Even after spending weeks of using time in between his regular activities to search for Laura's social media, Tynan still turned up empty-handed. He was starting to believe in the time-travelling theory. Maybe it was easier to ask Laura about it instead of trying to search for something from the internet. Finding Laura on the internet was akin to finding a needle in a haystack. If he didn't have more information, he would simply be wasting time running in the wrong directions.
However, getting any information out of Laura was easier said than done. His friend remained very tight-lipped about her identity and her past so it was trickier than Tynan thought it would be. She would often change the subject, evade the question or simply tell him that she doesn't remember.
Initially, Tynan thought that the e-ghost really couldn't recall anything about her past life bu
It was business as usual. Tynan arrived on time and tied his apron in place before starting his shift. The meatball manager was nowhere in sight and Laura wasn't accompanying him. Time passed very slowly that day while Tynan restocked, cleaned and tended the cash register. He could be seen checking his phone frequently and Roy noticed it but didn't say anything. Everyone knew that Tynan was a diligent worker. For him to constantly check his phone, there had to be something important so nobody bothered him. Lunch break finally arrived but Tynan didn't feel hungry even though lunch looked appetising. He made these last night and everything was Laura's favourite. The reminder made him lose his appetite and Tynan checked his phone again. The lock screen appeared normal. There were no signs of cheeky e-ghosts anywhere which made him concerned. Did he go too far yesterday?
Tynan only had a few days before his interview and he spent it cooking all sorts of food that he wanted to show his future employer. Laura didn't really mind. Tynan's enthusiasm only meant that there would be more offerings for her and one thing the e-ghost discovered early on was how she didn't have a limit to how much she could eat. The e-ghost picked something casual but decent enough for the job of an assistant cook. Tynan didn't have many clothes to choose from so she supposed a pair of jeans and a nice collared shirt would do. It wasn't a service job so he didn't have to comb or tie his hair if he didn't want to which made Tynan very pleased. For someone like him who was unemployed for so long, meeting new people was a huge deal. Tynan was nervous and really didn't want to ruin his chances. Laura noticed how much of a wreck Tynan looked like on the morn
Beep! Beep!Tynan who was in the middle of debugging and testing his game jumped at the sound. It took the programmer a while to realise where it was coming from and Laura turned the alarm off for him."Chop chop! Get changed and ready, I've already packed everything you need in the bag so go take a shower first," the e-ghost told him and Tynan didn't need to be told twice. It was finally here!A good thirty minutes later with his heart in his ears, Tynan swallowed hard. He was staring at the big sign above the doors that read "Apple Soup". This was it, his possible future workplace.As he had been standing at the entrance for a rather long time, a waiter decided to open the door to ask if he needed any assistance or had a reservation. The restaurant was currently empty
With only an hour to make a soup, two main courses and something of his choice, Tynan was severely pressed for time. The recipes looked simple enough to understand and Tynan found everything relatively easily even without Alan's help. Still, it took him a good five minutes to figure everything out in his head."Fifty-five more minutes," he breathed and looked around. He would work on the soup first. That would need the most amount of time.The first recipe was a pumpkin and apple soup. Apparently, this was the restaurant's signature item which would explain the name. The soup was easy to make but the time required was cutting close. Tynan quickly went to preheat the oven as he cut and prepared the pumpkin and green apple slices for roasting on one tray.Not wasting time while waiting for the oven to reach a good tem
Tynan and Laura couldn't stay depressed for too long as Griffin had other plans for them."Sit down," he told the interviewee and dragged a tall stool over.The dishes were just a formality. It didn't really matter how well it was done, Griffin didn't actually have any high expectations in the first place. He wanted to see if Tynan was capable of learning and how he would react under pressure. The man proved himself worthy when he tried to finish the task despite the burn he got in his haste. Still, his cooking skills were considerably well above average. The restaurant owner foresaw that with a little more training, Tynan could grow into a very skillful chef if he ever wanted to pursue this as a full-time job."How well did you think you did for your first try in the kitchen?" he asked with light amusement in his v
Tynan came to work as usual but the printed letter in his pocket felt a lot heavier than it should. At the same time, the weight in his heart and on his shoulders felt a lot lighter, contributing to the bounce in every step that morning. The manager would be in after lunch and Tynan kept feeling his pocket to check if his letter was still there. He was slightly nervous after presenting his letter to the manager and honestly, the fat man still intimidated him a little."What's up with you today? You're very distracted," Roy nudged him when Tynan was restocking the noodles.The programmer couldn't stop his lips from curving upwards. "I'm quitting."Surprised but happy for the good man, Roy grinned brightly and congratulated him. Tynan rubbed the back of his neck shyly and grinned.
