You,Me and the Past

An evening together

After wrestling with myself over whether to face Ivy, I finally decided to come out. Andrew and Adrian were sipping coffee in the living room while working. I approached them.

"I thought we weren't going to work today," I said, taking a seat. "We aren't working, just going over a few things before the shoot begins," Andrew clarified.

I nodded and scanned the room, but Ivy wasn't there. I tried peering into the other rooms from where I was sitting. "Ivy has gone out to the beach for a while," Adrian informed me, smiling and pointing outside.

"Oh? Okay, does she want some alone time or—" Adrian cut me off, saying, "You can join her if you want to." "Okay, thanks. You guys continue working or overviewing, whatever," I said awkwardly before getting up and leaving.

As I walked a bit further from the cottage, I saw a silhouette. Ivy was sitting there. I approached her cautiously. "If you don't mind, can I sit?" I asked. She looked up at me and nodded. I sat down beside her, and we both looked out at the horizon. It was indeed beautiful, especially with the sun soon to set.

"Do you..." Ivy hesitantly began, "do you want to ask something?" She looked down. "Yeah," I replied. "I wanted to ask... did you see anything when you came inside the room?" She shot her head up and exclaimed, "No, no, no! I didn't see anything! Why would I even? Don't take me as a pervert; I just thought that it was my room, so I entered. I swear I had no wrong intentions!"

"It's okay! I know you didn't have any wrong intentions. I just asked to clear that up. It was my fault anyway; I should have locked the door. Sorry about that," I apologized

. "It's okay, but I wasn't asking about that question," she said, looking at me. I met her gaze sincerely and asked, "If I ask... will you be comfortable in answering me?" She looked a bit hesitant. "It's okay, Ivy. I don't want to know what happened unless you are ready to tell me. And anyways, we met through work now, so let's do that and make this project a success for you," I said. She looked at me and gave a soft smile while nodding.

"Anyway, I'm really excited to work tomorrow," I chimed in, shifting the conversation. Ivy let out a sigh before asking, "Why are you in such a rush to get back to work? I arranged this pretend vacation for you to relax. I know you haven't done an outdoor shoot in ages."

"What do you mean? I did one in... 2020... no, 2019!" I protested.

"That was four years ago!" Ivy countered, and I was stunned. Four years had passed since 2019? I couldn't believe it.

"It's shocking. That's why I thought you should feel at ease and get used to this location," she explained.

Turning to Ivy, I asked, "Aren't you worried about wasting time? Aren't you afraid of falling behind? What about the future?"

Ivy smiled and replied, "I've learned that time is like sand; it slips out of your fist. The harder you hold onto it, the more uncomfortable it becomes. But if you let it fall, you can admire it and eventually pick up some more sand. Live for the present, don't dwell on the past, and as for the future, why worry about something you don't know?"

She was right! But I struggled to accept that I had been wrong all along. I'd spent so much time worrying about tomorrow, letting my past ruin my present, and neglecting to enjoy the moment.

"How did you manage that?" I asked Ivy. She looked at me and said, "Just look around you. You're living in the present right now. The wind, the sunset, the ocean—take a moment to appreciate them."

I glanced around. Suddenly, everything seemed more peaceful. The sound of the sea was clearer, the wind sent shivers down my spine, and the sunset was breathtaking. This is what it meant to live in the present. The world felt brighter now that I was noticing its small details with a clear mind.

I glanced at Ivy and saw her admiring the scenery too. While looking at her, I realized how captivating she is. Do I like her? Yes, I always did, didn't I? Then why can't I tell her? Why does my heart deny it? Is it because I know that she doesn't feel the same? Yeah, that's it! I'm a coward. I was a coward when it came to anything about her.

Even back in high school, I never talked to her. I just went around following her. Even though I was popular, I didn't like it because it kept me away from her. After a few months, she started avoiding me too. And when I finally got the courage to tell her, she rejected me and disappeared without any explanation.

Sitting here with her makes me the happiest person, but it also reminds me that I can never be hers. All I can do is admire her from a distance... as always.

The sun finally set, and we returned. "You guys are back, how was it?" Andrew asked. "Good, refreshing, actually," I replied. "Where is Adrian?" Ivy asked. "Here," Adrian said as he came out of the kitchen. "I was just preparing for dinner," he said. "Yeah! You guys should go rest; we will take care of the dinner," Andrew added.

"How about I make dinner?!" Ivy asked. "NO!" Adrian said, making all of us startled. "I mean, don't take too much work on yourself," he explained. "If that's the case, I will help," I said. "Okay, let's cook dinner for us together," Ivy agreed. "NO!" both Adrian and Andrew exclaimed.

"What is up with you guys? Just trust us, will you?" I said and walked to the kitchen followed by Ivy.

Author's POV:

As Ivy and Tyler walked into the kitchen, chills went down Andrew's spine. "I don't want to be poisoned on the first day," he said. "Do you mean Tyler also doesn't know how to cook? Because Ivy definitely doesn't. The last time she did, she burned instant noodles, the easiest thing to make," Adrian said. "Instant noodles? Tyler burned the whole kitchen down while boiling water; everyone in the family gave him a kettle after that so he doesn't do that again," Andrew explained, almost crying.

The disaster took place, all kinds of noises came from the kitchen. From utensils falling to oil crackling, from screams to cries. Adrian and Andrew just sat there waiting for their death or dinner.

After a long silence, they knew it was over. Both of them looked at each other as they sat on the dining table. "Don't die, okay?" Andrew said to Adrian. "You too," Adrian replied. Then came Ivy and Tyler with serving trays in their hands. "Dinner is ready!" Tyler announced, and both of them served Adrian and Andrew. "Taste it and tell us how it is," Ivy said as they both sat down too.

The food looked edible. Adrian took a spoonful of soup and looked at Andrew as he did the same. They both gulped down hard and ate the soup. An unusual silence filled the room as they both stared at Ivy and Tyler. "So, how is it?" Tyler asked. They both looked at each other.

"I am starving tonight," Adrian said and got up. "Me too," followed by Andrew, and they went to their rooms.

"Is it that bad?" Ivy asked. "Well, I thought they would finish everything and not leave anything for us, so I ordered pizzas from the nearby restaurant," Tyler replied. "So I guess we are having pizza," Ivy said. "Yeah," Tyler replied, and they both chuckled. "Worth the shot," Tyler said, and they both high-fived after starving two poor souls.