All in One - Milady

Ch.13: Memories?

“How did you die?” She asked.
He looked at her, eyes wandering around her face, learning it once again. He remembered her, the lives they lived, but he didn’t wish to say all that. Unless she asked of course. So he licked his lips, sat back against his chair, and sighed heavily while looking at a painting near the door.
“I drowned.”
Nneka chocked on a fry. She cleared her throat and decided no more food, at least for now. Nneka pushed the food aside. She crossed her hands, placed them firmly on the desk and asked, “You drowned?”
He nodded. “I was learning how to swim, and it didn’t go well.”
“What exactly happened? I mean you actually died—”
“I know this bold of me to assume, but you seem so suddenly interested in all of this.”
“Why can’t I?”
He shrugged, “I don’t know. I mean…I think I expected you to be more scared and less what you are now, calm.”
She leaned back, crossing her arms. “Wouldn’t that go against you’re idea of soulmates then.”
He nodded, “your right to an extent. We can be soulmated and still have different interpretation.”
She nodded chewing the inside of her mouth. “To be honest, I’ve always been fascinated by death. What people feel at the very end. Like is there a tunnel at the end with a bright light or is there—”
“No, " he interrupted softly. “I didn’t see a tunnel.”
“Then what did you see?” Again, she moved closer to him. Eyes raised and wide, all at once, trying to figure this out.
“I saw myself. My body lying on the ground as my father tried to do CPR. And things were slow, like the physical world was slow, but I moved fast.”
That brought shivered to her. “You saw your body?”
“Yeah, but that wasn’t the weird part. I shifted.”
“Shifted?” she repeated.
Nneka chewed on her bottom lips, while her ears seemed to follow each word Javi uttered. She was hanging on every word he said. “I was standing, waiting and… and I felt this calming, exciting and scared feeling all at once.” he began. “I had a ring in my hand, out of the box, surrounded by people who stared at this door. And they were also waiting. I remember looking away, then turning back and you were there. "
“I was there?” She pointed to herself.
Javi nodded, “You were smiling, walking gracefully to me, and you—” he stopped.
She had taken the ring and said yes, but she didn’t need to know that. In fact, he had already regretted telling her about the ring, but his emotions were stirring up. Everything he had remembered about that moment was building up inside, and he couldn’t have it. He wouldn’t have it.
He really couldn’t have it.
Because if memory serves him right, that was the only happy ending.
So he stopped.
He looked at her. Her head tilted, while her eyes squinted at him curious.
“And then you what…proposed? Did I say yes? Come on man you can’t leave me in the dark.”
“I shifted.” Her body dropped back into her seat. A defeated, “oh…” came out. “Another shift?”
“Another shift.”
“And what was this one like?” she asked.
This one was bad, but he wasn’t going to give out too much information. So simply he said the beginning, and the safe parts.
“We were face to face riding somewhere, and in matching outfits ready for something.”
“Like what, was I a soldier?” He looked away, hiding half a face with a half smile while the otherside his jaw clenched. Then he turned to face her with his face beaming with joy, he sang, “I’m not telling.”
She sighed, pouting loudly. “ugh!”
Javi scoffed, pulling her plate closer. “Eat up, it’s getting cold.”
“Fine.” She eats some, and he smiles happily.
There’s something he can’t tell her, not yet.
Nneka takes the plate of fries and walks around his office looking at the pictures, and the books he’s read or planned on reading.
“They’re a lot of books here.” She began, “Do you read them all here in the bar, with all the noise?”
“Actually,” he walked over. “These are just the rest of them.”
“The rest, " she questioned. “So like there’s more?”
Javi nodded, “I love reading.”
“Wow…and these,” she pointed to them, “you’ve read all of them then?”
He pointed behind her, “This wall, no. This…” he slid over, “these… yes.”
Nneka put the plate down and began examining the books that he read. A lot of them were spiritual stuff and the rest…romance?
She picked up a book, recognised it and gagged at it, “You read this?”
It was a romance book, a very very good book too.
Instantly he rushed over snatching the book away. He turned around facing her, and holding the book behind him.
“That not—”
“That’s not what?” she grinned.
“It’s nothing,” Javi stood firm, but his face was weak. He was caught big time.
Nneka smiled wide. She reached around to grab the book, but his hand shot up, and she rolled her eyes. He was holding it above his head, on his tiptoes.
He was tall, but she was tall as well, only a few inches shorter, so it was very possible for her to grab it back.
She stood there and raised a brow. He hesitated, falling back on his whole foot, but then stood up higher.
She pulled the ends of her sweater up, and grabbed at his arms at first, but then remembered he had a whole shelve right behind him of books.
“Think smarter,” she shoved him out of the way to grab the next book.
Javi’s side bumped into the ends of the shelve. He rubbed his side while Nneka pulled out another romance book, and flipped through the pages, reading it out loud.
But before she could finish a sentence, he grabbed the book and shot his hand again up in the air. Only for Nneka to quickly turn and bump into his neck.
Nneka gasped, and Javi held his breath.
They stood there still only for a moment until the door opened, and right there again…Missy.
They pulled apart.
Nneka fixing her hair and Javi setting the book down.
Missy scoffed. Her eyes darting between them holding her disgust. “Sorry, but Tim not coming in.”
Nneka and Javi quickly looked at each other.
“Maybe I should let you handle this.” She said, taking the empty plate.
Javi fixed his hair as well, “It won’t take that--”
Missy stepped in front of Nneka and extended her hand. “I’ll take that.”
Nneka looked at it and closed her eyes embarrassed. She handles the plate to her and scurries off, “Right and … and bye.”

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