"You look tired" Zoe said to Pius as she sat beside him on the couch.
Pius took a good look at the living room for the first time since he came back. A smile crept on his face when he saw his framed picture on the table. Thinking about it now, he couldn't remember the last time he smiled.
"When did you get my photo framed?'' he asked.
"About a year after you went missing. It was almost as if you didn't exist so I needed something to remind me that you were real. It was as if you vanished into thin air or you were a memory that I imagined"
"Literally"
It was true. He literally vanished into thin air.
The air was tense and filled with unspoken words. Ever since Pius came back, he had been mute.
Luckily for him, Zoandra hadn't changed her number so he was able to call her. He had been in the house for four days now yet he still refused to speak. Zoandra didn't want to push it but it bothered her. Only God knows what he had gone through in the last ten years. He was supposed to be forty-two by now but he looked sixty, as if he had aged an extra twenty years. Something probably went wrong with the stopwatch again.
Anyway, that was the last of her worries. He was still the most handsome man she had ever met.
"Where did you go today?'' she asked him.
When she came back from work earlier, she noticed he was gone.
"I went to a place I once knew as home"
"You did what?"
"I had to see Adaeze. I just had to see her, even if it was from a distance. Unfortunately, she wasn't home"
His eyes looked empty. They were filled with grief and heartbreak, a heartbreak he could do nothing about. He'd been staring at the wall for hours. She knew he was lost in thought.
"How did you even get in without security noticing you?"
"We have a secret escape passage. I used it to get in"
"Oh"
He still stared into thin air.
"What's wrong, Pius?"
She went closer to him and massaged the beard he had grown over the years "Talk to me, please"
He closed his eyes and let the tears drop freely as he recalled what he had previously witnessed.
*flashback*
Pius had successfully entered the house without alarming anyone. He thought the door would be locked but to his surprise, it was open. The sweet familiar smell of vanilla hit him when he entered. Things hadn't changed after all. Vanilla was his wife's favourite scent. He inhaled it deeply and sighed.
He paused for a while in the living room to look at the portraits.
His wedding photo with his wife still hung on the same spot where it was ten years ago. He looked to his right and saw what looked like a recent portrait of Adaeze. He gasped in astonishment.
She had grown up so much. She was even more beautiful than he remembered. He went closer so he was able to trace the picture with his hands, looking at it in admiration. He took a look around the room, nothing had changed. They still had the same red couches that he picked out over the years but he noticed the dining table now had only two chairs.
It felt as if he left the house just yesterday.
His first thought was to show himself to his wife. Oh, how he had missed her. He thought about this moment every day. How would she react when she sees him? Will she run into his arms? Would she be stunned, unsure of what to do? Well, there's only one way to find out.
Chattering and boisterous laughter filled his ears as he walked further. As he approached the kitchen area, he could hear music. His favourite song was playing; 'When a man loves a woman' by Michael Bolton. It brought back so many memories. It was the same song he and Angela danced to on their wedding day.
He hid in the darkness and peaked from behind to see what was going on. Something didn't feel right. His eyes twisted at what he saw.
He watched as his wife slowly danced with.....Davis? the same man she told him not to worry about all those years ago.
His wife looked as young as ever. She even had a more youthful glow. She looked happy....happier than ever. Their marriage seemed to be filled with constant fights that he can't even remember the last time he saw his wife smile or laugh yet here she is, ten years later, laughing effortlessly with the man she told him not to worry about while dancing to their favourite song.
He wondered she used the song to remember him. Maybe she's trying to fill the aching gap in her heart by being with another man. Pius could only hope. What else could he do at this point?
If she is bad, he can't see it
She can do no wrong
And turn his back on his best friend
If he puts her down
"Does she ever think of me?" Pius asked himself.
He felt his heart clench in his chest as he watched them through blurry tear filled eyes. Ten years was a very long time.
Initially, he planned to reveal himself but he had second thoughts now that he has seen how happy she is without him. She was never happy with him anyway so it'll only be fair to let her be happy with someone else.
"I found the flash drive in her drawer" she told Davis.
"Do you think she's seen the contents?"
"I doubt it. I broke it and threw it away"
"Good. She shouldn't follow in her father's steps. She needs to forget about the stupid theory of his' before it consumes her"
When a man loves a woman
Spend his very last dime
And trying to hold on to what he needs
"That's one of the reasons why I love you. We're always on the same page"
He spinned her around in the kissed her.
