Parallel

Chapter 4: Spaces Between

Sitting at the same bench she sat on the last time I saw her, staring toward the same direction I was coming from. Her long wavy hair moved with the wind, and on her wrist, a familiar watch glowed softly. I froze. Because this wasn't just a random meeting. This wasn't coincidence. It was fate, engineered through broken code and desperate hope. Her eyes, those same eyes I remembered from the flickers...met mine again. We were here. Both of us. Together.

I saw recognition flood her face, but not panic. Not fear. Just awe. She stepped back just a little, maybe to process what was in front of her. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. Ano ba dapat kong sabihin? Hey, di ako yung same guy na nakausap mo sa park? Ganon? Or maybe: Sorry I got quantum-displaced trying to reach you?

None of that felt right. And then she spoke. Not with panic. Not with scientific interrogation. But with something softer and clearer. "Are you the man I've been waiting for?" Her voice was calm, but it carried weight. Like she already knew the answer. I smiled. I'm worn down but genuinely relieved, and said the only thing that ever made sense: "I finally found you," I said. "And I'm glad I'm here."

Her eyes didn't leave mine. For a moment, the air between us stood still, like even the universe was waiting for one of us to speak again. The weight of everything I'd gone through, the silence, the cold, the time that didn't make sense, it all loosened in my chest the moment I saw her.

She took a hesitant step forward. "You'e... different." Saad niya. "I know," makaba-kaba kong sagot. "Hindi ako yung guy na nakausap mo sa park. Not exactly."

"But you wear the same face and same voice." She looked down, eyeing the device on my wrist. I nodded. "That's how I found you. Or how I kept trying to."

She folded her arms, watching me carefully...not cold, just cautious. Like someone who had spent too long trying to believe in things without proof.

"You don't know how many times I failed," I added. "I thought I'd never make it here. I didn't even know if you were real." She tilted her head slightly. "And yet... here you are."

"Yeah," I chuckled softly. "I guess even fractured universes run on hope sometimes."

Nishiya's expression shifted. Softer. Her lips curled into a small smile, unsure but sincere. "You crossed over. From where?"

"My world. One just like this, but not. Everything looked the same but felt empty."

"Did your world have a me in that world?"

I paused. Napaisip ako, hindi ko naisip yung idea na 'yon "I'm not sure..." I replied. Her eyes widened a little. "Ang bilis mo naman makasagot," she muttered, trying to mask the heat rising to her cheeks.

I smiled, taking another cautious step toward her. "Sorry. It's just...I used to be stuck in a place that I shouldn't be, I'm not in the right state of mind right now. One day felt like a year where I was stuck. Time stretched, slowed, and folded in on itself. Do you know what it's like to scream into a space where echoes don't answer?"

Her expression faltered, understanding dawned slowly. "Yes," she whispered. "That's what it felt like when my dad disappeared." Silence again. But this time, it wasn't awkward. It was shared grief. "Your father?" I asked carefully.

She nodded slowly, "He created the modulator. He created a device. He said it could shift between frequencies, pierce the veil between dimensions." That moment, I realized something.

"A Theory of Parallel Existence...the book"
"Maybe, her father, is the owner of the book. Siya ang may akda." That thoughts crossed my mind.