The morning of Laila's departure was full of feelings, and there were many things left unsaid. A compliant father sat by the window, and looking through it, he fixed his gaze on the dirt road leading away from the village. His once powerful, albeit lean and trembling, hands gripped the arms of the chair. The mother was near the entrance, attempting to fill a bag with few items for Laila, clothes, notebooks, and her dream sketch book having awakened much earlier than the sun.

Last into the bag of her mother went an ornamental scarf made of red and gold threads in beautiful designs. This was part of mother's work and Laila had always known it to be from her house.

She remembered how she often found her mother at nights, seated next to the fire as she worked on her embroidery, weaving magic into a mundane piece of cloth and creating something that was both beautiful and timeless. This done properly scarf, would be rolled and Laila would take it with her as a sign of affection and a little bit of mother's spirit to the unfamiliar.

Saying something in a low voice like "Here, take this," she draped it across Laila's shoulders. Her voice wavered at last, giving away the calm outward demeanor she had tried so hard to maintain. "For when you need to keep reminding yourself of your roots."

The girl's hands fisted the fabric due to the overwhelming feeling of longing for her family that was present in each fiber of the material. She was on the verge of telling her mother that this is not a goodbye for good, that she would be back, but words failed her. Instead, she acknowledged the fact while suppressing the emotions within her.

As he laid on the couch, too weak to sit up, his father made a slight gesture towards her. With a combination of affection and melancholy, pride, he placed a hand on Laila's cheek while she knelt beside him. "You have always been destined for something bigger than this village," he said with a tinge of rasp. "Laila, discover your purpose. It is our wish that you will make us proud."

"I will, Baba," came Laila's voice, rough and choked. "I will."

Her younger siblings emerged from the back, their eyes protruding out with an unsettling mix of pity and fear. To them, Dubai, like most other places, was a distant horizon from the routine existence they knew. As Laila kissed each of them on the forehead in an attempt to reassure them, she realized how agonizing it would be to leave them. She had always been the protector, the one who led them to safety, but this time would be different. She would be out of reach.

One morning, as everyone in the village was still asleep and the sun merely stretched shadows along the dirt paths, Laila and her family were making their way towards the bus stop. A few of the neighbors waved goodbye, their expressions a mixture of interest and respect. And although a lot of people would have confessed that what she meant with that they understood as she was off to Dubai. Laila perceived a vision that sparkled at the edge of their fantasizing reality, yet for them, it was a different place, one in which they could only expect to come rather soon.

A loud noise signaled the arrival of the bus, and with a resigned wave from the driver – a person she knew from childhood – she got on the vehicle. Worn, lined with age, and frailer than her family members at any time in a long while, their faces were obscured by the cloud of dust caused by the bus's exiting motion as they stood along the curbs and watched it leave. Pressing her palm against the window, Laila watched the people shrink until they were no more.

There was the void in absence that brushed against her chest but there was also something else there, maybe like expectancy. The road stretched far and wide ahead of her, straight into the distance to Dubai and to everything she ever wanted. Laila took a deep breath and tightening the grip to the scarf wrapped around her neck, she felt the warmth of her mother.

While the town disappeared in the distance, the bus driven along the highway and pursued into the unknown. The jagged tips of towering mountains in the background formed an outline in the sky that resembled ancient guardians. Laila as usual had not come such a short distance away, and the familiar world receded with each passing minute. Only that when the ruled waves of the desert came before her, there was a sense of excitement, and exhilaration about adventure offsetting the sadness.

Getting to the city, Laila spotted the first rays of the Dubai skyline, which was somewhat hovering above the beach, similar to a mirage. It seemed ordinary compared to those tall buildings with shining stainless steel and glass exteriors. All of this enticed, the promise of progress even heard from afar.

Laila couldn't breathe as they entered the central part of the city crossing the last bridge. Dubai was a spiral city which stretched to the furthest point that her eyes could see. There were numerous freeways which cut across the city like veils connecting those sparkling malls and tall buildings. This world of dreams and fast speed was more animated, vivid, and exaggerated than what she had ever pictured.

At the central station, as usual, it was busier, and Laila was getting off the bus with a strange exhilaration tinged with anxiety. She was enveloped into the center by the many sounds of the voice, including but not limited to the sound of construction equipment somewhere further, the honking of cars, and people moving about busy. The first time did not help much, and for a couple of seconds, she thought whether it was her turn to act. The city of hers did not bother much whether she was functioning or not, it was as if she was just another cog in the large spinning wheels of the machinery.

Yet, moments later, she put her shoulders back, drawing strength from the last image of her family waving goodbye and the warmth of the scarf around her neck. She wasn't supposed to be afraid in this place, she told herself. She was there to make something of herself, to expand and conquer. She had to be in the city, no matter how hard it was, with all its challenges.

Laila resumed her journey towards the address she had occupied a small, quiet in the southern part f the city, and zipped through the congested grid dragging her suitcase behind her. Even though it was a week too early for her to start working at Youssef Khalil's Company as an intern, she came to settle in and make the most out of this new place.

Laila accepted that no matter the distance that the bus journey taken her away from her home, she would always carry her roots, her family and her village in her heart. The route stretching before her was still a doubt, but Laila strolled through the city getting more and more thrilled by the minute. It was the very beginning of a great deal that would transcend the boundaries of the simple life she had escaped from.

The sky was transformed into colors as the backdrop of the city darkened, reflecting the omnipresent buildings and the beauty they formed. Laila ached as she caught a glimpse of the towers from her new home on the distance, a vision of the new world she was about to create.