𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐎𝐌

55| C I N Q U A N T A-C I N Q U E

ALESSANDRO'S POV

It has been four days since my birthday, and since Akila found out her parents are in Sicily and four days since we said I love you.

My heart started beating heavily at the memory, my cheeks felt warmer and my lips curled to one side. It's the third day in a row Akila wakes up next to me. She always ends up on top of my chest and I always wake up before her. Every night she makes sure to tell me how excited she is to sleep, how it feels finally getting some rest for the first time in her life. She sits crossed legs, twirling her hair in one hand and talks for an hour or two. She tells me stories about her childhood, things she tried to help her sleep but failed. And no matter the ending of her many stories, she always manages to smile while telling them, she never shows sadness or regret of her past. She wears it like a designer bag, walking with pride knowing that she survived what the world feared.

And now she's what the world fears.

I felt a smile grow on my face as I looked down at her. It also became a morning routine to play with her hair, I just can't get my hands off it. It's so soft and long, I like to wrap it around my fingers for hours, it never gets boring.

Akila wakes up at five twenty two by the second. We both discovered that the past few days, her mind awakens her body at the exact same time everyday, no matter what time she falls asleep, she will wake up at five twenty two.

It amazes me, it's cool if you think about it. She wakes herself up, her body pushes her consciousness everyday with no effort, with the sound of the clock ticking at twenty two, she's awakened, full of energy and pure of tiredness.

My eyes landed on the clock hanging on the wall, thirty seconds left. I took the last thirty seconds of her peaceful face to stare at it, to memorize every inch of her and witness the miracle laying in my arms. My miracle.

Her eyes started to blink open, her head rose, taking away the warmth she gave me. I didn't need to check the time to know it's twenty two, if she's awake then it is. "I did it again, didn't I?" she said, running her fingers in her hair. I brought my arms in the air and reached for her head, I dug both my hands in her hair and massaged her skull. She sunk into my touch, I had to hold her up.

After a few minutes I stopped and dropped my hands, her head dropped with me and rested back on my chest. I closed my eyes and laughed, when I opened them, Akila's chin was against my skin and her gaze was fixed on me. She smiled at me and poked where my dimples showed, "I like when they appear" I sighed and brushed both my thumbs on each side of her lower cheeks, "I love when they appear" she rolled her eyes and flipped herself over, getting out of bed.

I fluffed my hair and sat up, the sun hadn't risen yet, the clouds were a light shade of red. We usually wake up a few minutes before sunrise, right when the weather is cool and soft. Akila stood in front of the curtains and pulled them to the side, revealing the colorful sky. She took a deep breath and placed both her hands on her hips, "What do we have today" she asked, her body towards the glass window. I pushed my body up and walked to her, my arms hugged her waist gently as my head leaned on her shoulder. I rocked both of our bodies and stared out of the window, "A meeting" I said before leaving a kiss on her cheek. She turned around to face me and raised an eyebrow, "What meeting" I brushed a few pieces of hair away from her eyes and smiled, "Just you, me and the guys. We have to discuss more about what we need and the equipment along with our men's requests. We have to organize each category and set a schedule for their training" I finished off with a sigh and waited for her to respond. She formed her hand into a fist and lightly hit my shoulder, "Well done" and just like that, she disconnected our touch and headed to the bathroom.