21
Give Me 120 More Years
The shaggy dog she’d seen at the side of the pool was standing there behind her and she looked like she was smiling and laughing at the same time. Nana snorted before bending down to pat her head gently.
“You,” Nana said then glanced around wondering if the old grandma had tagged along.
The streets and the sidewalk was empty. Definitely no sign of anyone else being around.
“Go on,” Nana ushered rubbing the dog for a last time before walking toward Raina’s café.
She didn’t quite have the time to be wondering about where the dog had come from and why she was there. Nana only wanted to focus on getting rid of the feelings she’d been having all morning. And the only option she could think of was consulting another psychic, Raina.
When she opened the door Raina spun around with a wide smile ready to greet her first customer of the day.
“Ah…Nana!” she called. “What are you doing here on an early Saturday morning?”
Nana tilted her head up and glanced around to see if any customers were inside. To her luck no one was there yet. Spinning around she turned the “Open” sign to “Closed” before bringing Raina over to a table.
“I need to talk to you,” Nana started.
“Why? What is it?” Raina asked unable to contain her excitement.
Nana half bit her bottom lip before continuing, “I’ve been having weird dreams. They’re all about my past.”
“Well…that’s something…” she commented.
“No,” Nana shook her head, “it’s not…not the kind of sweet dreams we usually have. Ah…I don’t know how to explain it.”
“What?” Raina asked. “What exactly do you see?”
Nana placed a hand over her forehead frustrated with her lack of understanding herself.
“My past is being pulled into the present.” Nana claimed.
“Huh?”
Nana heaved a heavy sigh.
“You know about soul mates,” Nana started again.
Raina nodded.
“Of course.”
“It’s like a sense of familiarity to someone and you feel like you’ve known them since forever…like they were a part of your past. It’s like that…” Nana explained.
“Yes?” Raina waited for her to continue.
“What if he’s person I want to shun out of my life, but he keeps appearing to me no matter how much I don’t want to see him. But…in my past he was a lover…and I’m scared of getting close to him because…because he died in my past. And he keeps dying.”
Raina didn’t say anything for a moment, “So…he’s your other half, the soul mate you’re talking about. And you don’t want to get close because you’re scared? Why are you scared?”
Nana felt her mind go blank.
. . . . .
“Where are we going?” Krystal asked turning to look at the restaurant he’d driven pass.
She turned to look at Onew who was only concentrating on the road. Now she was wondering if he’d been listening to her at all.
“Oppa,” Krystal called.
“It’s a place I’ve started to frequent,” Onew explained. “You probably won’t like it, but you’ll enjoy the sweets she provides.”
“What?” she asked. “What is this place?”
Onew stared at the road before he turned to her.
“Raina’s Fortune Telling Café.”
. . . . .
“Because he’ll die again?” Raina asked. “But he’s your soul mate and this is another lifetime, isn’t it?”
That basically summed most of it up.
Raina tilted her head and placed her chin into the palm of her hand, “Think about it this way. The things you weren’t able to save in the past are now in front of you. In this present time wouldn’t it be right to try and grasp those things now? Don’t you think there’s a reason why these are being brought to you again? What’s the use of being scared? Be brave, Nana!”
A second chance? To save what she couldn’t save in her past lifetime…or rather lifetimes?
“A hundred million years have gone by before you were limited to 120 years of a lifetime together and not once have you been able to love him rightfully.”
“Isn’t there a reason why this is happening?” Raina asked. “If you don’t know, then wouldn’t it be best to find out the source of where this is coming from and why it’s happening?”
“This is the last of your 120 years together. You‘ll only keep seeing more of it if you don’t believe it.”
The daggers.
Onew being slain right in front of her eyes.
“A reason?” Nana repeated.
Was there something she needed to fix?
. . . . .
Krystal got out of the car and followed Onew down the sidewalk. He stopped all of a sudden and she paused beside him following his gaze. She turned to find a large sign hanging on top of a small shop. Its windows covered with dark curtains.
“Oppa, it’s closed,” Krystal said looking at him to see that Onew’s eyes were on it and nowhere else. “Oppa, is something wrong?”
Without answering Onew walked toward the door with her quickly following.
“Onew oppa,” she called loudly pulling his arm to bring him to a halt. “I said it’s closed. See?”
She pointed to the sign. Onew glanced at it but moved his arm out of her grasp and headed toward the door anyway.
“Oppa,” she muttered.
Blind to her voice Onew reached for the doorknob and pushed open the door. It was the same. Dark as always.
When the sun light poured in the two women sitting at the table turned to look at him and he recognized Nana instantly when she stood up.
While a wave of surprise washed through her, Onew felt a sense of relief flash through him. As if he’d finally found her after a long trip around the world.
Raina glanced at Onew then turned back to Nana whose eyes only remained on Onew standing in the doorway.
