[https://i.postimg.cc/cCxYHKmN/The-Girl-who-could-taste-time.gif]

Ava curled up on her couch, her orange cat nestled on her lap as they watched a movie. Her hand moved slowly through the soft Tyche's fur, her fingers finding their way to scratch behind the cat's ears.

Suddenly, the sound of the doorbell interrupted their peaceful evening. Ava let out an exasperated sigh, annoyed at the interruption. She carefully set the cat aside and got up from the couch, making her way to the front door.

As she opened the door, she saw a woman standing on her doorstep, holding a large bag. The woman with grey hair and dark circles wore a stoic expression she couldn't read. The young woman greeted her with a big smile, it seemed a bit too forced, and Ava's annoyance was already palpable.

’I'm sorry, I'm not interested.’; she said curtly, trying to close the door.

But the woman persisted with a simple sentence: 'I'm Eske's wife, Nona.'

Ava's patience wore thin: 'I already told him countless times I'm not interested. And if you came to check if we have an affair, I would stop you right there that I'm not someone that messes with others' marriage!'

She tried to shut the door again, but Nona stuck her foot in the way, refusing to leave. Ava feels a surge of anger and frustration, her peaceful evening ruined by this unwanted intrusion.

Finally, she loses her temper and yells at Nona, demanding that she leave her alone. Nona didn't back away, her smile replaced by a daunting stoic face: 'I made soup.'

'What?'

'I made you soup. It is still warm.'

Ava reluctantly opened the door to Nona. As she stepped inside, she handed Ava the Tupperware with homemade soup.

'I made this for you.'; she said with a smile: ‘I thought you might enjoy it.'

Ava thanked her but couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Nona seemed a bit too eager to please, and her smile didn't quite reach her eyes.

As Ava heated up the soup, Nona settled into a chair in the kitchen: 'I hope you don't mind if I stay and chat for a bit.'; she said.

Ava felt her discomfort growing: 'I'm surprised. Eske gave me the idea you would be an introvert. Not much of a chatter.'

'I like to chat. Most of the time, I don't have much to say.'

Ava placed a plate for each of them, and Nona interrupted, saying she was not hungry.

'It is rude not to keep your host company at the table.' Ava looked suspiciously at Nona.

'Very well.'

Ava felt like Nona was watching her every move as she ate the soup. It was as if she was trying to gauge her reaction to the food. The truth is the soup was delicious. It was warm and cosy as her grandmother. She recalled the stories with hot cocoa and bedtime stories her grannie would teach her. And suddenly, there was a tear caressing her cheek. She finally said: 'Eske did tell me you were quite unique. What am I eating, Nona?'

'A second chance.'; Nona drew a short smile.

'I don't understand.'

'We invited you to find a forever home, where you would be safe, to be you, to do whatever makes you…you, but you refused. And it is not like we want to force you on anything. People are responsible for their choices. However, here you had no real choice. Not accepting wouldn't save Tyche, wouldn't save you. And the same results if you did. So, I gave you the answer to the choice you think you made.'; Nona explained.

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'You unsettle me. I can't read you. Since I have been a child, I have known people just by looking at them, and with you, nothing. Is like I'm looking at the void itself.'

'I heard that before.'; said Nona playing with her spoon: 'You are the first person I served my soup who actually talks to me.'

'Eske?'

'I can't say he ate soup... part of it. He did know…, so it doesn’t count.'; Nona shove slowly one full spoon into her mouth.

'I feel as if I'm eating the forbidden fruit.'

'Well, it is a soup, not a fruit.'

'Do you know the symbolism of the knowledge fruit?'; asked Ava intrigued.

'Adam and Eve are forbidden to eat the fruit of the knowledge tree, which some people think is just a fancy wording for sex. Eve bites first and offers to Adam next. God finds out and expulses them from Eden. I have a small idea of the story. I still think it is about two teenagers who fucked and got caught.'

Ava was slowly eating, savouring the dish: 'I really like it. It tastes exactly like the one my grannie used to do.'; she sipped on another spoon and asked: 'Are you banning me from Eden?'

Nona put her elbows over the table, holding both of her hands: 'At least you won't disappear.'

'So, my afternoon teas with your husband are over?'; she asked, emptying her plate.

'We still have a few days, and I know he loves talking with you. I will tell him to stop by, at least to say goodbye.'

'Not the jealous type?'

'I have known Eske for a very long time, and it wouldn't make sense to keep a cat on a leash. He likes to make new friends, and I, too, bring new stories to the table to tell each other.'

'I feel like I pulled out the shortest straw,'; she said, tapping her finger on the table.

'The other solution that was proposed was to kill Tyche. I have seriously considered it. Funny thing, Eske immediately said no. But then, if we had done it, you wouldn't have ever joined us. She would live. In another timeline, maybe happy with another family, maybe not. I saw her many, many, many times, and she is well spread throughout time. But this timeline will end, and so does her in this line. She will jump into her other version. But you. This is it.'; Nona leaned uncomfortably, her chin over her hands. 'So, the only thing I could do is to cook some forbidden fruit.'

'What is the price?'

'I don't know. I am curious to know if it works. It didn't work for Eske.'

'What are you exactly?'

'Do you want the easy, or do you want the real answer?'

'I'm guessing I'm about to disappear. I want the real answer.'

'I'm an echo, a vortex of time and space.'

'I feel I'm missing something. This is so annoying that I can't read you.'; Ava clicked her tongue: 'Maybe if you had come first, I...'

Nona shook her head: 'It wouldn't matter. There is only one Ava in the whole cosmos, and she would never abandon Tyche for a place in a forbidden garden.'

Nona thanked her for letting her stop by and left. Ava let out a sigh of relief as she locked the door behind her.

Despite the delicious soup, Ava couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about Nona, as if she had made a deal with the devil disguised as an eerie angel.

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[https://i.postimg.cc/6q9LFb4w/The-Girl-who-could-taste-time-2.gif]