A Story of Their Lives

Chapter 7

2053. The Nabeer bar barely changed, but it was still standing, full of people. It had been extended a bit and had some upgrades here and there. Still surprisingly playing music from the early 2000s. I looked around and couldn't see him in the crowd. It was probably very stupid of me to think he'd remembered or been bothered enough to even be here. "Could it be that he's in the freeze right now?" I thought. I was about to leave when we saw each other.

Michael came with his friend. He had a beard now and looked considerably older. They were sitting at a table made from a barrel, already enjoying a Trappist beer.

"Hello," I said and smiled awkwardly. He looked surprised. I don't think he expected me to be that young. Or maybe he didn't expect me to show up. We hugged and I got to know his friend Timothy.

"You really spent all these years in the freeze, didn't you?"

"I woke up five years later and explored the new world. Didn't enjoy it much and went back to sleep."

"Back to sleep? Seriously?"

"Yes, for another five years. I am twenty-eight now."

"Oh damn," he laughed along with his friend. "And I am almost forty. You're crazy!"

Almost forty. I knew I should've expected this, but my heart still sank.

I realized pretty quickly that we didn't have much to talk about anymore. We lost the connection. He moved on, got married, and had three wonderful kids and a Labrador. Built a career. While I had that conversation at the cliffs a year ago, eleven years have passed for him in the meantime. That person I knew disappeared too rapidly and I wasn't prepared to lose a friend so suddenly. We both knew that, and he looked like he felt sorry for me. Unable to keep a cheerful conversation for much longer, I said goodbye after one drink.

Instead of an exciting meet-up, I got closure.