My only refuge had become my prison.
I tried to grasp the full weight of the suggestion. But before I even had the chance to refuse, I found Huda standing at my bedroom door, a pillow in her hands.
"Go ahead, come in."
Mother urged her inside while preparing a temporary bed beside mine. There was only one bed in my room.
"I hope you two have enough time to truly get to know each other."
Mother left the room and closed the door behind her.
Now I was alone with a suspicious new member who had suddenly entered my life…
and a strange ball no less suspicious, lurking somewhere until it decided to appear on its own.
"Beautiful room."
The new family member walked around, exploring the corners, then stopped at a poster on the wall.
"Are you a Ron fan too? I prefer him over Harry… he's the best actor in the series."
"…That's a singer."
"Oh! Don't they look alike?"
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A shade of red crept up her ears. It was almost a welcome color—something to break the strange tension filling the room.
She placed her pillow on the makeshift bedding beside my bed.
All the while, my eyes never left her inky black hair.
She must have noticed my gaze. She smoothed her silky strands with her hand. The redness in her ears deepened.
"Is there something on my hair?"
"No… no. I'm sorry if I stared. Your hair is beautiful."
"Thank you. All the credit goes to this."
She pulled a small green container from the pocket of her nightdress and held it closer to me.
I didn't take it. I only looked.
"This is hair cream."
"Yes… but not just any cream. It's my mother's recipe."
The moment she opened the lid, the room filled with a sweet, intoxicating scent—like candy blended with a refreshing note. The cream was a vivid herbal green.
She took an amount the size of her fingertip, spread it between her palms, and ran it through her hair.
Her hair gleamed like black silk threads. Each strand danced freely, never tangling with another.
And there was another strand dancing inside my pocket.
'They're identical…'
The same jet-black shade.
The kind that seemed to swallow the light around it.
I couldn't silence the thoughts of suspicion devouring my mind.
"How did you and my brother meet?"
"…Um… where do I start? We were in the same university group. We got to know each other. We happened to share most of the same preferences… and that's how we ended up married."
It was strange how many shades of red her ears could turn.
'She's very shy.'
"Was that after my accident?"
"No, no. It was before."
She waved her hands quickly in denial.
"I told him to give me time to be sure of my feelings before he proposed to my father."
"It's just… unfortunate. Do you know how I felt when I found out about his wedding that I couldn't even attend?"
"…I'm sorry. Your brother really wanted to delay the wedding until you woke up. But I had my own circumstances too…"
'Maybe they thought I wouldn't…'
"Ah—let's stop this gloomy talk and go to sleep. I'll turn off the lights."
"Yes… agreed."
On my way to switch off the light, my eyes fell one last time on the silk threads spread across the pillow beside my bed.
"By the way, Huda… have you seen my watch? It was on the desk here."
"…Sorry? I don't know. I've never entered this room before. If you describe it, maybe I'll remember."
"…Forget it. I must have put it somewhere else."
I turned off the light.
Darkness filled the room.
But I did not sleep that night.
In the darkness, amid the sound of steady breathing and the gentle scent of mint filling the air…
my eyes remained wide open.
'Then how did strands of your hair end up beneath my desk?'
What do you think of Huda?
