Chapter 28: 03:36
HAJI was stunned. His eyes stared at the ageless woman standing right in front of him. The wind was cold and the night was deep. The sky looked so lonely as the stars were unseen.
I did my best but I guess my best wasn't good enough
'Cause here we are back where we were before
"Hello young man" a 69 year old woman greeted Haji. She was not surprised by how strange the guy looked. Haji was still wearing his cape as if he was hiding something underneath it.
Seems nothin' ever changes, we're back to bein' stranger
Wond'rin if we ought to stay. Or head on out the door.
Her smile looked familiar as her face resembled a certain beauty. Despite her age, her beauty seemed timeless. Haji was standing in front of Jhay's current house in the middle of the night. He intended to see Jhay the next day but he never expected a scenario like this. Haji walked closer and stood two meters away from the woman. The woman gasped as she saw the image of the guy closely and clearly.
"I must have been having hallucinations again." the woman said as she stared directly into Haji's eyes.
Just once, can we figure out what we keep doing wrong?
Why we never last for very long.
What are we doing wrong?
"Jhay?" Haji voiced out as if he never wanted the word to escape from his mouth. His heart was saying that the woman in front of him was the lady he loved so much. The woman was shocked as if she just heard someone called her name. Haji's tears escaped from his eyes as he realized that the woman's reaction was enough to confirm his intuition.
Just once, can we find a way to finally make it right.
To make the magic last for more than just one night.
"Ha...Haji?" the woman said as she finally recognized those sad dark eyes.
"This must be a dream. How... Why... When... I must be suffering from Alzheimer already" the woman said as if she was talking to herself and not at the young man in front of her. Haji closed his eyes as he kneeled on the ground. He cried silently as if he was being defeated. He cried silently in vain as he bowed his head.
If we could just get to it, I know we could break through it
"Jhay, I'm home" Haji said as his chest hurt and his cries got even louder. He looked so miserable while kneeling in front of the old woman.
I gave my all. But I think my all may have been too much
The Lord knows we're not getting anywhere
"Why do I feel like time runs so slow here?"
"TWO GALAXIES ARE COLLIDING IN SPACE. FROM YOUR PLANET, THE COLLISION WAS PREDICTED TO HAPPEN FOR THE NEXT 8 BILLION YEARS. BUT WITH THE SYSTEM ANALYSIS, IT IS HAPPENING"
"THE USUAL ROUTE IS TOO RISKY. THERE WERE POSSIBILITIES THAT THE COLLISION WILL NOT AFFECT THE SHIP PHYSICALLY BUT THE TIME MIGHT BE AFFECTED."
"Do you think that everything will be the same when you go back on that planet?"
"Should I have taken the alternative route instead?" Haji asked himself.
"Then that way, I could have only be a little bit late" Haji added. Jhay placed her hand under Haji's chin and lifted the young man's head.
"Can you tell me what happened, Ji?" Jhay said with a warm and comforting voice. She forced herself to smile as if saying that everything was fine. Haji cried so hard he wished he could just die.
Seems we're always blowin'
Whatever we got doin,
And it seems that time was all we've got, we haven't got a friend.
"Jhay, I've tried so hard to come back here. I was just 16 when I left earth. I've never wanted to leave in the first place, it was... It was an accident..." Haji said while sobbing, he started hiccuping in between his sobs
"...I spent three years on that planet fixing my broken ship. I... I really wanted to come home..." Haji said, his words could no longer be clearly understood.
"...Now... Can I stay?" Haji asked while crying. He looked so haggard and hopeless but he never bothered to care. He wanted to ask the Gods, Lavin and any other Deity that he was just having a dream.
Just once, can we figure out what we keep doing wrong?
Why the good times never last for long?
Where are we goin wrong?
"My dear Haji, what took you so long?" Jhay said as the tears came out from her eyes unstopped. She was holding her chest as if she was going to have a heart attack.
"Jhay, I came back for you. Please say that you've been waiting for me too" Haji begged as he bowed his head towards the ground.
"Haji, you don't have to do that. Please get up." Jhay said hopelessly. Two hearts were binded from a long time ago. Haji bowed his head that he almost kissed the ground.
"I'm sorry for leaving so suddenly! I'm sorry for making you miserable. I'm... I'm... So sorry. I'm sorry for everything. I messed up. I ran away. I became a coward. I wasn't brave enough. I'm sorry. I'm scared. I'm regretful. I'm being ignorant. I'm... I'm... How could this happened to us?" Haji cried painfully.
"Is this what you were planning from the beginning?" Haji mumbled.
"Yes" Haji heard a voice, Lavin's voice.
"From the time you ask for my help. The galaxy where your planet belonged and its neighboring galaxy, I made the sudden collision depending on the choices you make. You became impatient and selfish, or were you always that selfish? You knew the medallion was made of the thousand lives of the living creatures in that planet. But what did you do? You disregarded the origin of the medallion. This is your punishment. And the omen that happened on earth was caused by the changed collision. Self hatred and envy..."
"...The subject would start scratching his skins..."
"With every choices you make for yourself, it affects the whole universe. You make big choices, big consequences follow" Lavin's voice continued to echo through Haji's head.
"What do you want me to do then?! Spend the rest of my life on that planet?!" Haji shouted in his mind.
"That would probably the most accurate decision you must have done." Lavin answered. Haji continued talking to Lavin in his head. Jhay could only see the Haji struggling in front of her while bowing his head.
