Timeless | rorasa

Chapter 18: The Time and The Tears

Rora's curiosity about the book Asa had been engrossed in had only intensified over the past few days. She noticed Asa's deep engagement with it and recalled Asa mentioning that it was a gift from Minju, describing it as a tragic love story. Yet, Rora couldn't ignore the soft sniffles coming from Asa late at night. Those sounds tugged at her heart, making her realize that the book was more than just a story-it struck a deep chord with Asa. Knowing Minju well, Rora suspected there was more significance to it than Asa was letting on. Despite Rora's concerns, Asa consistently brushed off her questions with polite smiles and reassurances, adding to Rora's growing unease.

One evening, as Rora approached Asa's door to knock, she found the room quiet. After knocking gently and receiving no response, she peeked around the corner and saw Asa in the kitchen, carefully stirring something on the stove. Sensing an opportunity, Rora quietly slipped into Asa's room. Her gaze immediately landed on the old, worn book resting on the bedside table.

Rora hesitated for a moment, a pang of guilt gnawing at her. She was about to delve into something private, but her curiosity soon overcame her reservations. She felt compelled to uncover what was troubling Asa so deeply. With a determined breath, she picked up the book and retreated to her own room, gently closing the door behind her.

Settling on her bed, Rora opened the book, her heart racing with anticipation. The delicate, timeworn pages revealed an intricately detailed illustration of a princess who bore an uncanny resemblance to Asa, standing beside a scarred woman.

As Rora flipped through the pages, the story unfolded-a tragic romance between Princess Asa and Dain, a woman who looked strikingly like herself. The more Rora read, the more the narrative mirrored a dream she had once experienced-a dream in which she was Dain, with Asa as the princess. The boundaries between fiction and reality blurred as the story delved into themes of forbidden love, heartache, and longing.

When Rora came to a portrait of Dain, the resemblance was undeniable. The realization hit Rora with a profound weight. Their souls had intertwined across time and space, and now, in this lifetime, they have found each other once more. The gravity of this revelation was overwhelming.

Trembling, Rora closed the book and stood up, her mind spinning with the revelation. She didn't confront Asa-not yet. Instead, she remained there for what felt like hours, overwhelmed by the flood of emotions and the merging of memories and dreams with harsh reality. Asa's wistful smiles, her quiet tears at night-everything suddenly made sense.

Rora now understood why Asa had expressed such fear of losing her and why she was so anxious about the future. Asa had known all along that her time here was fleeting. She hadn't been lying from the start-she truly was a princess. And now, everything Rora had been struggling to piece together finally fell into place.

The thought of losing Asa clawed at her chest, the fear so strong it was suffocating. She couldn't lose her-not now, not ever. But she didn't know what to do, how to stop whatever was coming. Her mind kept returning to one person-Minju. She had to know more. She had to know if there was something, anything, that could be done.

Determined and frantic, Rora didn't waste another second. She grabbed her coat and hurried out into the night, her heart pounding as she made her way to Minju's apartment.

By the time she arrived, her hands were shaking. She knocked on the door, her breath shallow, anxiety gnawing at her insides. When the door finally opened, Minju's face appeared, surprise and concern flashing in her eyes at the sight of Rora's distressed state.

"Rora?" Minju said, her voice laced with worry.

Without hesitation, Rora pushed her way inside, not caring about propriety. "I need your help," she said, her voice cracking as she struggled to hold back the flood of emotions threatening to spill over. "Please, Minju. I need to know how to keep Asa here. I can't... I can't lose her."