Nadia scratched her palm nervously when she got in the front of 'home of recipes' building, she wouldn't have been here, but Abdallah encouraged her to give it a try. she didn't know why he has changed these past days, she just hopes it's for good.

"you can do it" Abdallah said reassuring her as they both ambulated towards the inner part of the building where the contest will be held.

Nadia registered in the backstage with other contestants from other countries, they were about 25 in numbers, and only 5 will make it to the final stage where the first, second and third places will be picked.

The organizers assigned a unique number to each of the contestant which they will be addressed as throughout the competition which will last for 3 days.

Each of the contestant including Nadia stood in front of the individual black marble counter top which had different ingredients and materials arranged on it, they were also some other food stuffs in the cabinet beneath.

The first stage of the competition consists of preparing a dish with the given ingredients on the countertop, but before it begins, all the contestants were asked to introduce themselves to the judges and audience.

Nadia heard intros from different individuals from Egypt, Greece, India, USA, Algeria, Croatia, Italy and many more,

"contestant No 12" one of the judges said, the spotlight stopped in front of Nadia's face, making all the participants and audience turn to her direction, "tell us your name and why you think you will win this competition" the female judge who looked like someone from one of the Arab countries said holding the mic very close to her mouth,

"my name is Nadia Suleiman" she felt nervous at first because she wasn't used to talking in front of alot of people who all had their gaze focused on her, but as soon she started speaking, she felt much better, "I think I'll win this competition because I've the potential, and I'm ready to put my best in it" she said earning an accolade from the audience of about 100 people who sat row by row behind the stage,

"that's a wonderful reply" the judge said nodding her head before opening another page of the white stack of papers she was holding,

"thank you" Nadia mouthed,

"if you were to win, who will be the first person to congratulate you?" the judge asked, Nadia racked her brain , and she couldn't find any other suitable answer,

"my husband" she replied earning a few 'awwns' from the audience,

"is he here now?" the judge asked,

"yes he is" she smiled,

"Nadia Suleiman's husband, if you are seated here can you please stand up" the judge said, few seconds passed with audience looking around to spot who the question was directed to,

Abdallah stood up from where he was seated smiling, he waved his hand as everyone applauded him. Watching Abdallah smiling in the midst of the crowd, the time, and everything around seems to stop for Nadia, it felt like it was only her and him standing with no one else around, she doesn't understand what he's doing to her this past days.

Initially, she thought enclosing herself will make her overcome the trauma easily because that's what she did when she lost her family, but now she knew it was very wrong.

The judge continued with the questioning of the remaining thirteen participants after Abdallah sat down. About an hour passed before the judges started reminding the participant about the dos and don'ts of the contest. The first stage was to last for five hours where 10 people will be picked,

"your time starts now" the timekeeper said pressing the start button on the clock, all the participant started cutting, frying, mixing ingredients together in a fast pace as the clock ticked away.

****

Darkness ensued the four cornered room which was surrounded with computers and technological gadget, a man sat in front of one of the computers with his face pressed on the screen trying to decipher what he was seeing,

he rewound the recording to see clearly the particular scene that looked weird, he was about writing down the colour of the clothes the person was putting on when the door to the room opened,

"you're back" the man said scribbling down some words on his note not looking at the person who just entered behind him, he doesn't have to turn his back to know who just entered because he and that person alone knows about the existence of the dark room,

"yes I'm" the other person spoke ambulating towards the man's direction,

"how did it go" the man said shifting his gaze to the other person's direction,

"she's safe" the other person said looking into the computer the man was hooked on,

"hope she wasn't hurt" the man asked with worry clearly written on his face,

"she wasn't, I won't let that happen" the other person drew a chair for himself to seat on, "I know you can put your life on the line for her, so I'll do my best to protect her with Allah's help" he said tearing a sheet of paper from the black book that laid open,

"thank you" the man said before turning his attention back to the screen of the computer.

****

"A minute more" Nadia heard the timekeeper said from on top of the podium he was standing, she hurriedly placed the garnishings on the dishes to make them more attractive,

"time's up" the timekeeper said ringing the black coated electric bell hanging close to him, "all the contestant should leave the cooking area and come in front with their dishes"

Nadia walked gently with the dishes she prepared placing it on the large table in front of the judges where all the other participant placed theirs. The judges asked the participant to stand opposite each other in two rows leaving a big gap between as they began to judge the dishes.

****

After about 30 minutes of high tensioned judging, a male judge said looking into the green square card he was holding "I think we have the contestant who would proceed to the next stage", he scanned the faces of all the contestant briefly before he continued "don't be sad if you did not make it to the next stage, you are all very good and qualified" he sighed, "but unfortunately, we have to pick a winner and to pick a winner, another must lose" he said bluntly.

Silence took over as all the participant duck their heads down, praying to their creator to make it to the next stage, "the participant to make it to the next stage are," he spoke in a high-pitched voice breaking the silence "No 7, No 14, No 2, No 3, No 5, No 8, No 10, No 20, No 6" Nadia heart thumped aggressively in her chest when she didn't hear her Number, "and lastly no 12" he said.

Nadia heaved a breath of relief when she heard her number she almost thought she had lost, "that's all for today stay tuned for the next stage tomorrow by 10:00 am" the anchor said dismissing all the participant and audience.

****

Abdallah waited in the backstage for Nadia, he sat on one of the iron stools scanning through the crowds for her, he sighted her from afar removing her red apron, she had an enormous smile on that could melt any heart like the way it was melting his.

He couldn't believe that he overlooked all the beautiful part of her because he was clouded by hate, but it isn't his fault. He finds it hard to trust anyone because he believes once you trust someone, they take you for granted and break you into pieces. He just hoped him trusting Nadia wasn't a bad idea.

"I've been calling you" Nadia said tapping his broad shoulder lightly, "are you ok?" she asked seeing the confused look he had on,

how could he explain to her that he was just thinking about her "I'm fine" he said standing from the stool, "congratulations" he smiled at her, "you were amazing back there",

"really?" she asked happily because this is the first time he was complementing her, and it felt good,

"uhm uhm" he nodded in affirmation as he held her hand, and they walked out of the building. An habit Abdallah has formed since when they got to Turkey is holding her hands whenever he gets a chance to, she was slowly accepting him as her safe place unknowingly.

They ambulated towards their ride with smile plastered on both of their faces not knowing that there was someone watching them from his hiding place, he slowly removed his black digital SLR camera from the bag that hanged loosely around his neck, he waited for the time their faces were clearly visible before he took the shot.

He brought the camera downwards to view the shot he has just taken, he smiled at how perfect it was before walking away.

@zinat Abdulkadir ✍️