“Hey, I spoke to my friend, but I need to meet him…” Taka entered the room but interrupted his own words once he saw me looking terrified at the back of a shelf. “Are you okay?” He took two steps before I noticed his presence and slightly jumped looking in his direction, surprised by his sudden appearance. I gulped and made some kind of math process in my head before answering.

“What?” I guess my math process wasn’t that good after all. I was still too stunned over the mysterious date coming up on the skirting board that I think I didn’t even heard him correctly. Shook my head again and pushed the shelf back into place. He would probably think I was crazy. “I heard a sound here, I thought it was a rat but it’s nothing” I shrugged it off and straightened my clothes before heading to the laptop. I pushed down the screen and grabbed the full device. “You know what? I feel really tired, we should go back now.” I lied without even realizing my own actions and started walking towards the living room.

“Wait, Alice, I thought you wanted…” Taka kept talking but I didn’t listen. Even if I tried to listen I couldn’t, making him look more confused and lost than ever, I was too worried about what I just saw. It doesn’t make any sense a date that had no meaning I could think of in History come up on the foot wood in a wall. I was trying to figure out if I really wasn’t imagining it but I was sure I looked enough to answer that question. Why did it have to happen on my brother’s office?

07-11-2017 kept flashing in my mind repeatedly making me feel sick. Even after we left the apartment and went back to ours, all I could think about was that date. I tried to figure out anything important that happened on that day, but nothing came out. History has gone through that day like every other with nothing important that would stand out.

Taka was worried and kept asking me what was going on, but the truth is I didn’t know myself what was happening, and I was scared about finding it out, eventually becoming something I didn’t want to know. I felt a small warm feeling inside of me every time he turned his small dark eyes towards me, genially asking why was I so silent and couldn’t keep to words of a conversation without getting lost in my own thoughts again.

Once we reached the hall of our apartment and exchanged our shoes for the slippers, he stopped me. Grabbed my arm and stood in front of me, very close.

“I will find my friend tomorrow and hopefully figure out what happened to your brother.” He spoke in a dark and deep tone I wasn’t used to listen.

“You don’t have to” I shook my head and hand trying to push it off. “I don’t want you bothered with this anymore. Please forget about it.” I added calmly and ready to go away but the truth is that I didn’t want him to let it go, I didn’t want him to leave my side and didn’t want to face the truth. I couldn’t turn my face up and meet his eyes, afraid all my fears and secrets would come out once he saw deep into my soul.

“What?” He raised an eyebrow confused and I gulped having the audacity of looking a little up to his face but not to his eyes. Never his eyes. “It doesn’t bother me. You’re my friend, I want to do this for you…” I felt his warm hand pulling mine and his thumb rubbing the back over my soft skin. A deep shiver came down my whole spine and I swore to god at some point in that timeline I lost the feeling of my knees. Butterflies torn my stomach apart and I regretted the mess inside my head, being that the only reason I couldn’t be fully enjoying the most romantic approach I would ever have from him.

“It’s okay,” I said in a small whisper, not very sure where my voice went to. “I prefer to stop for a few time. I’m too tired to go on.” I continued in that calm and small tone taking a risk of looking at his parted lips.

Why would you do that.

I never knew how much I wanted to kiss him until that very moment. But I never did. Instead, I took a step back and let go of his hand. I couldn’t give myself the luxury of thinking about him in that way because I knew that probably, the future hold very uncertain things for me.

-:-:-:-

“You had those nightmares again?” She asked opening the glass door and we both walked inside the coffee shop. I responded with a small ‘yes’ and followed her. Leslie stopped walking and looked down at me with a worried gaze. “Maybe it’s time to see a specialist?”

“It’s not like a doctor can control my dreams.” I rolled my eyes.

“Yes, but they could scan your brain, maybe see any problem?” She looked around my head.

What the .

“Leslie, shut up.” I asked.

“Maybe you don’t feel like you belong here!” She pointed out pulling me to a table and making me seat in front of her.

“What?” I looked at her confused.

“You know. People keep saying you don’t belong here in your dreams. Maybe that’s your subconsciousness saying it to yourself.” She then explained, and I thought about it for a second.

“Leslie,” I called again closing my eyes and trying not to yell at her.

“Yeah?”

“Shut up.” I answered shortly, and she frowned, getting up and walking towards the balcony. “Americano please!” I yelled for her and she drew out her tongue. I laughed and lean my back against the chair I was sitting on, making myself comfortable. I crossed my legs and took my phone out to entertain myself while Leslie didn’t comeback.

However, something made me look to my right side, like if something was calling me. There was a man seating there on the same side I was. He had a soft look, a pacific one. He was comfortably seating and had his legs crossed almost in a luxurious way. Chocolate brown hair pulled back and drinking a cup of tea like he lived in England. He didn’t seem to notice me at all but his presence seemed almost overwhelming.

