The Variant's Shadow - LokixOC - ONGOING

* France *

📍PARIS, FRANCE, 1935 - SACRED TIMELINE

Just like every other day, Ophelia walked Henri to the front door, handed him his coat, turned her cheek for him to kiss it, and watched him leave. Just like every other day, she stepped back inside the apartment, opened the windows to let some air in, cleaned the kitchen, dusted the living room, made the bed, and wrote a list of everything she had left to do for the day. Just like every other day, she put her own coat on but stopped on her way out. She walked back into the living room and waited. 

The large wooden clock rang 9AM. Already four hours had passed since she’d woken up. Making sure to look her best before preparing breakfast was taking her longer and longer every day it seemed. She wasn’t as young as she used to be, and at the age of 27 she was already checking her face for wrinkles every single morning. They’d be here soon enough, she thought, unlike other things that should’ve been here a long time ago and weren’t. 

It was just another day. Maybe this one would’ve been better than the previous ones. Just like every other day, Ophelia had hopes that her life would magically get better. She took her handbag, put her best smile on, and left. 

On her way to the post office, she wondered if she should’ve started cooking something before leaving. The post office’s line was always taking her a long time. Just like every other day, she’d be on her own for lunch. It didn’t matter if she didn’t eat properly. She wouldn’t tell anyone. 

She kept walking, smiling left and right to people who weren’t even noticing her. She didn’t mind. She’d stopped greeting them a long time ago. Ophelia asked herself if things were the same in smaller cities. She’d never left Paris her entire life. She didn’t mind that either. There were so many people to watch here, people with interesting lives, people who’d never noticed her watching them. 

Before she even reached the butcher shop, Ophelia stopped in front of the repair shop. She’d always loved that place. She’d been the first and only employee Philippe Montaigne had ever had. Her parents hadn’t been overjoyed when she’d told them that this was where she wanted to work but celebrated the day she’d given up and agreed to stop working. ‘For the baby,’ they had told her. 

In the reflection of the glass, she noticed Marie, her childhood friend, and the stroller she'd been pushing around for years now. Ophelia kept her back turned and lowered her head. 

“Ophelia, hi !”

She took a deep breath and turned to meet her friend. “I didn’t see you,” she lied with a smile. She looked down and waved at the baby in the stroller. “How are you both doing ?”

“Oh,” Marie breathed out. “He’s still teething, I can’t remember the last time I’ve slept through the night.” Years, Ophelia thought. That little boy was the sixth child to be pushed around in that stroller. “You look great,” she added. “I’m almost jealous.”

‘Almost’. No one was exactly jealous of Ophelia’s situation. She pursed her lips but managed to keep smiling. “I was about to go to the butcher. Are you joining me ?”

“I can’t,” her friend replied. “Catherine offered to have our sons play together at her place.”

Another one. For over a decade now, it was all that Ophelia’s friends had been doing. Expecting babies and giving birth to babies and raising the babies. “Tell her I said hello.”

“I will,” Marie happily replied, already walking away. 

Ophelia kept smiling until Marie was out of sight. They’d been friends forever, but the second Marie’s first child had arrived, which had only been a week before Ophelia’s own wedding, everything had changed between them. Many children later on Marie’s side, Ophelia was left wondering what was left of their friendship and hoping for a miracle.