Baskadia

The world started to go hazy around me. "Is this love? Is this how it feels to be so deeply attached to someone? Am I not a bit too young for all this?" All sorts of questions started bombarding my mind. It did not matter though. I knew I did not deserve her. It was just a desperate attempt to get off my chest what had been bothering me for many months. Honestly, "I like you too", would've baffled me more. But since the answer was straightforward, I could finally get good riddance from my sleepless nights. With these thoughts, I started to get up.

"Where are you going without answering me?", I saw her pulling my shirt. Her voice trembled with emotion. "Are you planning on leaving me like everybody else?". I sat down and wiped off the tear from her cheek. It was the first time I had seen her weep. At that very moment, our roles got reversed; she, the needy, and I, the shoulder to cry on. Wrapping her hands in mine, I asked “I beg your pardon? Didn’t you reject me?” “No, I simply asked you what you like about me…”

I turned my eyes away from her and lay down on the grass. “You are perfect”, I answered calmly. Her face got flushed with anger. “Would you still find me perfect if I showed you these?” She pulled up her sleeve to show me her bare arms. And her scars.

"I was molested by my uncle when I was small. I never dared to speak up because of the embarrassment it would bring to our family. It was very late by the time I mustered up the courage to share this with my mother, and when I did, she brushed away the matter as if it was nothing."

"You are still perfect", I answered after a long and awkward silence. "When I said that I like you, it was the complete you, not a part of you. I am ready to accept you, as long as you accept me. I am aware that I still do not know too much about you, but I am eager to learn. I want us to show each other that side of ours that we do not show to anyone. I want to be a part of your life as much as you are a part of mine; if you allow of course".

“Baka”. “Baka” is “idiot” in Japanese. She pulled me to her side and wrapped her arms around my chest. “I…” She stifled a sob. “I like you too. I always have. I thought I could keep things as they were, but the thought of losing you to some girl has kept haunting me forever. For the first time in my life, I have tried to keep someone to myself. Why should I always give up the things I love for the sake of others? Does my happiness not hold a place in the world? No. Even if it does not, I am…” Saying so, she took out her phone and rickrolled me. For some reason, I ended up laughing hysterically at this.

"I promise I will hold on to you. You know, if someone enters my heart, it is nearly impossible for that person to leave. And you entered it quite a while back" I gave a gentle smile while caressing her hair.

Beneath all her flawless strong-willed facade was a girl, tender at heart, who longed to be loved and cherished. That day, I swore I would never break her heart or leave her alone. I was ready to go to any length to make her let go of her past and look into the bright future she was going to have.

Even the moon knew; she was one person I would hold on to; after all, she was my sweetheart.