A Million Lifetime

Chapter 5: Looking from Afar

“Hello Cassandra Marie! It’s time to meet your parents.”, the nurse greets the new born child while Chronos watches from afar. He tried hard to prevent her death but he failed just like the previous attempts. He watched her being buried so many times that he did not attend the last one. He pondered what else he can do until it struck him. All his attempts where to intervene personally. He did not try leaving her alone and not intruding her life. With new idea presents new hope. He wants to know if she will live if he do this. His love for her was too great that he could not bear not to see her. So he observes her just as he did the previous times.

Cassandra once again grow up into a fine young lady. Now she is at her first year in college. Chronos did not enrol as a student this time around. Instead, he applied as a young security guard in the university. He might have tried to stay away from her but he ended up being assigned at the gate to check IDs of the students.

“Good morning Mr. Guard!”, he was taken aback when Cassandra greeted him as she passed through the gate. His partner had to bump him in order to get him back to his senses.

“I know you are young but do not think anything weird. That young lady comes from a wealthy family. I saw her stepping out of a luxury vehicle a while ago.”, the old guard warned him.

“Yes sir!”, he hastily replies.

He knows the old guard misunderstood him. However, he did not explain. He simply took a glance at Cassandra’s back then get back to checking IDs.

“Good morning Mr. Guard!”, this has become his routine everyday with Cassandra. He only nods but did not speak a word fearing it could alter the result. Once in a while, he would meet her in the campus while he do his rounds and she transfers classes. Cassandra would smile to him and he just nods.

Cassandra never understand why she feels warm towards this young security guard. They never knew each other nor even talk. She is sure it’s not love because she has never been in love.

A month passed by and the fearful day will soon arrive. Chronos does not know whether to observe her on that day or just pray in a church hoping he would see her going to school by Monday. His curiousity and longing to see her won so he decided to check on her.

Unlike last time, Cassandra is staying in her room studying for the prelim exams. Chronos climbs at a tree nearby her house. With his telescope, he focus his attention to her. He also checks the surroundings once in a while as he checks the time.

“Ten minutes and the nightmare will start.”, he says. He can only hope this will work.

While waiting, he remembers the first time he met her. He could not control his powers then and keep on being sent back and forth from the past, present and future in the river of time. It was also the first time he shaped into a human from the consciousness of being one with time. He can even remember swimming in the river of time and observing the people on Earth along with other galaxies. He did not feel any emotion by then. Only the cry of a new born Cassandra touched his soul if he has one which made him separated from the river of time. He knew then that Cassandra is very special to him. As he grow up, he slowly learned to control the powers he inherited from the river of time. He learned to choose the time and location which he wants to go. Just like now, he was observing Cassandra then. It changed when he decided to enter her life during college. He enrolled as a student just like the previous time. However, he studied physics instead of being on the same course with her. They still ended up being lovers on the first month. But then a tragedy occurred. Her house caught on fire with her sleeping inside. At first, he did not worry because he can travel back in time. He does not want to travel back to the day before she died because he could mess up time and does not want to find out the consequence when he saw his other self. So he keeps on returning to the day she is born. That is when the nightmare started. Cassandra kept on dying on the same day and time.

As he recalls the nightmare, the time for her death arrives. He then get all those recollections at the back of his mind and focus on Cassandra. Ten seconds…nine…eight….three…two…one!

He holds his breath and stares on her so he will not miss anything.

One second…two seconds…three seconds…ten seconds and still nothing happened. He does not want to get ahead of himself. He kept waiting for minutes and then hours. Until morning, nothing really happened.

“It works!”, he yells.

“Shut up!”, a middle age man yells at the window in the house opposite to Cassandra’s.

“Wahh!!!”, the scream scared him that he slips and falls from the tree.

“Ouch!!!”, his butt hurts as he picks himself up.

“Sorry!”, he apologized to the man at the window.

“That’s okay. Are you alright?”, the man saw him fell from the tree so he’s worried the young man got injured.

“I’m alright. In fact, I never felt better.”, he laughs full of joy and he looks toward Cassandra’s window. He knows she is safe.

“Young man, do not be a stalker. If you like that young lady, approach her instead of crawling up on the tree just to look at her.”, the middle age man gave him an advice.

He can only smile awkwardly.

“See you old man!”, he waves goodbye and then swaggers away before Cassandra could see him. He knows her fate finally changed.