Under the Gray Willow Tree

Chapter 12

"And you do not even know where to start," the same voice informed me.

"It is just that time is moving way too fast right now. I can't do anything about it. And I also have one too many questions in my head at the moment," I told it.

"Time won't wait for you. It will never wait for you. You have to wait for time. Only that way, will you get anything done. I mean, sure you did handle your parent's lost well at first, but then, you started to lose it. You were strong before, but you are growing weaker by the day. You have got to be strong again," it advised me.

"Okay. I will try my best." I closed my eyes.

Goodness me! I am so crazy! I have been talking to myself so much these past few days. As well as lecturing myself. And now, I am advising myself? I am losing my head. I wonder what's going on in there for these few days... Is it possible that even I do not know?

I snorted. It is so ironic. Even I do not even know what is going on in my own head.

"Beep beep! Earth to Willow. Earth to Willow. Come in," a voice said, extremely childishly.

I shook my head to try to pull myself back into reality, which I successfully did.

"Yeah?" I asked him absent-mindedly.

"Nothing. It's just that you looked like you were spacing out... Again!"

"Oh," I replied, feeling a little stupid for no apparent reason.

Which suddenly made me realise that Gray has been calling me 'Willow' for the past few days. Not that I have a grudge against it... Since everyone calls me 'Willow' after all. But he normally calls me 'Willow tree', and not just 'Willow'. I wonder what happened to him calling me by my usual nickname.

Okay, I just realised how random I was being. But hey! Everyone has got to have a random side of themselves!

I sighed, and then buried my face in the palms of my hands.

"Willow... Are you okay?" Gray asked me, rubbing my back at the same time to try and comfort me. But it was definitely now working. It had the opposite effect instead.

"Look, I am okay. Would you stop with the excessive questions of 'are you okay's? Haven't I told you that already? It is getting extremely annoying!" I snapped.

He looked at me patiently. I do not know where he got all the patience. Because I clearly do not have any patience at all. I am pretty much a hot-tempered person and when I am not in the mood, I get annoyed and mad very easily. I seriously do not understand those patient people. How do they stand the annoyance of a person?

After realising what I had just said, which was about one minute later – slow reaction, I know – I did what I always do when I realised that I snapped at someone. I look down, and avoid eye contact with anyone and everyone, and blush in embarrassment.

"Sorry," I mutter.

Gray chuckled at my reaction. "You know Willow," he said, slapping my back playfully at the same time. "I have no idea how many times you have said that word to me in the past three years or so every time you snap. And you've been saying that word a lot more recently too."

I chuckled uncomfortably at his comment.

"It's okay Willow," he whispered into my ear.

He backed away a bit, and lifted my head up so that I would look him straight in the eye. But I still tried to avoid looking straight into his eyes anyway. I would look at everything except his eyes.

"Willow. It's okay. I won't bite. Just look me in the eye. It won't hurt you."

Slowly, but surely, my eyes reached his eyes and I find myself looking into his grey eyes, with him looking so passionately at me. My lips curved up into a small smile. And that made him smile as well.

"You are so beautiful."

I flushed from the compliment. "You don't have to say that just to make me feel better," I told him. "Besides, my clothes are so... Common and nothing fancy at all."

I looked at my white tank top and sweatpants.

"The girl one loves will always look beautiful in whatever clothes she wears."

And we just sat there, saying nothing at all. Each of us in our own deep thoughts. Well, I was just putting on an act that I was deep in thought. Why? Well, because I have nothing at all to think about.

"Oh, and Willow?" Gray suddenly said, breaking the awkward silence between us.

"Yes?"

"I'll try."

I stared at him curiously for a minute, before saying," Try what?"

His lips curved into a huge smile. "I'll try to stop asking you if you are alright..."

I rolled my eyes, waiting for him to continue. "But...?" I urged when he didn't continue.

He chuckled once more. "You know me too well. You know me so well that you even know that there's going to be a 'but' next."

I sighed, but smiled at the same time. "Well, go on. What were you going to say?"

"That I am not promising that I will stop asking you those questions completely."

I raised an eyebrow questioningly at him.

"What? I'd have to ask you those questions at one point or another!" he defended.

"True..."
I punched him playfully in the shoulder and giggled loudly. He mocked pain and shock. He gasped dramatically. "I can't believe you just did that," he gasped very childishly.

I tried to stifle my laughter, but I failed. I burst out laughing soon after he said that line. "Thank... You... So much... For... Lightening up... The... Mood," I choked out in between fits of laughter.

"You are very much welcomed, Your Majesty," he replied, doing an over excessive bowing gesture directed towards me.

Which only succeeded in making me laugh even more.

"Stop it!" I gasped, clutching my stomach as it hurts like crazy from all the laughter, and willing myself not to fall off the couch.

Right now is one of those 'laugh 'til you cry' and 'laugh so hard 'til you make no sound at all' kind of moments. I haven't got one of those since... I don't know... Since forever! Whatever Gray did just now really made me feel a lot better.

And this is definitely one of the best times I've had for a long time.

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Hi again! I hope you will stick around for the next chapter as well!