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.553Please respect copyright.PENANARrV8MpOX5v
553Please respect copyright.PENANA9rdFPCCqqm
“We can’t do this,” Mari said gently, curling his hand over the ring.553Please respect copyright.PENANArTxz1PSh7c
553Please respect copyright.PENANAiLdBIMuhAI
The memory makes him shudder. Good thing he did it alone rather than in a crowded location as he was originally planning to.553Please respect copyright.PENANAESnvJf4cbX
553Please respect copyright.PENANA3HsSeIVeK7
“I love you,” he said.553Please respect copyright.PENANALIqTy6iexG
553Please respect copyright.PENANAuAf9U0Ll5C
“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?”553Please respect copyright.PENANAXqrONYuwJb
553Please respect copyright.PENANAYEaP2O3cPm
“I didn’t know drinking was that important to you,” he said stiffly, running his pinky along the rim of his water glass.553Please respect copyright.PENANAIMDLyENA8K
553Please respect copyright.PENANAXIKub1iUcB
“It isn’t that,” Mari said. “It’s what being able to drink represents.”553Please respect copyright.PENANASt5PtPUflv
553Please respect copyright.PENANAqaU2pwOYr0
“And what’s that?” he asked, knowing he wasn’t helping his case by sounding like a petulant child.553Please respect copyright.PENANAZGYtlsbULI
553Please respect copyright.PENANAXUGsBGkRcr
“That you’re an adult,” she said, reaching across the table to put a hand to his cheek. “Which you aren’t yet.”553Please respect copyright.PENANAT89AoiGcLa
553Please respect copyright.PENANA3ZrU58nUg1
“That’s not what you said last night,” Eli muttered.553Please respect copyright.PENANAUsRjpQUC5m
553Please respect copyright.PENANAocIXQDfvcF
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.”553Please respect copyright.PENANARMmABMvZtz
553Please respect copyright.PENANADr5aFYS4DN
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.553Please respect copyright.PENANA9IdHH9TLVr
553Please respect copyright.PENANAR8ZlTvrCwh
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.553Please respect copyright.PENANApvurN6bqn8
553Please respect copyright.PENANAFMUHLEX614
“I can’t go to the concert,” he told her.553Please respect copyright.PENANALLcbZoFots
553Please respect copyright.PENANAF47rs61cBi
She bought him a ticket anyway, telling him, “It isn’t a big deal.”553Please respect copyright.PENANAI49Hr8Evy3
553Please respect copyright.PENANArx3FPWywxj
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.553Please respect copyright.PENANAxvGQdZRJfw
553Please respect copyright.PENANAbi7yDp9SZZ
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.553Please respect copyright.PENANAp06d6Z8kVv
553Please respect copyright.PENANAw12rJ02Jtg
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.553Please respect copyright.PENANAVWxFLzMfd4
553Please respect copyright.PENANAN0YiAX6fzC
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.553Please respect copyright.PENANA3gCIGICqK5
553Please respect copyright.PENANAIBNiwzjkcP
He grips the railing and leans back, eyes turned upward again. The night breeze pushes his hair off his forehead.553Please respect copyright.PENANAOhQERHjybV
553Please respect copyright.PENANAc3eCTaQ77E
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.553Please respect copyright.PENANA5uhtoSOXc3
553Please respect copyright.PENANAEetVOg7C9Q
One of her coworkers stopped by to talk to her and glanced at Eli questioningly.553Please respect copyright.PENANAx4rBR1isSC
553Please respect copyright.PENANAtYH0HGdnnE
“Alan, this is my boyfriend, Eli,” Mari said.553Please respect copyright.PENANA101Th6XeB9
553Please respect copyright.PENANAqi0EUeaFyL
“So, Eli, what do you do?” Alan said as they shook hands.553Please respect copyright.PENANAHfdoaEmNPe
553Please respect copyright.PENANAmCDG3HgEbT
“Are you really going to pester my boyfriend right now?” Mari said, taking Eli’s arm and tried to pull him away.553Please respect copyright.PENANAhEXRhOnQYV
553Please respect copyright.PENANAdHow8bDcaI
“Pester him? I’m just trying to be polite,” Alan said. “Is his job top secret or something?”553Please respect copyright.PENANAmXrZJQCnx3
553Please respect copyright.PENANAj3dhWxm0Xs
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.553Please respect copyright.PENANAck3v9l8qDc
553Please respect copyright.PENANAk0mhHlOujV
“I’m a student,” Eli said, suddenly wanting to leave the lab and head out to their movie.553Please respect copyright.PENANApsQfBbJDw6
553Please respect copyright.PENANA4oosnqFyNm
“PhD? What do you study?” Alan said.553Please respect copyright.PENANAroqHWqx7jT
553Please respect copyright.PENANAJhyv1aByZh
“No, not a PhD student,” Eli said, his neck and cheeks starting to heat up. He couldn’t meet Mari’s gaze.553Please respect copyright.PENANAInY15nMBwL
553Please respect copyright.PENANAtFcaFeTrdN
“Oh, Master’s then?” 553Please respect copyright.PENANArpVn3VInQA
553Please respect copyright.PENANASh3ZJKeO6g
“Actually, I’m an undergrad,” Eli said.553Please respect copyright.PENANAfDYLGNbhcn
553Please respect copyright.PENANAbSkKvQZqn2
“Oh.” Alan looked at Mari and then back at Eli. “Well, it was good to meet you, man.”553Please respect copyright.PENANAIyTmp13vcp
