diff --git a/src/resty/aws/stream/init.lua b/src/resty/aws/stream/init.lua
index 1732456..ab41ff4 100644
--- a/src/resty/aws/stream/init.lua
+++ b/src/resty/aws/stream/init.lua
@@ -158,10 +158,7 @@ function Stream:next_message()
     local header_value, header_value_len = _HEADER_EXTRACTORS[header_type](self)
     headers_bytes_read = header_value_len + headers_bytes_read
 
-    headers[#headers+1] = {
-      key = header_key,
-      value = header_value,
-    }
+    headers[header_key] = header_value
   end
 
   -- finally, extract the body as a string by