Take Me Back To Paddington (SERIES)

Chapter 50 - EPILOGUE

Did you wake up this morning?
What did your eyes see first? Was it your bedroom, or somewhere you remember sleeping in?
What did your hands feel? Was it your soft, comfortable bed sheet?
What did your ears hear? Was it the cars outside? Chirping birds? Or your screaming alarm?
What did your nose smell? Was it the morning cold? Your room air freshener? Or absolute nothing?

You don't really have the specific answers, don't you? Because you never pay attention to those beautiful details and take the chance to live another day of your life... for granted.

Have you ever thought about those people who had their clock stopped? Would you be like them; full of regrets and pleading to be back?
Would you beg to hug your mother again because the last time you saw her, you were rushing to work?
Would you wish to pray to God one last time and ask for forgiveness because you haven't talked to Him for quite some time? Or you just never pray to Him before?
Would you hope to meet your siblings, best friends, life partner and tell how much you love them because you have treated them merely as the transition of morning to night rather than valued souls who made you the person that you are?

Would you realise that you are really dead, but haven't really... lived?

"Chae, baby?!" I half screamed, finger pressing the electronic bell switch as many times as I could to get her attention. My heart was already pounding like never before and waiting for the door to be answered was another blow of hammer straight to my chest. "Honey?!"

"Lisa?!"

I finally heard her response from the inside.

"Baby, it's me! Open up!"

She was struggling a little to set the door latches free, probably due to the panic I just sent into her by my voice while my forehead rested against the door grill, eyes closed.

The door was pulled and I brought my head up, looking at Chae's worried face as she immediately shoved the key into the lock to open another barrier that stood in between us. My fists clenched, feeling the anxiety gushed over my own adrenaline that didn't give a word of placidity. I was still trying to be in a calm state of mind even though I just tortured my legs with the run earlier, and I had absolutely no reason to be calm anyway since I was running out of time but still, I didn't want to face Chae like that.

Because I needed to have a slow, convincing talk with her regarding what would happen to me and to us. I wouldn't even care to explain what had happened since there wasn't any time left for the past. Past is past. What mattered the most at that time was the future, our future together and I couldn't tell her anything if I wasn't in a right condition myself.

So no matter how bad I wanted to just scream and freak out about Lucifer's threats, I guessed I just had to sacrifice my own emotional struggle for a while, for the sake of Chae.

Our bodies pressed together when she ran into my arms right after the grill was opened, giving me a thud against my chest as I could feel how scared she was. Her body had a slight shivering that I didn't fail to notice.

"Ohh darling, you are drenched!" Chae voiced out her worries about the rain that had hit me, probably thinking about the upcoming fever I would be getting later.

Breaking the hug, I grasped her shoulders softly. "Baby, I need to tell something"

I pulled her inside by a grip around her wrist, closing the door behind me and facing her one more time as her eyes began to water.

"Lisa, what's wrong?"

I blew my cheeks out, still figuring out of how I was going to tell her about my intention. I shouldn't have showed her my fear or she would doubt everything I might say to her, but I assumed it was all already written on my face at the moment and she was reading me like an opened book. There was no way I could hide from her.