I felt like I should look the other way and met the cover of a journal being read by someone else. Another incident with the controllers makes two dead. They had no mercy, no pity, no hearts at all.

“Minseok said he would bring us to the table” Leslie explained before I could answer when she returned to the table empty handed. I smiled looking at the boy preparing our drinks and then faced my friend again. The light coming from outside and that kept dancing inside the shop made her skin glow. She was very pale and her long blonde hair seemed like thin golden strands. “Have you talked to Taka about it?” She asked too much interested.

“Why would I?” I wished to know, noticing the man raised his brown Asian eyes to meet my friends figure, probably taking the same conclusion as I did. Leslie was incredibly beautiful indeed. I wish I had 1/3 of that beauty.

“I don’t know, you guys seemed so close a few nights ago…” She straight mentioned what she wanted, but still trying to hide her true intentions. I opened my mouth offended and she chuckled.

“Are you spying on us now?”

“I was walking to the bathroom and you were at the door, it’s not like I asked to see you” She justified like knowing better than herself. I sighed. Like she didn’t want to see it.

Minseok brought our requests and we thanked him the kindness. I took sip of my hot coffee almost burning my tongue and, again, noticed the man beside us had returned to his tea like nothing happened.

“No, I didn’t talk to him about it and I won’t”

“Oh, come on… You don’t trust him?” She raised an eyebrow and took a bite out of her red velvet cake.

“It’s not that.”

“He was about to kiss you, he likes you.” She completely changed the point of the conversation and I saw the man raise his head at the word ‘kiss’. But then he noticed me paying attention and went back to his doing. What the hell is wrong with him? What the hell is wrong with her?

“He wasn’t going to kiss me.” I answered angrily.

“But you wanted him to…” She smirked waving her fork in small circles like it proved any point and I shook my head.

“No I didn’t, if I wanted I wouldn’t have walked away, would I?”

“I don’t know, I thought you guys were gonna kiss so I left.” She shrugged and took another bite. I rolled my eyes and drank again, just when the man left his small cup on the plate and stood up, ready to leave. He was wearing a suit, with a long cloak over it. He looked so… handsome and somewhat familiar. I had seen him before, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Maybe he was a CEO or maybe some celebrity.

He noticed me starring and smirked at my sight, and I frowned, frustrated.

Idiot.

“What’s wrong?” Leslie asked bringing me back to our table and the man left.

“Do you know him?” I asked curious looking at his back after he closed the door behind him. He took out his umbrella and walked away.

“No, why?”

“Why does he look so familiar?” I suddenly felt really rushed. Like I had many questions to make. My hands were sweating and I felt my body burn intensively but I didn’t feel warm at all. My heart was rushing like I just had run a marathon and somehow my breath wasn’t able to be controlled. It almost seemed like I was having a panic attack but with no… panic. “Can we leave?” I asked out of nowhere and stood up grabbing my bag and pulling it over my shoulder, then my cup of coffee and walked away from the table to meet the table where the man was seated.

Something was shining over the white wood of the board and I gulped. My knees trembled and I had to grab de chair again not to fall.

“Alice?” Leslie seemed worried and came to my rescue shoving her hands around me. She was scanning my face closely and I pushed her away to grab the object. I gulped and looked closely. Why? Did he leave it there on purpose? What’s the meaning of this? “Is that a clock?” My friend asked completely terrified. She grabbed my arm with a lot of strength almost hurting me. “We need to call the cops Al” She stated pulling her purse and looking inside for her phone. I stopped her and eyed her for a few seconds.

Then, I ran outside without any previous notice. I looked around the street but no clue of that man’s existence was left there aside from the watch in my hands. I ran towards one of the ends but nothing, only people and cars running side to side on their daily lives like rats inside their cages.

My mind was being bombed with big question marks and I knew perfectly well that invitation would not be for anyone else. Not after I was sure about the date written in there.

“Are you crazy?” Leslie yelled to my ears making me look at her. She had ran after me and looked over stressed. She exchanged my gaze for the watch and bit her lip, trying to calm herself down. “Please let’s call the police and give this to them, now.” She stated calmly but also looking around to make sure no controllers would be close by.

“No” I answered and she almost choke.

“What?”

“I need to… I need to check up on something. This is a normal watch, it’s okay. I know that man.”

Do I?

“From where?”

I don’t know.

“I met him before.” I kept lying and put the watch inside my own purse. “Trust me, please.” I asked with a pleading face. She wasn’t believing a word I said but she nodded.

“Promise you won’t do anything stupid”

“I promise.” I lied again and zipped the purse grabbing my friend’s hand. “Let’s go now.” We walked towards the bus stop and waited.

The date marked on the watch came back to my thoughts and I had to take deep breaths to remain calm. I made myself look inside my bag and make sure I had seen correctly one last time before the bus arrived. And I did see it correctly.

- 2017 –