Broken Souls

Away from North & South

Several months later

In the valley between the north and south of Izna in a small village, a woman was seen knocking on the door of a small house. A small boy on her side. She had a leaflet in her hand advertising about a school for young disabled children.

After several minutes of knocking with no answer, the women seemed kind of lost. She looked around through the window to see if anyone is in the house. At that time an elderly woman was passing in front of the house.

"Hello there. Are you looking for Mr and Mrs Akis there?" The elderly women asked the women with the boy.

"Yes. Yes, I am," The woman seemed relieved hearing the question.

"You won't find them now there dear."

"Oh. Am I at the wrong address?"

"No, no, you are at the right address. I just meant they are usually not home on Saturday morning."

"Oh," The woman looked disappointed hearing the answer.

"Don't worry my dear. They will be back in the afternoon. Until then you can wait for them at my house if you like." The elderly woman pointed to her house just beside.

"Thank you so much. Do you know where they went?"

"They went up in the hill. They always go there on Saturdays to have a picnic. Such a lovely couple they are and so much in love. Make me wish I could go back to my younger days," the elderly woman said with a wistful sigh. "Did you come here to admit your boy to their school."

"Yes, I did. I heard so many good things about this school and I wanted the best for my boy."

"You did absolutely the right thing. They are such a wonderful couple and very brilliant. Your boy will have the very best education. Now come let's have some tea while you wait."  

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Up in the hill over the valley, a young couple was having a picnic under a tree. The man was seated leaning on a tree and the woman was lying down, her head resting on the lap of the man. He was reading a book to her.

"It is a far, far better thing that I do than I have ever done.."

"..it is a far, far better place that I go to than I have ever known," Hilal finished the last sentence of the book that Leon was reading to her, "Oh I have always loved that book."

"Me too. It has everything love, struggle, sacrifice," Leon said to her with a smile.

"Yes but strangely it had a happy ending too. Just like ours," Hilal reached over Leon's face with her hand and gently caressed his cheek. He seemed lost in the memory of that fateful day when they faked their death.

Leon drove the car to the end of the cliff. Then they both got out of the car. Leon got under the car quickly and made a leak at the fuel tank. Then they both pushed the car over the cliff and hide behind a nearby bush at the side of the road. Soon both Yilmaz and Papadopoulos cars arrived at the crossroad. Smoke had already begun to rise from the car they just pushed. Hilal and Leon saw Demitri and Mehmet approaching the cliff shouting at their man to go down. Then the car exploded. Leon held Hilal in his embrace tightly and peaked around. His heart broke watching his brother break down in front of him. Hilal looked at the painful expression on Leon's face and hugged him back to comfort him. After everyone was gone they slowly came out from the back of the bush.

"Now what?" Hilal asked.

"Now we start a new journey," Leon replied.

They went from there to the small village that Hilal always dreamed of going and settled down there. They changed their names to Mr and Mrs Akis and opened a school for disabled children where they both teach young children with learning disabilities to cope up with the real world. The villagers were at first suspicious about them but soon they warmed up when they saw that their intention was genuine.

"Leon," Hilal's voice brought him back to the present day. 

"Hmm"

"What are you thinking?"

"About that day."

"We did the right thing otherwise our fathers would have never understood. They needed to lose us to realize."

"I know Hilal. I'm glad that they settled on peace over our death. But it did take away your family from you."

"I don't miss them. Do you?" Hilal asked Leon.

Leon bent to give Hilal a soft kiss on her lips and then replied with a smile,

"I have all the family I need right here with me."

He moved his hand towards Hilal's swollen belly and caressed it gently. At that moment their unborn child moved under his hand inside Hilal.

"Did you feel that?" Leon asked Hilal with amazement in his voice.

"I did. Oh, Leon, this is the first time he kicked."

"He? How do you know it's a he? It could be a she."

"I have a feeling it's a he who will be as handsome as his father."

"Well I want a she as beautiful as her mother," Leon said with a pout.

Hilal laughed watching the expression on Leon's face and said,

"Well he or she, we will love it just the same."

"That we will of course. And we can always try for the other one next time," Leon said with a wink.

"Leon," Hilal swatted at Leon's arm playfully while getting up.

Leon helped her up to sit beside her and then slowly leaned in to take her lips in his for a languorous kiss, tasting the sweetness of her mouth over and over. Hilal's hand went into his hair and she kissed him back fully. 

And when the sun dipped a little towards the west Leon stood up and extended his hand towards Hilal and said,

"Shall we go home darling?"

Hilal took his hands and replied with a smile,

"Let's go home, darling."

And then they walked hand in hand towards their happily ever after.

The End.

Author's Note: 

Thank you for reading "Broken Souls". I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it. It has been a wonderful journey for me to write this one. Hilal and Leon will always remain very special characters for me and I'm so glad that I was able to write this fanfiction with them. Thank you all for your comments and encouragements always. 

Love

Oodrishsho