Chapter 385 - Morocco (1/2)

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.