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Chapter Forty One
I Was Here/Irina Yellow
Continuation of Chapter 40: *** I was about to cross the street, when I heard a man shout nearby, ‘Sweet mangoes for sale!’ The man who sells the mangoes walked past me. I suddenly notice he is not wearing a face mask. And then I see one, two and three people without face masks too. I look around me and watch the city come back to life. People appear everywhere without me knowing where they came from or if they just popped up like popcorn out of nowhere. They multiply fast. The street is crowded, and I don’t see anyone wearing a face mask or practicing social distance. Is it that I travel back in time? I covered my mouth with my hands, but if there is one thing, I cannot contain my tears. I smiled and turned to look at the coffee shop again. And from the glass window I can see myself wearing a tiny yellow dress. I come a little closer to the mirror. And the closer I get the more I see myself. And suddenly it is no longer my image I see inside the mirror. What I see now is a fi
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Chapter Forty Two
I Was Here/Irina Yellow
Unknown to MeDecember 2021, there was a strong itchy sensation in my throat. I feel like grabbing my throat with my hand from the inside of my mouth. Only after a few hours have I caught a cold and cough. And this is not a good sign. I may have contracted coronavirus disease.I knew I needed to be isolated for a few days. I already had my two jabs of Pfizer vaccine, that is why maybe the symptoms I am showing are not severe, I don’t have difficulty in breathing.I decided to phone Mallory’s grandmother, and asked her to take care of her while I needed to quarantine myself. For a week we agreed that Mallory, for her own safety, should stay with her father’s parents while I am recuperating.Tuesday morning, I went to the nearest private hospital for a swab test. The nurse in the PPE suit handed me a form with the information I needed to fill out, like the following: Please check if you have the following symptoms: cold, cough, flu, fever, fatigue, shortness of breath. Have you been exp
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Chapter Forty Three
I Was Here/Irina Yellow
First KissEric: I know a music store near our high school.Irina: Really? Okay we’ll go.Eric: 4:00 PM,Irina: Copy that 4:00 PM‘Which one do you like?’ he asked.I was looking at the number of guitars displayed at the music store. There are couples of electric guitars, bass guitar, ukulele and acoustic guitar that come in different sizes.‘Which one do you play?’ I asked.‘Acoustic guitar and bass guitar,’ he said. ‘I have like one of those,’ he added and pointed to the lengthy dark blue electric bass guitar.‘Why the bass guitar longer,’ I asked. ‘And why does it only have five strings instead of six?’‘One day I will show you how I play the bass guitar,’ he said. ‘For now, I suggest you learn the acoustic guitar first,’‘Alright then, the acoustic guitar,’ I smiled. ‘I like the plain light brown color guitar, there,’‘Okay, wait here,’ he said. ‘I’ll ask them if they have a smaller guitar that will suit you.’Moment later Eric came back with a light-colored smaller size guitar.‘
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Chapter Forty Four
I Was Here/Irina Yellow
High SchoolI sat beside her on the blue bench outside our senior classroom. She wears a light green crop top blouse, light blue mini skirt and pair of white rubber shoes. Her hair was cut short with full bangs covering her entire forehead. And she was carrying a rose-pink backpack. Irina after so many years still looks very high school, she looks like a teenager, never growing old. I was watching her still and imagined her wearing the old white polo with a blue tie and navy-blue skirt. In my mind her black straight hair grew longer down to her waist. And she does not have bangs on her forehead. I was looking at her defined jawline, sharp nose and lovely eyes.‘Irina, if we ever travel time, and again, you see me here sitting on this same bench,’ I said. ‘Please come to me and tell me everything,’ I added. ‘I promise I will believe you.’‘What if we traveled time but we won’t remember anything?’‘How do we know that we time traveled if we don’t recall anything?’‘It will take time f
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Chapter Forty Five
I Was Here/Irina Yellow
Continuation Chapter 45:***‘No, no, no,’ I cried. ‘Grandma, please tell me I’m not dying.’‘Somewhere in the time realm you die peacefully in your sleep,’‘No, no, no,’ I cried. ‘Grandma, please Mallory needs me,’‘Figure out for yourself, Irina,’‘How did I die?’‘Have you listened to your mother?’‘Heart disease,’ she answered. ‘Your grandmother has coronary heart disease,’ she added. ‘Doctor said, the walls of her heart thickened until it blocked the flow of the blood to her heart which caused her heart to stop beating,’ she explained. ‘And so, she died.’5:20 PM, I woke up. I went to my table outside the bedroom. I opened the window and went downstairs to the kitchen. From the green thermos I pour the hot water containing lemon and ginger on a mug. And then I took out a plate of some melon slices from the fridge. I went back to my table and opened my laptop and continued with my novel again.Eric: ‘How are you?’Irina: ‘I’m okay,’Eric: ‘Get well soon.’Irina: ‘Copy that,’Eric
