diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index a843c75..bf50497 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ LEXER_C = src/lexer/lex.yy.c
 LEXER_H = src/lexer/lex.yy.h
 
 CFILES = $(shell find src -name '*.c')
-CFLAGS = -lm -lcjson -Wall -Wextra -Wno-unused-function -s
+CFLAGS = -lm -lcjson -lgc -Wall -Wextra -Wno-unused-function -s
 BINARY = bin/argon
 
 all: $(BINARY)
diff --git a/src/lexer/lex.l b/src/lexer/lex.l
index b09b9b6..b5e7b42 100644
--- a/src/lexer/lex.l
+++ b/src/lexer/lex.l
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ int yywrap(void *) {
 
 %%
 
-(\"(\\[a-z\"'`]|[^\\"])*\") {
+\"((\\([\"\\\/bfnrt]|u[0-9a-fA-F]{4}))|[^\\\"\n])*\" {
     GET_STATE
     Token * token = create_token(
         TOKEN_STRING,
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ int yywrap(void *) {
     ADD_TO_COLUMN
 }
 
-('((\\([a-z'\"`]))|[^'])*') {
+\'((\\([\'\\\/bfnrt]|u[0-9a-fA-F]{4}))|[^\\\'\n])*\' {
     GET_STATE
     append(TOKENS, create_token(
         TOKEN_STRING,
diff --git a/src/lexer/token.c b/src/lexer/token.c
index 8e7f174..cb0b4c3 100644
--- a/src/lexer/token.c
+++ b/src/lexer/token.c
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #include "token.h"
 #include <stdio.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
+#include "../string/string.h"
 
 Token *create_token(TokenType type, int line, int column, char *value) {
     Token * token = malloc(sizeof(Token));
@@ -8,6 +9,6 @@ Token *create_token(TokenType type, int line, int column, char *value) {
     token->type = type;
     token->line=line;
     token->column=column;
-    token->value=value;
+    token->value=cloneString(value);
     return token;
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/main.c b/src/main.c
index f9ac72f..9b1ac9e 100644
--- a/src/main.c
+++ b/src/main.c
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #include "lexer/lexer.h"
 #include "lexer/token.h"
 #include "parser/parser.h"
+#include "memory.h"
 
 #include <stdbool.h>
 #include <stdio.h>
@@ -35,6 +36,7 @@ char* read_file_as_text(const char* filename) {
 }
 
 int main() {
+    ar_memory_init();
     const char * path = "test.ar";
 
     char *content = read_file_as_text(path);
@@ -52,12 +54,10 @@ int main() {
     LinkedList * parsed = create_list(sizeof(TaggedValue));
 
     parser(parsed, tokens, false);
-    free_list(tokens);
-    free(content);
 
     Node *current = parsed->head;
     while (current) {
-        printf("%s\n", (char*)current->data);
+        printf("%s\n", (char*)((TaggedValue*)current->data)->data);
         current = current->next;
     }
 
diff --git a/src/memory.c b/src/memory.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9e61430
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/memory.c
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+#include "memory.h"
+#include <gc.h>
+#include <string.h>
+#include <stdlib.h> // for malloc/free (temp arena fallback)
+
+static char* temp_arena = NULL;
+static size_t temp_arena_capacity = 0;
+static size_t temp_arena_offset = 0;
+
+#define TEMP_ARENA_INITIAL_CAPACITY 4096
+
+void ar_memory_init() {
+    GC_INIT();
+}
+
+void ar_memory_shutdown() {
+    // No-op for Boehm, but could clean up temp arena here
+    if (temp_arena) {
+        free(temp_arena);
+        temp_arena = NULL;
+        temp_arena_capacity = 0;
+        temp_arena_offset = 0;
+    }
+}
+
+void* ar_alloc(size_t size) {
+    return GC_MALLOC(size);
+}
+
+void* ar_alloc_atomic(size_t size) {
+    return GC_MALLOC_ATOMIC(size);
+}
+
+char* ar_strdup(const char* str) {
+    size_t len = strlen(str) + 1;
+    char* copy = (char*)GC_MALLOC(len);
+    memcpy(copy, str, len);
+    return copy;
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/memory.h b/src/memory.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..38319ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/memory.h
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+#ifndef ARGON_MEMORY_H
+#define ARGON_MEMORY_H
+
+#include <stddef.h> // for size_t
+
+// GC-managed allocations
+void* ar_alloc(size_t size);
+void* ar_alloc_atomic(size_t size);
+char* ar_strdup(const char* str);
+
+// Optional: temporary/arena allocations (e.g., for parsing)
+void* ar_temp_alloc(size_t size);
+void ar_temp_free_all();
+
+// Memory init/shutdown
+void ar_memory_init();
+void ar_memory_shutdown();
+
+#endif // ARGON_MEMORY_H
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/parser/string/string.c b/src/parser/string/string.c
index ae79389..2eadcec 100644
--- a/src/parser/string/string.c
+++ b/src/parser/string/string.c
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 #include "string.h"
-#include "../../string/string.h"
 #include "../../lexer/token.h"
 
 #include <cjson/cJSON.h>
@@ -27,7 +26,6 @@ char *swap_quotes(char *input) {
 }
 
 char *unquote(char *str) {
-  return str;
   if (*str == '\0')
     return NULL;
 
@@ -76,6 +74,6 @@ char *unquote(char *str) {
 TaggedValue parse_string(Token token) {
   return (TaggedValue){
     AST_STRING,
-    cloneString(token.value),
+    unquote(token.value),
   };
 }
\ No newline at end of file