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Chapter Thirty Three
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2021-11-12 20:59:28One Cup of Matcha Latte for Irina
Jane and I have gone on a few dates together. We would ride the motorcycle and eat at different restaurants. We both shared the desire to taste a variety of good food. And for some reason, I noticed how she enjoyed taking pictures of the food prepared on the table for us, and she has a habit of posting it on social media, why not? I see nothing wrong, she loves taking pictures.
And because she posted a lot of pictures of food and us together on her Facebook or Instagram account, at work they knew we were together, it’s no secret, me and her. I must admit at first I never thought we would click, I never liked her the first time I saw her at work. For most of the time, I only see her as a friend and workmate, and that’s all.
As days and weeks had passed, the dates we had, the bonding and the moment I had spent with her, I got to know her more. And never had I imagined I would appreciate h
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I Was Here Chapter Thirty Four
One Cup of Matcha Latte for Irina(Continuation)I walked towards her directions with a tray in my hands containing the brown paper bag, her orders. I am nervous. My heart is racing. I inhaled and exhaled in an effort to ease my nervousness, and I smelled my own deodorant, my underpit were sweating beyond control. With my hands cold and wet with sweat, I handed her the brown paper bag.‘Hi,’ I said with my voice breaking. ‘Here is your order.’‘Thank you,’ she answered in a very soft and low voice as she took the brown paper bag from me.‘Have we seen each other here before?’ I asked with my voice shaking.‘I don’t remember.’ she answered, looking straight at my eyes.‘Okay then,’ I said.‘Okay, thank you.’ she said as she stood up and took the little girl by hand. ‘Come on Mallory,&rs
Last Updated : 2021-11-12I Was Here Chapter Thirty Five
Friends, Are We?The white painted door of the one storey house swings opened, and Christian appeared with Selena beside him. I watched Christian carry a heavy white foldable table to the front yard, below the big mango tree at the left side of the front yard. And Mallory ran towards Selena and hugged her, ‘Happy Birthday Auntie Selena,’ greeted Mallory as she gave Selena a box of Goldilocks cake. ‘Oh, thank you Mallory,’ Selana said in gratitude and kissed Mallory on the head.Selena wears a long red maxi dress with spaghetti strapped and a pair of brown slippers. And she also wears eyeglasses with a dark brown frame. She has brown colored curly hair, which looks like a telephone cord. And her skin is very light in tone with some reddish spots on her face, pimples, I think. Selena, as I had known her from our college years, is a very sweet woman. She is very caring to the people around her, and I think that is one of the things Christian loves about her. At school campus she acted
Last Updated : 2022-05-07I Was Here Chapter Thirty Six
Love Letters Eric, All these times I've been praying for God to send me someone who would love me and accept me for who I truly am. And all I got were doors which closed before my face. I feel rejected many times by people I thought would love me. I almost stopped believing. I thought maybe I’m the hardest person to love and no one would really see the real me. But when you come, I feel like it’s an answered prayer, that someone finally sees me, the real me. I feel loved by someone who does not touch my body. And even though we're just friends I am truly thankful. I feel like he answered my prayers in a different way. I’m in a way thankful and content. I want to become a true friend. And I don’t want to be selfish this time. I am really happy for you; your heart is beautiful, and you deserve everything that can make you happy. I love you, Irina ***** Irina, Maybe it ends here. And we never happened. I never had the courage to tell you how I feel. Only if things can be easy fo
Last Updated : 2022-05-07I Was Here Chapter Thirty Seven
Continuation of chapter 36: Here I am still looking at his face, and all I could say is, thank you. How I wish that as he reads my story, he would remember me, us. Sadly, I know it is not possible, he forgets everything, and he is now in a relationship with someone else. It breaks me, but I must not show how I feel to him or to anyone. Something I decide stays within me, and only me. We spent more than an hour mostly talking about our high school years. ‘How come we never talked in high school?’ ‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘I don’t even remember we’re schoolmates.’ ‘That night after the party at Christian’s house,’ he said, holding on to his cup of coffee. ‘I browsed our high school yearbook, and I found you, Irina.’ ‘Have we ever been classmates?’ I asked. ‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘I will find out; I still keep the copies of my class picture somewhere in one of my drawers at home.’ ‘Okay, so you’re a keeper.’ `In our yearbook, you have very long straight hair,’ he said. ‘I love y
