ... because, erm, well ..."

His face flushed a bit as he explained in lowered tones, "Erm *cough* .. we use the left hand to wash ourselves after using the toilet."

It took Sophia a second to realised what he meant.

She blinked at him, while he looked away, his face beet red.

He turned back to her, realising one more thing to explain, "We don't use tissue, but water and soap. Sorry, this is not really the sort of thing to mention at the dinner table."

Clearing his throat, he pointed towards something on the table.

Sophia looked, and it was a jug (that was shaped like a coffee pot) on top of a round shaped container.* The entire setup was crystal and thus, she could see the water inside the jug.

"That is what we use to wash our hands, though when at home, we normally just wash our hands in the washbasin there," Ali said, pointing towards a small basin near the dining table.

"It's cleaner, really but when we have guests, we put that hand washing kettle jug on the table for their convenience, and choice to use," Ali went on to explain.

"But don't worry, you're not used to it so using cutlery is normal," Ali assured her.

Sophia was relieved. She would feel like such a fool to start eating with her hands, for the first time, in front of Ali's parents. She doubted she would ever get any food in!

Sophia spent the rest of the dinner in silent observation and contemplation. Of how they ate, how they interacted, how they basically ... lived.

It was a lot to take in and her head was swirling by the time Ali sent her home.

The silence in the car was deafening.

To Ali, he felt that the dinner had gone well. His parents didn't seem like they objected to Sophia, and Sophia appeared to adapt well and was being her normal, sweet self. He wasn't worried that his parents wouldn't like her.

I mean, what's not to like, right?

She was kind, polite and sweet. Every word she said in her sweet voice was perfect and respectful. She may have stumbled a bit at all the new things in front of her, but she took it all in with a smile.

Yet, her silence right now was making him a bit nervous for she was hardly quiet. She was always talking, sharing her thoughts. Filling the air with laughter.

He didn't want to ask, as he felt she would tell him once she was ready. He knew that there had been quite the culture shock upon bringing her home, judging from her expressions.

The only thing he could do now, was just ... wait.

As they reached her house, Ali was very reluctant to let her go. He walked her to the door and stood there, looking at her face intently as if he was trying to capture her image in his mind like a camera.

"Thank you, Ali," Sophia said, "Your family is nice."

Ali smiled, and took her hand in his as he looked at their hands joined together.

How he wished he could do so much more than this. In actual fact, some were so strict that even holding hands was forbidden.

Bare skin touching bare skin between men and women is not allowed.

But he was willing to bear this little sin for her.

Ali sighed.

Things which he had taken for granted before now felt so restrictive. He hoped that Sophia could understand him, and his limitations. He prayed that she would not misunderstand him and think that just because he wasn't more expressive physically, he didn't love her.

Just thinking of her mother offering him a condom was ... he shook his head.

Bringing her hands up to his lips, he kissed them gently and looked at her, "Thank you for coming. See you on Monday?"

Sophia nodded.

"Be careful on the road," she said as Ali put down her hand.

"I will," he replied, "You go in first."

"Okay," she said, unlocking the door. Both were reluctant to leave each other and the parting took much longer than it should be. After Sophia closed the door, Ali stood there for a second, staring at it before walking back to his car.

From the living room, Sophia looked at Ali walking off. He turned to wave at her, as if knowing she was watching, before he got into his car and drove off.

Sophia sighed.

There was a lot of things to think about.