1 Encounter

April 20th 2020 1:48

Her nemesis stared at her as if she mocked Maven, "You should've followed your parent's path, what are you going to do with your degree huh?"

Stop it. My fate is my own choice.

"I want to chase my passion, what's wrong with that? Are you jealous that yours forced you?"

"Oh, I forgot. You're not their children. Your REAL parents never want you."

Maven wanted to cry, but she held it, she didn't want to be laughing stock in her university.

"I'd rather have a stranger to love and nurture me. You've been raised by fake love. Outta my way."

The pretty beast gripped Maven's hand like a talon, "where are you heading, trash child?"

A tall woman with white hair slapped Maven's nemesis, "first rule of the university: do not bully. Where's your department? And your student number, please."

Maven's nemesis yanked Maven away. When she about to escape, the woman gripped the nemesis.

"I'm Maven's advisor, and she is my child. I could bring this case to the law faculty if you were not willing to say who you are, in 3…"

"Andini Candrawinata, Economy, 1156060134. Please forgive me!" she pleaded.

"Apology accepted." The woman released her.

Andini ran like a person who saw a ghost. She almost screamed.

"Thank you… who are you actually?" Maven asked.

The woman lowered her back, she pat Maven's head, "I am your … My name is Thabit. Actually, I'm a passerby here, waiting for my child. I can't stand to see any kind of savage act; it hurts my heart because my child has to endure those every time."

Child? Probably hers has a disability. Maven thought that she was luckier than them.

"Oh, maybe I could be the friend."

"Sure, can I have your number?"

Maven typed her number on Thabit's phone, "done."

Thabit gave something, "Here's my card, and you could call me anytime if you need a service."

Maven looked at the card, she was a fashion designer. No wonder, her clothes were flashy and her appearance was stunning. Then, Maven remembered that she has to go to class, " Mrs Thabit? I have to go, for now, thank you for your kindness."

"See you." She smiled.

..

She puffed and huffed, her feet were shaking, running on stairs made her exhausted. But it was better than being late in the class. Once she has locked outside with several lazy gangs, and she missed her test. Her grade went tumbling down, she has to re-take the class, with the same professor.

The professors in her department were only twelve, and thus some have to teach several classes. For the student, there was no other choice, like it or not they have to take it.

Maven arrived, there was a paper attached on the door.

"No class today, Assignment on page 86-99, due: Tomorrow at 12 p.m. on my desk."

Maven slouched herself on the door, she kicked the air, frustrated.

"Nice, she should've told us via email," Victor pouted while fixing his thick glasses. The boy snapped the paper with his phone. He shared it on the classmate group. "Wanna go home?"

"Yeah."

..

The old motorcycle trotting slowly, Maven enjoyed the scenery along the way. Though she always passed this street, this time she noticed some details. The shady trees which she didn't know the name bore small yellow flowers. The wind blew the flowers, such scene like in drama stories. They turned to the food stalls area, it was less crowded than the road to the city.

Victor kept talking, but Maven could only say yes no don't know. The wind stuffed her ears. Well, anything to make her friend pleased, she didn't mind to lie. Traffic was usual, crowded; people went to nearby street food stall or restaurant, stop to eat.

Victor suddenly sped up his motorcycle when he passed that street. "I feel like someone following us." His voice was audible this time.

"Who?"

"City car, red, small."

Maven looked behind; there were two cars that were similar. "Which?"

Victor sped up, the traffic light 50 meters in front counted down from 20. "Hold on to me!" Maven gripped Victor's shoulder, "God I wish this motor could move in a speed of light!"

It was impossible, though, but there was a surge of wind that carried them faster.

17… 16…

One red car sped them up, the window opened. To Maven's nightmare, it was her nemesis. She recorded from the driver seat while laughing like a maniac. She said something like lawyer or blackmailing but her voice was stuffed by the wind. Victor was mad knowing this, his motorcycle was at the peak speed, it couldn't go faster than the car. The car kept following beside them.

5… 4…

A loud truck horn could be heard from the right side of T junction. Screeching sound and burnt latex followed. A big truck crashed fast to the center of T junction. Several vehicles stopped before the impact.

"VICTOR STOP!"

*Crash!*

The red car smashed by the truck, it struck the building nearby. The truck was so hard to stop, it slowly losing its power to move when it struck the building.

