THE MASKED GIRL

36

They were allowed to go out of the barrack, as usual, to mark the end of the blue phase before they passed out. She had only gone for one once where she hallucinated, she had always avoided going out again. But Aliyu literally begged her to go for this one, it was their last one after all. The nine months of becoming a part of the army will be finally completed.

This time around the officer in charge couldn't come and the instructor is the kind of person who doesn't like to stress himself even a bit so he gave them thirty minutes to go to wherever they wanted and meet him back at the airfield.

She wanted to try skydiving again because she had nowhere to go but Aliyu asked her to escort him somewhere. He had boasted about where they would be going he told her that it would blow her mind once they reach. "Where could you possibly take me that would be better than staying here to fight my fears?"

He became quiet after she asked him like he wasn't just exaggerating about the place. She also becomes quiet as they get in a cab, he speaks to the driver and tells him the location, and the ride becomes quiet afterward.

"My home" He answered her earlier question completely taking her aback. His serious face told her he wasn't joking so she held his hands.

He was tense and nervous, he had not been with his family in almost six years. It was high time he set things right and meet them.

Hafsat, his little sister was the one that got the door for them. She was surprised so was everyone in the family but were all happy, they rejoiced and welcomed him home. The masked girl was warmly welcomed too they got to know each other and for the first time in a while she was comfortable without a mask and none of them questioned her scar, her only insecurity.

They left after their allocated thirty minutes. They walked around in the field just talking and chatting together. She brightens his day just like he brightens hers.

Staring at the masked girl becomes Aliyu's favorite habit. He just couldn't believe how she went through all that and survived it, she is just great. Yusuf noticed that and each time he tried to tell him to stop being very obvious his reply was always- "How can I hide it? When I am in love with a goddess"

During their final week of training where they continue learning advanced marksmanship and maneuvering techniques, including engaging targets as part of a team. They were on a multiple-day training which is called the forge which included navigation to test their skills and survival abilities as a team but the masked girl noticed that Aliyu's attention was solely on her. She gave Yusuf a questioning look while beckoning at Aliyu and he shrugged.

"Don't even ask him why"

She took Yusuf's words and continued with her exercise but Aliyu wasn't focusing at all and he was making them fall behind, funny how he was the one that is obsessed with winning. "Hey," She called out for his attention as she swiped her fingers at his face and then asked him. "Why are you staring at me like you are seeing me for the first time?"

"You are just too perfect to be real"

His reply shut her up completely.

Her mind drifted to her comfortable he had become with her since he knew who she was. How she had gotten attached to him so easily surprised her, he just made it easier. He talked about everything with her, she knows she was very talkative before her life drifted apart but he talks a thousand times more than her. He is the first person she knows who does a number of things, he cries a lot like a girl, he is talkative, and gets attached so easily. Later that night while she was eating dinner in her room and he was rambling about nothing and everything on the desk.

"Your bad boy outfit was the best part of it," He told her when the conversation drifted to how her revenge went and she chuckled in response. She has always fancied the bad boy in every book and movie, they were her favorite kind of genre. The outfit and the bike were a part of making the vengeance interesting and it was for sure fun.

Their stay at the barrack eventually came to an end, it was a long hectic nine months. The masked girl joined the army solely for revenge but it healed her in the process, it became a place where she found the remaining pieces of her she had lost. It was a place where she found peace and friendship. A place that made her accept a new path of life.

Her mother was finally at peace after she had returned home, she had not spent a decent amount of time with her daughter since the incident occurred last two years.

Now that she was done with her revenge, moving on and living seems so not hard. After all, she will be living the life for him and herself. She thought she would not last this long without him, she didn't think she would survive everything but this is life. All she can do is hold on to his memories and pray for him, he is just physically gone but he is forever with her.

She was starting her life afresh, she could never continue studying at her previous school. She thought of going to stay in Adamawa because her house felt so foreign but so was there. Everywhere and everything reminds her of him so Korea was her safest place. She decided to go there for her studies and also learn to live life to the fullest once again and have dreams to live up to. She does not see herself studying anything if not medicine, becoming a surgeon is the only thing for her. The years will surely get her back together completely.