Enamor

1. The lingering grip

The first Chapter
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In silence, a tale of touch is told,
A lingering grip, emotions bold.
Hands entwined, a silent script unfolds.
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Saadia's heart pounded as she scoured her room, the urgency of her search turning her room into a whirlwind of memories and scattered belongings. Her hands trembled as they sifted through the contents of her jewelry box, the soft clinking of metal and stone offering no solace. The vacuum hummed a monotonous tune, back and forth across the carpet, each pass as fruitless as the last. Drawers were yanked open, their contents spilled like secrets; cupboards stood agape, silent witnesses to her growing despair. Yet, the diamond studs were no where to be found she ransacked her brain to search for the last event where she'd wore those studs.

She recalled a memory, it was her parents anniversary, not that of a celebratory event or something to be memorialized but she distinctly remembered each and every thing that happened that day, her father slapped her across the cheek for not going out with Edan after the party was over, that was it! Probably It was the last time she wore them and mayhap during that time they fell from her ears,

Saadia's history with her father was a fabric of pain and fear, woven through with sharp threads of physical abuse. The ornaments she once wore became symbols of her suffering, often broken or lost in the aftermath of his wrath, sometimes leaving behind cuts and bruises as cruel reminders. Jewelry, which should have been adornments of joy, turned into relics of torment, worn only out of necessity on rare occasions.
These studs were different, they were special, reserved for moments that demanded their sparkle, like the dim anniversary celebration. But now, as Saadia stood amidst the disarray of her room, a troubling thought pierced her: both earrings were missing. Logic dictated that if her father's strike had dislodged them, only one should have been lost. The absence of both suggested a different narrative, one that didn't align with the violence of that night.
Confusion clouded her mind as she tried to piece together the events. She had no memory of removing the studs, no moment of clarity where she could point and say, "There, that's when they were taken off." The mystery deepened, and with it, a sense of urgency. Those earrings were special to her, tears started pouring down her eyes, where could she'd have placed them?
Did she lost them?
"Saadia" her eyes darted at the person entering the room, she launched at her engulfing into a tight hug,
"I lost the earrings"
"There, there" Nia massaged her back while being taken aback from the sudden embrace.
"You didn't, Saadia"
Saadia pulled herself out of the hug, her eyes filled with tears and shock, half-half, "what do you mean Nia?".

Nia dragged her by holding her shoulders only to drop her on the couch placed in the middle of her room.
"Saadia, how can you be so forgetful, you gave it to me last week for cleaning it, remember" Nia said while enlarging her eyes "you said it was a little dull and didn't seem that bright and shiny"
"Ohhh, Nia what would I do without you" Saadia let out a huge sigh of relief "I'm really lucky to have you in my life" she tightly hugged her again.
"You are one scatterbrained person Saadia, anyways, let go off all this we have a meeting in an hour, I hope you remember?"
"Yes, yes I do" Saadia replied heavily nodding and rubbing her eyes with the sweatshirt's sleeve.
"Now, now get ready asap we have to leave in 30 minutes"
Nia left the room leaving behind a rather calm Saadia, she took a deep breath and looked around her room,