That Winter You Came (Completed)

Episode 27

They say "lack of care kills the most beautiful rose".
I always believed that this saying isn't necessarily true.. Wild roses grow beautifully without care. Domestic roses die of so much watering too!
I thought that if i shamelessly kept convincing my self that it's just that Rayan is cold. And it's just that Some people are romantic..some are not. Then everything will be ok.
But it wasn't the case..
Especially that i started going to the library everyday with yassmine .. Seeing how Badro treated her was like torture.
Like that day when he brought her a collection of pens that had all colors. And when he wrote a poem for her even when he barely used two correct words in Arabic and the rest was just algerian dialect.
Don't get me wrong, i knew Badro for so long .. And i never saw him this way around a girl.
" love changes the person"
They say.
How can this not apply on Rayan too?
I was buying juice from the vending machine at the entry of the library when someone put money before i did.. When i turned to throw a tantrum on that rude person for disrespecting me i found Imad standing in front of me.
_" hi" he said.
I gave him a fake smile and said:
_" i'm here first.. Since you put your money without my permission then i shall use it."
And then i selected a bottle of juice.. Took it and stepped away.
Imad looked at me laughing .. And then while taking the extra money and putting it again in the machine he said:
_" you idiot.. I meant to buy you the juice from the start"
I felt my cheeks blushing right away. Still i shamelessly said:
_" what if i was planning to buy the most expensive biscuit .. 100 Da wouldn't be enough you cheap"
He just shook his head and bought a bottle of water for him.
Finding the situation awkward .. I just decided to walk inside the library again.
But Imad suddenly suggested:
_" how about you take your time drinking your juice here first.. I'm here to give those two a bit time in private. They need to talk few things"
I nodded in understanding .. And sipped my juice quietly.
_" your old man still in the army?" Imad suddenly asked leaning on the wall beside me.
The weather was freezing .. I regretted buying cold juice in such weather.
I looked at Imad's aloof face and said:
_" uh-huuh .. Still aiming for higher positions i guess. What about your father?"
He sighed and answered:
_" he resigned once he got the chance"
I nodded.. Not sure what to say.
Back in primary school .. Only Imad and I had fathers serving for the army. Those were such hard days in Algeria that every time i cried Imad would cry too thinking that i found out about my father dying on the hands of terrorists before he knew.
I thought the same thing in opposites too.
Luckily the "black decade" was over without them getting hurt.
_"i'm planning to join the army too" he suddenly added.
And that's when i couldn't but object:
_"but you always hated the army!"
He smiled bitterly and said:
_"you still remember that"
_" then why are you joining?!"
He looked at me for sometime. And then he answered:
_" i won't make it to any college anyways .. My old man has connections and he sure can secure me a place in the army. It's Better than roaming in the streets"
_" it's a second plan then. If you keep studying hard like you do now than you can go to college"
Once i finished talking he laughed .
I didn't know what was funny about what i said, I didn't know that i would be shocked to know the answer.
Because He handed me his bottle of water and indifferently he answered:
_" but i'm not here to study, I'm only here to meet her. The girl that i giving my best friend sometime to flirt with right now"
I was so shocked that i didn't even catch the bottle of water he handed me.
_" you love yassmine?" I asked dumbfounded.
He nodded.
Smiled..
And said:
_" it feels good finally telling this to someone, anyways.. You were always the only one who understood me"
Without adding a word he left.
As that tall boy with a black leather jacket walked away from me already lighting a cigarette and letting the heavy smoke fill the humid air. I just kept staring at his back and admitted to my self:
" even him did this much for an impossible love"
Ever since that day, i was double tortured by the love i saw around me.
Knowing about Imad's secret love for Yassmine made me observe him too.
He studied really hard for someone who was lazy since the first day in school. He studied hard only to find questions to ask Yassmine.
"How to solve this equation?" .. "What was the poet's motive for saying this?".
Yassmine would give him a smile every time proud that he was working hard. And then she would answer him.
He didn't try to persuade her at all, treated her no more than his bestfriend's girl.
I respected him more and more.
Observing those thugs i knew my whole life acting so differently in love. Gave me more reason to wonder. Why did Rayan have to be an exception all the time?
To be honest, although i didn't really mean it, I found my self getting more distant from Rayan.
When we walked together in the morning .. I would try to talk with him, but not that i really wanted to talk.
I'll smile with him.. But not really that i was happy.
At some moment .. I told him "i love you"
But once i finished saying that.. I wondered if he really deserved it.
And the thing is .. He just nodded that day. And didn't say "he loved me back". And he usually did.
Maybe he felt it too.. That i wasn't the girl blinded with love anymore.
I remember one morning in the end of January it was raining so hard.
I took the big dark umbrella .. But giving it second thinking .. I took the pink one too.
