Year: 2011

Luhan: 21

I sat in my apartment alone, a cup of tea resting on my knee, blankets draped over my lap, as I read the paper. I looked outside for a moment and watched the rain fall from the dark clouds, shadowing the young day. The water droplets hit my window with a sudden gust of wind, each droplet clinging to the glass before racing its fellow droplets to the bottom sill.

I smiled briefly, content as I watched the rain before I resumed reading my paper. I was just about halfway through with my favorite column when I heard a knock on my glass door to my balcony. I looked up over the paper, expecting to see a limb of a tree near the balcony had broken off, but instead saw a boy. I got up, freezing, when I asked myself how did he get on my balcony thirteen floors off the ground level.

I was about to reach for the phone when the boy turned his face to me, familiar eyes meeting mine. I squinted for a second trying to confirm it was really him. He puffed out his cheeks and continued to look at me until I was sure iit was him, but younger than I had ever seen him. I walked over to the sliding glass door and opened it, allowing him to enter into the warm apartment, sheltered from the rain.

“Where am I? What’s happening?” he asked, his eyes a bit panicked.

“It’s me, Xiu,” I reply, wrapping my arms around him only to be pushed away.

“Who are you? What’s happening to me? Why did I just leave home? Where are my parents? Who are you?” he cried, the series of questions confusing me.

“What do you mean Xiumin? You know me. I’m Luhan. Remember you met me when I was at school. I was ten and you were twen-” But then it hit me.

“What are you even talking about?” he choked, fat tears beginning to spill down his face.

“Xiumin, how old are you sweetie?” I questioned, beckoning him to sit down on the couch. I wrapped a blanket around his shoulders waiting for his answer.

“Fourteen,” he sniffed through his tears.

“What just happened to you?” I asked, cautiously sitting next to him, making sure not to startle him.

“I just remember they told us to evacuate the area, but I was running back in the house. We only had ten minutes to get out, but I had forgotten something. I remember there was a blast and the air become suffocating. I remember being trapped in my house and now I’m here. Where is here, Luhan?”

“It’s 2011 and this is my apartment. This is future for you Xiumin, but the present for me.”

“Do you know me? You are so calm about this,” he whispers, wiping away his tears.

“Yes. I’ve met you when you were twenty and you took care of me. Now it’s my turn to take care of you Xiumin. Do you want some tea?”

He nodded his head up and down, snuggling into the blankets more, getting more comfortable. I ruffled his hair, getting up and entering the kitchen. I prepared him some tea, pouring the hot water from the kettle, swirling the tea bag in the mug until it looked strong enough.

I re-entered the living room, handing Xiumin the mug. He took it gratefully, sipping the hot tea. I examined his younger self: a bit heavier, but just as lively and alert, with puffy cheeks and tousled dark hair. I was hoping I would never had to meet this version of him, so torn and distraught with no way to comfort him, but, then again, there was something special about this.

“So I will be seeing more of you?” he asked, looking up from his mug over at me.

I nod before saying, “Yes, a lot more.”

“Why?”

“If I could tell you I would. I honestly don’t know how you came upon me that day in the schoolyard. I was bored as ever, but I noticed you and was...drawn to you.”

“What am I like in the future?”

“Very caring,” I whisper softly, almost  so quiet I can barely even hear myself. I look out the window at the pouring rain that has not let up.

“What else?” a small voice asks.

“You don’t want to know everything now, do you? That takes the fun out of life Xiu.”

“I suppose you are right,” he sighed, gulping the hot tea down.

He got up, placing the mug on the table before walking over and wrapping his small arms around me. I returned the embrace, allowing him to nuzzle his face into my neck, clinging to me tightly. I slowly patted his back, humming softly, wondering what it was like for him at that very moment. He must be very confused about how I knew about him and where he currently was. I couldn’t blame the kid, nor could I pretend to sympathize with him and say I understand what he is going through when I obviously don’t. I wondered how long I would have with this version of him.

Minutes?

Hours?

Days?

Weeks?

I never knew anymore how long I would see him for and at what age and for how long. It was a bit bothersome, but you could say I had gotten used to it. He was a very important person in my life and I couldn’t let time control our relationship.

I looked down at the child and saw he had fallen asleep in my arms I carefully stood up from where I had been seated, arms cupping under his legs and head, and carried him to my bedroom, covering him in bed. I stood there for a moment looking at the child who was to become the man I had known all these years. He seemed so innocent, yet I still didn’t believe it was the same man I knew.

I walked back out into the main living area and noticed the rain had stopped. Behind a few clouds, the sun struggled to peek through and light the world. I sighed, settling back down to how I had been before the boy had come here, resuming on the article I was reading thinking to myself Xiumin, Xiumin, Xiumin.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait, but I hope you like this glimpse of where Xiu got these powers from ~ How are you subbies liking the story? :3