Last Updated : 2022-05-07I Was Here Chapter Thirty Eight
A Song for You I came in early, like less than an hour before the time we agreed to meet. I roamed around in the mall, thinking what I can buy her that is not pricey, something of value to her but she wouldn’t misinterpret.I stood outside a bookstore. I noticed the painting materials shown in front of the shop, and they reminded me of the pencil drawings she posts on her Facebook page. Irina, apparently has a hand for pencils. Pencil? Damn right, maybe I can buy her a pencil which can be useful for her drawings.As I moved closer to the entrance of the store, a woman in her fifty’s together with two younger girls, probably seven- and ten-year-old, went out of the store. I was thinking, children, they are now allowed to enter the shopping malls.I started to walk inside the bookstore, and on the first part of the store I saw a shelf containing different kinds of pencils.Why are there so many bunches of pencils? I thought. I don’t have a clue what type of pencil she use with her draw
Last Updated : 2022-05-07I Was Here Chapter Thirty Nine
A Time Traveler from the Future‘Obaasan?’She stood tall at the bookshelf wearing a white Japanese kimono. She has this perfectly black, long, straight and shiny hair. And her soft sad eyes over her thick eyebrows, looked straight at my soul.‘Obaasan?’ I asked. ‘I am not afraid of you; I want to talk.’‘My magomusume, you shouldn’t be afraid of me,’ she said in a soft cold voice. ‘I am just like you.’‘You’re a ghost.’‘You’re right,’ she answered. ‘But you are also wrong,’‘I don’t get it,’‘What did you see the first time you saw me in your dream?’‘A clock,’‘I am a time traveler just like you.’‘A time traveler?’‘I came from the past,’‘Are you dead?’‘I died in my present,’ she said. ‘But I am also here in the future, and today is your present.’‘Teach me to time travel,’‘You will learn it by yourself, when the time is right.’‘But I need it, now.’‘Patience my child,’ she said. ‘There is always time for everything.’‘I want it now,’ I said, when inside my head I am dying to
Last Updated : 2022-05-07I Was Here Chapter Forty
The Love Letter I watched her sit on the blue painted metal armchair, and it was funny how she always lifted her feet a little above the floor and positioned them on top of a metal stick used to support the legs of the armchair, seldom did she allow her feet to touch the floor. And she will place her elbow on top of her armchair desk, with her hand on her chin catching her face. She will look at her notebook and sometimes scribble her pen on it. She often rests her chin on her hand whenever she writes, reads, thinks or draws something in her notebook, I think. She wears a white polo made of a very thin fabric, so that from here I can see her white undershirt. And lovely how her long, straight and healthy black hair falls without fault on her back. I watched her turn her head at the back row, where I was seated, and then she would smile, she always smiled. And when she smiles, she is very pretty, and little did she know how she drives me crazy. Her name is Irina Sanchez, my high
Last Updated : 2022-05-07I Was Here Chapter Forty One
Continuation of Chapter 40: *** I was about to cross the street, when I heard a man shout nearby, ‘Sweet mangoes for sale!’ The man who sells the mangoes walked past me. I suddenly notice he is not wearing a face mask. And then I see one, two and three people without face masks too. I look around me and watch the city come back to life. People appear everywhere without me knowing where they came from or if they just popped up like popcorn out of nowhere. They multiply fast. The street is crowded, and I don’t see anyone wearing a face mask or practicing social distance. Is it that I travel back in time? I covered my mouth with my hands, but if there is one thing, I cannot contain my tears. I smiled and turned to look at the coffee shop again. And from the glass window I can see myself wearing a tiny yellow dress. I come a little closer to the mirror. And the closer I get the more I see myself. And suddenly it is no longer my image I see inside the mirror. What I see now is a fi
