Whispers of Fate

iii

"No you cannot meet him Mum..... Because he's been here a day and that would be creepy! No...... No....... No you absolutely may not 'pop by'........ Yes mother........ okay, love you too."

I sighed dramatically and leant against my kitchen counter. It was 9 am on a Monday and I had simply called to remind my parents that I was not in work today. Somehow that had stemmed to an in-depth conversation about my relationship with Teo (even I didn't understand it so how could they expect me to explain it to them) in which I got accused of being pregnant twice and given the sex talk.

Teo was asleep in my room, working off the jet lag. I was trying to brew my coffee as quietly as possible because I didn't want to disturb him. Things did not go the way I planned at all last night but they worked out better than I expected.

He had come in and immediately started talking.

"I can't believe it's you... you look so good Grace you don't understand." He pulled me in for another hug and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh God that laugh, your voice, you.... I can't believe you're real." He tilted my chin up to look at him and kissed me again, his soft lips fitting right on mine like two matching jigsaw pieces.

"Believe it. You're going to be sick of me by the time you've been here 3 months, I am going to harass you so much that you'll be considering a restraining order." I smiled, our faces still pressed together.

"Good, I like the attention. Oh I was so convinced you had a boyfriend or that you didn't like me anymore or something, you have no idea how happy I am to see you again."

We stood in our embrace for perhaps a second too long but neither of us were willing to pull away. Neither of us wanted to break the moment, end the memory. I had spent so many nights in the past five years just lying awake and creating this image in my head, filling in all the blurry details with whimsical thoughts. It felt surreal to finally be living in my dream, to be fulfilling the destiny created by hours of praying to whatever deity planned my life that it linked to Teos.

Finally I stepped back, withdrawing my body but not breaking eye contact. Oh sweet heavens, his eyes. I'd missed his piercing stare, missed the feeling of being watched and admired whilst I went about my day.

I took his hand and led him to the couch, instinctively falling into the crevice of his arms as we sat down.

"I'm sorry, I would offer you drinks but all I have in is juice. I did go out for wine but I forgot my ID because I was in a rush and the cashier was being stingy and it was this whole issue and..." I clamped my lips shut as I realised that Teo was laughing.

"Grace shut up. I don't drink, remember?" I raised an eyebrow, unsure whether to be impressed at his self control or annoyed at myself that I forgot such a significant detail.

"Really, not even at university?" He shook his head.

"I don't like the taste, it's too bitter. I'll take a cup of tea though, thank you for offering."

I couldn't even be irritated at the stupid grin he sent me as I rolled my eyes and pushed myself off the sofa.

"Well at least you've matured enough that you'll ask for your own cup instead of just drinking mine." He let out a melodious laugh and for a second I was transported back to my 18 year old self, sitting next to him on the beach at 2 am and hearing that very same laugh echo across the empty park. It was only a fleeting feeling but I smiled all the same at the lingering emotion that came with revisiting a memory buried deep in the caves of time.

As the tea brewed I took a second to observe Teo from a distance. He had pulled out his phone and was replying to a message. It was strange that he was so casually sat in my living room when a mere week ago he was just a name from my past. My head tilted slightly as I watched him and I suddenly became aware of how odd I looked.