Yes, I know that I have not been around lately. I also know how late this update is, Sorry, I had no time for anything. You know how everything in Ramadhan is different, things you used to do almost everyday, you hardly ever do them when Ramadhan is here. Weird huh?

Anyway, I'm here now, aren't I? So, where did we leave things, yes, Chapter three, it will be in the end of this post. With an addition that was not posted on Banoota's Chatbox or on e3ashig's forum. Chapter 4 inshallah will be written as soon as I have time. But it is underway.

Today I came back early from work, sick-leave. Very weird thing happening to me. I have a sour throat, I cough, my nose is running, head-ache, pimple on my neck, and other things all happening at once. In return I only got today off, weird world. I feel so fatigue and weak, and I was given a whole cabnet of medications, but I will inshallah continue my Fasting. But I better go off to bed, so here is the chapter, and await chapter four soon.

Here is Chapter Three.

Chapter Three

Première Expedition


He walked into flat number 1404. It wasn’t so bad, in fact, it was good. He thought he would get a little room, but it was more than just a room. It had a living room, a kitchen, the bedroom, and very oddly, two bathrooms. One was just a toilet, and the other one was just a shower. Why didn’t they make it just one? He was clueless.

It also had a balcony; so he opened the door of the balcony and stepped outside. What a great view. Clearly he could see the Eiffel Tower in the distant, oh and what was that on that far hill over there? Saint Mantomeret, as he’d read in some book. It is the highest point in Paris; indeed it was, where you could see the whole of the city from there.

Sager said to himself again, ‘I am in Paris.’ It still seemed like a dream to him.

He took a quick shower and he went out to explore the city. He asked the receptionist about the whereabouts of the nearest metro station, and though she spoke little English, he understood her and off he went.

He followed the directions he was given, and, eventually, he got there. The station was about seven minutes away on foot. On the way he continued to observe his surrounding environment. How lovely it all seemed. He was in love with the city already.

He reached the metro station, which was called La Défense. He discovered that this station (Gare in French) was one of the largest in Paris. It had the start of line one for the Metro System, RER A, a very big bus station and a train station as well. It was basically a key point in the transportation system of the city; in other words, he shouldn’t worry about transportation anymore.

He was told that the best way to get around in Paris was by using the Metro. The taxis were too expensive; the bus makes too many stops. Plus taxis and buses get stuck in traffic jams, which was very common in Paris. The RER was better for destinations outside of the city. The metro was fast, its network covered the whole city and it was cheap, hence, it was the best. Learning how to use the metro however was a little confusing at the beginning, but after few minutes it all started to make sense. It was as easy as pie.

Nevertheless, he did not want to start using the metro yet. Instead, he wanted to explore the neighborhood on foot. Check what interesting things were near by. So he abandoned the station and took the escalator that would take him outside. Wow, directly he was in front of that famous building: La Défense Grand Arche. It was huge, to the extinct that you could fit the whole of Notre Dame Church inside it. It was an extremely fascinating fact he had read.

He was standing in front of the building, and it faced this big pedestrians’ spot. The spot was in the center of other very tall buildings. What a great place, people were sitting on wooden benches, children playing around, tourists taking pictures and shooting with their video cameras. Sager wished he brought his own cameras. Never mind, though, surely he would come again, soon. What was that huge building on his right, was that a shopping mall? Yes it was. He directly headed to check the mall out.

It was a three-leveled mall, such a grand place. He got tired of walking really quickly; back at home he hardly ever walked anywhere. The car was always available. There was no reason to walk, and even if there was, it would be too hot to actually do it. So, he wanted to rest a little bit, but he didn’t. He wanted to make the best out of his day; he wanted to see more of the city. So he left the mall to further delve into his neighborhood.

He walked and walked and walked; yet he was nowhere near anything interesting. There were buildings and more buildings everywhere, wherever he walked. He got tired of this, not to mention how tired he got. He had been walking for two hours heading to nowhere he would want to be. He didn’t even know how to get back to the metro station.

He sat on one of the wooden benches that were there for a while, before making up his mind: The hell with the neighborhood, I want to go to the Champs-Elysées. So he stood up on the pavement and wanted to hail a taxi. Whenever he saw a taxi coming, he waved at him, but even though they were empty, the taxis did not stop. After fifteen minutes of failing to stop one he gave up.

What a great luck, getting lost on the first day in Paris. C’est la vie. Indeed, that was life. Wait a minute; there was a bus stop over there. What has he got to loose? He went to it and waited for the bus, and soon enough the bus came. He hopped in, paid the bus driver, and sat down. Where was this bus heading, he had no clue. Certainly he thought, it would end up somewhere better than where he was now. He decided to get down the moment he would see something familiar.

The bus kept stopping at every bus stop, yet Sager still had not seen any familiar sights. Few minutes later, the bus stopped, and everyone got out of the bus. The bus driver waved to him to get off, while speaking very fast in French, that Sager hardly understood anything, but he guessed that this was the last stop for this bus. Why not ask the bus driver where was the Champs-Elysées? So he did, with what little French he knew. The bus driver kept pointing in different directions that Sager was lost already, but he managed to ask him about a Taxi. The bus driver acknowledged his question and asked him to hold on. Then he went back to his driving seat and accelerated ahead.

Moments later, the bus stopped in front of a parking that had three taxi cars waiting there. Yes, a taxi station. He got off the bus, after throwing a lot of Merci’s towards the driver thanking him for such a great much-needed help.

He walked to the taxi, got in and uttered the name of the most famous street in France. The Champs-Elysées.

At last, the sights became recognizable. The taxi’s fair was unreasonably expensive compared to taxi’s back home.

A wide street, it was, with cafés more than you could count. Not to mention cinema theaters, designer stores, a few banks and a number of embassies. What a unique combination that you hardly ever see anywhere else. The infamous Champs-Elysées was amazing but the great thing didn’t come from those things that occupied that famous street, instead the things that are making the Champs what it is, are the people that are marching on both sides of it.

The place is crowded all the time, Sager found this extraordinary. The street was filled with cars and the pavements were swarmed with people, it was amazing. He walked and walked until he got tired. So, he sat down at the Hagen Dazes place. After ordering a crème and cookies two scopes ice crème. He just loved it, but he had to go back to the hotel early, after all it was his first time on the streets. He surely didn’t want to be lost in Paris at night.

He was certainly not disappointed with his first day. Tomorrow is a new day, with new potential places to visit and new monuments to be discovered and explored.

Alone in the dark, Sager was lying on the bed. His thoughts were whipping the insides of his skull. How ironic it was, to be in the city of romance, totally, alone.