Eli throws himself back in his chair, one hand to his head and the other limp across the chair’s arm. The box falls out of his grip and clatters on the wooden floor. His grandmother’s ring pops out of the box and skitters away from him. The diamonds taunt him in the moonlight.532Please respect copyright.PENANAJs6qgNtUY9
532Please respect copyright.PENANANs818wWMGS
“We can’t do this,” Mari said gently, curling his hand over the ring.532Please respect copyright.PENANAe338eBrq26
532Please respect copyright.PENANAwQs02xHgsZ
The memory makes him shudder. Good thing he did it alone rather than in a crowded location as he was originally planning to.532Please respect copyright.PENANAmJIo98Haat
532Please respect copyright.PENANAGAp1EH25Ix
“I love you,” he said.532Please respect copyright.PENANALyrNISSTga
532Please respect copyright.PENANAdljDHeKsRd
“I love you too.” She stared at the flame of the candle between them. “But…how can we get married when you aren’t old enough to drink at your own bachelor party? Are we supposed to pop open a bottle of apple cider?”532Please respect copyright.PENANAeclnJ1rVkv
532Please respect copyright.PENANAqWwDYkZ41q
“I didn’t know drinking was that important to you,” he said stiffly, running his pinky along the rim of his water glass.532Please respect copyright.PENANAFnoVAfM4vL
532Please respect copyright.PENANAmGnoriECLu
“It isn’t that,” Mari said. “It’s what being able to drink represents.”532Please respect copyright.PENANACnCIeDcs4G
532Please respect copyright.PENANADdv7CyDrLL
“And what’s that?” he asked, knowing he wasn’t helping his case by sounding like a petulant child.532Please respect copyright.PENANAmFwQyIdxcg
532Please respect copyright.PENANArI1Fu0QLjO
“That you’re an adult,” she said, reaching across the table to put a hand to his cheek. “Which you aren’t yet.”532Please respect copyright.PENANAt2hJfztQGF
532Please respect copyright.PENANAxU9xDrygF0
“That’s not what you said last night,” Eli muttered.532Please respect copyright.PENANAjbbtTJ2c7R
532Please respect copyright.PENANAI7uJozqP6I
She shot him a look and her smile melted away. “I love you, Eli. You know that. But we can’t get married. At the very least, we can’t get married right now.”532Please respect copyright.PENANATxm8unWuXa
532Please respect copyright.PENANAWPGdA3Nnlw
The table is still set for dinner, even though Mari has long since left. The ice in her water glass has melted. He can still smell the candle wax.532Please respect copyright.PENANAmJgUgBGRZz
532Please respect copyright.PENANAeHWtFmSdzi
Mari wanted to go to the Epik High concert even more than Eli did. Or rather, Eli wanted to go but had to accept the fact that he couldn’t afford to do everything while studying full-time and working part-time at the university bookstore. But Mari wanted to do everything.532Please respect copyright.PENANAjF9JQk8VU5
532Please respect copyright.PENANAwmdcDxCR86
“I can’t go to the concert,” he told her.532Please respect copyright.PENANAf4PFtTBaDB
532Please respect copyright.PENANAZmVQk1CLRp
She bought him a ticket anyway, telling him, “It isn’t a big deal.”532Please respect copyright.PENANAYyIXkubNE4
532Please respect copyright.PENANAbM8LhzFbw9
It’s always been like that. She casually buys him a ticket to something and doesn’t think twice about it. For him, however, each event she pays for becomes a brick on his back. He can’t imagine she’s as fine with it as she seems to be.532Please respect copyright.PENANAbO7bwpAOBM
532Please respect copyright.PENANAmPVt2ziADc
He has never been sure what bothers him more—being a burden on her or the fact that she isn’t honest about how she feels, that she pretends it’s okay that she has to keep paying for him.532Please respect copyright.PENANA3XrSP8z8yK
532Please respect copyright.PENANA29YPBZBp6v
Eli gets up, leaving the ring where it is on the floor and goes out to the balcony. He leans his forearms on the cold metal railing and leans forward, staring up at the sky. His favorite thing about living in a college town is that he can actually see the stars—especially since his apartment is at the top of the hill.532Please respect copyright.PENANAhUaC8Dmkmb