When i met Rayan at the fence .. I was standing under the pink umbrella .. I handed him the black one and said:
_" take this .. It's more convenient this way"
He took the umbrella from my hand. So i nodded and started walking away.
It seemed everything was fine so i was shocked to see him running towards me after i walked few steps and stopping right in front of me in the heavy rain.
Without thinking i shouted:
_"are you crazy! You want to get sick!"
I lifted my tiny pink umbrella and covered his head with it.
He kept looking at me silently .. Only breathing hard.
The tip of his nose was red from the chill and his eyes were teary.
His cold face made my heart soften. I loved that boy so much after all.
And when you love someone .. You find your self worrying sick about him. And your heart gets stupidly cozy when you see him smile.
I sighed and said:
_" why did you wait for me in such a bad weather .. You'll get sick you idiot"
_" because i love you" he suddenly answered.
He sniffed and then he added:
_" do you know how i felt when you gave me that umbrella and turned your back to me? .. I felt like i was left! .. You idiot! I wait for you in this hard weather only because i get to share the umbrella with you!"
I don't know what spirit possessed him that morning. Because the quiet aloof boy was suddenly raining romance.
I kept staring at him happy, shy .. Surprised.
Only him can make me feel so much emotions in such a small time .. And still, i can express them only with a smile and a blush.
_" you look really pretty in the rain, you know? Your eyes look darker .. Like holes .. I feel like if i stared enough i can see your soul inside" he added.
I was so surprised that i laughed awkwardly and asked:
_"what's wrong with you talking so different this morning?"
_" you love this, don't you?.. Talking much" he asked instead.
I nodded quietly.
Although i wanted to shout : "yees!".
He barely talked to me usually .. But that morning he was so happy and excited that he kept talking about this and that the whole time.
I kept staring at him . wondering why was he so different suddenly.
We were so bad for the whole month. But he fixed everything in just minutes.
Just because he talked.. And treated me different from his school bag that he takes with him everywhere but without even caring about it.
He was like that in lunch too. He mentioned his family for the first time.. He said:
_" the little baby keeps me awake the whole night because he has an angry stomach .. That woman never thinks that there's a Bac student in the house with her too and she keeps walking in the corridor the whole night carrying the crying baby"
_"why didn't you say a thing to her?" I hardly said.. Because well, i was surprised because he talked to me about that for the first time.
He sighed and replied:
_" it's more bothersome trying to talk to her"
_" is it bothersome talking to people?" I frowned.
He nodded.
_"is it bothersome talking to me?" I asked.
I waited for him to say no .. Still he shamelessly nodded "yes"!!!
I gave him a cold stare and yelled:
_" if it's so bothersome then why are you talking to me?"
He laughed uncomfortably and explained:
_" i heard it's more bothersome to you when i keep quiet"
At that time i didn't ask him more.. I was busy enough observing the new different him to notice his probably bulged knuckles.
But i sure noticed the pruple bruise on Imad's chin that evening in the library.
Rayan decided to go with me for the first time to the library that day, considering all the weird stuff he did that day I wasn't surprised
Once i sat down i asked Imad terrified:
_"what happened with you? Back to fighting with people again?"
He laughed, Touched his chin and said:
_" you can call this punch a small payback for someone's debts on me"
I didn't ask more,  I was never the nosy kind of people anyways.
Rayan studdied with us that evening .. Being the best student among us, he helped us by far a lot.
I never smiled like i did in that study session.
I never loved studying as much.
I never felt moreproud to share Rayan with the people around me.
Since i couldn't let him walk me home afraid that my brother would punch him to death. I said goodbye to him earlier and asked him to leave with the boys.
When Badro told yassmine that he loved her
And asked her to take care of her self
Rayan looked at me embarrassed .. Cleared his voice many times and then he hushed:
_" go back home safely"
_"i love you too" i laughed shamelessly.
He nodded blushing like a little girl and started walking right away.
As the three guys walked away .. Imad armed Rayan and hit the back of his head.
Rayan pushed him in protest.
Even from the back .. I felt like the three of them weirdly were good.
And i was right.
That was the first day on a long friendship between those three.
Stronger than the hardships they faced .. Deeper than i could ever expect.
It is only few years later that i found out that the bruise Imad had was because of Rayan's punch.
That quiet boy found it bothersome to talk to people so he  just punched them instead.
Insane.
They never told me how Rayan ended up punching him and what for.
I only know that after their fight they unexpectedly ended up turning into good friends and Rayan started sharing his life with me ever since.
Rayan always entrusted me with "Imad" .. He would laugh:
_" that boy had his eyes on one girl for years but never treated her more than a sister, so you who he only sees as a sister would treat you like his mother"
Although i found that very rude and bothersome of Rayan to say .. I still felt relieved because he could trust someone in this life.
Well, he never trusted even me.