553Please respect copyright.PENANATMs5GNYlBf
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.553Please respect copyright.PENANALgcviByLsD
553Please respect copyright.PENANAni1iRgfzSr
“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.”553Please respect copyright.PENANACUfjouZgqn
553Please respect copyright.PENANAZRrCUNENXD
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.553Please respect copyright.PENANA8xdL18Q8CK
553Please respect copyright.PENANAgOIbVcMFUn
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. 553Please respect copyright.PENANAusfKlv61Se
553Please respect copyright.PENANAKieA36zlpP
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. 553Please respect copyright.PENANAmTlGFgi6en
553Please respect copyright.PENANAu28RLX8KJ3
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.553Please respect copyright.PENANA4fjKDnwYdR
553Please respect copyright.PENANAUqpywuuhIF
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.553Please respect copyright.PENANAwdiAOet4TH
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It isn’t possible.553Please respect copyright.PENANAS119q0L4HZ
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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.553Please respect copyright.PENANAIf70aERog7
553Please respect copyright.PENANASgMSI6cIKZ
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.553Please respect copyright.PENANAYHxKOk7fq7
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Eli presses a button on her phone, illuminating the screen, to see the date. Five years ago to the day.553Please respect copyright.PENANAUahjVIPWMi
553Please respect copyright.PENANAEmsgQUAsft
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.553Please respect copyright.PENANAW2eWRAr653
553Please respect copyright.PENANA9UTqzQKhwe
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.553Please respect copyright.PENANAu4SJ8YQlp4
553Please respect copyright.PENANAqsRr0HsxPu
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.553Please respect copyright.PENANAcwyWkkKQv6
553Please respect copyright.PENANAsh0B5MTVOO
“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?”553Please respect copyright.PENANAPQKXQpgw7W
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“Like what?” he said.553Please respect copyright.PENANAkt9yacGqEK
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“Getting married, having kids,” she said.553Please respect copyright.PENANAV44sFIegem
553Please respect copyright.PENANA7GhdnTMpzR
“Well, good thing you warned me about it now,” Eli said. “Now I’m mentally prepared.”553Please respect copyright.PENANAt0MGRu2C89
553Please respect copyright.PENANAn8ntPpiPVi
“Seriously, though,” she said. “Don’t you want someone your age?”553Please respect copyright.PENANAEkRoailrWA
553Please respect copyright.PENANAWY7FnEstEO
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.553Please respect copyright.PENANAHFgGvLCZlk
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“I can’t believe you’ve never ridden a rollercoaster before,” Eli said.553Please respect copyright.PENANAFV2hzixPYx
553Please respect copyright.PENANATgq5j3fzST
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.553Please respect copyright.PENANAoIiQVJDWk0
553Please respect copyright.PENANAK9S2RMlf9T
“Well,” she said. “I guess this is all part of our goal of making new memories together.”553Please respect copyright.PENANA6EzmpIDspf
553Please respect copyright.PENANAtqO0dGmheS
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.553Please respect copyright.PENANA1IK7gnYLhs
553Please respect copyright.PENANA7Wp3WNPSzQ
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.553Please respect copyright.PENANASqaX3LIiai
553Please respect copyright.PENANAEWl8PJX0Tr
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.553Please respect copyright.PENANAuvDieXXwZb
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“Who are you?” she murmurs.553Please respect copyright.PENANAtqf6T7jeWd
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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.”553Please respect copyright.PENANAbdil1VoumD
553Please respect copyright.PENANAasET0b0sFs
“Why?” Her voice is still groggy, eyes half-closed.553Please respect copyright.PENANAzt2CH5kCpA
553Please respect copyright.PENANAoBtG4sOmiS
“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?”553Please respect copyright.PENANA0rarkk5aYh
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He holds his pinky out to her. She curves her own pinky around his. Her skin is almost as warm as the meteor.553Please respect copyright.PENANAl6BquurwET
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“Okay.” Her voice is nearly gone now as she sinks back into sleep.553Please respect copyright.PENANARu62pwZMp9
553Please respect copyright.PENANAHJylE2neZY
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.553Please respect copyright.PENANAxhzk0YseR5
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TejiReve
篇 #4
Meteorfall
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