532Please respect copyright.PENANAyKH275cdD5
He drops his gaze down toward the school and can even see Bell Hall, the building with the lab where Mari works. There are some lights on, although he’s fairly certain Mari isn’t there right now. She’s probably soaking in a hot bath—probably reading to calm her nerves after rejecting Eli’s proposal.532Please respect copyright.PENANAHdacRF8GKv
532Please respect copyright.PENANAgtT3xB6A9K
He grips the railing and leans back, eyes turned upward again. The night breeze pushes his hair off his forehead.532Please respect copyright.PENANADNaTl63mwk
532Please respect copyright.PENANAfBOo7viUTZ
He went to the lab with her once, but only once. Mari had needed to stop by and start an experiment before they headed out on a date. He had trailed in after her, wanting to see what she did and just wanting to be in her presence.532Please respect copyright.PENANAexkXCpjJ5L
532Please respect copyright.PENANA0J2OIDlk4l
One of her coworkers stopped by to talk to her and glanced at Eli questioningly.532Please respect copyright.PENANAqYhyPawsit
532Please respect copyright.PENANA1HRrJfzULI
“Alan, this is my boyfriend, Eli,” Mari said.532Please respect copyright.PENANAWKlVPnZPn0
532Please respect copyright.PENANAe3SNn4ZQOH
“So, Eli, what do you do?” Alan said as they shook hands.532Please respect copyright.PENANAoMDsJhZzYX
532Please respect copyright.PENANA3s54zxYfLn
“Are you really going to pester my boyfriend right now?” Mari said, taking Eli’s arm and tried to pull him away.532Please respect copyright.PENANAAPgSJyHNxu
532Please respect copyright.PENANA6LpgPP9Mte
“Pester him? I’m just trying to be polite,” Alan said. “Is his job top secret or something?”532Please respect copyright.PENANAbUGAQmihom
532Please respect copyright.PENANAYusNPc6zlG
Mari’s lips were pressed together. Clearly she had never told her coworkers she’d met her boyfriend while she was a graduate student T.A. for his undergrad biochem class.532Please respect copyright.PENANAUPDNIYTN5C
532Please respect copyright.PENANA9chTJJe5Aa
“I’m a student,” Eli said, suddenly wanting to leave the lab and head out to their movie.532Please respect copyright.PENANApIBviv79Cf
532Please respect copyright.PENANA3wg6TW7ueh
“PhD? What do you study?” Alan said.532Please respect copyright.PENANADlnvAAYZXW
532Please respect copyright.PENANAYlWxxEZl6x
“No, not a PhD student,” Eli said, his neck and cheeks starting to heat up. He couldn’t meet Mari’s gaze.532Please respect copyright.PENANA5zrUwVR3JB
532Please respect copyright.PENANACY85Bw0oRr
“Oh, Master’s then?” 532Please respect copyright.PENANAlZv6MmpUIc
532Please respect copyright.PENANAQH9fWM6qAa
“Actually, I’m an undergrad,” Eli said.532Please respect copyright.PENANASwtFCLx0Q0
532Please respect copyright.PENANA7dS2aG7BbH
“Oh.” Alan looked at Mari and then back at Eli. “Well, it was good to meet you, man.”532Please respect copyright.PENANAVxmNjt71eX
532Please respect copyright.PENANAkNACNhqBdD
Eli followed Mari in silence. He could feel something like embarrassment or shame rising off of her, but she turned around and placed a hand on his forearm, forcing a gentle smile.532Please respect copyright.PENANA3UquRiv49q
532Please respect copyright.PENANAFYoYrxbdPP
“Don’t worry about it,” she said. “This is just because of your age. One day, you’ll catch up to me—maybe even pass me—and it won’t matter. We’ll forget there was ever a time like this.”532Please respect copyright.PENANAH9NU35RLfS
532Please respect copyright.PENANAJjL39nVZGK
Eli sighs. Crickets chirp in time with the twinkling of the stars. As he stares up absently, a giant meteor falls. He watches it streak across the sky, getting brighter and brighter and brighter until the blazing light fills the sky, fills his vision, fills his mind.532Please respect copyright.PENANAChStBJa89d
532Please respect copyright.PENANAGw1TeCwwIS
He blinks. He’s in the living room of an apartment. There are no lights on, and the time reads 2:57 a.m. on a digital clock with green numbers—just around the time he was standing outside. 532Please respect copyright.PENANAYZYq9fglFy
