Just a while ago, I was dying of thinking Albert might be gone. Thinking of him not being in my life is worst than my former timeline. If I woke up now, and I would go back to my old life as the 55-year-old woman, I would hold this moment in my memory until the very end of my breathing.
I stared at the shimmering diamond ring on my finger. Although in my original timeline I got married three times, my finger never had this kind of promise. Albert really meant to erase the painful past brought by wrong decisions in the past. I looked around and saw the happy faces of all important people for me, and I glanced at my ring, all these seemed too good to be true.
The tap on the open microphone, checking if it was working well, caught my attention.
"Selene, my love," he waited until our eyes met. "Please receive my gift to you,"
Little Charlie was jumping as he waited impatiently. I wasn't exactly sure if he understands what was happening but when Albert handed
The cloudy sky started to cry. Raindrops started pouring and people around us, wearing black and holding white lilies, some opened their umbrellas. It wasn't cold, but I shivered as I watched the priest end the service, and they started placing the flowers at the top of the casket.I held on to the flower tightly that I thought I would crush it before I could place it on the casket. Albert and I were the last people to bid our goodbye, and I never thought my separation with James would leave such great loss in my heart, something that I could hardly explain.When they started to lower the casket down to the ground, Sienna wrapped her arms around me and together we wailed, only this time somebody very special to us died. Albert put his arms around us. He cried in silence, but I knew he was hurting inside.No one will understand why we were so heartbroken.It was a short service. Both our parents were surprised that James has no family, so they understand w
"You're crazy," The first words that came from Sienna's mouth when I told her my plan. "Didn't you tell me before that curiosity killed the cat?" she whispered.We were lying down on our stomach on the bed, and after telling her I was determined to find out who killed James, she stopped crying, and now her eyes were wide, probably horrified, as she couldn't believe what she was hearing from me."Listen, Sienna. It was true that curiosity killed the cat, but somebody said satisfaction brought it back,"She scratched her head. "I don't understand,""If we will find out about his death, the cat could live. We could prevent its death." I explained, but I ended questioning myself because I might be wrong.She heaved a sigh and stared at me, but she didn't say anything."Sienna, if I don't do this, it's either Albert or me would be next," I pressed my lips, but I knew it was true.Gawking at me, Sienna opened her mouth, then closed it again
It may be completely dark, but with the lamp posts in the park, I could see movements from the trees. I narrowed my eyes as I tried to recognize the man standing and looking in the direction of my window.I couldn't be more wrong, but I knew who I saw. He could be in his seventies, but I could still recognize the face. Jane was right, he was the older version of Melvin. My mouth opened in great horror, my heart was throbbing that its beating hurts my chest.Forgetting to close the window, I sprinted to the door and closed it with a loud bang sound. I almost fell from the stairs rushing which surprised everyone. There were only a few people in the living room, my family, Ed, and Jane, and they all looked at me in great surprise.Sienna, who was about to get a slice of pizza, turned to me with a questioning look."Sienna, hurry, open the doors!" I said, ignoring my parents, as I passed them to go to the main door. When my sister didn't move, I screamed at h
Seated on the floor of my bedroom, I hugged my knees after checking on my sister. It took us a great deal of time before she stopped crying, and finally, she fell asleep. Who won't get shocked after the incident? She saw the man coming out of nowhere, and she couldn't even talk about it. She refused to sleep in her bedroom, and now she was occupying my bed.Jane came to my room with two cups of hot chocolate in her hands, and following behind her was Ed. They had just finished helping dad check the place, but there was no trace of this person Sienna described.She gave the other cup to me and sat quietly beside me on the floor. I rested my head on her shoulder, then closed my eyes as I comforted myself with the warmth of the cup from the hot chocolate. I could still feel myself shivering from what happened.Ed made himself busy spreading the camping mattress that we were supposed to sleep on while enjoying our little camping in the park, but after what happened,
"Whatever it is, let's do it. I want all these to end. Where do we start?" All of a sudden I regret saying this to Albert."M-Marco?" I stuttered as I mentioned his name. I couldn't deny the goosebumps I felt just by merely hearing the name. I despised him, but if he was the last person on earth who could help us, then I would have the face my past the most painful way.His forehead creased and pressed his lips, perhaps to keep himself from talking. He heaved a deep sigh and pulled me closer to him."Are we out of options?" I asked, and at this time I wish I could just wake up and go back to the way things used to be. I would rather put myself, my life in misery than make other people suffer just because of me.Going back in time made everything complicated. I wanted to be happy and change my future, but how could I sleep well at night if it would only affect the people I love.Where will my selfishness lead me? It ached my hea
