THE MASKED GIRL

42

Aliyu

I watch her leave without giving me an answer. I felt my heart bleeding with her every step. It felt like a hot iron burning inside my chest, even when she disappeared into the checkpoint, the loneliness, and the pain was still in my chest.

Is this how cruel love is? I felt worse than Aaron Warner did when he laid his heart bare for Juliette twice and she gave him a bullet wound and a broken heart in the process.

She has to have a reason for denying me, it is neither because of Suhail nor because she doesn't like me. She is going hard on herself trying to suppress her feelings and it's hurting her, maybe she has forgotten how I could read her like an open book.

If time is what she needs then so be it, I will wait for her even if it takes a million years. If you had told me a year ago that I would be this caught up on the masked girl, I would have thought you were crazy.

The company suddenly became a part of me and I find it hard leaving to go back to the barrack, maybe I was never meant to be a soldier. The general disapproved of my request, he claimed a soldier who went through two trainings can not be dismissed by any chance. The passion has wholly diminished in my heart.

I suffered a great deal before the general removed my name from the selected soldiers, a favor I will forever be grateful for. Managing the company after my father was a great privilege I am glad to have taken and become a part of.

My immediate twin sister's wedding that took place recently made me realize how time really flies, three years just passed in the blink of an eye. It's incredible how they have always done things together, no one except close relatives can tell them apart. Their wedding was another happier moment that made us all wish Mama was still here with us, it was one of those moments where her absence became unbearable.

I haven't heard from or contacted Hafsat since our encounter at the airport. It's crazy how she found a place in my heart without trying. She is always on my mind and I always wonder what she is doing and where she is. Whether she has stopped overthinking and lived her life without hesitating? How she is finding it over there and whether she thinks of me like I do. If only I had a direct way to contact her.

The next day which was Saturday, I was left alone in the house with my little sister because Abbah had to go for a reunion with his old associates. Hafsat is the closest to me but that changed since when I left for the army, she was happy that I was back but she finds it hard to forget about how I just left them, the way she handles things is beyond her age. Maryam also doesn't treat me like before and I take that as my punishment. Mariya is the only one that doesn't hold any grudges and I missed her presence the most, I still find it hard to believe that she is married, that my little sisters are married.

Yusuf is away for duty so I have no plans but to babysit her, she is either watching TV or sleeping. I don't know when she lost her talkative nature. I later joined her in the living room after I was done with some office work and like I thought, she was watching Netflix on the tv.

"How do you enjoy watching people whose language you don't even understand?" I asked her as I sat next to her snatching the remote out of her hand in the process. "There is this thing called subtitles" She replied with a snigger as if I don't already know and that made me stop her film even though I didn't plan to.

"I am sorry please put it back on"

The only way to get this side of this girl is when she needs something or you get in her way. "You have watched enough tv for the day"

She rolled her eyes at me and tried to get back the remote from me. "You cannot treat me like a child when I am one month away from getting into the university" She then stood up showing me how grown up she had become. "You are talking to a young lady mister"

This is the side of her that I missed and I know she is only on it because the remote is with me, She would get back to her quiet nature once I gave it to her so I changed what she was watching.

"Yah Aliyuuuuuu- She cried out like I had removed her eyes from her body. "I was at the interesting part"

"You can always watch it later" I answered her as I typed in the name of the movie to watch. "If you finish this movie without shedding a single tear I promise to give you anything you ask" I dared her as the movie started.

"Miracle in cell no 7" She read the name out loud and sat comfortably on the sofa accepting my dare. She brought her phone out and took a selfie of us captioning it with before watching, a social media influencer. That is who the Hafsat in our house is, she posts even the silliest things on her platforms.

She cried and bawled her eyes out halfway through the movie, I was already confident that she would cry but I didn't expect her to do so soon. I took a video of her to share with the twins and make fun of her. Her eyes had already swollen up by the end of the movie and I was proud that she failed the dare.

Later that night while I was going through some work on my phone, I received a Snapchat story mention from Hafsat. I don't know when she took a video of me while we were watching the movie earlier, her caption had me laughing.

"I pray you marry a woman that is obsessed with kdramas"

She had still not gotten over me changing her film even though she had enjoyed the movie I chose. I reposted the video on my story to save myself from her rants if I don't, she gets mad for stupid things. I started scrolling through the app, something I hadn't done in a while. I inadvertently pressed the viewers' button while watching my story again and I was startled when I saw the masked girl on the list. Could it be her?

I clicked on her profile and from her profile picture, I knew it was her. I will recognize those eyes everywhere with or no mask. I clicked on the add friend button and waited for her to accept.