70 Days; Chapter 8

Day #30:

And at last, my transformation into a woman is finally happening, tonight. It's all happening tonight.

My clothes and needs are all packed up.

The only thing I have left to do, which is probably the hardest, is saying goodbye.

Saying goodbye to Deena.

Saying goodbye to my mother.

Saying goodbye to my father.

Saying goodbye to Rashed.

The last name I mentioned.

The last person I cited.

Rashed.

In spite of everything we both have gone through, he may be the one I'll miss the most dearly.

"I can't believe you're leaving tonight!" he wrote to me.

"I can't believe it, either! It felt like just yesterday was the first day of school." I replied.

"Jade,"

"Rashed,"

"Be careful..." he warned.

"Don't worry.." I responded.

"No. I have to worry, you're my girlfriend, remember?"

I knew from the moment onwards, my heart couldn't remain on 'game' mode, any longer.

"Hahaha, yeah.." I replied, making sure I don't imply any sort of ecstasy.

"I need to see you before you're gone, Jade." he wrote.

"Yes, of course!" I answered.

In fact, I was actually excited to see him.

"I can't wait to see you," he said.

Butterflies wandered around my empty stomach leaving me in a puddle of overwhelming joy and happiness.

"I can't wait to see you, too," I responded.

I can't seem to find the reason to why our relationship doesn't resemble Deena's, with other guys.

It may be because Rashed is different, which causes us to appear this way.

Maybe it's because we're the only ones that are unable to fit in.

Maybe it's because we're the weak ones.

Maybe it's because we're really falling in love with each other.

-

Rashed's perspective:

I can't believe tomorrow may be the most shocking day of my life.

I was hoping Jade would join me, considering, in my book, her leaving date wasn't supposed to be today.

I think I'm going to miss her.

Wait.

I know I will.

She brightens up my day like the sun brightens up the world at sunrise.

She's so amazing.

She's so astounding.

She's so clueless, the deal's off.

No reason to break it to her was captured.

I'm taking this seriously...

I know I shouldn't, but I can't help myself...

I think this game was never one.

-

Jade's perspective:

I'm waiting for Rashed.

He's supposed to drop by my house any minute now.

I spent almost two hours saying my farewells to all my beloved friends and family.

Deena's going to remain in the country, she's not going anywhere.

Although, the rest of our friends are all leaving abroad.

For some odd reason, my heart is longing for Rashed's embrace. His long, protective embrace. The hug where I know nothing can take him away from me. The hug where I know he will never let me go...

"Jade!" he spoke at he stepped out of his vehicle, limping.

I didn't want to cause any tension, I ignored it and carried on.

"Rashed!!" I spoke back.

"I got you something," he said.

I wasn't really hoping for a gift.

"Oh, you didn't have to-"

He pulled out a piece of paper, and handed it to me.

"This is your plane letter, read it before you depart,"

"What's in it?" I asked.

"It's for me to know and for you to find out," he said, repeating my previous words.

Silence filled the air for a full minute.

As it came to an end, he approached me even closer, and gave me a slight peck on the cheek.

That was even more amazing than his previous embraces.

I felt as if I were on a cloud, a cloud floating in wonderland. Yes, it was that magical.

"Take care of yourself, Jade, please," he said.

My face grew a tight grin, I was still overly excited about his lips touching my tender cheek.

"I'm serious, or else I'm going to come after you and protect you myself,"

His last words were the most adorable.

Why does he have to be so cute?

"Rashed, I can handle it, I'm a big girl," I replied.

"You're wrong. You're my girl," he said.

-

As I began to settle in my seat, I pulled out Rashed's letter from my handbag and with full excitement, I read the following words,

"Dear Jade,

So you're probably sitting in the plane right now, reading this letter, waiting for the whole point of it. Well, basically, the whole purpose of this is to allow you to imagine me right there with you, throughout your entire journey of university. Just so you know, if we're unable to communicate, you'll have this letter, I'll always be there with you, every step of the way. You probably will be receiving more letters from me, once in a while. I'm sure there's going to be things I'm in desperate need of telling you.

The past few weeks were amazing, I don't regret a single bit of it. I wonder how it would have been if another girl offered to help me out, it would suck. Thank you very much, though. But a few days ago, I realized, it's not about popularity, that doesn't matter, it's the kind heart inside of you that I never stole. But now, at this very moment, while I'm in deep concentration in making this letter a piece of perfection, I feel something heavy on my left palm. It feels as though it occupies the full area. I'm guessing it's your heart, Jade!

Love is a crime.

I stole your heart, and you stole mine.

Tell me once you've reached there.

Sincerely, Rashed."

And as soon as I heard the plane announcement, indicating the departure of the plane, I unfolded the paper, placed it on my heart, and shed a light tear.