Habibi Min Zaman -

Elias walked over, his heart hammering a rhythm he thought he’d forgotten. He didn't say hello. He didn't ask how she was. The years of letters never sent and calls never made seemed to vanish as she looked up. Her eyes widened, then softened with a recognition that felt like coming home.

In that crowded city, surrounded by strangers, the "long time ago" was no longer a memory. It was sitting right in front of them, cooling its tea and smiling through tears. Some loves aren't meant to be outgrown; they are simply waiting for the clock to circle back to where it started. Habibi Min Zaman

They didn't talk about the war that had scattered them or the different lives they had built in the cold North. Instead, they spoke of the jasmine that grew over her father’s fence and the way the sea looked at dusk. Elias walked over, his heart hammering a rhythm

The scent of roasting coffee and cardamom always brought him back. For Elias, it wasn’t just a smell; it was a map leading straight to a small balcony in Beirut, years before the world grew complicated. The years of letters never sent and calls

"Habibi min zaman," she whispered, her voice a fragile bridge across a decade of absence.

He stood in the doorway of the café in Montreal, watching the steam curl against the frosted window. There, in the corner, sat Leyla. She was tracing the rim of her cup, a habit she’d had since she was nineteen.

"I never stopped looking for this face," he replied, taking the seat across from her.