Flashback

She moved quickly through the cold streets. Winter was finally there, so getting out of the house was harder and harder every morning. Huddled in warm clothes, thick leggings and a fluffy sweater topped by a long down coat, gloves, scarf and beanie, she was still shivering. She had some time to spare before her meeting, so she decided to stop by her coffee shop.

‘How weird it is that we take possession of the things we love,’ she thought, smiling to herself. She anticipated the warm room, the familiar colours and all the delicious smells that always lingered in the air.

The heavy door slowly moved in, and the familiar bell tinkled, announcing the new customer. She slowly unburdened herself of her Winter armour, and let her long hair fall to her waist. As she was considering which tea to have, but her thoughts were interrupted when a male voice boomed from the corner table, ‘Jackie! I’m here.’

She didn’t recognize the big man, but he emphatically gestured for her to approach him. All eyes were suddenly on her, so she walked to the table, intent on giving the stranger a piece of her mind. Before she could speak, he pushed a kettle in her direction ‘Green tea and jasmine, I got it for you.’ His smile disarmed her, and she sat at his table, more intrigued than annoyed.

‘My name is Morgan.’ the man said, ‘Pat Morgan... I’ts a pity that you didn’t know that already.’ His eyes suddenly seemed older than him. Ancient, in fact.

‘We met before, Jackie. Literally a lifetime ago.’

She was now going frantically through her acquaintances, trying unsuccessfully to place the stranger, ‘I’m sorry, Mr Morgan, but I can’t seem to place your face.’

The man smiled and looked at her with the tenderness of an old lover. It disconcerted her.

‘Strictly speaking you never saw me, Jackie,’ he enjoyed the puzzlement in her face, ‘But please...’ he poured her a cup of tea as he spoke, ‘...enjoy your tea while I explain. It will sound like madness, but every word I tell you will be the truth.’

She took the cup to her lips. There was something about the man that she found interesting. Maybe his confidence, the familiarity with which he treated her. And how had he known about the tea?

‘Many years ago, I had a wife.’ the man started, ‘She was your friend, and we all met here by accident today.’

She was confused, ‘What do you mean? What...’

‘Please.’ he interjected, ‘All will become clear in time.’. He continued, ‘We became friends, Jackie, very good friends. In time we became lovers.’

She blushed. She thought of stopping that silly fabrication, but something in his voice stopped her. She took another sip and continued listening.

‘I fell in love with you, desperately, but it was impossible for me to leave my marriage.’ there was a deep sadness in his expression, ‘When I finally got a divorce you had your own family and were as trapped as I had been.’

He took a sip of his coffee, ‘I am a physicist, and spent the rest of my life trying to fix my mistake. Insane as it sounds, I discovered a theoretical way to transport ones consciousness to the past.’

She was amused by his sudden juvenile enthusiasm as he tried to explain spacetime folds, time vectors and other esoteric knowledge. He stopped suddenly when he saw he had lost her.

‘I built a singular device, that brought me far into the past, in what was to be both the last and the first day of my life. My consciousness implanted itself in my young body, and I was given a fresh start.’

He finished his coffee, ‘I didn’t marry, and lived my life in such a way as to be in this precise place, the place where I was certain you would show up today,’ he paused, ‘Today, years ago... we met then, we fell in love all over again. What life we had, Jackie...’ tears ran down his face as his voice faltered, ‘You got ill, gravely ill. I rebuilt my machine, intent on sending you to the past, where we could meet again. But once more I was too late.’

He wiped his eyes with a napkin, ‘Once you passed, I had nothing to keep me. I sent myself to the past, and again we met, again we had a life together. This time the spectre of death loomed over me first. I begged you to use the device once I was gone, but you didn’t believe me.’

‘I’ve experienced centuries of you, Jackie, but I hunger to have you experience it by my side.’ his voice was calm, but his eyes looked at her with an intensity that both scared her and aroused her, ‘So I decided to tell you all upfront this time, my dear. I love you, I will always love you. I want an eternity by your side. You will learn that, when it comes to you, I’m a very greedy man.’

Her tea was tepid in her hands. All was unbelievable, but somehow, she felt it was true. Or she wanted it to be true...

She got up silently, and the pain in his eyes pierced her chest, ‘Mr Morgan, why don’t we discuss this further tomorrow, here, at the same time?’

The pain was replaced by a boyish smile that made her want to kiss him.

As she walked away, she paused and turned to him, ‘Tell me, Mr Morgan, how did you know I hadn’t used your device.’

He grinned like a satyr, ‘We’re not naked in the bathroom.’