PROLOGUE: Parallel Versions, Parallel Universes
Hin was lying on the grass, with his head on my lap, while I was sitting; we were both watching the night sky filled with stars. It was our annual getaway trip. It began as a whim, but then we found how rewarding it was to escape the city for at least a night, away from the pollution, the crowd, and the tall buildings. So what began as a whim became an annual tradition. This is our fifth year.
“Have I told you that I dreamed of being an astronaut when I was a kid?” I asked Hin. He shifted his gaze at me.
“I didn't know that,” he said.
“It's true. I saw this anime on TV about a kid who dreamed of being an astronaut because his Dad was one. I can't remember the title, but after that, I was reading about the solar system and the galaxies.”
“What happened to that dream?”
“Nothing happened to it. I just grew up.”
His look lingered and then he went back to stargazing. I continued brushing his hair and I could see how this was making him sleepy.
“Te,” he called. He had his eyes closed and was mumbling.
“Yup.”
“Do you believe in a parallel universe?”
I was silent as I thought about it.
“Te,” he called again; this time, his eyes were open. “Did you hear what I said?”
“I did,” I said as I pinched his nose lightly to tease him. “I was just thinking about it. I think it's possible. I think it's not right to dismiss an entire idea or possibility just because it seems implausible at the time.”
“You're right,” he said. “But me, I believe that there is a parallel universe out there. And that there is a parallel version of myself and a parallel version of you.”
“Do you think they're also together?”
“Our parallel versions? I hope so. But Te, you know what?”
“What?”
“No matter what universe we're in, I know I'd love you the same.”
I was glad he had his eyes closed when he said that. He didn't see my pleasant surprise. He didn't see when the tears slowly rolled down my cheeks. I looked up at the stars and imagined what our parallel versions were doing. I could see them, in the same position as us, Parallel Hin lying on Parallel Tay's lap, looking above, looking at us.
“Me, too, Hin. I know I'd love you the same.”
PART ONE: Be Still My Heart
I swirled my coffee for the nth time and watched how it formed a little cyclone inside the paper cup. When the liquid settled, I pushed the plastic coffee stirrer clockwise until it formed another maelstrom that mimicked what I was feeling at the moment.
“Tay,” Off called. I didn’t look up. I just grunted an answer. “What do we do now?” He was often boisterous and while it did get on my nerves the first time, I became used to it that to hear him now with such a soft, concerned voice was almost comical to me. I shrugged my answer.
I looked to my left, past the glass wall, and saw that Gun was still on the phone. I saw that he was politely smiling and gesturing. I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but I had an idea. He looked at me for a second and then had to do a courteous laugh for the other person at the end of the line. Of course, I couldn’t hear what the person said, but I knew who it was. I sighed. When Gun was finished talking to the phone, he went back inside. I dropped my gaze again at the coffee on the table.
“So?” Off prompted. I heard him sit down and sighed. “It’s New and he’s still in Italy.” Off’s sigh was louder. “Are you saying that this rando is real?”
Gun shushed him and whispered that the rando could understand him. I finally had the courage to lift my head and look at the guy. He was sitting a table away from us, reading a book with gibberish written on it. At the back of his right ear, the “chip” blinked green. I stared at him and still couldn’t believe what I was seeing. He had the same haircut, the same color of hair. He had the same eyes, the same nose—he even had that light mole on it—and the same lips. He was wearing a simple graphic blue button-down, faded olive green jeans, and a pair of gray sneakers. On his right wrist, where the black-and-red charm bracelet should be, was a silver chain. Aside from the metallic black chip behind his ear, it was New. No question about it. It really was him.
So, I thought again the same question that haunted me the whole night, how was it possible then that my Hin—fuck, I should stop calling him “my Hin”. Come on, Tay. It’s been three years and you’re still calling him yours? You’re still calling him that nickname? Anyway. How was it possible then that New—the real one, probably—was still in Italy? Should we really believe what this rando had told us?
“I don’t know,” Gun finally said. “Maybe. Maybe not. What do you think, Tay?”
“Don’t bother. He’s not talking,” Off dismissed.
“I think,” I began, mulling over the words I was about to say. “We shouldn’t dismiss an entire idea or possibility just because it seems implausible at the time.” I looked up at my friends sitting opposite me and caught Off scoffed.
“I can’t believe this,” he mumbled. “You’re telling me you’re believing that this—” he paused, as if the following word had a bitter taste in his mouth—“weirdo is really a parallel version of New from a parallel Earth? And I thought you were the science guy, Tay.”
“Papi…” Gun whispered. He rubbed Off’s arm to comfort him. I looked away. New used to do that to me, I remembered.
“I just don’t understand this. Why would you believe him? Is it because you’re still not over New, huh, Tay? Do you think that you were given a second chance to make things right? That’s not New. Wake up!”
“Why are you so angry?” I snapped at him.
He looked insulted when I said that to him. I’d apologize later, but I simply didn’t get why he’s so angry at this guy when he literally didn’t do anything to us.
“Because I’m your friend, Tay,” he replied. His voice had lost any cadence in it. It was flat and emotionless. This was a new side of him that I hadn’t seen yet. “Because I don’t want to see you be part of whatever sick game that guy is playing. Because I see how you looked at him and I know you saw New. But that’s not him.”
We were silent for a moment. The only thing that could be heard was Armi Millare’s soft voice that was softened more by the low volume in this McDonald’s branch we’re in. I stood up and walked towards Parallel New in the next table. “Tay,” Gun called, but I didn’t look back.
I sat in front of him and he put down the book when he noticed. He put his finger between the pages, because just like this Earth’s New, he didn’t have a bookmark with him. He was smiling at me and I could feel the maelstrom in me becoming stronger. I could feel the water swirling rapidly inside me and slam against the walls of my already weakened heart. I hated how he had this effect on me. He had that the first time we met and so many years later, he still had me bewitched. Whatever strength I had that pushed me to walk to this table was suddenly gone. I opened my mouth to speak, but heard no voice come out. I looked away from his gaze. He could always hold his stare, but not me. He then held my hand that was clenched atop the table. I was so shocked that I didn’t even pull away. When he spoke, he became a different person. His voice was the same voice as New, but he had difficulty speaking.
“It’s...okay...Tay,” he said slowly. His smile was unwavered on his face. “I...understand that this...is a shock, but at least...let me explain...myself.”
When he started explaining, I found myself thinking that this was like our first date. And that he was my Hin again.
Read Part Two here.
 Prologue + Part One){kind=link}
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