Staring out the window, Celia held her gaze towards the distance clouds, that soon broke away to the long green blue waters of the ocean, perfectly still compared to the loud breaking waves at the beach. Elodie leaned over her shoulder, tilting her head slightly up to look at the blazing light of the sun, causing her eyes to glimmer emerald. A mask was drawn below the bridge of the nose, blocking off the view of the tip of her nose, and the pale lips, only revealing the pale gray eyes and the semi tanned skin. A woman, seemingly Islamic with her colorful hijab and long clothing, sat beside them, smiling at their admiration of the sea below. Celia in one hand, was holding a book, that was for English beginners, translated from Pashto, and after a long examination of the world outside, the two girls turned to look back at the book.
          "Ok so A... ah... Bee... ba... C..." Celia began to state aloud, slowly going to each letter and reading them, moving her mouth in all different directions and movements, causing other passengers to gaze over with confusion or with annoyance. The two girls had no care in the world, all their focus was on the book, though with an ocasional glance out the window. No one on the plane understood the struggle of freedom Afghan woman had, not having the ability to go to school under the rule of the Taliban. They were lucky though, as long as the terrorist group didn't come barging into the province village, which was very rare, they were safe.
The only problem was, Elodie's father was part of the Taliban. She was often aloud to travel with Celia and her parents mostly for this soul reason. Her mother was Irish, and when she first moved to Afghanistan, she had no clue that the person she had fallen in love with, would be so toxic. Elodie was rebellious, and often loved studying, but had to hide with Celia in the attic of the house, with all but one light on that hung just above their heads. They didn't know the difference between literacy that was separated by age, only that they were gifted with the ability to read, even when it meant to be in almost complete darkness while doing their studies.
            But at this moment, they were free to study in the brightness of the daylight, with no worry in the world, surrounded by tourists from all over the world. They had the freedom to speak to a man freely, and their mother had the ability to pull down her hijab, if it weren't part of her religion. Everything everyone will see while the on their 'vacation' to Afghanistan will only be the beauty, no war, no hate, only the religious behavior behind the country, and the places they so much adored. The government hid the terrorist struck country so well from the world, no prayers came, at least so very few.
           Pulling each other close, they gazed into each other's eyes, before they both pulled away and suddenly their studies were done. English was so hard, different pronunciations in each word for each letter, and the both of them were exhausted. The sun began to disappear as they reached the different time zones over the great blue sea, and a flight attendant passed by with pillows and blankets as the time passed by, and they soon fell into the dreams under the darkness of the night sky.

"Not everyone is so privileged. Not everyone has rights. But we can still have fun with what little we have."
-Celia Azar