The Shawl

“Is this really scary?” she asked.

“No honey. Not as much as the last one.” He said. “You survived that, you’ll survive this.”

“Hmm. But you said that at the last one too.” She said nervously as she came and sat by him on the sofa.

Every Friday night, they would watch a movie at home with a big bowl of pop corn and some creamy cheesy nachos.

They were a couple who could not decide who they loved more; each other or the movies. He loved horror-thriller while she preferred romcoms; poles apart. But they don’t say ‘Opposites Attract’ for no reason.

They had a pact where they would watch each other’s favorite genre one by one, Friday by Friday. And it was the horror night.

Movie opened with a bright sunny morning where a little boy happily rode a bicycle down a boulevard.

She vigilantly watched with narrowed eyes. Her past encounters had taught her a critical lesson- they would attack at the scenes where you expect it the least.

She shrank gradually drawing her legs back on the couch. She glued to him like a baby in a cocoon. Holding his arm and hiding behind his shoulder she peeped at the TV with one eye.

He tried a lot but could not control his laughter.

“What?” she asked.

“What is scary about this?” He wondered.

“You never know when and what would pop out of that little boy’s head from nowhere?” she said still peeking from behind her ghost-proof shelter; His shoulder.

He smiled. He grabbed a shawl and put on her head.

“Thanks.” She said, still cautious from the corner of an eye for an out of the blue attack.

She unfolded the shawl and held it as a curtain in front of her face to ‘protect’ herself from anything ghostly. She was an ostrich hiding her head in sand to shun being killed. Though she could still see hazily through the shawl; and of course, it didn’t forbid the sound, it still helped her cushion the visuals a bit.

“I hate horror movies. And still, I am watching this. Why do I hate myself so much?” she always wondered why she did that to herself.

“You don’t do this because you hate yourself. You do this because love me so much, sweetie. By the way, through the shawl, you look cuter.” He displaced the shawl to give a peck on her cheek.

With a grin, she went back in her woolen bunker.

Photo Credit: cocoparisienne