When I woke up the next morning, the memory of the previous night already felt like a blur, as if it had been a distant dream. But something inside me had changed. I didn’t know exactly what, but I could feel it.
A faint headache throbbed in my temples, and the weight of a restless sleep lingered over me. I rubbed my eyes and tried to get up, but my body felt lighter than usual, as if I were moving differently. That’s when I noticed where I was.
“The bathroom?”
I frowned, confused. How had I ended up here? The floor was still damp, and my reflection in the mirror stared back at me with a lost expression. I tried to piece together the fragments of the previous night, but everything was just a big void.
"I must have slipped and passed out," I thought, trying to rationalize it.
I sighed and headed to my room. When I glanced at the clock, a jolt ran down my spine.
8:30 AM.
Damn it! Late again. I had arranged to meet Melissa at 8:00, and now I could already picture the look on her face when she saw me arriving late once again. “She’ll understand,” I tried to convince myself while hurriedly grabbing some clothes.
But something was different.
Every movement I made felt faster, more fluid, as if my body was adjusting to a new rhythm. My reflexes were sharper, and my perception of time seemed slightly altered. It was a strange feeling—almost as if the world around me was slowing down while I remained at the same pace.
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I shook my head, pushing the thought away.
"It must be in my head."
The Encounter
The walk to Ocean City Park felt different that day. The cars on the streets seemed to move in slow motion. Every little detail around me was sharper—from the rustling of the leaves to the tiny dust particles dancing in the sunlight.
“Did they install a new speed camera here?”
Not that it mattered. I didn’t even own a car.
When I finally arrived at the park, I was greeted by an enchanting scene. The sun shone high above, its golden rays piercing through the treetops and casting dancing shadows on the ground. The air was filled with the sweet scent of cotton candy and popcorn, mingling with the gentle fragrance of nearby flowers. Children ran back and forth, laughing and shouting with contagious joy.
And then, amidst that almost magical scene, there she was.
Melissa.
She stood in a small clearing, her hair tousled by the wind and a bright smile lighting up her face. My heart pounded at the sight of her. It was as if time had stopped, as if all the noise around us had faded away. For a moment, it was just us.
— "Zarte!" — Her voice rang out like music in the air.
Before I could react, she ran toward me and threw herself into my arms. The impact of the hug nearly knocked me off balance, but I didn’t care. The warmth of her body, the familiar touch, the faintly sweet scent of her perfume… it all enveloped me in a way that made me forget the five years of distance between us.
I closed my eyes, absorbing the moment.
— "You look amazing." — The words left my lips in a whisper.
She laughed, a pure and comforting sound.
— "And you look different. But in a good way."
I wanted to say something, but I just smiled. The five years of separation vanished in that instant, and all that mattered was that she was there, with me.
The Past and the Present
— "I want to relive old memories." — I said, looking into her eyes.
Melissa raised an eyebrow.
— "And what exactly does that mean?"
I took her hand and intertwined our fingers.
— "I want us to remember how it all began. Where we came from. What we used to be."
Her gaze softened. Deep down, I knew she felt the same way.
— "I guess that means we're in for a long walk, then." — She smiled.
And so, we walked together through the park, letting the past guide us, unaware that our future was already sealed.