“Sorry for barging in,” Krystal excused then reached for Onew’s arm.
Raina smiled loudly nervously. “Ah…Onew, right?”
The only words running through Nana’s mind were those which she and Raina had been speaking about earlier. To seek out the source of the problem and resolve it. For everything had a reason behind it and she was now more than sure that her string of fate was bringing him ever more closer and closer to her. And it all had a purpose.
“Oppa,” Krystal’s voice shattered the intense stillness between them.
And whatever that purpose was, Nana would fulfill. However, all in all she didn’t want to fall in love with him. No matter what she wouldn’t let the past her up.
“Ah…” Onew finally spoke edging away from Krystal’s touch. “Sorry, for suddenly coming in. I saw that the restaurant was closed, but I also knew you’d be in here.”
Nana wondered who he meant by “You”. Raina or was he indirectly talking to her?
“Krystal,” he turned to her, “do you want to get your fortune told?”
“Fortune?” she asked surprised by his sudden suggestion.
“Raina can tell you anything you want to know,” Onew explained turning to look at Raina who stared back confused.
After quick moment as if Raina had read Onew’s mind she clapped her hands loudly and her cheery voice reappeared.
“Ah! Yes!” Raina said. “Over here. Why don’t you come sit over here?”
“Oppa, I don’t…” Krystal started grabbing onto his arm.
Onew gently pushed her toward Raina.
“It’ll be fun,” he urged and watched as Krystal solemnly made her way toward the table.
When he saw that Krystal had sat down he turned back to Nana who glanced back at him without a word.
There was no reason.
No reason at all.
To why he was feeling glad.
“Lets sit,” Nana said without greeting him and moved over to a random table opposite to where Raina and Krystal were.
Onew followed and sat across from her.
. . . . .
Krystal sat down and glanced eerily at her oppa and the woman he was speaking with.
“What’s your name?” Raina asked.
Krystal turned to look at the petite young woman before her who couldn’t be any more than just a few years older. Her short hair accentuated her round face and bubbly eyes and protruding lips made her look a bit like a mouse.
“Krystal,” Krystal said.
“Ah…hi. I’m Raina.”
Krystal just pressed her lips together and smiled. From the corner of her eyes she glanced at her oppa being all comfortable with the stranger she didn’t know. It made her feel insecure and uncomfortable.
Krystal absent mindedly turned back to Raina.
“You…can tell fortune?” Krystal observed the small girl once more.
Raina smiled confidently, “I’m a psychic.”
“So…how do you do it?” Krystal wondered. “Do you use a magic globe like they do in movies or tarot cards like other people?”
Raina just continued smiling, “Well, we can do all that, but here I work a little differently. We do it by throwing ourselves into a small trance. That way we are able to feel the vibe your soul emits and then once we’ve broken through it’s possible to feel the future or the past.”
“What?” Krystal asked unsure if she’d caught onto Raina’s explanation.
“Shall we try?” Raina asked. “Do you want to know about your past or future?”
Krystal hesitantly looked at Raina.
“Is there any side effects?”
“Of course not.” Raina replied calmly. “Unless that is if you include the feelings you may sway through.”
Krystal continued staring at the woman who had caught all her attention.
“Do I need to give you my hand to touch?” Krystal asked.
“We already started,” Raina smiled again.
“What?”
“Ever since we started talking, I’ve seen some of it.”
Krystal frowned. Should she believe this girl or not?
“Then…” Krystal paused and glanced toward Onew. “Can you tell me about my love life?”
“Sure.”
. . . . .
“It’s a surprise seeing you here,” Nana started.
“I realized I left my phone behind this morning,” Onew veered the conversation elsewhere.
“Ah…I didn’t see it when I left this morning,” Nana said. “I’ll be sure to return it.”
They sat in silence for about half a minute before Onew shifted his legs.
Nana watched him wondering what she was going to say next.
“Have you reported the incident?” Onew asked.
Nana eyed the empty chairs next to her and lied, “Of course.”
“Are you working with the cops for the daggers?”
That brought her back. Nana turned to look at Onew.
“The daggers?”
Onew slowly nodded his head. “I’ve been keeping up with the reports. Even though I’m pretty sure that the police might not reveal every piece of evidence, there’s something about the daggers that’s keeping you bound to this case.”
A question ticked at the back of her mind. Since when did he suddenly know her so well?
“I was thinking a lot about it,” Onew confessed, “I dream a lot. It’s been happening ever since I can remember. Can I ask when you started having those dreams you told me about?”
Nana sat up straighter in her chair, “A few weeks ago when I was first called in to check out the murder.”
“Then I don’t think you’ve seen as much as I have,” Onew stated.
“What are you talking about?” Nana questioned. “Are you trying to compare which one of us knows the past better?”
“Don’t misunderstand,” Onew clarified. “I’m just saying we’ve more than one past.”
“What?”
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