532Please respect copyright.PENANAb7PEs1nmLL
He realizes with surprise that there’s something in his hand. It’s a piece of a rock. He would think it’s a dream, but the rock smells like metal and fire. It’s warm. Eli brings it to his face. 532Please respect copyright.PENANAd7CSWlZhxT
532Please respect copyright.PENANAQ8xKD9N9C7
He doesn’t see how it’s possible, but he wonders if it’s a part of a meteor—maybe the meteor he just saw.532Please respect copyright.PENANAwnxKZ8eO2y
532Please respect copyright.PENANAQq7SIU1HG5
He surveys the apartment. It’s bland and undecorated, but the wooden dining table seems ready to splinter under the weight of open textbooks and notebooks. A closed MacBook charges, precariously close to a half-finished mug of coffee. Eli leans forward and looks at the notebook, immediately recognizing the handwriting.532Please respect copyright.PENANAtJgMCtKJL6
532Please respect copyright.PENANAFx4sLIf0cK
It isn’t possible.532Please respect copyright.PENANAdjrDApgXtt
532Please respect copyright.PENANA400rgQdqBV
He glances toward a closed door that he assumes is a bedroom and makes his way over warily, quietly pushing it open. There’s a bed on the other side, up against the wall. Moonlight streams directly upon the sleeping form. Her back is turned, and even if it weren’t for the dark hair ribboning across the pillow, he still would have recognized her.532Please respect copyright.PENANACzAqd3Zt18
532Please respect copyright.PENANAyFNJYACQnq
He creeps closer—she’s a notoriously light sleeper—and takes a better look. She shifts in her sleep slightly, as though she can sense she has a visitor. And then he sees her face. Mari looks pretty much the same as she did when he saw her a few hours ago, only more vulnerable. There are streaks of lavender in her hair, starting at her scalp and traveling out. Her bangs are shorter, settling on her closed eyelids. There’s still a hint of baby softness that hasn’t yet melted away to reveal the sultry cheekbones in the Mari he loves.532Please respect copyright.PENANAKfkJBZ3RcH
532Please respect copyright.PENANAUnkQAg0UAB
Eli presses a button on her phone, illuminating the screen, to see the date. Five years ago to the day.532Please respect copyright.PENANAjTDQP5TaLT
532Please respect copyright.PENANA5VXl9lv25E
If this is right, if this isn’t a dream of some sort, he’s seeing her when she was the same age as he is now. He looks at the meteor, still in his hand. He isn’t sure how he knows this, but he’s suddenly sure the meteor was his ticket here and will be his ticket back to his year.532Please respect copyright.PENANALkG8o9n88s
532Please respect copyright.PENANAkRhue5wOFG
But he has an idea. Now that he’s here, why not stay? He’ll age with her, and she will no longer be five years older than him. He’ll make it work, somehow—find a way to survive as a twenty-year-old in this year, stage a run-in with her. She’ll fall in love with him again, but they’ll be on equal ground.532Please respect copyright.PENANADAovUnuWJy
532Please respect copyright.PENANAixtx2uWNhS
Sliding the little meteor piece into his pocket, he takes a deep breath, excitement mounting at the thought of starting again with her at the same age—even if she is still a month older. They’ll have five more years together than they would have otherwise.532Please respect copyright.PENANAvXLQpAeasp
532Please respect copyright.PENANAQronROJeHf
“Is this really want you want?” Mari asked him multiple times, a shrewd look on her face. “With me five years older than you, you do realize things might need to happen five years faster than you want them to, right?”532Please respect copyright.PENANAmmzVtewSls
532Please respect copyright.PENANAa6aAJ6eh6N
“Like what?” he said.532Please respect copyright.PENANAzSTlI852a4
532Please respect copyright.PENANA3VanlBxGqG
“Getting married, having kids,” she said.532Please respect copyright.PENANAYrh6bWmiLt
532Please respect copyright.PENANAZXT20eLVFk
