Debris crunched beneath their feet as they climbed the half-broken staircase, each cracked step complaining loudly under their weight. The whole building groaned around them—old metal beams shifting like tired bones—politely reminding them that it had already survived more disasters than any structure should.
Habeel placed his hand on the dusty railing. The step beneath him sagged dangerously, and he wobbled like a baby deer learning physics for the first time.
He cleared his throat in the most dramatic whisper humanly possible.
"Come to think of it…" he panted—sounding like he had just run uphill with a camel on his back—"We don't even know each other's names."
Ababeel blinked, one foot mid-air.
"…Are you serious? We've survived bullets, bombs, and Mrs Rafiq's toddler screaming like a demon—and now you want introductions?"
He lifted his chin with all the pride of a man pretending he wasn't about to pass out."I like to build suspense."
She rolled her eyes as she stepped higher."Right. Because nothing builds suspense like someone who nearly fainted five minutes ago."
Right on cue, the stair groaned under his weight.
He froze instantly.
She smirked over her shoulder.
"Name?"
"Habeel." He straightened, bracing himself against the wall in case it tried to assassinate him."And in case you're wondering—yes, it means 'breathtakingly heroic' in some cultures."
"No, it doesn't."
He shrugged, dust puffing off his shoulders."Well… it should."
A cold gust blew through the shattered window frame, swirling dust around Ababeel's ankles as she stepped onto the next stair.
"I'm Ababeel," she said.
He gasped dramatically.
"Like the birds?"
She narrowed her eyes immediately."Please do not say something stupid."
He raised both hands in surrender."I wasn't! I was going to say… majestic birds. Magical birds. Birds of, you know, divine justice."A beat."…Definitely not pigeons. Absolutely not."
She fixed him with a stare sharp enough to slice steel.
"Good. Because if you compare me to a pigeon, I will make sure you learn how to fly."
He zipped his lips with imaginary fingers and followed her into the corridor.
The hallway was dim, lit only by the soft dawn sunlight filtering through holes in the walls. Dust floated in the air like tiny ghosts drifting along with them. The world outside was chaos—but inside, the ruins held a strange, trembling peace.
They reached a small,half-intact landing—a patch of floor where the wind wasn't howling and the ceiling didn't look eager to bury them.
Ababeel dropped her bag with a long, exhausted sigh."Finally. Rest."
Habeel collapsed beside her, arms spread like a man who'd survived every wrong life choice possible."You know… for two strangers, we're pretty good at not dying."
She turned to him, the faintest smile tugging at her lips."Let's keep that streak going."
Outside, distant boots marched in cold, steady rhythm.
Inside the brittle bones of the broken building, two strangers—Habeel and Ababeel—caught their breath in the quiet, fragile shelter of dawn.