Under the Oak Tree - Time Before You

26 Weather

"Here's your Americano, Sunshine. And I've separated the ice cubes just as you've requested."

"Thank you very much."

Maximillian smiled faintly at the charming barista. She noted how his lips would curl like a puppy whenever he grinned, accentuating the faint beauty mark to the left of his chin. The woman sighed softly. She still found it unbelievable how uncanny their resemblances could be.

The barista who served her was the owner of this café. He used to be from the military but had since retired from the front line when his girlfriend announced her pregnancy. While she was delighted for the man, Maximillian could not help but feel a tinge of envy at times.

For a moment, she could hear the gentle laughter of a man as he ran after his two giggling children. They appeared to be twins – a boy of maroon hair and a girl of raven curls...

"Feeling under the weather, Professor?"

The barista interrupted her thoughts. He appeared to have noticed the dark clouds casted under her eyes.

"Ah, I'm alright. Probably the summer heat, Gabel."

Reaching out for the beverage, she then secured it with her other orders consisting of two party-sized cartons filled with flat white and mocha. With a polite nod, Maximillian ended their conversation and headed out of the café. While she felt a little apologetic for her attitude today, she was too drained to put on a cheerful front.

If thoughts can kill, I'd have suicided with my overwhelming questions of what-ifs already.

Maximillian thought to herself as she shrugged off the dull ache lingering in her chest. Stepping out to the streets, the woman then blinked hard to adapt her vision. When her eyes adjusted to the brighter lightning, Maximillian instinctively search the streets at once.

The roads of Anatol were beautiful like every morning, quieter on this side of the street as it was away from the commercial buildings. Here, medieval shophouses were decorated with mosaic windows to reflect an array of colours onto the stone pavements. The rainbow light projected was a sight that both warmed and ached her heart.

On official papers, she initiated these mosaic windows to increase the foot traffic of these few streets. Business boomed because of this, and the café owners were more than delighted to aid in maintenance. However, only Maximillian knew the true selfish motivation behind:

It was her way to remember him. She was so afraid that one day, she would forget how his raven hair reflected the dark prisms of purple, brown and blue...

Even after returning from being decades away, Maximillian could not resist the lure to head out earlier before work just to revisit this view again and again. Even if the sight only served to accentuate her loneliness.

Maximillian sighed aloud, unable to stabilise her conflicting emotions.

I really shouldn't be doing this, not when I've been telling myself to let you go. Does it have to be like this?

Just then, a tall shadow across the street caught her attention. Maximillian immediately diverted her eyes away, ironically afraid of any confrontation. Feeling her blood run cold, she clenched her fists tight. She was not to approach him.

Beads of sweat started to form on the small of her back. Her nails dug into her flesh, as she tried to restrain herself and gather what was left of her rationality back.

However, the temptation eventually proved too overwhelming. With a sharp inhalation, Maximillian gave in and peered up courageously.

No.