*End of flashback*
"Nothing" Pius answered "Nothing's wrong"
Zoe let out a huge sigh. Something was definitely wrong but he didn't want to say anything.
"What happened, Pius? Why were you away for so long?"
"When my wife told me the new born baby had died, I tried to go back an hour into the past to make things right but I got the calculation wrong and went ten years into the past instead"
Zoe gasped in surprise.
"It worked again!"
"I had no equipment to use due to the lack of technological advancement. Also, I had to start and trace back years of calculations all over again"
"How was it like? Did you go back as a boy? Did you meet your past self?"
He shook his head.
"I went in the same body I was in. Coming back, I still got the calculations wrong. That's why I look this old" he explained "I avoided my past self because if I had met him, it would have created a time paradox"
"I am so proud of you!"
She was really proud of him. She remembered the long nights at the office, the times when the stopwatches would explode or break and how they would tear up papers filled with calculations of quantum physics. She recalled it all. Finally, it had all paid off.
"Hold that thought"
"What do you mean? You've made a great discovery. The elites have held the secrets to time travel for so long. Now, you've discovered it. The best part is that you're a black man, a Nigerian. No one will ever get over this"
"I won't be here for long"
Zoandra furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"When I was coming back, in the portal, I got a quick glimpse into the future. Adaeze is going to die during the mission. As her father, I'll take her place"
"Can't you just stop the person who's going to kill her"
"It's not that simple. When something is going to happen, especially in the cases of death, it has to happen. If not, the scales of destiny will be tampered with. Balance must be restored so if I don't want Adaeze to die, I'll have to die in her place. Someone has to"
Zoandra burst into tears. After ten years of waiting, she had just gotten him back. Only for him to inform her of his future death.
"Will there be a life time where our love story won't be complicated?" she asked in between sobs.
Pius took in a deep breath.
"Perhaps, in the next one. Sadly, we're star crossed in this life. We always have been"
As she cried, he didn't take her into his arms to comfort her. He just sat there, staring into the wall while she sobbed. Hell, he couldn't even comfort himself. Instead, he spoke up.
"I overheard Angela and Davis talking. She said something about stealing a flash drive and breaking it before Ada sees it"
"That bitch!" Zoe shrieked "How can she be so cruel?"
"I took my books to the house, you know. I was so excited to show her the progress I made. I finally did it. I finally figured out how to make a time portal but I was so heartbroken when I heard them talk. I went to my old library. In fact, I almost searched the whole house, Zoe. There's no single work of mine in there, none for my daughter to read to find out about the discoveries of her father. She got rid of them all"
"I'm sorry to say this but your wife is heartless"
He shook his head.
"I left the books in Ada's room. It's time she starts to learn these things. My legacy has to be continued. She's our only hope now"
"She'll be the perfect person to carry on your legacy. She's grown so much"
"Yes, I saw her photograph" he smiled "She's breath-taking"
"She almost took me down the day she caught me following her"
He laughed.
"Lazy ass"
She punched him playfully.
"Hey! Note the key word 'almost'"
"I hear you"
She rolled her eyes.
"The point is, she's fierce and strong. I'll be here to help her every step of the way when you're gone"
He looked directly into her eyes for the first time since he got back.
"Promise?"
She took his hand in hers.
"I swear to you"
He nodded. He practically trusted Zoe with his life.
"Do you want her to know you're alive?" she asked him
"That was the plan but Angela made me change my mind. Maybe it's better this way. There's no need for me to establish a connection with her only for her to watch me die"
"Can't you stop her from going on the mission?"
"No, let her go. It's part of her journey. I want her to take down Charles. If I do it for her instead, I'll still be changing the course of destiny"
Zoandra understood but she couldn't help the state of turmoil she was in.
"I need to talk to her" Pius said "Even as a stranger. I need to get close to her without her realizing it's me"
"I'll get you a fake ID card. I'll get it settled. I'll also track her every move so you'll know where she is"
"Thank you Zoe, for everything"
He pulled out his wallet from his pocket to look at the photo of Adaeze's baby picture. It's been there for the past sixteen years.
"I pray you'll look out well for her Zoe, the world needs her"
He pressed the photo to his chest and sighed.
"She's the key to everything"