'Faye'rytale

Chapter15

As she racked the dusty bookshelves one sunny afternoon, her mind flashed back to when she discovered her first puzzle piece. She did not remember it. For her, it was only a story she heard from her mother, to which she imagined the whole scenario - people gasping in awe as a toddler reads the Bible, while others her age were busy playing with dollhouses and trainsets. Fun fact: That toddler grew up to be an atheist. She sighed as she could not find a single book suited to her taste. She liked the ambience of the library though. As she stood looking out of the library window, a gentle breeze blew, carrying her to a far-off place, away from the hustle and bustle of the big city.

"Loner type, huh?" She was jolted awake by a rude boy, who apparently did not fit in a library. He was probably there, bunking a math test or a presentation. After all, they weren't school kids anymore and attendance was provided if you skipped classes to go to the library. The remark stung her. But she ignored him like he never existed. Ahh! Haters do what haters do.

Engrossed in The Zahir, she sat opposite an empty chair, with no notion of time. That's why she thought books are better than people – they'd talk to her ceaselessly and she had no pressure of proper response nor the fear of being judged. She looked up from her book to find Raeburn waiting, with a slight hesitation to disturb her reading.

"May I sit here?", he asked.

"Sure."

It has been a couple of days since they have been talking to each other on the gram ... no, not Instagram – Fayegram. It was Athena's latest product – a communication channel on which people talk to each other through their thoughts, as a chip embedded in their brains facilitated the process. Funnily enough, they never spoke to each other in person, in spite of the fact that they have been seeing each other every single day for the past week. Athena thought it was weird. Weird is nice. After ages, she felt like she finally found someone who she could relate to - like Ava. They signed their cards and letters best friends forever. She was mad at Ava for deserting her and going back to the red planet, where she was born and brought up, to follow her own dreams. To top it off, Ava made new friends, posted pictures online and was actually having fun, while Athena was still not over her and felt miserable and lonely. Losing a best friend hurts more than a break-up if you know what I mean.

Raeburn had no clue how he got there - a thousand years into the future. But he was not perplexed and angry, nor did he want to get out of there. He always wanted to disappear into the blue. Life was hard on him. He could not have the only thing he ever wished for, which was literally his world. And right when he thought of ending it once and for all, his story came with a twist. The last thing he remembered before losing consciousness was playing a video game, sitting on the edge of a cliff. One last game before jumping into the abyss to never return – at least that was what he thought. And here he was in a completely different world.

Athena had a hunch she had met him before. But she brushed it aside for it was ridiculous – this guy just got here from the past. There was no way she was right. It was awkward in the beginning. Neither of them spoke much. Then again, some things are meant to be. Fast forward to a week later and there they were watching a sunset together, talking about random stuff ranging from a funny meme to the origin of mankind. 

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