"Perfect Match", the moment Ellen's small hand was placed over grim's large, tattoed and veiny hand, the old woman gleamed in delight. Ellen squinted her eyes at two linked hands. Grim also had his gaze froze at the hands. He was taken back for a second by the look in Ellen's eyes, abruptly a smirk crept to his lips seeing his shocked-to-skies little fawn. When Ellen looked at grim, she yanked her hand.
"This isn't a perfect match granny! Look, his hands are so big as compared to soft and small hands of mine!", that's what Ellen could think of. She stared at grim's hands for quite a while to find something she could use as an excuse but damn, the latter's hands were looking like a piece of art. Every exposed part of his body looked perfect. Ellen admitted. But again she wasn't someone who would be smitten at the looks of someone.
"Small and big, soft and strong, perfect to fall into each other, perfect to balance out each other's flaws. Small hands fitting perfectly into the bigger ones. Just a perfect match", the old woman's mind took her in the valley of old memories when she and her husband would walk in parks, hands in hands. She laughing at the dad jokes of her husband, feeling lightened under the moon shining down on them. Oh, how perfectly her small hands would mould into the big hands of her beloved husband.
"Weren't you leaving?", the presence of grim stared bugging Ellen. Why her granny was comparing grim with her deceased husband? She knew where her granny was speaking from. During her time with the old woman, she would listen to her love tales, from how she first saw him to the day when she saw him for the last time, she knew every detail. Ellen was actually fond of their relationship. She didn't tell granny when she started dating. Deep down she was afraid, afraid of failing at her first relationship and disappointing her granny. That's why she couldn't cry her heart out in her granny's lap when her ex broke up with her.
"My angel, don't you want your friend to join us?", the old woman asked while looking at Ellen.
"No, because it's our private time", Ellen answered back.
"But I believe this young man also wants to be a part of it", the old woman said before placing her palm of her wrinkled hand on clear and glowing skin of grim.
"Don't you want it, little boy?", gently caressing the skin, she looked adoringly in grim's eyes. Grim looked back at the woman without showing an ounce of emotion.
'What's up with this woman? Do I look like a five-year-old kid to her?', grim thought briefly as Ellen cleared her throat, wanting her granny's attention.
"I'll get go-", grim's words paused halfway in his throat. He wanted to say 'I'll get going now' instead "I'd like to stay" came out. What if he was away and the demon would show up? Nope. He would stay even if it meant the old woman testing his patience. He didn't like it a little bit when the woman touched his cheek.
The woman smiled at him. He got up and made himself comfortable on the sofa that was positioned against the left wall of the room. Spreading his legs wide in victory, he shot his little fawn a devilish smirk. To say Ellen was angry at grim would be an understatement. She was furious and nuts at the boy who had now taken his way for the second time before her granny. She wished she had friends with a macho man so she would call him over and have grim thrown out of the window.
Ignoring the girl who was practically boring dagger right into his soul, grim chuckled and pulled his phone out of pocket to busy himself so that time would pass.
And it did past the evening. It was dark outside. Visitors' hours were usually ended at six by the evening but the old woman requested to let her little angel stay for some time since she didn't have anyone else visiting her. Ellen stayed entangled up with her granny. The only times she disentangled herself was when it was time for the old woman to eat or she needed to use the bathroom. They talked about different things. How Ellen's work was going and if it had developed some new changes? Grim was the biggest change in her life. Though she went with 'all the same, granny', her eyes intimately found their way to grim who appeared to be lost in his phone. Since it was past eight o'clock, Ellen read a story to the old woman before tucking her under the sheets.
"Granny, I was thinking to renovate your room", brushing the soft little fingers through the white strands, Ellen whispered in a low tone.
"Why would you waste your money on someone whose life is as long as the bubble?", the woman smiled but Ellen's smiled faded as soon as she heard those words.
"Granny, please", grim, who was pretending to have his full attention on the phone, glanced up when he heard his little fawn pleading. All the time, his eyes were apparently glued to the screen but he was stealing momentarily glances at the girl.
"Death is the fatal and bitter reality of life. We cannot overlook it. We all know that I'll die someday. How long do you expect this old woman to live, huh?", the woman's lips curved a little to both sides of her cheeks.
"D-don't talk like that", Ellen's lips wobbled with tearing welling up in her eyes. She had lost her parents at a very young age. Now, she didn't want to lose the only elderly touch in her life.
"Come here, my little angel", the old woman opened her arms and Ellen went straight hugging her. She sobbed quietly. After a few minutes, a caretaker came inside and told them it was too late for the facility to let them stay any longer. Ellen nodded in understanding and hugged her granny for the last time.
"Don't let this handsome man slide away. He's just too handsome to suit any other girl other than you", she whispered in Ellen's ear.
"It's not what you're thinking, granny", Ellen giggled at the playful thoughts of her granny and tucked the blanket around her once again.
"Good night, granny", she kissed the top of her head.
"Good night, my little angel", the old woman responded. Ellen switched on the lamp that was placed on the nightstand and grabbed her book and bag.
Grim was also up to his feet, leaving the room before Ellen. Before Ellen would also exit the room, she glanced back at her granny whose eyes were closed by now. She nonchalantly smiled and turned off the lights.
The trip back to the house was quiet as the word itself. Ellen couldn't get her granny's words off her mind. She wasn't ready to lose another dear one in her life, regardless, she knew that that would happen any time. Yet, she wasn't ready.
Well, would she be ready if she were to tell that her parents would die soon and she had given some time to spend with them? No. Certainly not. No matter how much time we've given or how many times we repeat in our minds before going to bed that our loved one is going to die sooner, we would never get ready to bid them our last goodbye.
"Are you still thinking about your granny? Don't give it much thought. She's gonna die anyway", when grim asked about her gloomy mood, she didn't say anything. Instead, grim assumed the right reason.
"Pull over", tightening the grip on her beg, Ellen said sternly. Damn, she knew that but why grim needed to say it like that? He could be careful towards the latter's feelings. If you would ask Ellen, he was indeed a careless, blunt and reckless piece of trash.
"Little fawn, you don't need to take all the things personally. I didn't say anything wrong. Sooner or later, she's gonna di-", grim didn't get to finish with a loud shout thrown at him.
"I said pull over the car!", tears were threatening to fall from Ellen's eyes. No matter to which extent she ignored grim, he always managed to make her blood boil.
When grim parked the car to the side of the road, Ellen got out. Slamming the door shut, she started walking. No way in the hell she would ride the same car with this thick head man tonight.
Grim drove off. He also couldn't care any less. To him, it got proved once again that humans were dumb and mindless of a creation. They got unnecessarily emotional over small things, consequently, bringing disturbance and wrecking havoc in their lives.