THE MASKED GIRL

35

Aliyu
A gem! That is who she is, a very rare gem. I feel so bad for assuming that she killed innocent people. I thought I was the most unfortunate person for losing my mother. But she was ruined, she was raped by four men and her soulmate was killed in front of her eyes. How did she survive all these?!

I have never imagined her to have gone through that. I thought she was quiet and distant because she don't like noise. I thought she wears a mask because she didn't like attention. I thought she was alone because she despised people. And it saddens me to have think that she kills people because she is a murderer.

The masked girl I've spent seven months with is very different from the masked girl with me right now. This is Hafsat. Suhail's Suhailat. A warrior who had survived a lot out of the worst situations in the world.

Her voice had become hoarse from speaking and sobbing but she didn't stop, she told me everything about her. I didn't know mine had also gone the same from the very effect until I tried to speak and couldn't find my voice. This is the second time she has seen my tears.

"For a tough bad guy you do cry a lot" She teased and handed me a tissue paper.

How could I not?

I should have noticed from the beginning, her stoic character and the way she avoided hard questions about herself. She never talked about her feelings. I have no words to speak to her so I hugged her to express how amazing I think she is. She was hesitant but later buried her face in my shoulder as she tried to control her sniffles.

For the past seven months, since I first saw her- my only wish has been to know who she is. Along the ride, I started craving to get close to her. To know her midnight thoughts, her first thought when she wakes up, her favorite food, and everything about her. I've been waiting forever to get to know her better than anyone else.

She slowly fell into a deep slumber her breaths becoming peaceful and I watched her sleep. Her long lashes. Her nose. Her lips, were just like I imagined. And her scar, it was right in the middle of her chin and it wasn't big but deep.

I didn't know what I felt towards her in the first place. She was just very mysterious and I find myself excited each time I learn something about her, when we almost kissed, when we skydived together, it was all a feeling that I want to last me forever. Then I was met with a whole new part of her after telling her about my mother, that part of her got me thinking that I might like her. But right now after hearing who she was and what she had been through, there was no doubt that I had fallen head over heels in love with the masked girl.

Third person's POV

The masked girl felt a lot better after telling Aliyu about her. His new behavior kept surprising her. She thought he would question or leave her after hearing about her or see her in a bad way but they just got more closer. He is more comfortable, straightforward, and blunt. He talked to her as if he knew her in forever. He is like Suhail in many different ways but more intense. Like Suhail comes into her room without knocking but he will at least clear his voice or do something that will tell her he's coming but Aliyu doesn't, he even got her room spare key. He still gets food for her, they sometimes eat together. They are always together and he had made a habit of holding her hand always.

She slowly started to live like she was supposed to, she started to have dreams that she lived up to. Being a soldier was never for her and she had already planned how to get out of it once they were done. She is going to be the Hafsat that she was, just stronger. She is Suhail's Suhailat. Daddy's sunshine, Mommy's jewel, and Maryam's best friend. She was herself again. No more revenge, no more hallucinations, no more bad memories, and no more holding back.

No matter how much she tried to not accept it, Aliyu had helped her find the pieces of her she had lost and put them back together. He is someone she cannot risk losing no matter what. But so is Sadeeq, she wouldn't have gotten this far without him. The two had shown every sign that they don't want to be just friends. These were the thoughts that kept hitting her whenever she was alone and her thoughts and she escaped them every time by thinking of Suhail. He had told her not to put her life on hold but she don't think there would be anyone after him.

The blue phase which was the last part of their training started, and that would be their final rite of becoming soldiers. The masked girl joined her team again after all she would never do without them. She left them to avoid answering questions about her life but now that she did she felt at ease even though it was only Aliyu.

The two friends were the only ones who knew what she looks like and what her real name was. She is only herself when she is with just the two of them.

Sometimes the three of them will sneak to their hideout and Yusuf will scale the fence and buy food for them, where they will sit and talk about everything. Yusuf had not questioned her about why she wears a mask or her scar not even once, he was happy about how things were. Aliyu had sobered up from his life and the masked girl also looked happier. Maybe the army is actually a place for healing.