"One lunar year on Aeonria is equivalent to 27 lunar years on Earth. You only loved her for 3 years but she waited for 51 years." Lavin said.
Just once, I want to understand
Why it always comes back to goodbye?
"Are we that never meant to be?" Haji asked Jhay with a sad face.
"Don't you have many stories to tell me then?" Jhay asked while smiling, tears were still visible.
Why can't we get ourselves in hand?
And admit to one another
"But I'll only hear your stories after you play my favorite song for me" Jhay added. Haji made even a miserable face and stood in front of Jhay. He slowly let out his hand under his cape as he said, "I can no longer play piano"
Jhay's eyes widened in shock as she saw an unexpected flesh. Haji's hands were no longer the same with the humans. He had the hands of the aeonis.
"Oh my God!" Jhay gasped in a whisper tone.
"Haji... What what is that?"
"It was the food. Hey Jhay, I still have a lot of stories to tell you." Haji said with a lonely voice. He finally decided to give up and just be heard. He wished at least he could explain.
We're no good without each other?
Take the best and make it better,
Find a way to stay together.
"Hear me out, all of my stories" Haji said lifelessly.
"Just this once, Listen to me" Haji said with a smile on his face, tears never stopped flowing.
"Yes, I'm willing to listen to you" Jhay said and turned her back on Haji. She gestured him to follow her inside their house. Jhay stopped at the balcony and opened the entrance door.
"But, wouldn't it be nice if you tell us both?" Jhay said. An old familiar looking man was standing at the door as he looked at Haji in the eyes. The moment he saw Haji he dropped his cup of coffee.
"Ha... Haji?" the old man spoke with trembling hands.
"Damian" Haji said, smiling painfully. Without a doubt Haji knew that the old man was his best friend.
"Where have you been?! Why did you disappear? Do you know how hurtful it was to loose you?! It was so painful and acceptable!..." the old looking Damian started as tears escaped instantly from his eyes.
"...Thank you for being alive. Thank you for being alive!" Damian cried as he hugged Haji.
"I'm back" Haji said with a smile.
*
*
*
"Do you know that I was able to understand their language because of their food? And that was also the reason why my body is slowly being eaten. I'm slowly turning into one of them!" Haji said while faking a laugh. The two of them listened to Haji like how they used to.
"When I go there, I might completely turn into an Aeoni. Isn't it cool? To have a friend from a very far away? And do you know? The universe over there could be seen like the ones you see on the movies. And also the snow, I'm sorry." Haji said sadly.
"That was not your fault, don't blame yourself too much." Damian said.
Haji chuckled and said, "You really are a grown man now, buddy."
"I am not exaggerating but I have a dragon, his name is Lurkia!. I even met new friends. Jhavu was the first aeoni who became my friend. And then Zakir, the most grumpy aeoni I've ever met. But don't go easy on him, he was a legendary warrior and a prophet. You see I had cool friends out there too. And you know what, Jhay!" Haji said excitedly.
"You are not the loneliest" Haji said with a smile.
"Trust me when I say that" he added. Jhay smiled, her wrinkles made her more looked timeless.
"I was the leader of the slave city. We fought for their freedom and defeated the king. And can you believe it? The king was my father. That city was very important to me. The egoris became part of my family. That planet also became my life for the past three and a quarter years. I should have realized that I should never abandon them." Haji said with a sad smile.
"Do you know that when I go back there, I will be crowned as a king?" Haji boasted.
"Too bad, I can no longer ask Jhay to be my queen. Since she found her king long long time ago." Haji said with a smile. Jhay married Damian at the age of 27. Damian woke Jhay up after a year since she froze herself. Jhay at first never wanted to continue on living. But Damian stayed with her until the end.
"Haji, you can stop smiling" Damian said. Haji's chest hurt so bad that he wanted to burst. He was frustrated and angry. He felt hopeless and wanted to be discarded. He wanted to escape from his own sanity. He wanted to die and forget about everything.
"Cry" Jhay said and patted Haji's cold muscular back.
"You've become so muscular, how manly" Jhay said. Haji cried for the multiple times and he finally decided to leave soon.
.
.
.
"Do you think all my stories were true?" Haji asked.
"Whether they are true or not, I believe in you" Jhay said.
"So, you do painting for a living until now?" Haji asked Jhay.
Jhay smiled and said, "That was when I was younger, I paint now for restoring my memories"
"And I devoted myself to photography. For you" Damian said. Haji chuckled and turned his back. He went outside the house and sighed.
"System, Prepare for another long journey..." Haji said and bowed his head. He wanted to leave his heart on earth.
"...We're going home." Haji said when he arrived from a distance. The spaceship that was hidden for the whole time suddenly appeared in front of the house.
Both the old couple gasped. Damian immediately went inside the living room to get his camera. Haji stared at his small spaceship and sighed.
"HAJI!" Damian shouted and Haji turned his head enough to glance at the couple. Damian clicked the camera and took a really good shot of a man in cape looking back intensely at the camera. The spaceship was invisible on the camera.
"System, what time is it?" Haji asked.
"PHILIPPINE MILITARY TIME, 03:29" the system replied.
"At least she married my best friend. How tragic yet satisfying for me. She chose the right person." Haji said and smiled.
"Farewell" Haji said and smiled. The spaceship left earth at 03:36 in the morning.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone