Some Time After
"Vitals are stable doc. Her blood pressure and sugar level are back to normal. She passed it."
"Good, the family can visit her now."
"I'll call them now doc."
"Inform me right away for any changes and complication, she's still under observation."
"I'll keep the records doc."
"She'll have another night."
"Family's outside doc."
"Let them in I want to talk to them about Jade."
"Doc how is she?"
"I'll be honest with you, she has been my friend for years and it is equally hard for me to see her like this everyday, are you sure you haven't thought about - -"
"No doc, you're not removing the life support, I don't care about the expenses, just let her live."
"That's what we're trying to do for quite some time now."
"Well continue doing your job then."
"But - -"
"No, you're not going to let her die. She's not going to die and that's final."
"Jade? Good morning. I brought you breakfast."
"Good morning, thanks."
"Feeling any better? You look wary."
"I slept in late."
"You should've slept more. You going to work today?"
"No, I'll tell Sally I'll rest for now. What are you up to?"
"I'm meeting with Kathleen, later. You eat."
"How about you? Have you eaten?" I asked making her giggle
"What?"
"Nothing I told you I missed you coming around."
"I guess you really missed me that much. Even my mere asking of questions excite you." I chuckled as well
"Can't blame me Jade, you were awkward, mad even, with me since I told you I proposed to K. It was a torture."
"I'm sorry about that, I just don't understand why would you want to marry someone who - -"
"Right yeah I know, but what can I do, I still love her." She answered, and I rolled my eyes directly at her.
"You guys are never cool after that huh?"
"You should be the one not cool about what she did but here you are planning your wedding with her."
"So you're the one not liking my choices now?"
"Yes Althea, I don't like your choices."
"That's why you left for Australia, and that's why you dated David right? Because you don't like my choices." She accused and I didn't know how to respond knowing even I don't understand how things happened to us
"I'll get going now, I'll drop by later tonight, I'll bring you dinner okay?" She smiled before hugging me goodbye.
I roamed around the unit for the first time, and witnessed how settled and comfortable I should be in this place, the whole place wafted of my perfume, my clothes are everywhere, frames of my family, my friends, Althea and me and even with David are hanged on one wall under the small round Japanese looking lanterns.
The place looks exactly how I imagined my condo unit would be back when I was in college. I remember how Althea and I promised to live next to each other when we start working and now we're living the dream now. She's just a wall away. Still I don't understand completely how I jumped a decade overnight. I shouldn't be surprised knowing the number of things I could do with time but the huge time lapse is really alarming. Imagine not feeling and going through a decade of your life and see how much changes it brought you as a person. And in doubt, I took a shower and drank another round of coffee before visiting Althea.
Some Time During
"Love."
"Hi, how are things?"
"I had a dream last night - -"
"What happened?"
"Nothing, I felt nothing, I couldn't move, but I heard voice, they're talking about me. They're talking about vital signs and life support."
"Oh, they didn't remove the life support just yet right? Because you're still here."
"No, someone in my dream didn't let them. He said they should let me continue living as much as possible."
"He?"
"Ahuh, it's a voice of a man, not too old and not too young. But not a very familiar one."
"It's not David?"
"No, that I'm sure."
"There's another dream - -"
"What it is about?"
"I didn't see anyone, but I saw a store, somewhere I haven't been to."
"Can you remember how it looked like?"
"Nothing too special but when peek into the glass door - -"
"Jade? What did you see?"
"I - - I saw – I saw younger versions of us, we're smiling at each other, and when they looked outside to where I was a sudden force jolted me up."
"That's weird, people talking about whether or not pull your life support and a stor where we're smiling at each other?"
"I didn't go to work. And I'm planning to do something."
"What is it?"
"I'll try going back to the major points in the past years that I missed."
"But you can't do that here."
"Yeah I know, I'm just telling you just in case it takes me some time to get back here."
"You want me to come with you?"
"You can't, there can't be two Althea in one timeline. And I have to be really careful not to change anything in those events or I might deal with another butterfly effect."
"But you need someone with you. Jade you can't be travelling alone, what if the worst happens?"
"But I travel here alone - -"
"Jade this place is yours, you know it like the back of your hand. But not the other side, all this time you've lived knowing you can't tick time there, and now you'll just going to try and go against it."
"This was your suggestion right?"
"But I'm talking about little time hops, like an hour ago or a few days ago, Jade you're talking about skipping a decade like it's some kind of series' chapters you didn't wanna watch." Althea said, worry and fear dominating her sable crystal eyes. I walked over to where she was and knelt in front of her.
"Don't you trust me?" I smiled, caressing her cheek.
"I do trust you love, it's the time I don't."
"I'll be fine - -"
"You can't promise that. And that's what I hate about it, you can't promise me anything."
"I'll come back to you. Here or there. I'll always come back to you. You are home to me."
