Beneath your beautiful
'One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs
And the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls
Her laughter of mornings has the gaiety of flowers
Her night of darkness the reflections of lustrous hair
Her melodious nightingales, with passion sing their songs
Ardent tunes, as leaves enflamed, cascading from their throats'
- An excerpt of 'Kabul' by Saib Tabrizi
We met in a quiet street. A street where even the pavements could not groan or creak freely. A street where the pavements whispered dolefully to each other, even after being trampled and stood on repeatedly. Where a concentrated look passed between two strangers hurrying to their destination, fearful of being caught. Fearful of letting their guard down and letting anyone see. Fearful of anyone looking at the scars inside them, running cracked and spliced. Running deep, all the way to the core of their being. These two strangers locked eyes for only a minute, tore their gaze away and carried on walking. That was her and me.
She was a burning sun. Smouldering, flaming, scorching. Leaving a mark if you came too close. Filling you with happiness if you let her caress you slightly. But chilling you to the bone with sharp, cutting coldness if you strayed too far. She was always calling to you. Away from the emotionless; into the heat that was as intense as the fire.
She was an exultant firework. Deep and delicate colours, flowing and dancing all around me, turning cold fire into powerful joy; swelling and amplifying with each blink of the eye. Bursting out with a bang, never letting you look away for even a second.
She was mine.
'Gale!' she screamed, moving away with an angry twist of the mouth. But I knew better. The glint in her eye yelled something else. She was holding back a laugh, a big one, and I wasn't going to let that happen.
'What?' I tried, with the most innocent expression I could find. The one with the pouting mouth and puppy dog eyes I knew she wouldn't, couldn't, resist. 'It was only a little bit of water.' And with that she laughed. The laugh. Where she threw back her head and let her hair cascade down her back. Where her eyes crinkled at the corners, and her irises shone. Where every bird stopped to listen, content with her joy. Where a dandelion rose in the spring meadow, shining brightly. Where the fresh smell of roses expanded and wrapped around us, enveloping and engulfing us. Where even the grass rippled in pleasure at hearing something so jubilant. That laugh. The one that she never let anyone see. The one that would have made every person in a 5 mile vicinity come running, begging to be her friend. Begging to be something of meaning to her. But she never let anyone see. It was all beneath her hard exterior. Beneath her tough shell. Beneath her beautiful.
However, I did. I got to see it. I got to see parts of her personality that no one else even dreamed she had within her. Her happiness. Her protectiveness. And I would be an idiot to forget it.
I know I held her too tight. To the point of suffocation. But I just wanted her to know that I would be there. Yet, she still ran away from me. To a place where even the saints were condemned to slavery. And I tried everything I could to get her back. I searched every corner, every place. Every high, every low, I rode through it. I drowned in the wave of despair.
I know she loved me though. As much as I loved her. Maybe more. She would miss me. A lot. I know she hadn't heard of any sign of me in months. I bet she would think that I had forgotten about her. That she wasn't worthy of my attention. That I didn't want her anymore. I could almost see the self-loathing on her face. But I had my reasons for not searching. She had to come to me.
And when she would see the necklace of rope I was wearing, I knew she would come with her own. And I knew she would understand. That I was always waiting. Tied to this tree.
A/N: Hi! This is the first thing i've ever uploaded. i have no idea where im ever going to go with this but as you can probably tell, it was inspired by 'The Hanging Tree' when i was reading Mockingjay and Gale said he'd always be like that man, waiting for an answer. Sometimes i feel as if Gale is a character that is very undermined and misunderstood. So i decided to come up with this.
I've never really had an interest in writing before but now ive realised that it's actually something i like.
If you have read this, im up for some criticism. Tell me what you think? :))
Thank you.