Last Updated : 2022-05-07
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I Was Here Chapter Fifty
‘Fuck,’ The ceilings and the walls are neatly painted white. And the floor is composed of polished light brown wood. And there is a dark brown framed window at one corner where the light comes from. A bright yellow and pale red orange light tells me the sun is setting and soon it will be dark.I look around me, I don’t recognize this place. Maybe I should start to explore the house. I can hear my footsteps on the wooden floor. It sounds like a heavy knock on a door. Where is everybody? Why is no one home? A big brown couch welcomes me in the living room. The old couch is nearly worn out, where the white cracks are visible on the surface of the leather. I wonder how old the couch is. I sit on this only couch in the living room and observe my surroundings.A medium sized white bookshelf stands on the left side corner beside the window. A few books and small toys are placed in the bookshelf. Name it; fiction novels come in all sizes and children story books, and collectible toys from
I Was Here Chapter Forty Nine
Continuation of Chapter 48:***We walked hand in hand on the school campus with red strings around both our wrist. She was wearing a navy-blue skirt and a white polo with blue tie. Her straight long black hair falls perfectly on her back.We both know that neither of us would like to travel time again.***I sat beside her on the blue bench outside our senior classroom. She wears a light green crop top blouse, light blue mini skirt and white rubber shoes. Her hair was cut short with bangs covering her forehead. And she was carrying a rose-pink backpack. Irina after so many years still looks very high school, she looks like a teenager, never growing old. I was watching her still and imagined her wearing the old white polo with a blue tie and navy-blue skirt. In my mind her black straight hair grew longer down to her waist.‘Irina, if we ever travel time again, and see me here sitting on this bench,’ I said. ‘Please come to me and tell me everything.’‘What if we traveled time but we
I Was Here Chapter Forty Eight
The Red StringI was still holding on to the wheel with the red string still around my wrist, when I noticed another Irina came closer to the car and look at me from the outside.Impossible as it may appear, this is the first of many times I was able to travel back and forth through different timelines and alternate realities. And I know Irina is also doing the same, time traveling.She opened the other door and sat beside me in the car. We both were looking at the crowd forming a circle at the pedestrian line, where my other self was a victim of a car accident.And then I heard voices from the crowd; ‘Today is the deadline of the project,’ said a girl in school uniform from a distance. ‘5:00 PM sharp, guidance office,’ added another girl beside her. They are both wearing white polo and navy-blue skirts.And out of the blue, three boys came running and laughing in front of us, they were also wearing high school uniforms.I noticed in front of us were high school students crowding the
I Was Here Chapter Forty Seven
Continuation of Chapter 46:***I opened the door to the patient’s bedroom. I saw the doctor covered her body and face with white sheet. The last thing I saw is her beautiful face before the white sheet fell into her. Irina is covered in white sheet from head to toe. The nurses assisted me outside the room and didn’t let me come near her.‘Irina!’ I screamed and fought my way inside the patient’s room. I threw out the white cloth from her face and embraced her. Her body feels tight and heavy. My hand touched her cold skin, and from that moment I knew life was taken out from her.‘No!’ I cried loudly. ‘Irina!’I was holding to her wrist as the nurses took her body away. I was left in the room alone with her red string bracelet on my hand.***Eric: ‘Whenever you post a picture on Facebook, I am always looking out on you wearing the red string.’Irina: ‘I will always have it on me,’ she said. ‘One day if we get separated, and you see me still wearing the red string, it means I love you
I Was Here Chapter Forty Six
