Chapter 385 - Morocco

Avaleigh looked at Emerson nervously. Was he planning to propose to her?

Emerson smirked. He knew what she was thinking but he was going to leave her hanging. She was so cute when she was nervous. How could he resist teasing her?

"What's this other dish that you made?" he asked with curiosity as he changed the subject and lifted the lid off a stone pot. As soon as the lid was removed, a unique fragrance of spices filled the room. 

Emerson was a foodie that liked to try new food so Avaleigh always tried to find new recipes whenever she could. Today, she came across an interesting Moroccan dish that was perfect for the cold weather and nutritious for pregnant women.

Halia sniffed the air. Her senses were particularly heightened. She had never had this dish before but she could smell the different ingredients that were in it and it somehow felt familiar. "Coriander, c.u.min, cinnamon, paprika, turmeric, garlic, ginger, onion..." she smiled with her eyes closed.

Avaleigh looked at Halia in surprise, "Have you made chicken tajine before?"

Halia opened her eyes and shook her head as she looked at Avaleigh. She had never eaten anything that even resembled this dish. With a puzzled expression, Avaleigh scooped a spoonful into a bowl and passed it to Halia, "Here, have a taste and see what you think." 

Halia accepted the bowl and started eating from it. The chicken was tender and the warm and complex flavors danced across her tongue; it was a new, yet familiar experience. She closed her eyes for a moment to savor the flavors. They were unique, unlike anything she had ever eaten before, yet there was a nostalgic feeling that swept through her body.

She swallowed and opened her eyes again. But, to her surprise, she was no longer in Avaleigh and Emerson's dining room. The chicken tajine had, somehow, triggered a memory! She scanned her eyes in front of her and realized she was sitting at a table outside a busy restaurant - all by herself. In front of her, was the culprit of this memory: a chicken tajine served in a traditional conical tajine pot. She stretched out her hand to taste a spoonful and the flavors exploded in her mouth. Although the flavor was similar to the one that Avaleigh made, this was incomparable. After all, Avaleigh had simply followed a recipe.

Halia looked around at her surroundings. The temperature was hot and the air was a little dusty but the locals were still working hard in the sun. She had never been to a place like this before, but she quickly figured out that she was sitting in the middle of a busy ancient medina! The only thing that told her she was still in the 21st century was an iPhone that a man was talking on a few tables down.

The man appeared to be a local and he was speaking French. It confused Halia for a moment. Did they have medinas in France? She shook her head; this place looked nothing like France.

Halia tried to piece together the clues in front of her to figure out where she was, but right at that moment, a man with a donkey suddenly walked past in front of her and shoved a piece of paper into her hand. Halia was surprised but Boginya simply smiled and looked at the paper calmly; she had been expecting that man.

Written on the paper were some numbers. Halia looked at the numbers with curiosity. But, before she figured out what they meant, Boginya swiped her phone, typed the numbers into her maps app, and a pin dropped onto a location that was not too far from where she was. They were coordinates!

She smiled, took another bite of her chicken tajine, and started weaving her way through the medina. It was a shame that she couldn't finish it.

As she passed by some shops, the shopkeepers waved their goods in front of her face and tried to convince her to buy something. But, she ignored them and continued walking.

"Hello, over here, buy here!" a woman smiled.

"Where are you from?" a man asked, trying to start a conversation.

"I have beautiful rugs. I can do a special deal for you," another woman waved.

Finally, one man said something that caught Halia's attention, "Hello, beautiful lady. You come to Fez, you must buy leather!"

Fez? Halia latched onto this one word as Boginya continued walking forward like she didn't hear a thing. If she remembered correctly...Fez was in Morocco!

That was right!

The sights, the sounds, the smells, and the tastes were consistent with what she had heard about Morocco. So, Boginya had been to Morocco before.

But...who was she meeting and why was she being so secretive. Also, was there a reason why she was suddenly having this memory apart from the fact that Avaleigh had cooked a familiar dish?

Just as Halia was thinking this, Boginya turned a corner and found herself in a dead-end. She checked her map and frowned. "This is the right place, but where's Amun?" she whispered to herself.

Amun? Halia's eyes grew wide. That name again. Did that mean...Amun was in Morocco?!

At that moment, a deep voice said behind her, "Sofia..."

Boginya smirked and turned around. But, just before she saw the man's face, a voice pulled Halia back to reality. "Halia! How does it taste?" Avaleigh asked with a big smile.

Halia glanced at Jackson with an odd look in her eyes and he immediately realized why she had suddenly dazed off.

"It's delicious," Halia replied, just as Jackson leaned into her ear and whispered, "Did you see something?"

Halia watched as Avaleigh smiled at Emerson proudly and started feeding him some of the food she cooked. She then pulled out her phone to take some photos of the meal and share it online.

While they were preoccupied, Halia turned her head slightly and whispered back to Jackson, "Amun's in Morocco..."