Previous Summary:
Zayd and Layla planned a luxury shop catering to wealthy women. Emir Jalal offered them a prime noble-district location for 40% of profits, but Zayd decided to stall while searching for a better site.
📍 Scene: Damascus Bazaar – Morning
The streets buzzed with energy as merchants shouted prices and hawkers waved silks like banners. Zayd, Layla, and Qadir moved through the crowd, eyes scanning every street corner.
LAYLA (pointing at a corner building with wide windows):
"That one could work. Open frontage, plenty of light."
ZAYD (shaking his head):
"Too close to the tanneries. Our perfumes would be competing with the smell of goat hides."
QADIR (sniffing the air, grimacing):
"Even Nimr would fly away from here."
They walked deeper into the city until the noise dimmed. That's when Layla stopped in front of a tall sandstone building with carved arches and a tiled façade.
LAYLA:
"This… feels right."
The building had once been a small palace annex, now abandoned. Its courtyard was shaded by orange trees, and its wide front hall could easily house shelves of silks and perfumes.
ZAYD (nodding):
"If the owner's willing to sell, this is better than Jalal's offer."
📍 Scene Change: Spice Merchant's Courtyard – Afternoon
The building's owner, an elderly spice merchant named Hakeem, welcomed them with cardamom tea.
HAKEEM (smiling):
"You want my old shop? Hah, it's been empty since my knees went bad. I would rather see it alive again than crumbling."
ZAYD:
"Then name your price."
Hakeem leaned back, sipping his tea. "If you promise to keep the orange trees, I'll give you the key for 800 gold."
Qadir choked on his tea. "Eight hundred—?!"
Zayd's lips twitched. "We'll take it. But I want one more thing—your spice-sellers. They'll give our perfumes richer scents."
Hakeem's eyes gleamed. "Then it's a deal."
📍 Scene: Temporary Workshop – Evening
Back at the carriage shop's empty backroom, Zayd began calling in favors from artisans. A tailor from Aleppo, a leatherworker from Mosul, and two perfumers from Damascus answered his call.
Qadir, meanwhile, had taken it upon himself to "test" the perfumes.
QADIR (sniffing a small glass vial):
"Mmm. Smells like—like a meadow in spring."
LAYLA:
"That's because it's rosewater and mint. Don't drink it."
QADIR (already sipping):
"…Too late. I think I can taste the meadow."
Everyone burst out laughing, and even Zayd allowed a small smile.
đź“Ť Closing Narration:
The first stones had been laid—not in mortar, but in agreements, scents, and silks. The luxury shop was no longer just an idea. It was becoming real, one deal and one laugh at a time.
But in the noble quarter, word of Zayd's new purchase was already reaching ears that would not laugh at all.
End of Chapter 48