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Chapter Forty Six
I Was Here/Irina Yellow
The Red String‘Grandma, how did I die?’‘The valve of your artery thickens,’ she said. ‘It prevents your heart from pumping blood.’‘We both have heart disease, I see,’ I said. ‘Mama said you were writing something in your diary.’‘I was writing a story,’‘Can I read it someday in the past?’‘You write your own,’ she said. ‘Somewhere in the future Mallory will read your story.’There was a long silence between us, as we sit at the kitchen table looking at the small, opened window.‘If I can talk to God,’ I said. ‘Like He and I really talking,’ I added. ‘I would ask him why I wasn’t meant to be happy.’I watched her feet lifted from the ground. Her white kimono aesthetically flows as the wind blows strong behind her. Her long black hair spreads faultless as the wind carried on. She took out the red satin belt around her waist, and it magically turned into a red string. And there was a very bright light which almost blinded me, when the light disappeared so as grandmother.I found myse
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Chapter Forty Seven
I Was Here/Irina Yellow
Continuation of Chapter 46:***I opened the door to the patient’s bedroom. I saw the doctor covered her body and face with white sheet. The last thing I saw is her beautiful face before the white sheet fell into her. Irina is covered in white sheet from head to toe. The nurses assisted me outside the room and didn’t let me come near her.‘Irina!’ I screamed and fought my way inside the patient’s room. I threw out the white cloth from her face and embraced her. Her body feels tight and heavy. My hand touched her cold skin, and from that moment I knew life was taken out from her.‘No!’ I cried loudly. ‘Irina!’I was holding to her wrist as the nurses took her body away. I was left in the room alone with her red string bracelet on my hand.***Eric: ‘Whenever you post a picture on Facebook, I am always looking out on you wearing the red string.’Irina: ‘I will always have it on me,’ she said. ‘One day if we get separated, and you see me still wearing the red string, it means I love you
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Chapter Forty Eight
I Was Here/Irina Yellow
The Red StringI was still holding on to the wheel with the red string still around my wrist, when I noticed another Irina came closer to the car and look at me from the outside.Impossible as it may appear, this is the first of many times I was able to travel back and forth through different timelines and alternate realities. And I know Irina is also doing the same, time traveling.She opened the other door and sat beside me in the car. We both were looking at the crowd forming a circle at the pedestrian line, where my other self was a victim of a car accident.And then I heard voices from the crowd; ‘Today is the deadline of the project,’ said a girl in school uniform from a distance. ‘5:00 PM sharp, guidance office,’ added another girl beside her. They are both wearing white polo and navy-blue skirts.And out of the blue, three boys came running and laughing in front of us, they were also wearing high school uniforms.I noticed in front of us were high school students crowding the
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Chapter Forty Nine
I Was Here/Irina Yellow
Continuation of Chapter 48:***We walked hand in hand on the school campus with red strings around both our wrist. She was wearing a navy-blue skirt and a white polo with blue tie. Her straight long black hair falls perfectly on her back.We both know that neither of us would like to travel time again.***I sat beside her on the blue bench outside our senior classroom. She wears a light green crop top blouse, light blue mini skirt and white rubber shoes. Her hair was cut short with bangs covering her forehead. And she was carrying a rose-pink backpack. Irina after so many years still looks very high school, she looks like a teenager, never growing old. I was watching her still and imagined her wearing the old white polo with a blue tie and navy-blue skirt. In my mind her black straight hair grew longer down to her waist.‘Irina, if we ever travel time again, and see me here sitting on this bench,’ I said. ‘Please come to me and tell me everything.’‘What if we traveled time but we
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Chapter Fifty
I Was Here/Irina Yellow
‘Fuck,’ The ceilings and the walls are neatly painted white. And the floor is composed of polished light brown wood. And there is a dark brown framed window at one corner where the light comes from. A bright yellow and pale red orange light tells me the sun is setting and soon it will be dark.I look around me, I don’t recognize this place. Maybe I should start to explore the house. I can hear my footsteps on the wooden floor. It sounds like a heavy knock on a door. Where is everybody? Why is no one home? A big brown couch welcomes me in the living room. The old couch is nearly worn out, where the white cracks are visible on the surface of the leather. I wonder how old the couch is. I sit on this only couch in the living room and observe my surroundings.A medium sized white bookshelf stands on the left side corner beside the window. A few books and small toys are placed in the bookshelf. Name it; fiction novels come in all sizes and children story books, and collectible toys from
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