I have not done this before, and maybe if I had done this with Albert, I wouldn't remember that timeline. Even with my ex-husbands, I didn't remember doing this, that was why Jane teased me about having reservations in my relationship. The qualms I had for myself and for them hindered me from giving my all in bed.It was never a requirement in a relationship, right? But today, I want to give my all, my body, my soul, my heart... my everything."Not yet, my love," I whispered, and crawled like a tigress. Although my heart was palpitating with a mix of thrill and fear that he might not like it, I pushed his chest gently for him to lie his back on the floor.I went on top of him."You are scaring me, my tigress, what do you plan to do?" He asked, smiling, but I could tell the desires in his eyes."I love you, Albert," I uttered as I moved my head closer to his face."I love you, Selene," he gasped as my hands started to feel his chest. I smiled
"Enjoying the breakfast, Albert?" teased Sienna. She giggled as she dashed to the kitchen, then opened the refrigerator to get the carton of milk.Our face flustered red. I could still feel the heat rising to my cheeks as I moved away, and he released me from his embrace.Dad put Billy quietly on his high chair, then gave him his favorite toy truck. I avoided his gaze because I already saw this forehead furrowing about what he just witnessed in our kitchen."Early riser?" He asked his eyes on Albert."We didn't have dinner last night, dad," I answered for him before he could talk. "We got hungry, so here we are," I continued, rolling my eyes, then I walked to the oven. I could smell the cheese.He raised his hands in the air as if trying to say he didn't mean anything from his question. I guess I was too guilty to react like that to him. I sometimes forget I was in a nineteen-year-old body, and not the old me.Mom was still quiet. She was lo
"Albert," I croaked as I called his name. We have to hurry to the hospital before it's too late. I didn't care about Marco, but Philip is very important to him. He already lost Charles, and losing another brother is too much.He was in shock. His lips parted as he stared blankly at the TV screen."Albert!" I shook his shoulders. This time I screamed in front of him, startling everybody.He blinked, then nodded."Ah... The car key," He said to the guy in uniform. He nodded, but Ed raised his hand, taking the key inside his pocket."I'll drive. We'll use my car," said Ed, patting him on the shoulder.He nodded, still unable to say anything."We are ready sir, where to?" Hubert, the older guy asked Ed."To the hospital," I answered. He nodded and talked to the radio. I was surprised he didn't wait for Albert's answer. Maybe he knew that at this time, he was not in his mind to make a sound decision."We'll follow you there,"
Nine months laterI kept pacing the room and taking deep breathes. Albert and I may have gone back time, but this was the first time for us to experience this. I took another breath, inhaling slowly and then breathing out slowly to release the tension I was feeling.“Albert!” I screamed from the hospital room. The contractions increased, and I tried to move a lot, preparing myself for this new experience. As soon as I felt the pain and the contractions last night, he decided to bring me to the hospital. We both don’t want to panic at home when our babies decide to come out. My water bag broke already, but the contraction has often come now.Yes, Albert and I were having twins. We were ecstatic when we found out we had two instead of one. He came running to the room, his face pale that I could not stop myself from laughing.I bit my bottom lip and smiled at him.He dashed to me, massaged my back. “Are you feeling oka
I looked up at the ceiling, trying to calm my heart. It has been hammering my chest since I came to Dr. Melissa’s office. She has been my shrink for many years, but I never get to graduate from this couch. I laid my back on the familiar leather sofa and waited for her.The sound of her shoes told me she was on her way to her chair. She sat on the egg chair, facing me. She smiled at me gently and quietly opened her notebook. Perhaps, my notebook. I have seen how it was changed after several sessions with her. With my life opened to her, she could write a series about me.“How are you today, Selene?” She asked, taking her pen from her shirt pocket.My eyes flickered on her, but I returned my eyes to the ceiling. It could be because it was her job, but I liked Dr. Melissa. She was always patiently waiting for my answers, and if I chose not to talk, she would assure me that all I needed was to call her and listen to m
“I leave the future now to you, my love,” Albert pulled me closer to him, wrapped his arms around me, making me feel his warmth, his love, and then he kissed me at the top of my head, making me remember what he said on my birthday as he sealed his gift with a kiss."I'll protect you no matter what, my love. It's a promise." Indeed, he protected me, but then he slowly faded, and then Albert disappeared before my eyes. I couldn’t breathe, and for a second, my heart stopped beating.No. He couldn’t be gone!The horror of being reminded when Marco faded away before us was the day he died.Terror and shock were like waves that overwhelmed me. I could not move. It took me a while before I scrambled on my feet, and then I ran to the elevator.As the elevator opened on the second floor, I ran to the operating room, but I was too late. Lady Margarette and my mom broke down in tears when they saw me. I could
