Life After Death

Lionel: recovery and a lady

                   

{Lionel}

I didn't have to work today, which was nice, because I had slept half the morning away. My chest was a little sore and my wings were stiff, but other than that, I felt fine.

Juliet and Corryn fussed over me for a couple more minutes, but then Mom peeked in, letting everyone know Ryon was making a late breakfast.

I gave Juliet and Corryn the slip to dress. My shirt from last night had vanished, but I vaguely remembered it being ripped off last night. I had only slept on the roof three days, and then this had happened. The whole point of being up here was to get away from of the chaos downstairs.

So, I pulled on new pants and slipped on a new blue shirt, buttoning it as I walked from the bathroom to the door. But I saw feet in front of me and looked up to see the girl. Her hair was still a little wet, but she was wearing a red dress. It had been days since I had first seen her in my bathroom, but that didn't stop her from giving me a huge hug. I returned the hug, out of shock more than anything else.

"I shouldn't have run out on your like that," she told me, resting her head on my shoulder. "And you could have died, and then you would have never really met me and I just felt terrible."

"It's...it's okay," I stammered. "I mean, I don't know what's going on, and I was going to have breakfast with my family, but it's okay."

"We can return to breakfast," she promised, though I had no idea how. "Because I think we need to talk. And you have work tomorrow. My name's Porphia."

"Okay," I said. "Have we met before?"

"We will meet for the first time in one week," she said. "Or at least, it is the first time I meet you. I'm sorry; I'm no good at relationships. I've seen more of it that you have."

"We're in a relationship?" I repeated.

She hadn't let go of me, and we were still in this awkward hug. Porphia seemed to notice.

"Let's sit down," she suggested. "This might be easier if I explain what I can."

So Porphia dragged me to my bed and began to speak. She told me how she was a time mage and how she had dropped into the wrong time line and was stuck here. She had told her past self that she would meet a man and have a family and be very happy. Apparently, I was that man. It was a bit strange to be a bit of a prophecy, but she assured me it was all very normal to her.

"But because I am not from here, I sometimes travel in time without meaning to," she said. "So I had ended up in your past by accident. That's why I vanished so quickly."

"But you knew that this was about the time I almost died?" I questioned.

"I talked to Juliet and Corryn yesterday," she agreed. "Well, your yesterday. My last month. Time is relative."

"I see."

It was a lot to wrap my head around, but as far as I gathered, I was either married, dating or hadn't met Porphia. We were destined for each other, whatever that meant. I felt some attraction; she was beautiful and funny and very quirky, but I was only eighteen. I wasn't ready for a family.

"Don't worry," she told me. "I know I'm never going to remember that our present day doesn't align, but I'm going to try, it's just hard to stay in the present."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" I offered.

She flashed me a smile and then took my shirt in two fistfuls, pressing her lips to mine.