A Twist In Time

Chapter 17

The clock told me that it was four thirty in the morning. I woke up at the sound of someone walking far away from me. The steps were crystal-clear in my ears, it sounded like a fading song, and it finally went out of my hearing range. I fought the urge to turn my body and check if Sean was there. I felt frozen, and when I did, he wasn’t there.

“Sean? Sean?” I yelled. I hate to do this to him, searching while I know deep inside me that he’ll never come back. I tried to search for him, but in every room of this newly-repaired house, he wasn’t there. A tear almost broke out of my eye, but I stopped it from falling.

Because I’d be really really stupid.

I walked down the nearby beach, hoping that he might be there, taking a silent moment with the roaring sea. I looked around the area while the cool wind chilled me to my very bones and painted my face with a comfortable feeling. There was no sign of him, and, I admit it or not, I started to worry about him.

“Sean?” I shouted.

“Looking for me?” someone said behind me.

I swung my head to my back. Sean was there, a smile was clear on his face.

“What the hell are you doing here? I came around here just to look for you. You don’t know this place, Sean. It’s not like you’re in New York.” I scolded.

“I’m sorry. I just wanna have a quiet moment with myself. I’m thinking about taking you back to my house. Mom wanted you to come back.”

Very pathetic.

“Tell me the whole story. How did your mom ever landed on a disease? Your mom’s a healthy woman.”

“She started to worry more about you when you left. I myself find it mysterious why she cares about you, like you are her daughter.”

I felt my heart twist in a certain manner that I couldn’t understand. Angela was more than a woman to me, even more than a mother. Knowing that she was suffering struck me the most. In an instant, I felt the urgency to see her again.

“Where is she?”

“She’s at home. She badly needs to see you again.”

Sandra came into my mind. She was the one I feared to face. I couldn’t take her meanness and the way she was.

“I’m going home tomorrow. Maybe you can come with me.”

“I don’t think I have to do it, Sean. There’s too much going on in my mind right now.”

For a moment, I couldn’t think of anything. After all the things that had happened in my life, I could really say I had enough share of my bad experiences. Sean wasn’t my refuge or my hope either. I just wanted to forget him, forget that I once loved him and live my life for my own good. I have been staring at the hourglass in my little room these past few days. If I would reverse it, would I go back to my real time? Would it be too late for me, and I’d die?

Or worst yet..

Would it be too late for Sean and me?

Those thoughts shattered my brain with so much intensity. I couldn’t bear that, and I don’t want it to happen either. It was like a gun was fired straight to my chest.

“I understand.” he said.

I was zapped back to reality.

“Do you mind if I take you to a walk down the beach?”

I forcefully nodded my head, not sure of what was going to happen.

We walked down the beach, during a chilling dawn. The sea waved calmly down the seashore. Everything was perfectly serene, a great view for people who seek peacefulness and solitude. The moon shone bright, giving me a clear hint of Sean’s beautiful face while I secretly looked at him. I smiled to myself. I never thought I could enjoy this thing in year 2030.

Sean Keates.

Do I still love this man?

I had second doubts within myself. He loved me, and I love him too. I even rejected Leighton’s proposal just for him. A secret tore us apart, and it drove me totally insane. I had to leave, to avoid making things worse. Now, here with him, it felt like it was the first time we met, the first time we went out on a date.

Minutes passed. Silence slowly crept in the atmosphere since none of us dared to speak. I was almost caught by Sean staring at him, so I shifted my eyes to the breaking sky.

“Stars are more beautiful at this time of the day.” I said, and then added a smile that I myself only saw it.

“Yeah. Very much. I love to wake up at this time and stare at the sky from my balcony. I even bring a cup of coffee and drink it till morning.” he shared.

I gave a low chuckle at what he said. We had something in common.

“I wish I could still do this someday, when I’m too old to even stand up.”

“Me too. I wanna do it with you.” he said in a probably sweet way.

I looked at him.

“Was that a joke?”

“I’m serious.”

The look in his eyes was too convincing. It beamed an aura of sincerity and true love. I stopped myself to believe it, that that look was just nothing but a nightmare.

I shifted my eyes to the sea. The sun was just about to rise. The yellow rays were casting the light onto the beach, into our direction.

Sean slowly took my hand to his and held it tightly. For a minute, we were in that way, and the next second, he lifted up my chin and made his way to my lips.

He kissed me, soft and gentle…

I couldn’t deprive myself from this, which was very crazy.

Love really caught me off-guard. I realized I still love Sean Keates. I love him more than my own soul.

The sun warmed our bodies up while we kissed. He was taking it slow, savoring every sensation, adjusting me and awakening me that I was kissing someone.

He was beginning to go faster.

My mouth froze, but the burning passion on his lips made me kiss him back.