After a relaxing weekend, it was finally time for Tynan to start a new chapter of his life. Reporting to work at Apple Soup Restaurant wasn't the difficult part. Tynan put on his apron and wore something comfortable enough for him to move around in and waited for instructions as he entered the kitchen using the employee's entrance.It was ten in the morning and the restaurant was still closed. It would only open at eleven, according to Alan who greeted him that day. Apple Soup only opened from eleven to three and five to eight daily. Hence, the chefs usually had two shifts with the exception of Griffin who practically lived in the restaurant.Tynan's job was simple. For four days a week, he would work from ten in the morning to four in the afternoon, helping the chefs prepare ingredients for their use during the lunch hour rush and b
Tynan met the family at Apple Soup and just before eleven, he was quickly introduced to the morning team. There were only four men in the kitchen excluding Griffin and Tynan. The team of waiters serving outside under Alan's command was also roughly about the same size but for some reason, the kitchen looked a lot smaller now that all kitchen hands were on deck."Tynan, my boy! Come up here and introduce yourself to the family!" Griffin boomed and the rowdy chefs cheered with an equally loud applause to match the enthusiasm.Shyly, Tynan stammered his weak introduction and the cooks cheered deafeningly, welcoming him on board. As he already met Baston earlier, Tynan only had to familiarise himself with the other three assistant cooks."I hope you don't end up quitting like the other helper," a skinny assistant cook w
Tynan was still tinkering with the G-phone that he pried apart when Laura knocked on his door. Even after meeting Laura in person and getting her parents' approval to settle down together, the programmer didn't want to give up on restoring the G-phone. He wanted to find clues to the mysterious system that trapped Laura's spirit and Laura didn't stop him. She was also curious and that system hadn't been a lie, no matter how ridiculous it sounded. In the event that Tynan still couldn't find anything from the phone, they decided to still keep it for memories. For others, their first meeting could be from an online site or a commonplace but for them, it was through this particular phone."I have your papers ready for signing," she told him in an all too innocent voice. Tynan didn't suspect anything out of the ordinary and the dirt biker felt her heart racing.It wa
It took Laura two weeks with the help of her mother to get her father's approval for her to live together with Tynan. Tynan didn't know if it was a good or bad thing that he had to move apartments again to somewhere of Mr Helvig's choosing. That was not up for compromise and Tynan wasn't allowed to pay a single cent for the rent. Laura didn't have the heart to tell her unofficial husband that he couldn't pay rent because this was a building that her family owned.It was difficult to gain her father's approval to live together but Mrs Helvig was terrifying when she wanted to be. After her mother's intervention, Mr Helvig reluctantly agreed but he was still petty and claimed that he had the final say to where they were going to live. As a doting father, he ensured that it was the best location with the best view and security that his precious daughter would enjoy. Also, the petty CEO made sure to include two
The tension at dinner made Mr Helvig and Tynan very meek. With every scraping sound of the knife, they swallowed hard. Mrs Helvig asked if any of them wanted a second helping of mashed potatoes when she noticed how neither of them touched the chicken. In fact, they were sitting rather stiffly as Laura stabbed at her food with more force than required.Laura knew what she was doing. It felt slightly childish to behave in this manner but she was mad. How could her father and Tynan do this to her?! If it wasn't for her mother, she would have spent hours chewing them out for not telling her anything. Imagine if she never met Tynan by chance today, would her father have kept Tynan away forever? Also, why didn't her silly husband bypass her parents to look for her? Surely it wouldn't be that difficult, right?Mrs Helvig said nothing and only watched as her daughter t
Tough. Papa Helvig was a tough nut to convince and crack.Ever since Tynan flew to Berlin and found a place to settle down, he had been fighting an invisible wall. The only thing standing in his way between him and his wife was her father. True, they might have skipped a few steps to get to where they were in the relationship. However, Tynan felt wronged. Why did her father think that he was a creepy stalker when he had evidence that he knew her on a personal level that stalkers wouldn't?Mrs Helvig found the passive-aggressive battle between her husband and her future son-in-law amusing. Call it a woman's intuition but she had a feeling that Tynan wasn't lying. In fact, she didn't think he was a stalker even though it unnerved her slightly by how much he knew their baby girl. It wouldn't hurt to let him see Laura but her husband was dead set against it. Laura'
