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.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0768tNZJkg
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRfScinom0
“We can’t do this,” Mari said gently, curling his hand over the ring.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpATjCsjpI7
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWeYVzo58Xd
The memory makes him shudder. Good thing he did it alone rather than in a crowded location as he was originally planning to.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ldfAgM7rb
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJWlAQAiKed
“I love you,” he said.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmjrJP3VgHi
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0FRJmxIv4P
“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?”785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8jnX4Fs5r3
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbv5cYwMYYk
“I didn’t know drinking was that important to you,” he said stiffly, running his pinky along the rim of his water glass.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZqMKLI317h
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgu8NUaVu8b
“It isn’t that,” Mari said. “It’s what being able to drink represents.”785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡasDBXsazU1
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡosHsZtbwiC
“And what’s that?” he asked, knowing he wasn’t helping his case by sounding like a petulant child.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡczGXADSS8n
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1HiJeSP8Un
“That you’re an adult,” she said, reaching across the table to put a hand to his cheek. “Which you aren’t yet.”785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbMw2VffbN0
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAMrtagOFXl
“That’s not what you said last night,” Eli muttered.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuo2hnrB5u1
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIX7S4b5IFX
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.”785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhlDsjMj0EC
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIDGU17jez0
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.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaUzQhRPONr
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJI9Lt7MrHl
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.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp8dWND1M7a
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJa1ut1ufjC
“I can’t go to the concert,” he told her.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSyGH7HyRNl
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡamPH2Y4ZJY
She bought him a ticket anyway, telling him, “It isn’t a big deal.”785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡccdPj8gMOD
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIopGW48gHB
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.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTZiQ7HTbaK
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgXoMSpxxNP
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.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv1GHtASW6I
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9F0OUg9ipD
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.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ4hFt65MUt
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdm871Hz4S6
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.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXmLrTVP2ZI
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyQy7qTyts6
He grips the railing and leans back, eyes turned upward again. The night breeze pushes his hair off his forehead.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhwgbxo9wAS
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2h7vQlaoBT
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.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGiJ4nTuCVa
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLMySgM8m5T
One of her coworkers stopped by to talk to her and glanced at Eli questioningly.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXvk42fLeMJ
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9VXA5tCfst
“Alan, this is my boyfriend, Eli,” Mari said.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX38YM1D4DA
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhetHkcRWkz
“So, Eli, what do you do?” Alan said as they shook hands.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKl88UX0lum
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJDrGfT2b4O
“Are you really going to pester my boyfriend right now?” Mari said, taking Eli’s arm and tried to pull him away.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjXp1QZ0pMc
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlA3941ItOW
“Pester him? I’m just trying to be polite,” Alan said. “Is his job top secret or something?”785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLFgU3IWxbK
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMRpUP7hMhH
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.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUR2JMk5hkV
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgl6u4bkcVn
“I’m a student,” Eli said, suddenly wanting to leave the lab and head out to their movie.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7IkNzuV2Xk
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡALudHoYQF1
“PhD? What do you study?” Alan said.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUtMFnMH8Ai
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXpdxrt7sc5
“No, not a PhD student,” Eli said, his neck and cheeks starting to heat up. He couldn’t meet Mari’s gaze.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmjTaRcgXfi
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh6gNxDnUDv
“Oh, Master’s then?” 785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6sGHPvQFsg
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOEqPdyBGds
“Actually, I’m an undergrad,” Eli said.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSEbnF8yiJa
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYR0lymK4Nm
“Oh.” Alan looked at Mari and then back at Eli. “Well, it was good to meet you, man.”785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Ihbq69ZNW
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXQBt6YG70R
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.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqj0yPAB83A
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqJQb62aLHh
“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.”785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtNBllyBh2E
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNOOzsUz8tQ
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.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeWKdex2WZa
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfaP14fVNql
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. 785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcQtKAbcLOw
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8KkyE94LYT
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. 785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAdeyl4r0BP
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXaJeRBqaJU
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.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡziLWwg7323
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU8CYZB3p2v
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.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwyJxWKzJBI
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFHrCNYyF3C
It isn’t possible.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7niv4fzdCQ
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3JeiB45pGE
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.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG8KbMoYWNr
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZSkjfnVlQE
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.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfXyRdirMMj
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWx86wUs1w3
Eli presses a button on her phone, illuminating the screen, to see the date. Five years ago to the day.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZNjme0k0jQ
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjDLLEWYMSf
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.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBGrmQ7ZNEq
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcpdnAOcdBc
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.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE0zNZhrJN8
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQxpd1ot0jl
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.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5P1Suby9Il
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXFWF9oYvZR
“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?”785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnXsswx28D2
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKqK7F66z3V
“Like what?” he said.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAyQMjMBEaj
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlwRqbVdozx
“Getting married, having kids,” she said.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmNoLVZHTmL
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHfSOOqRXg4
“Well, good thing you warned me about it now,” Eli said. “Now I’m mentally prepared.”785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXqQuReXbR8
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4f5WL4irjC
“Seriously, though,” she said. “Don’t you want someone your age?”785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDcvPFRg5b5
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa1QeuV6xtn
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.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs56XfBKQZP
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiVyLkXRTw6
“I can’t believe you’ve never ridden a rollercoaster before,” Eli said.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKP3xVlh8QF
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9XrKbpsSib
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.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlKF8qEBeJR
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOfZE0n9dKX
“Well,” she said. “I guess this is all part of our goal of making new memories together.”785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwpSN07AuG
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkGUXfwSkT4
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.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ9dhVDSz2c
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCHRmOeZfbF
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.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Q6LWetEp9
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLhmYbRjkf8
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.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVAKhehD0vy
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ndVbzJ5wO
“Who are you?” she murmurs.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2GnMItOsZI
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoBHpx6bRvZ
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.”785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZfXSj4PKGf
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFskRmS2xeE
“Why?” Her voice is still groggy, eyes half-closed.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQOgzZAWVBJ
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7qAoxnpkCN
“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?”785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡswmLjErP1o
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4YHLg3I9v9
He holds his pinky out to her. She curves her own pinky around his. Her skin is almost as warm as the meteor.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9DFHUzxOKt
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyaYq6Bm6fT
“Okay.” Her voice is nearly gone now as she sinks back into sleep.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6e9ZtMF8FU
785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3E4AhFT1sZ
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.785Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiJzvriSFlI
Penana
search
Loginarrow_drop_down
Registerarrow_drop_down
