Isabel started to panic. Her face seemed to have aged a decade in the past few minutes due to tension. Cold sweat glistened on her furrowed brow. The ticking of the ancient pocket watch seemed to get louder, counting her fantasy away. Her brain fought the urge to walk – no run like hell – out into the darkness but she couldn’t leave Ken alone in the dark. As 12:00 midnight drew near, the cold night became far less bearable. She was startled when her phone rang.
“Hello Pretty. Thank you for calling me.”
“Where are you now?”
“We are stranded in the middle of the road in Busay.”
“Oh dear! It is 45 minutes before 12 midnight. Is there a way for you to find a motorcycle taxi?”
“Even if I can find a motorcycle taxi, I can’t leave Ken alone.”
“That’s okay, my love. You can leave me alone. I’ll just call my roommate, Morris to bring gas for me.” Ken interrupted.
“No, we came here together, so we’ll go home together. We are a team. I will never leave you behind. Together, we can make it through.”
Isabel hugged Ken.
Pretty overheard their conversation. Isabel put the phone back to her ears.
“I think Ken is right Isabel. You have to go now before he will see the real you. You might scare the hell out of him. I know that you have to tell him the truth sooner or later.”
“I don’t know what to do.”
“I’ll go there by taxi and bring gas for Ken. Once his motorcycle will start to run, we’ll leave him and you will go with me by taxi. Is that fine for you?”
“That’s a very good idea. Thank you.”
“Alright. I’ll go now. Bye.”
“Bye.”
Isabel prayed that Pretty would be able to make it on time. However if she would not be able to make it on time, she prayed that God would give her the courage to reveal the truth to Ken and that he would accept her as to who she was.
Pretty arrived at 11:45 PM. Isabel was thankful to see her.
“Thank you for rescuing me.”
Isabel hugged Pretty.
“No problem.”
“Ken, I would like you to meet my best friend Pretty. Pretty, this is my boyfriend Ken.”
Pretty was delighted to hear that her best friend was finally in a relationship after several decades of widowhood.
“Nice meeting you, Ken.”
They shook hands.
“Nice meeting you too, Pretty.”
Pretty handed the gallon of gasoline to Ken. He filled the gas tank of his motorcycle with gasoline. He revved the engine of his motorcycle and it roared to life.
“Thank you Pretty for the gasoline. You’re such an angel. How much do I owe you?”
“It’s okay. Just take good care of my friend and everything’s already paid in full.”
“I will never forget what you’ve done for us. I’ll take good care of your friend for the rest of my life.”
“I’ll stand by your word throughout the days of my life.”
“It’s already late at night. I’ll take you home now. You can also go with us Pretty.”
“Actually I already hired a taxi driver to take Isabel and I home. Thank you for the offer, anyway.”
“No problem. Please take care and good luck to your exam, Isabel.”
“Thank you.”
Isabel and Pretty went inside the taxi. Ken tailed along them.
It was 10 minutes before midnight and Isabel needed to find a hiding place for her transformation.
They couldn’t communicate to each other verbally or else the taxi driver might discover their secret. So they just exchanged text messages to each other through their mobile phones even though they were just sitting beside each other.
Pretty: It’s 5 minutes before midnight. Once we’ll find a house, we’ll ask the taxi driver to stop there. Make sure that the coast is clear before you transform back into an old woman. I’ll wait for you here.
Isabel: How are we going to lure him?
Pretty: Just leave it all to me.
Isabel: There’s a single house in the distance. Let’s stop by there.
Pretty: Ok, game.
“Pull over, please.”
The taxi driver stopped in front of a single house.
“Isabel, can you please go inside and tell granny to come here. I’ll wait for her.”
“Sure.”
“Let’s wait first for my grandmother. She’ll be coming with us.” Pretty turned to the taxi driver.
“No problem, madam.” The taxi driver answered.
Isabel opened the door of the taxi and ran at the back of a single house. She looked for a dark area where she could make her transformation. She transformed into an old lady. She went back to where the taxi was parked.
“Thank you for patiently waiting for me my dear.” Isabel said.
“You’re always welcome, granny.” Pretty answered.
“Let’s go, son.”
Pretty and Isabel were relieved when they finally reached home.
“Success!” Pretty exclaimed.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do without you. You are truly my guardian angel.”
“I also don’t know what I’m going to do with you. That was really close.”
“I owe you big time.”
“Just don’t think too much about it. What you need to think right now is how you can gently tell Ken about your true age.”
“I don’t know if I will ever have the courage to tell him about my true age. Our romance has just bloomed. I am afraid that our love will suddenly fade away.”
“I understand. I am happy for you. Let’s just wait then what destiny will hold for us.”
“I am not yet ready to tell him about my true age. I hope someday I will have the courage to tell him once the time will come.”
“I hope so. Let’s call it a night. Bye for now.”
“Thank you so much. Please take care.” Pretty and Isabel hugged each other.
YOU ARE READING
Time and Again
RomanceCover By: @inksjm Heaven and earth collided when Isabel, a rich socialite, eloped with Emile, a poor farmer. They can't blame her for running away with a poor farmer. They're forcing her to marry an old man, older than her grandfather to pay of...
