“I’m a sucker for a good romance.” He grinned as he flipped through the pages. “It’s a shame his books end so tragically.”
“Yes. It’s a tragedy. We should get going—”
“Have you read any of his work? It’s really a shame that the characters are a bit foolish.”
“Excuse me?” I paused staring at him.
Without a care in the world he repeated, “For some reason all of this author’s protagonists and their lovers are always a bit foolish. Brave and kind, but foolish. They don’t act when they are supposed to act. They stay when they should go. They make little mistakes that throw off the whole course of their lives.”
“They are human, of course they make mistakes, and it’s not always their fault, others—”
“Yes, others intercede and try to keep them apart. That’s part of the tragedy…but…never mind, I’m still rooting for them.” He smiled as he began to walk forward and I walked slowly beside him…more frustrated than before…never mind what?
“I don’t think we’re going the right way.” He paused as he looked to his right and then his left as the crowd broke up between us.
/> “NW343 is that—”
“Sorry!” the woman said quickly, as her bag snagged on the duffle bag that was slung over my shoulder causing everything in it to fall to the ground right beside my feet.
“It’s fine.” I bent down to help her pick up her things and that was when my hand reached for the book…an all-too-familiar worn out and dog-eared copy of Sophocles’ Antigone. I picked it up and I could feel the rising pressure around my heart. I didn’t need to look up to know it was her but I did. There she was, right in front of me, her blonde hair now dyed an auburn brown color.
“Li…Li-Mei?”
Her head snapped up at the sound of her name and she stared at me wide-eyed. “Malachi Lord? Hi!”
She stretched out her hand but I stood up ready to bolt if I had to. Yet still I couldn’t look away from….
“Talk about déjà vu! Are you in New York for the Autumn Ball? It’s been chaotic since they moved the date up.”
She kept talking but my eyes were glued to the child that was strapped into the carrier on her chest. Something wasn’t right. In all of our lives she’d never gotten pregnant, let alone had a child. No matter what history had thrown our way—
“Say hi, Glen.” She took the boy’s hand and waved at me. Unamused he pulled his hand away and seemed about to cry. She bounced him up and down before reaching out for the book in my hand. “Esther will kill me if I do any more damage to this book.”
“Esther?”
It was Esther’s!
She looked at me like I was insane, a look I was familiar with, but at this moment I didn’t care.
“Yes, Esther. Are you alright? Every time we meet you act like you’re on the verge of a having a mental breakdown.”
“Sorry.” I shook my head and stretched my hand out to her. I needed to see…I needed to know. “And I’m sorry I wasn’t able to properly introduce myself last time. I’m Malachi Lord, thank you for working so hard on my behalf.”
She smiled and shook my hand. “Nice to properly meet you too, Malachi. And thank you for saving my mother that time.”
I was holding her hand. I was holding her hand and yet I felt nothing. When she let go I felt nothing. I’d felt something when I touched the book…
“The book…its Esther’s?”
“Sophocles’ Antigone?” She looked down at it. “Yeah. I’m working on an MFA for Creative Writing and my thesis is on it and Esther’s edition is the only one with the footnotes of—wait…why are you asking—? Shit, I’m late! I have to go! Nice meeting you again!”
When she spun around she grabbed her bag and left without looking back and I felt as if the ground under my feet was breaking apart. The more I stared at her retreating form as it disappeared into the crowd, the harder my heart began to pound. But that was nothing in comparison to the rush of memories that flooded my mind. Not of decades or hundreds of years past but simply a few months ago, and in my mind, I heard her voice clearly.
“Esther Noëlle, Translation Editor at Penohxi Publishing House, retiring klutz, persona non-grata of Lieber Falls, and creator of Lord Nation online, I’m your biggest fan.” That was the first time we’d been introduced and that was what had triggered my memories, not the rings.
“Malachi, this is amazing! I feel like…I like…I’m riding a horse!—” I rode my motorcycle for that exact reason. It felt like I was riding the fastest horse of all time.
“You have a long lost love? Is that why your books end tragically? For some reason it didn’t work out and so now your characters can never be happy either? Is this why this new book is so hard for you to write?” She knew the answer exactly and yet didn’t realize how.