The Red String‘Grandma, how did I die?’‘The valve of your artery thickens,’ she said. ‘It prevents your heart from pumping blood.’‘We both have heart disease, I see,’ I said. ‘Mama said you were writing something in your diary.’‘I was writing a story,’‘Can I read it someday in the past?’‘You write your own,’ she said. ‘Somewhere in the future Mallory will read your story.’There was a long silence between us, as we sit at the kitchen table looking at the small, opened window.‘If I can talk to God,’ I said. ‘Like He and I really talking,’ I added. ‘I would ask him why I wasn’t meant to be happy.’I watched her feet lifted from the ground. Her white kimono aesthetically flows as the wind blows strong behind her. Her long black hair spreads faultless as the wind carried on. She took out the red satin belt around her waist, and it magically turned into a red string. And there was a very bright light which almost blinded me, when the light disappeared so as grandmother.I found myse
I Was Here Chapter Forty Five
Continuation Chapter 45:***‘No, no, no,’ I cried. ‘Grandma, please tell me I’m not dying.’‘Somewhere in the time realm you die peacefully in your sleep,’‘No, no, no,’ I cried. ‘Grandma, please Mallory needs me,’‘Figure out for yourself, Irina,’‘How did I die?’‘Have you listened to your mother?’‘Heart disease,’ she answered. ‘Your grandmother has coronary heart disease,’ she added. ‘Doctor said, the walls of her heart thickened until it blocked the flow of the blood to her heart which caused her heart to stop beating,’ she explained. ‘And so, she died.’5:20 PM, I woke up. I went to my table outside the bedroom. I opened the window and went downstairs to the kitchen. From the green thermos I pour the hot water containing lemon and ginger on a mug. And then I took out a plate of some melon slices from the fridge. I went back to my table and opened my laptop and continued with my novel again.Eric: ‘How are you?’Irina: ‘I’m okay,’Eric: ‘Get well soon.’Irina: ‘Copy that,’Eric
I Was Here Chapter Forty Four
High SchoolI sat beside her on the blue bench outside our senior classroom. She wears a light green crop top blouse, light blue mini skirt and pair of white rubber shoes. Her hair was cut short with full bangs covering her entire forehead. And she was carrying a rose-pink backpack. Irina after so many years still looks very high school, she looks like a teenager, never growing old. I was watching her still and imagined her wearing the old white polo with a blue tie and navy-blue skirt. In my mind her black straight hair grew longer down to her waist. And she does not have bangs on her forehead. I was looking at her defined jawline, sharp nose and lovely eyes.‘Irina, if we ever travel time, and again, you see me here sitting on this same bench,’ I said. ‘Please come to me and tell me everything,’ I added. ‘I promise I will believe you.’‘What if we traveled time but we won’t remember anything?’‘How do we know that we time traveled if we don’t recall anything?’‘It will take time f
I Was Here Chapter Forty Three
First KissEric: I know a music store near our high school.Irina: Really? Okay we’ll go.Eric: 4:00 PM,Irina: Copy that 4:00 PM‘Which one do you like?’ he asked.I was looking at the number of guitars displayed at the music store. There are couples of electric guitars, bass guitar, ukulele and acoustic guitar that come in different sizes.‘Which one do you play?’ I asked.‘Acoustic guitar and bass guitar,’ he said. ‘I have like one of those,’ he added and pointed to the lengthy dark blue electric bass guitar.‘Why the bass guitar longer,’ I asked. ‘And why does it only have five strings instead of six?’‘One day I will show you how I play the bass guitar,’ he said. ‘For now, I suggest you learn the acoustic guitar first,’‘Alright then, the acoustic guitar,’ I smiled. ‘I like the plain light brown color guitar, there,’‘Okay, wait here,’ he said. ‘I’ll ask them if they have a smaller guitar that will suit you.’Moment later Eric came back with a light-colored smaller size guitar.‘
I Was Here Chapter Forty Two
Unknown to MeDecember 2021, there was a strong itchy sensation in my throat. I feel like grabbing my throat with my hand from the inside of my mouth. Only after a few hours have I caught a cold and cough. And this is not a good sign. I may have contracted coronavirus disease.I knew I needed to be isolated for a few days. I already had my two jabs of Pfizer vaccine, that is why maybe the symptoms I am showing are not severe, I don’t have difficulty in breathing.I decided to phone Mallory’s grandmother, and asked her to take care of her while I needed to quarantine myself. For a week we agreed that Mallory, for her own safety, should stay with her father’s parents while I am recuperating.Tuesday morning, I went to the nearest private hospital for a swab test. The nurse in the PPE suit handed me a form with the information I needed to fill out, like the following: Please check if you have the following symptoms: cold, cough, flu, fever, fatigue, shortness of breath. Have you been exp
