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Chapter Twenty Four
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2021-11-12 20:50:15A Dream House
(Continuation)
I sat on the beige colored tiled floor of the living room. And I looked around me, the ceilings are neatly painted white, while the walls are covered with medium toned brown wallpapers.
I opened another box. From the box I pulled out lots of books, maybe fifty to seventy of them. The books come in different forms, big and small, thin and thick. Our book collection includes about twenty five of Mallory’s bedtime story books, a New King James bible version, a children’s bible, and there is one of my favorite books; Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life, also my favorite novels from Mitch Albom; Tuesday with Morrie and Five People You Meet in Heaven, and of course some of Nicholas Sparks books like; A Walk to Remember, The Notebook, The Lucky One and The Last Song. And there are dozens of novel books I purchased from book sales which I mus
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I Was Here Chapter Twenty Five
A week before…Remember MeI see a photo of a man and woman together. I looked closely and found out the man in the photo is Eric. He stands side by side with a woman. She haswavylong hair andolive skin tone. I couldn’t tell who the womanwas because her facecame outblurryin the picture.I feel sad,he is with another woman.I pored over the picture, and out of the blue,I heard Eric’s voice, he said,‘I am sorry.’I woke up from a dream,no,rather from anightmare. The sound of his voice, when he said,I am sorry, it sounded so real.I pulled out my mobile phone under my pillow. I checked the time, itis only3 AM, I should still be sleeping. I closed my eyes, but I couldn’t sleep.I rolled overonthe other side
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I Heard Her Cry There was an old looking bar on one corner of the street. The door swayed open and a woman came out from that door. She was wearing a long off white dress. She has pale skin and her body figure appears to be paper thin. Damn, is she on some kind of weird diet? She walked alone on the street. Her long black hair flowed perfectly on her back. I assumed she was probably less than five feet tall. I noticed how strange she turned her head, it was like she was afraid that someone might be after her. She walked briskly, and once more watched her back. I observed her face, she has a pair of almond shaped eyes, a sharp nose and pinkish thin lips. I thought she caught me, but luckily she didn’t. Few moments later, she began to run. And it appeared like she was running away from something or maybe someone. I started running after her, and she suddenly stopped in the middle of an open field. I watched her stand there all by herself. She was looking up at the night sky, a
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Who is Irina?‘Have you ever had a dream about a girl whom you do not know?’ I said while I poured espresso shots straight to the white porcelain mug.‘I don’t think so,’ Kevin answered. ‘A hundred seventy nine.’ he added as he continued counting the white paper cups.‘I heard a girl crying in my dream,’ I saidas I put a spoonful of foam to the top of the latte I prepared for a customer.‘It’s weird, I really thought I heard someone’s crying as if it was real.’‘Do you recognize the girl from your dream?’ he said, as he closed the door of the cabinetwhere he kept the paper cups.‘I don’t think I have met her before,’ I said and handed him a pack of brown napkin papers. ‘In my dream, she had dark long straight hair and her skin was fair. She is petite and she wa
Last Updated : 2021-11-12I Was Here Chapter Twenty Eight
Have You Look At the Sky Tonight?Friday5:30 PM, I looked closely at myplainblack smart watchon my left wrist, itdisplayed the figures; twenty five minutes and fifty five seconds; one thousand nine hundred and forty three steps. I thought, todayImust challenge myself to up to three thousand steps. The last time I went here for a run, I did more than two thousand steps. Well, I dare me. I continued running aroundanopen parking lot nearby the village.And because the parking lot offers a wide space with only a few cars parked, this venue serves as a perfect spot for running. Water? My throat feels dry, I am thirsty.I took a short break for a few minutes. I sat catching my breath, in one corner near a post light. I opened a bottle of Gatorade and put it straight on my mouth. I swallowed the blue liquid from the bottledown to my throat
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Dream: The Woman and the Clock I was feeling light headed.The world spins rapidly around me. My two legs stood unbalanced on the unsteady floor. The gravity withdrew from my head. I don’t know how long I can remain on my feet. And under my feet the floor shook like there was an earthquake.I was caught in the middle of people whom I never met. They were maybe six or seven, and I don’t recognize any of them. They were dancing and moving and spinning around, and they wouldn’t stop. They move fast, and it annoysme.And more than annoyed, I was afraid. I don’t feel safe to be with them, they were complete strangers to me.Who are these people?A squeezing sensation brought pain into my chest.I placed mytremblinghandon top of my chest to feel myownheartbeat. And I could feel my heartracing a mile a minute. And the
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The Ghost: The WomanJamia: ‘Where are you?’Irina: ‘Starbucks,’ I said. ‘I’m having a burnout staying at home, so I am writing my story here.’Jamia: ‘Is that a love story?’Irina: ‘Hmmm, not really,butalmosta love story,’ I said andplacedthe straw trapped between my lips. ‘It’s a sad story, though not tragic.’Jamia: ‘Uh, I don’t like sad endings,’ she said. ‘What are you drinking?’Irina: ‘White chocolate mocha,’Jamia: ‘Why don’t you put a twist on your story to make it interesting,’ she said. ‘Like, the main character have multiple personality disorder, or the main character is bipolar and also too brainyfor the average people.’Irina: ‘Hmmm,I will think about that,’ I
Last Updated : 2021-11-12I Was Here Chapter Thirty One
A Chance to Feel AgainI watched her smile at the customer as she took orders from them, and she took their payment and handed them the change. Today she looks so happy. Even with wearing a facemask at work, she still manages to add on some makeup on her face. You know, just how a woman will normally do to look good. Well, I think her makeup isn’t bad, it’s her effort to look her best every ordinary day at work.She looks at me as I work in the diner area, collecting trays and used cups, plates and forks. From a short distance she watched as I wiped the table clean with a wet towel.As I moved from one table to another, I always caught her looking in my direction, like she is so in love with me. What does she see in me? I don’t know. I don’t know if she notices me over Kevin, who is definitely a good looking guy. She likes me, and she made it obvious and not a secret to anyone of us working in the coffee sho
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Dream: Her Name is IrinaJane and I sat next to each other at the Mexican restaurant. We should have had our very first date at the Mexican restaurant I proposed to, but unluckily she is not the type of girl who would eat anything. If you get what I meant, picky eater, that’s it. There are certain foods she wants to eat, and also some food which is not her type, like tacos and shawarmas.And so, we settled on Kenny Rogers inside a mall. It is not expensive, though it is also not cheap, a plate of meal costs like less than five hundred pesos. But anyway it’s okay, for an average earner like me, it’s what you call, only sometimes kind of expenses. Whew.If ever Irina, whoever that beautiful girl in my dream, exists, I wouldn’t mind spending my two weeks salaray just for dinner, with someone so special as her. I can imagine myself jumping from a cliff for her, no joke, I think I&rsq
Last Updated : 2021-11-12
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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
