The Woman With The Headscarf

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» i hope i'm doing these characters justice and there's just one more final chapter left after this one so stay tuned for that «

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They say that green is a colour that symbolises nature, spring, rebirth — for all the positive things associated with it, it could not make up for the heartbreak that followed for Lamees when she stared into Gunner's green eyes full of tears.

He had been released yesterday but his mother had insisted that he stay home and rest for at least 24 hours before going out and seeing people. But he had only one person that he wanted to desperately see.

Now he was staring at her, 24 hours later, and couldn't fantom any words and so they both stayed, looking at each other and wanting to say everything but the ugly part that was to come. It was Lamees who had run to him as soon as she had seen him and hugged him tight. Gunner, who had been surprised at her immediate reaction to touch him, stood there for brief seconds before leaning into the hug. He cherished this hug and hastily memorized this feeling into his mind, for he knew that there might never be anymore hugs between them.

They kept holding each other like that for a few minutes, not wanting to let go. Lamees, more tighter than Gunner, for she knew she would inevitably have to let go. She allowed herself this, this last embrace as she cried into his shoulder, wetting his jacket with her tears. He hugged her tighter still when he himself started to cry and his shoulders shook with the weight of what was to come.

They had both gone upto his apartment, where he had rented out a room for a few months, after moving out of his parents' home. The room wasn't big but he had it all to himself, and two other housemates who shared the apartment with him.

His mother kept coming over occasionally to check on his things and make sure the room was spotless and ready for when he came out and needed it.

Lamees had never seen it before and visited for lack of nerve and shyness that overcame her at the prospect of being in his room with him, alone. But now, she sat down on his bed, looking around and trying to imagine what his normal life looked like when he was in here. She wasn't shy today, just overcome with an unbearable sadness.

His room had one big window that overlooked the street and pavement outside, a brown closet in one corner with various shoes lying on the floor. There was also a spacious desk in front of the window, where a laptop and some books resided. She glimpsed a familiar cover and got up from the bed to take a closer look at the book. The book title shone up at her in a dark red sprawl 'Heartless' and she smiled. It was his first novel that she'd made him read when they'd both been in highschool. She wasn't aware that he had, in fact, loved it so much that he'd bought his own separate copy of it.

Gunner looked at her quietly, with his hands in his pockets as she looked around his room. He liked looking at her while she picked up books from his table and studied their covers. She seemed at home, a small smile playing on her lips, her hazel eyes curious and peeking at corners of his small little world. They could be like this forever and he wouldn't ask for anything more.

"Are you kidding me?" She said, sounding appalled, as she showed him what she found. It was his copy of Twilight, that was lying at the bottom of his book stack.

"Whoa, hey, before you jump to conclusions," he responded, defensively, "that was given to me by a friend who was teasing me for reading."