“I wanted to see you with my own eyes, the young and beautiful Selene, the curse of our family!" Those were the only voice that I could hear at the moment. It was playing on my mind repeatedly as I sat on the floor, hugging my knees, near the operating room.In whatever timeline, if I did not entertain my feelings to Albert... if only I did not allow him to love me again... if I did not travel in time, he would be okay. I may not understand it entirely, but I was a curse.When Dani and Edwin ran to the office, they did not see anyone except Albert and me on the floor. The backdoor was open, so the police officers had a hunch that the suspect had run away. I was the only witness, but they could not ask me at the moment.I could hardly notice my surrounding. I kept thinking how happy we were last night and how we climbed together in cloud nine when I found out we were pregnant. I was hardly blinking as I looked back at what had just happened. I was
My vision got blurry, tears just kept flowing, and my feelings were so overwhelming that I could not speak. Albert met my eyes and then told.“Mom,” He said, alerting his mother and, I guess, everyone in the room. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I think Selene won’t be wearing your wedding gown in June,”I chuckled. After Marco’s death, we decided to move the wedding to June instead of this month out of respect. I turned to my parents and his mom and smiled.“It won’t fit.”I turned my face to the love of my life. As our eyes met, he pressed his forehead to mine, and we both cried. In their eyes, we were just a young couple, getting pregnant at the age of nineteen, but for us, we waited for thirty-seven years to be together, to have this chance of sharing this wonderful experience.“I’m gonna be a mom,” I whispered excitedly, saying those words that I could not contain
Everybody seemed to be anxious about the result of the test. Dad kept pacing the room while Albert’s dad had been tapping the arm of his seat like he was playing the piano. Our mothers were chatting, exchanging their pregnancy experiences. Sienna and Jane were chatting about their excitement about the possible results. We had to wait in Dr. Mayer’s office because staying in the OB Gyne’s doctor won’t fit all the expectant guests. Albert and I stood by the large window overlooking the hospital’s garden. “It would be fun to watch their faces if I’m not pregnant,” I said, rolling my eyes. Albert smiled, pulling me closer to him and kissing my forehead. “But this would be a great story to tell to our child if you are indeed pregnant,” I leaned my head on his chest. The truth was I was scared because even if I had James, it was something I never had a memory of. This would be my first experience. “I’m scared,” I muttered. “Would you rather be not p
“Congratulations, you’re pregnant!” The doctor smiled at me, showing the result of my test. The lines and the signs definitely did not lie about it.I could not believe what I was hearing. Am I really pregnant? I gazed at Albert, tears brimming into his eyes as he came to me to wrap his arms around me. When the door opened, my eyes widened to see the tunnel. It was like sucking my body to get into it, but Albert held onto me tightly.We were shocked when a man, wearing a black mask and overall, pointed a gun at me. No, not particularly at me, but to my belly. My forehead furrowed because I just knew I was pregnant, but my belly was so big that anytime I would likely give birth. Before I could understand what was happening, I heard a gunshot and found myself bleeding.I gasped, sucking as much air to my lungs as I got up from the bed. My heart was pounding fast, and I could hear my heartbeat from the silent night. I was sw
“Are you like together again?” Sienna asked, gawking at us. She shook her head. “Something’s not right,” She squinted her eyes on us, glancing at our hands, fingers interlacing. “Did something happen a few seconds ago? Wow, you changed really fast, Sel,” She glanced at the ceiling, trying to remember the clothes I was wearing.When I heaved a sigh, she gasped, opening her mouth in surprise. “Did you just...”“Just what?” I asked, looking at my sister, hoping she would stop talking about how surprised she was at seeing us.“Got together,” she chuckled, pointing his lips to the engagement ring I had on my finger. “Fix your problem, Selene,” She said, standing up to continue setting the table. “Either you face your problem now or later.”Sienna was right. The reason things got complicated is that I tend not to face my problem. I tried to ev
Everyone in the living room went quiet. No one made a single sound, not even a movement. It was like they stopped breathing for a while, just like in the movies when we hear the most critical line of an important character, whether from the protagonist or the antagonist. In the middle of our silence, we could listen to the sound of crickets.Their faces were hard to read as well. Jane was twisting her lips, fidgeting with her hands. Ed was staring blankly at us, his hand on his chin. Dad has lines on his forehead, squinting his eyes as he analyzed what I said. Mom wrinkled her eyebrows as she pinched the skin in her throat.I glanced at Albert, and he shrugged.Suddenly, Mom broke down in tears. Sienna and I looked at each other, raising our brows as we stared at her.“I hope you’re not on drugs, Sweetheart.” She sniffed, holding my father’s hand. He squeezed Mom’s hand.I almost rolled my eyes at her, but I think it w