A Word in the Breeze

The Reply (The Note III)

“I'm really sorry,” he said, in massive understatement.

He stood in the doorway. The truth was worse, and it was bubbling hot under his throat but he quieted it with a lie.

“Some other time?”

Her face was broken. But she managed a fake smile. “Yeah. Yeah, sure. I'll call you.”

“I love you.”

“Love you too."

He watched her leave, and it was a bereavement to let her. But he shut the door. He had to do this. He wasn't going to allow her to see it.

Not this.

He made it back to his bedroom. Today was the day. Today was the day he died.

On his bed lay the note from last night.

“Jenna, get me out of this class before I die of boredom.”

It was unmistakably the same one, but had a mark of time passed. The paper was frail and yellow now, the words almost fading.

It was the only thing that could make him believe that last night was real, that it hadn't been a dream.

But he knew it was real. He didn't have the ring anymore.

It was just that he had tried hard not to believe it. Survival instinct – bound to kick in some time.

But what now? The girl hadn't bothered with any explanation. How was he going to die? He didn't know if he should be terrified of knives or perhaps drowning in the shower. Was a poisonous spider going to bite him? Or would he just faint next time he stepped in the sun?

Not knowing plagued him, made him anxious, but on the other hand he decided it was best. After all, if he knew, he would do everything in his power to stop it from happening. What would that do to the future?

Whatever happened next, he resolved that Kylie would see none of it. He couldn't bear the thought of her having to suffer any more than necessary.

There was a ping on his mobile. It was a friend of his. Jake.

“Hey. Come over 4 lunch? The gang s meeting @ my place”

He smirked. What did he have to lose?

“Sure. Will b there.”

They were all mature people, after all. Surely they could deal with a random death on his part?

After all, except for dying, his schedule was free.

Oh, and this one other thing. He pulled the piece of paper towards him.

~

An old lady sat by the window. She was thin wrinkled and beautiful. She smiled out at the road.

“That's where it happened,” she said for the hundredth time. “Not here, but another road like this. Car accident. The best people leave in the worst of ways.”

Rowena licked her lips guiltily. Just then her father appeared in the living room.

“Has someone been using the time machine?” He looked from one to the other. “It's been set to 2017. Who's been traveling to the past?”

Rowena clutched the piece of paper tighter.

As both adults would soon know, it was a very old piece of paper. Her grandmother had had it for over fifty years after all.

But there was something new written on it now, written in a font only a very old kind of pencil could produce.

It was a message from Ewan. His last note to the future.

“Don't worry, Kylie. If you're ever bored again, just tell them my story.”