"Can I take back what I said?"
"Hahaha no." He pushed inside the chicken coop and I almost jumped out of shock when a chicken jumped in front of me, "LET ME OUT!"
"Try catching one!" He said while laughing outside the coop. I look at the 3 chickens in front of me, one is running around, the other two are just living their best lives, doing their own things.
"The best way possible to catch one is to grab their feet."
"Yeah yeah thanks for the tip." I replied with sarcasm. I took a deep breath and starts chasing the closest one to me.
"Congratulations on your first catch." He said while placing the chicken soup he cooked, "Even though it took you an hour."
"I told you I've never grabbed a living chicken in my whole life." I said while placing our plates. His dog barked when I placed his own plate too.
"I will conclude that your life on your world is boring."
"You're right." He raised his brows, "I was just joking."
"Your life here is more meaningful than mine." I said. I watch him scoop some rice for his dog, "What's her name?"
"Bella." I almost choked from drinking my water, "What?"
"Her name's Bella."
"Oh my God." I laughed. He looks confused, "Sorry this is just so funny to me."
"Why?"
"Back on Earth I have a friend named Bella." I said while laughing. He laughed also, "I didn't know she's a dog here." I continued.
"So you're really in the parallel universe."
"If it's true, then there should be an another version of me here." I look at him in the eyes, "Have you met my parallel me here?" He looks at the sky and then at me, "Uhmm. As far as I can remember, no." What would happen if I meet my other version here?
"How about you?" He asked while eating a fried chicken, "Have you met my Earth version there?"
"No." I don't know know how he looks like back on Earth. Maybe he's just the same, but has different life.
After our lunch, we continued our work. We only mind our own businesses, but I sometimes noticed him being so fast and efficient on working. He does everything, from measuring to gathering of cement and also preparing our snacks. He offered me peaches, which is not my first time to eat one.
When the sun starts to set, we decided to rest on the picnic table and watch the sky's color shifts from blue to orange.
"This is amazing." I said. He look at me and smiled, "I wonder if we have the same sun."
"Maybe?" He said. He stood up, "There's more to this." He said and grabbed my wrist.
I don't know how long and how far we ran, but the moment we arrived at the place, I couldn't keep my jaw from closing. We're at a cliff, I can see waterfalls, and islands. Everything is so perfect. The way the sun is setting, the coordination of the nature and the sound of the water is just so beautiful.
"This is one of my favorite spot." He said and sat on the ground. I sat beside him, "This is where I spent my last days with them."
"Your parents?" He nodded, "My father was the first one to die because of illness. We took a picnic here even though he can barely walk, but he still insisted." I remained silent.
"And then my mother followed after, just 2 months after my father died. She was just so heartbroken that it made her sick."
"I'm sorry." Is all I can say.
"It's my first time to tell someone about this." I look at him, he's still staring at the sun in front of us. This time, I can clearly see the details of his face. I look away immediately when I felt something in my chest.
After we watched the sunset, we went home. The lights in the underground basement didn't work anymore, and so we cannot work in there because of darkness. We couldn't just spend hundreds of candles to work overnight. We decided to continue it by tomorrow.
Before I went inside the room, I saw him in the living room, playing with his dog. For a moment there, I felt happiness. Happiness I couldn't find for years. No Ember. You're just hallucinating.
I went inside the room and sighed. Why do I feel suddenly sad thinking about leaving this place?