"Your decision seems pretty final." She accused
"Kinda. I'm not asking for permission honey, I'm just letting you know."
"Yeah, I figured. Can you do the travel one day at a time? Be mindful of your body Jade. You gotta make sure you're safe."
"Yes I know." I assured her, her eyes are fixed on mine but she was still unconvinced. I sighed and started removing my clothes, making her frown.
"Love - -" She gasped as my underwear dropped in front of her.
"Make love to me before I go." I said as I lied down beside her on the couch.
Some Time After
I was lying in my bed around ten in the evening, Althea just went home she didn't leave me until I told her all make believe stories my brain supplied me. It was like me talking about another me or something like that.
I was staring at the ceiling, my hearing sensitive to everything around me, the ping of the washing machine and drier at the laundry room, the low buzz of my air condition, the noise of the city just below me and Althea talking to Kathleen over the phone on the other side of the wall.
I took a deep breath, and closed my eyes and the rush of scenes inside my head started playing before me. My mind was in chaos, thoughts are too loud but the voices in the memories I am watching is louder than anything else. I wasn't sure when they exactly happened but when I heard Althea crying I suddenly focused on that memory and pondered it.
"Jade - -"
"Althea?"
"Jade, it's Pops, he's dead - -" Althea cried soon as I opened my door for her. She crashed against me as her knees buckled
"Oh Althea." I didn't know how to react right away but I was crying, it was like I'm somewhere inside my own self, the other one of me is crying with Althea while other one's just watching, thinking and taking notice of everything.
And my first thought was why is Althea crying on my shoulder right now when her first instinct should've been to call Kathleen, her girlfriend.
"Where's Kathleen?"
"At home? I don't know, I came to you soon as I heard about it, I need you to come with me Jade, we need to come home please? Please promise me you won't leave me too." Althea helplessly cried and the other one of me answered right away.
"Of course, I'll always be here for you. I promise."
...
"Babe! Jade!"
"David?"
"Hi Sally told me you'd be here. Hi Althea. Hi K."
"We're just talking about our internship abroad." I explained, and just like with the crying Althea, there's another one of me who actually feels smitten with David. It was faint for me, almost foreign, almost distracting but to the other version of me who's in front of me talking with them, I am clearly attracted to him and I don't understand why and how it happened.
Of course the usual, Althea's not happy about David's presence beside me and his hand behind my back. If looks could kill, Althea could've killed David in that instant.
"David - -" I started as he helped me get in the car.
"Yes Jade?"
"Where are we going?"
"To your parents house remember?"
"Am I?"
"No, you introducing me to them as your boyfriend? No Jade, we're just having a family dinner because our dad's has already arrived at a business agreement." David explained
"Oh. Why did you call me babe in front Althea and Kathleen."
"You're funny, how are we going to be believable if I won't call you that?" David chuckled and that's only then I realized that I accepted his offer back in our junior prom.
"By the way Jade, I qualified for a business scholarship abroad." David hesitated
"Wow, congrats Dave."
"Are you sure you're going to be okay here? You know still with Althea?"
"You don't have to worry about me anymore Dave, thank you for everything. I don't want you to choose me over something you've always wanted. I'll hate myself if you'd do that."
"I'm just worried about you. So I need you to promise me one thing."
"Whatever is it?"
"Try and move on, or find a new love. Six years too long for an unrequited love Jade, let her go. Mind yourself."
"I'll see what I can do."
"I trust you can do that."
"I guess so. We'll see."
...
"So David left just like that? That bastard." Althea fumed when I told her about David leaving for the scholarship, we acted like we've broken up and things like that. So Althea's really mad at him and even madder that I sound really compassionate to David instead of being hurt and any other natural reaction of a girl's who's left behind by her boyfriend.
"Althea it is for his future - -"
"And what about you?"
"Nothing's permanent Althea."
"The only good thing that I see here is that you're not crying over a break up, jeez." Althea commented and I almost scoffed of something like how would you cry for someone you don't have actual feelings for.
"Come on let's grab some coffee while waiting for Kathleen." Althea said as she pull inside a café but suddenly stopped half way the counter.
"Kath - -" Althea stalled and when I traced her line of sight, I saw Kathleen being sweet with some model material guy about six foot tall. Kathleen didn't heard Althea call her but Althea stayed to stare and right on cue Kathleen turned to where we are and the next thing I knew Althea's dragging me around back to our dorm.
"Althea - - stop for a second please - -" I panted but Althea's pretty determined to take me anywhere she's going. I was just wondering why Kathleen didn't try and run after us, or maybe she did but I didn't notice.
"She cheated on me Jade, she's cheating." Althea said as she opens her dorm room door pulled me in and shut it with a loud bang.
And I woke up to my alarm clock and when I looked at the date, it is just the next day.