They got up and sabih straightened out his black button down shirt. he held onto his jacket and together they walked toward the street in silence. Sabih listened to the leaves crunching beneath his feet with an appreciation for the noise, which seemed to make up for the lack of conversation with his sister. He followed kat, just a step behind her, amused at her long strides from short legs. they walked through the familiar streets though he knew not where they were going. he had been this way a million times, and though he knew, recognized, and could even tell the stories behind so many of the buildings, he felt like the stranger he knew he had become. there was a time when none of this felt like anything less than home and the narrow streets had been sheltering and warm. now it was all so tediously suffocating. where once sabih could walk down the street and meet up with friends at any given place, there was now only an unknowing that made sabih uncomfortable. he wished that he had thought to recommend driving elsewhere, but kat kept walkign without talking and he thought it better to stay quiet.
She turned quite suddenly into a small coffee-shop that sabih didn't recognize. it was small and had an almost ancient look to it, though sabih knew that its existence was recent. he followed kat to the back of the room. they wat across from each other at a small table for four. the seats were steel with padded cushions and sabih wondered why kat hadn't chosen some place more comfortable like the worn in couches across from them.
next to the window, kat preferred to look outside than to make eye contact with her brother. he took the opportunity to take in the environment. it was a relatively quiet room with only one lady behind the counter reading a magazine. the walls were red and covered with white, borderline yellow, photographs taken of the city from all angles. there was a warmth to them that sabih didn't quite understand, but they helped make him feel more at ease.
"could i get you something? coffee?" a red-headed, something like 25 year old asked. she spoke fake chirpy and the caked on make-up under her eyes had sabih assumign she hadn't slept much the night before.
"coffee, please," kat said.
"same here," sabih added. "plain, black. for the both of us."
he pushed aside the paper menu the waitress had placed in front of them. the red-head nodded, faked a smile, and with the same quietness with which she approached them, she left.
kat resumed back to her musings while staring out the window.
"kat," sabih started. she didn't respond.
"kat, you just gonna sit there like that?" he asked trying to hold back the irritability he hadn't noticed was building.
"no," she repsonded. "i don't plan on just sitting here like this. i play on drinking coffee, once i get it, of course. and then, if i'm in the mood, i plan on eating something."
she looked up as she said this and though she didn't smile, sabih could see a gleam in her eyes.