"I told you that you can come to the U.S.," he immediately offered again. "I know you will get an invitation from the president if you choose to come. You can teach… or do whatever you want to do."
"No. My place is here… for now, at least," she said gently. "These are my people. We are only starting the fight."
"What fight?" he asked.
"The road to independence," she said. "I cannot act the part of a physician like Rahaf, but perhaps I can be my people's voice."
Austyn was honestly happy for her. She'd already found a purpose. He told her that. About the sadness he was feeling for himself, he said nothing.
A car horn beeped at the foot of the hill. They were waiting for him.
"You need to go," she said encouragingly.
"Do you think our paths will ever cross again?" he asked.
She smiled, looked up at the blue sky above. Her green eyes startled him still.
"I cannot say. Perhaps not." She raised herself on her toes and brushed a kiss against his cheek. "But we have a saying…. No matter where you go, your destiny follows you."
Austyn's climb down that hill to the waiting car was the hardest path he had ever traveled. Reaching the road, he looked back.
At the top of the hill, Fahimah stood in the breeze… alone, strong, her clear eyes fixed on the distant peaks.