Love and the Time Travel Paradox

And just like that, the rainy season began.

It became a necessity to bring an umbrella along with her to her special spot on cloudy days.

She tried to do as many easy solo missions as possible on sunny days to pass the time and save money, in anticipation of deep dark clouds.

They continuously crossed paths with each other at the playground. With all those stolen hours together adding up, they were holding pleasant conversations about the mundane and the exotic, more often than not. It was a far cry from the awkward morning greetings they once exchanged.

After he'd purchased a coffee for her as an apology, she'd done the same for him the very next day instead of buying from her usual convenience store. The day after that, he'd bought her coffee again as thanks, and it only went on from there. Her days of beer seemed over for good.

It was only natural to begin coordinating their arrival times at the playground. Especially when she noticed that his meals consisted only of take out and fried foods. Her long-buried doctor persona reared its head and teamed up with her maternal side.

While thinking of him and his health, she'd picked up bread, ham, tomatoes and lettuce from the twenty-four hour grocery one night.

The very next morning, they'd shared sandwiches while discussing the finer points of another mutual favorite book.

Her tongue had practically sprung to attention when she took her first bite.

It had been days since she last had real food. She finally understood how much she'd been starving.

She was not ashamed to say that she'd already finished half when he took his second bite.

Seeing his jade eyes widen with boyish delight at the prospect of home cooked food had sealed the deal.

So she'd dusted off her old pots and pans and set to work making breakfast for two when the clouds came. Nobody had asked her to do this. But she knew that if she wanted to look out for her new friend's health, she would need to take care of her own meals as well.

Since then, he had taken over the duty of buying their coffee completely.

Bringing along their books to the playground was more or less a formality now.

.

.

It was over a nice meal of seafood salad and toast when he'd confessed that he was planning to eventually quit his job to become an author.

She immediately felt humbled and honored when he admitted that he'd never told anyone of his secret ambition before.

A light rain had begun falling several minutes ago. They were sitting shoulder to shoulder on the bench instead of the swings. Their bodies and their food sheltered by his umbrella.

"Each time I hold the pen, I feel as if I am creating something. Truly creating something."

His voice was hushed, as if afraid to break the serenity of the moment.

She hung on to every word. Every pause.

"I understand that I am but one in a million hopefuls, and that there will be authors who will be better than me at the craft. But it is what I would like to do in the future, and I intend to see it through."

As she chewed her food, she thought about it. It was clear that this meant a lot to him, so she wanted to take this as seriously as he did. So she gave his future dream every bit of consideration it deserved.

After a moment, she swallowed down both her coffee and the superfluous comments, to give him her honest verdict.

"I wholeheartedly believe that you'll do well. Your way with words is beautiful and poetic, and you have a wonderful talent in speech."

His jade eyes looked impossibly soft to her at this close range.

"Thank you."

"Have you written anything before?"

He gave a small shrug, his warm shoulder shifting against hers.

"Reports, essays, speeches. The occasional correspondence. ...A short story, which I wrote in my younger years."

"Oh! Does that mean you always wanted to become an author? Ever since you were a kid?"

"Yes. But at the time, such pursuits were not feasible for someone like me. Though I was forced to change my path, I had always intended to one day step down and continue to my original goal."

"Wow. That's so... so incredible. And inspiring."

He broke his gaze away from hers.

But they sat so close to each other that she could see the tips of his ears burn red. He was very good at pretending to be unaffected by her praise, but she knew he was feeling embarrassed. Seeing him this way tickled her pink, and she smothered her giggles into her hand.

It had been another thing she learned about him as they spent time together.

She had thought him to have the perfect stoic facade, but if she looked close enough, she could see all of the little ways his emotions affected him physically.

Nevertheless, she was still surprised by his admission.

He had always seemed to be the quiet and unassuming type to her despite his compelling presence.

It certainly fit her image of him and his brusque, yet kind manner.

Today was the first time she ever thought of him as passionate. Definitely the kind of man who went after his desires with all of his being. She almost felt pity for the poor men who dared to stand in his way.

His strange turn of phrase made her pause, however.

'Such pursuits were not feasible for someone like him'? What did he mean by that?

But she did not ask. Instead, she chose a different line of inquiry.

"Um, would it be alright for me to see it? Your short story, I mean."

Jade eyes stared into emerald.

For a brief second, she had a feeling he would turn down her request.

But then he said-

"Perhaps. I shall let you know once I find the manuscript."

.

.

On the surface, it was business as usual within the village. Work and school continued on as it always had. The days were cold, the rain showers were irregular, and the skies were wide and endless. The streets were crowded with people with umbrellas and raincoats. Going on with their own lives.

There were significant changes happening inside her, and she welcomed them with open arms.

Simply connecting with another person seemed like a miracle in a world of seven billion souls. Seven billion private universes. Each with their own hopes, dreams, fears.

Of the seven billion universes, he'd walked right into hers.

The playground of her childhood, the playground that she'd grown up with, was never the same again. And it was beautiful.

Evenings before she went to sleep. Mornings in the moment she woke up.

She was praying for the clouds to come.

Because on sunny days she wasn't willing to spend any significant time outside her apartment. Taking those easy solo missions could only distract her so much, and it was still too little. She would become crabby, restless, and irritated with herself. With everything.

And these feelings only melted away whenever she arrived at their special place near the old hospital building, and he smiled at her.

It wasn't just because she was receiving the undivided attention of a charming, worldly man.

She felt that they had a similar mentality.

Each unplanned rendezvous was a meeting of minds.

On those precious mornings they spent together under the cover of clouds, she felt herself being reborn.

TBC...