Then came the day I celebrate as my birthday.
In the morning, I told Rayan,
"We'll go at lunchtime, okay?"
He nodded. "Yeah, sure. You can get ready by then."
I raised an eyebrow. "Get ready? I'm already ready."
He gave me a look and scanned my old clothes and messy hair, which I had tried to fix but failed.
"No way. You can't go out on your birthday looking like this."
He paused, as if thinking hard, then added,
"Wait… let me get you a birthday gift."
"A birthday gift?" I blinked.
"No need! You're already paying me so much just for staying here."
But Rayan insisted,
"No, please. Let me do this. Let's go to a clothing shop. Also… can you bring that same piece of cloth you used to cover my face last time? It was super effective."
Honestly, I didn't argue much. Deep down, I kind of wanted a birthday gift too.
So, I brought him the cloth, and we left.
We went to a fancy clothing shop—a place I had only admired from afar but never dared to step inside.
The moment we walked in, everyone stared at us like we didn't belong there. But all of that stopped when Rayan placed a pouch full of gold coins on the counter in front of the owner and said,
"Buy any dress you want."
In an instant, the owner—who was just about to ask us to leave—transformed into the most polite and helpful person alive.
What a world. Money really does talk.
I looked through every dress until one caught my eye—a beautiful white dress. I had never owned anything white before. Why? Because white gets dirty too easily.
I hesitated. As much as I loved it, the dress felt like it didn't belong to someone like me. I didn't want to ruin something so pure just by wearing it.
Suddenly, I heard Rayan say,
"You like this one? Let's buy it."
Just like that, all my overthinking stopped. I nodded with a soft smile.
Rayan handed the dress to the shop owner and said,
"We're buying this one. And please, can you help her get ready? We're heading to a party. I'll pay for everything."
The owner agreed happily.
Then, I got ready.
A sweet fragrance lingered around me, soft and unfamiliar. When I looked in the mirror, I could hardly recognize myself. Staring back was a beautiful girl — with the most lustrous hair and glowing skin, dressed in the prettiest white dress that sparkled under the light. I looked like a princess from a royal kingdom. My entire appearance had transformed — so much, it felt almost unreal.
When I went to see Rayan, he was in a separate waiting room. As I stepped inside, I noticed his face wasn't fully covered—probably because the room was empty.
I walked in shyly.
He turned to look at me, and for a second, his expression froze—somewhere between shock and happiness. His eyes held something unspoken, something he couldn't quite say out loud.
All he managed was,
"I've paid. Let's go to the party."
We both went to Mira's house and knocked. Both Mira and her mother opened the door, saying, "Happy birthday, Zera!"
But they froze the moment they saw me.
No one even looked at poor Rayan.
Then, in an instant, they pulled me inside and showered me with compliments:
"Are you really our Zera?"
"You look absolutely stunning!"
"That dress is so beautiful!"
I smiled shyly, saying nothing, my eyes drifting toward the one person who still hadn't complimented me.
Mira's mom followed my gaze and looked at Rayan.
She asked, "Who are you, young man? When did you enter our house?"
At her words, I looked at Mira, and so did she—both of us silently scrambling for an excuse.
Rayan stepped in and said politely, "Good afternoon, ma'am. I'm Zera's friend. Mira invited me to the party—may I come in too?"
He spoke so politely that no one would have ever believed how he talked to me when we first met.
He sounded like a little child asking permission to attend his friend's birthday party.
Mira's mom looked at me and asked, "Zera, is he really your friend? When did you meet him?"
"Ahh… in the market… yeah, in the market. He saved me from the royal guards. Since then, we've been friends," I said, making up an excuse.
She then turned to Rayan. "Okay, so where do you live?"
Rayan replied, "I don't live here. I'm from the next town—Susta. I'm here for a… business deal. Yes."
Mira quickly stepped in, "Oh, Mom, I've met him too, and he's a really nice guy. Why don't we just start the celebration? That would be best," trying her best to stop her mom from asking more questions.
"You're right. You children are grown up now. I suppose I shouldn't be so protective. Let's go and celebrate!" Mira's mom said.
As Mira's mom finally smiled, all three of us exchanged quick glances — and let out a breath we didn't know we were holding.