Everything felt unfamiliar to her, including herself. The first thing she felt when she opened her eyes was a strange and uncomfortable sense of heaviness. She couldn't move and nothing made sense. She wanted to cry or scream or do something but everything was too blurry and she didn't have the strength. The only thing on her mind was how awfully annoying the sound of beeping beside her felt before she was pulled back to the darkness.The second time Laura awoke, she heard the continuous buzz by her ear that she couldn't get rid of. She was still unable to move anything but at least now, she could see something other than a painfully bright stab to her eyes. There were blobs of colours that moved even if she couldn't understand what they were saying. This time, she was awake for a slightly longer time and she heard more things like the sounds of people walking and various machines before she fell back asle
This time, there was no grand farewell party or well wishes for his future endeavours. The team he had been working with finally launched the game and the sales department were busy monitoring the download figures. Within the first twenty-four hours, they should be able to tell if the game would be well received within the community but by that time, Tynan wouldn't be around to celebrate."You're going?" his boss of half a year asked and Tynan smiled. His desk was cleaned and he only had one small briefcase with him to clear out the things in his locker. He dropped the keys by his boss' table and signed the papers."Yes. I'm leaving."The Creative Director sighed. It wasn't a rare thing that talented people left as quickly as they came. Tynan was exceptional at his job and while it was a huge loss for Lizard Games,
The second phase for the game project was starting and Tynan couldn't afford to take any leave for his honeymoon after the unofficial wedding, not that Laura minded. In fact, the e-ghost seemed to already know that her time was approaching. As suddenly as she came into Tynan's life, she left.For two whole days, Tynan didn't realise that Laura was gone. He was busy with work and only realised that his wife wasn't responding when he tried to offer her his lunch. Laura was offline and this time, there was a strange silent calmness that came over Tynan. His mind blanked out and everything became white noise as if he had forgotten everything he once knew. The world seemed to lack colours, the job seemed to lack meaning, his apartment seemed to be missing a person."Is there something wrong?" his project teammate asked.
Two weeks. Tynan was so relieved that she had returned online and cried when she did. He didn't care if he was at work, he was just so relieved that Laura was back. His colleagues gave him worried looks but Tynan told them he was fine. The game project director looked a lot better after he cried and nobody could understand why. They just left him as he was because all geniuses had some kind of quirk. It was better to leave them to their devices and not judge them. After all, Tynan was very good at what he did at work so what he did in his private time was no concern of theirs.Laura felt as if she just woke up from a very long dream. She didn't know how much time had passed since she last saw Tynan and her memories were hazy at best. She no longer remembered a lot of things but the e-ghost knew that she was starting to fade. This might just be her limits. Who knew if she would be able to wake up the next t
Laura's memory was getting worse and her snooze periods were getting longer each time. Nine months passed since Tynan first met her and his life was completely transformed, thanks to Laura's efforts.For some, nine months would be too short to know where the relationship was really headed but for Tynan, it could be nobody else but Laura for him and it didn't matter where she was, he was determined to find her. With no way to transfer her to his new phone or fix the bug, Tynan was forced to admit that their time together was coming to an end. Yet, he didn't want her to forget all about them. If it were up to him, he would chase her all the way into the second dimension if he could just hold onto her and be with her.Work at Lizard Games was going well. The team just completed the first phase of creating the game's storyline and alpha stage for the testers. It wo