Harsh Reality(2)

Leila woke up the next morning to a shabby ceiling. As she looked at the water leaks which were increasing in size, her resolve on moving out redoubled. On leaving the house, she looked back at the run-down building which was her temporary home and promised that she would leave the place if possible today.

****House Hunting Day 1****

Leila was really exhausted on her way back home. She had gotten all kinds of offers some "agents" tried taking advantage of her situation by giving very suggestive hints. She was just tired of all the hidden messages and her bed seems to be calling out to her from across the town. Almost reaching her street, she heard a shout "Robbery!" and looked around to see if she could help. Not seeing anything out of place she sat at a bus stop and took out her phone to play games. Right in the middle of the game, someone tripped over her leg. Realizing what obviously happened, she began apologizing only to hear the sound of running footsteps and panting. The woman managed to say "…catch…" before collapsing.

Leila felt a swear word on the tip of her tongue. Right now, not many people were around as most were at work and being discovered like this was not an option. Noticing the stares she was beginning to get, she hurriedly brought out a bottle of water and splashed on the woman's face; which resulted in her coughing and spluttering. Ignoring the fact that her method of reviving her wasn't the safest, Leila was trying her best not to dash off. This woman had fainted once and she certainly didn't want to risk this stranger dying on her. Looking beside her she saw a shiny, leather bag looking back at her on the bench. Picking it up, she began to take a good look at it only to look down and see the woman reaching for it. Seeing how shaken the woman looked, Leila helped her on to the bench and waited for her to catch her breath. The woman also was using this as an opportunity to analyze Leila but she disregarded the suspicion that Leila was the thief on seeing the look of concern in her eyes besides she remembered seeing a man's frame dart away when she realized she had been robbed.

Recovering herself she thanked Leila for her assistance and asked for her bag. She half expected that Leila would deny and claim to be the owner of the bag but to her surprise, Leila calmly gave her the bag wishing her an uneventful journey and continued to play games on her phone. Upon realizing that Leila did not intend to argue she quickly whipped out her business card and handed it to her because she realized that such honesty was rare and it was better to identify it early as it was important in her field.