“Well, good thing you warned me about it now,” Eli said. “Now I’m mentally prepared.”532Please respect copyright.PENANAwBIov6Euh9
532Please respect copyright.PENANAaoWk92YoLZ
“Seriously, though,” she said. “Don’t you want someone your age?”532Please respect copyright.PENANAvOC5FUIKzP
532Please respect copyright.PENANAUBMY2ntEgK
Eli sits cross-legged on the floor beside her bed, deflating instantly. If he stays here isn’t he finding someone his own age. He told her he didn’t care about their age difference. And he doesn’t, really. He presses the heels of his hands to his eyes, feeling a little dizzy as if he just got off a rollercoaster.532Please respect copyright.PENANAezUDFG5M74
532Please respect copyright.PENANA35zMXnIhCX
“I can’t believe you’ve never ridden a rollercoaster before,” Eli said.532Please respect copyright.PENANARBjKj4a7JH
532Please respect copyright.PENANAdxXKgeyfdp
Mari gripped his hand, her nails digging into his skin. Her eyes were wide, focused on the car that sped by thunderously. The riders’ screams seemed to hover in the air behind them.532Please respect copyright.PENANAiadGf7WpFS
532Please respect copyright.PENANAQuN1w6pr4K
“Well,” she said. “I guess this is all part of our goal of making new memories together.”532Please respect copyright.PENANAzsZV9ppYsB
532Please respect copyright.PENANAUk8fpJA8fd
This Mari sleeping in front of him doesn’t have that memory of riding the rollercoaster with him. She doesn’t have any of the memories they’ve created over the past two years. The situation would be unbalanced with him knowing her soul even as she tries to discover his.532Please respect copyright.PENANA4FgufUIwZU
532Please respect copyright.PENANAqUzDF2C5E2
Eli takes the meteor out of his pocket. It seems like it’s getting warmer. He stands up and looks at her again, a little sad at the thought of a future that can never be. Taking his chance, he leans forward and presses a kiss to her forehead, just above her left eyebrow. Even five years ago, she used the smell shampoo she uses in the present.532Please respect copyright.PENANAN5oqcv9ZEL
532Please respect copyright.PENANANznHX4p4zf
Mari stretches and blinks blearily at him. He knows she was almost blind pre-LASIK. This Mari can barely see anything without her glasses or contacts. He must be just a blonde-haired outline to her, too indistinct for her to even tell he’s Korean under that blonde hair.532Please respect copyright.PENANAMzy6uFO3Pv
532Please respect copyright.PENANA1ZbxLMZVTr
“Who are you?” she murmurs.532Please respect copyright.PENANAYmXLKAhhRe
532Please respect copyright.PENANANT70JSeMR9
He thinks about it for a moment and speaks softly to keep from waking her up completely. “I’m someone you haven’t met yet—someone you’ll meet in the future and fall in love with, but not quite as deeply as I’ll fall in love with you.”532Please respect copyright.PENANAbm2uZQbyPa
532Please respect copyright.PENANAzDQ9ltX8Nf
“Why?” Her voice is still groggy, eyes half-closed.532Please respect copyright.PENANAL84X0zieHR
532Please respect copyright.PENANAucE2EgPQBP
“Because I’m younger than you,” Eli says, gently putting a finger to her cheek. “It’ll bother you, and I think you won’t believe me when I say just how much I love you. But I love you, and only you, and especially you when you’re five years older than me. Don’t forget it, okay?”532Please respect copyright.PENANAUBqykQIOej
532Please respect copyright.PENANAER9UDIRKH7
He holds his pinky out to her. She curves her own pinky around his. Her skin is almost as warm as the meteor.532Please respect copyright.PENANAWRgmeQCJls
532Please respect copyright.PENANAu3PRPaPdZz
“Okay.” Her voice is nearly gone now as she sinks back into sleep.532Please respect copyright.PENANAtWGEqfrwqc
532Please respect copyright.PENANA7Rirmphplu
He holds the meteor in his palm as it burns more fiercely, watching this Mari and thinking about the Mari waiting for him back in his present.532Please respect copyright.PENANAtgFBZXqePw
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TejiReve
篇 #4
Meteorfall
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