Trinity was in line for coffee one day, scrolling through Pinterest, when a quote caught her eye: I'm still in love with the person you used to be. She closed the app and sighed. It had been two months, which was as long as it was short.
When Angel joined her at the coffee shop, she could tell something was up.
"Are you okay? You seem quiet."
Trinity slouched over her drink. "Not really."
"What's going on? Did something happen?"
"No, everything is great, actually. It's just," she sighed. "He doesn't...see me the same way I see him."
"Well, maybe it just takes time—oh my god, are you crying?"
Trinity wiped her eye. "I'm sorry, it's been a rough morning."
Angel was quiet for a moment. Trinity knew how bizarre the whole situation must seem to her.
"Well, as your friend, I'm supposed to tell you that men suck, and that if he doesn't see the real you, he's an idiot… But we both know you're not going to listen to that, right?"
Trinity smirked and idly stirred her coffee.
"I can tell you have something real with him. So, I'll say this instead: don't give up."
Trinity looked up at her friend. "Thank you."
Thomas invited her to visit his studio, where she watched him work, and they made love on the floor while paint still covered his hands. They watched movies and cooked together. Little by little, her hope diminished, lessening to a dull flame that still licked her heart on occasion. As long as he was still Thomas, she would go on being Carrie.
She was lying in bed looking at him one night and he turned and smiled at her, rubbing her back with his fingertips.
"You're so beautiful," he said.
She was quiet for a moment and then let the words fall out.
"I love you," she said softly, unsure how he'd react. "Too soon?"
He laughed through his nose and kissed her again. "Carrie. I love you. I'm completely crazy about you. I'm glad you said it."
He laughed and held her and she laughed, too. She fell asleep in his arms that night, exactly where she wanted to be.
The next morning, she got up early to make it to rooftop yoga and told him he could stay in her bed if he wanted. He made a strong case for her staying there with him, but she didn't want to miss yoga, and she needed to clear her head.
He was lying idly in her bed after she'd gone, recalling her words from the previous night, a sleepy smile playing on his lips. And then something came into his mind, like an afterthought: I love you. You hear me? I love you.
Just as it flashed through, it was gone again, like some fleeting fragment of a memory he couldn't catch hold of. He thought again of Carrie's voice:I love you. He ran her words through his mind over and over. There was something there, beneath the surface; he could feel it. Am I going crazy?
He dozed off for a while and dreamed of her. When he awoke and put his feet on the floor, another memory suddenly shot through his mind:: Now get up. And then a name.
"Trinity?" he said aloud, and the name rang through him like a punch to the gut.
He saw her falling again, like the dream from months ago. But this time he saw himself catch her. And another name came to him: Neo.
It all started pouring in: Neo, the Matrix, Morpheus…Trinity. He remembered making love in Zion and saving her and her saving him and losing her and defeating Smith...everything. It all came crashing back so fast he felt like he'd been holding his breath.
And then something else hit him: she already knew.
"Jesus fucking—-"
Suddenly so many things that had previously confused him became perfectly clear: why she so often looked sad even when was telling him she loved him, while they made love. He'd seen the pain in her eyes and never understood why. His heart ached to think of how long she'd waited for him.
He couldn't sit and wait for her to come home. He jumped out of bed and got dressed. Hurrying down the street, he understood what must have happened; his consciousness stayed behind somehow, after his death. He was jacked in when he died, so it wasn't hard to imagine. But Trinity...how could she have stayed? And then the only logical answer was that someone must have saved her when he couldn't.
He only had a vague idea of where the rooftop yoga happened, but a quick search on his phone narrowed it down. He weaved through a busy lobby and found the elevator, making it to the roof just as the class was ending—participants rolling up their mats and putting on their shoes. The large roof was fully furnished with a bar and lounge, so it was easy to hang back and blend in with the crowd. He spotted her in the corner talking to someone, her hair half-up and a water bottle in her hand. It was a rainbow morning and she was radiant against the painted sky. At once, tears dripped from his eyes as her final words came back to him. I wished I had one more chance to say what really mattered, to say how much I loved you...how grateful I was for every moment I was with you.
He smiled to see her laughing at something and wiped his face. Most of the others had gone, so he started over. She caught sight of him as he approached.
"What are you doing here?"
"Trinity," he said, coming closer, "I remember."
She practically had to catch her breath.
"Neo?" she managed, barely audible.
He pulled her into his arms. "It's me, Trin."
"Neo," she breathed again, and then his arms were tightly around her, clutching her to his chest.
She returned his embrace and buried her face in his shirt. They stood still on the rooftop for a few moments.
He shifted, then, and pulled her into a long kiss, and she held onto him as she met his lips, her hands trembling.
"Sorry it took me so long," he said, looking into her eyes again.
"I knew you'd come back to me."
They both smiled through their tears and pressed their heads together, entwined silhouettes against the colorful sunrise.
Back at Trinity's apartment, Neo pulled her into his arms again, like he didn't want to let go. She didn't want to let go, either.
"What's the last thing you remember?" he asked suddenly.
"Dying," she said. "In the Logos."
He shook his head and glanced around her living room. "I don't know how this is possible, but I don't think I care."
He pulled her into a kiss and she instantly knew he wanted her. Carrie and Thomas all but vanished and they were themselves again, worshiping each other's bodies, holding each other, making love in her soft nest of bed sheets.
"So real," he breathed, echoing her from that first night.
"It is," she replied.
"I love you, Trinity," he breathed. "I should have said that more."
"I knew," she replied, kissing his shoulder. "I love you, Neo."
As they lie in bed afterward, legs tangled, she spoke.
"I went to the Oracle after I remembered. She said this new Matrix is a result of the peace you created."
"And we're here...out of gratitude?" he asked, tracing the freckles on her arm.
"That's the impression I got, but I'm not sure she knows. She'd want to see you."
A little smirk crept up on him and he put his arm around her. "I'm not planning on getting out of bed for a while."
She smiled and kissed him.
"What was it that made you remember?" she asked.
"You. After you told me you loved me."
"I kept hoping for this," she said, touching his cheek. "Now that it's here I can hardly believe it."
"I don't know why I didn't remember before now," he said. "But you stayed with me…"
She took his hand in hers. "Always."
They stayed together the rest of the day, ignoring the world, ordering delivery when they got hungry, and finally falling asleep in each other's arms.
The next morning, when Neo awoke craving bagels and then found that that a full basket of them had appeared in the kitchen, fluffy and warm, they knew it was time to visit her.