Both the truck driver and Andini somehow have a slim possibility of life sign.

Maven lose her power, she fell on her knees, uncontrollably sobbing. Her body shook hard, she couldn't face this situation.

People were scattered, some slowed down to see the victim.

There was a faint cry, of a woman, still alive at this point.

They began to panic; a few of them stop to help. But it was difficult to pick her up

Victor immediately dialled for an ambulance. He briefly explained the situation.

The police now surrounded the place, some to pick the victim, some to control the traffic.

Victor and Maven decided to swerve back, taking another way. Maven was shocked; she could do nothing, even to call an ambulance. She was a coward or a sinful person for not being able to help someone that has hurt her.

She tried to dial her mother, calling for help. But when she dialled it, Maven closed it, didn't want to bother her mother.

"I should've told her it was dangerous to drive with phone…" Victor stopped Maven's train of thought.

"So do I… but you called for an ambulance, I just…" Maven muffled her mouth when she cried; she let out some squeaky voice.

"Don't blame yourself. You're better than those watchers."

"I killed her."

"No, you're not. She's still alive. She was just badly injured, caused by her fault."

Maven sobbed, "I killed her!" she hit Victor's back

Victor slowed down and then spat, "Stop it! I do wish I could tell her, there are some things that you couldn't control in your life."

Maven shut herself. She closed her eyes, buried her face on Victor's back. Her tears dried up when the wind blew from below her face. She raised her head, not long after that, Maven has arrived at her house.

"Thanks," She said.

Victor waved his hand, and then went away.

Maven saw someone beneath the holes of the gate, a guest? His clothes reassemble catholic priest. The person looked young, probably a new priest on the church. Usually, they liked to visit one house to another just to socialize. Both of Maven's parents were out at these hours, working.

Maven opened the gate, "Good afternoon, father."

The person smiled, "I'm not a priest, don't call me that."

Maven stepped back, but the gate somehow closed by itself. "Who are you?"

He snapped his fingers, suddenly, the air surround her was cold, but no wind blew. Maven could feel her heartbeat went slower. Her body temperature dropped drastically.

"I'm Chronos, the time ruler from another dimension. A criminal escaped to your dimension, and she wanted to set an apocalypse on your world. Tell me, when you saw a young and ripe woman with white hair?"

It's impossible for someone to move through dimensions, Maven thought, "What's your business here? You have to ask the police if you want to search for someone."

Chronos sniggered, "police? Are you trying to run from your responsibility or are you afraid to tell the truth?" he moved closer, pushed Maven to the gate, "tell me, did you see this person?"

Chronos spun his fingers, a circle mirror floated on the tip of his finger. The mirror showed Thabit's appearance, with an orange broken halo circled on her temple.

"I … I saw someone similar … Mrs Thabit?"

He took a wooden stick on the garden, and it changed into a scythe. He pointed the blade to Maven, "How interesting, she didn't tell her real name to a boy, but you. When?"

"I forgot it, ugh … Why are you after her? She's innocent."

"Don't bluff me, earthling. Well, maybe I should take you on a tour, point where you saw her. And I will make you go home, safely."

At that point, Chronos tied her hand on a shackle, the shackle connected to a big watch. Maven moved against the shackle, the metal made her skin itch. Chronos pulled the shackle. Lead Maven to a mysterious dark portal in front of her.

It was a hellish point of her life. Beyond the portal, she could see the event of this day rolled backwards. It was fast, but Maven could still notice some part of it, including the accident. Chronos stopped when the accident happened, he looked at the surrounding, quickly inspecting each pedestrian.

Chronos flashed from one person to another, he was frustrated.

"That Andini girl should be alive. She should have been stopped by the police. It was strange that a truck hit her; the road was not too slippery. Thabit must be here, somewhere."

Chronos swung his scythe in one circular, the event rolled again, but this time was worse. Maven and Victor almost got hit by the truck, they somehow escaped.

"She's not on the truck."

Chronos reset the time again, played another scenario. Maven and Victor skidded; they got hit, but slightly. Victor's motorcycle crashed. They took care by the passerby. Victor fainted, a few moments later, he awoke.

Maven just stood in the same place. Seeing the same event, like a symptom of PTSD, but instead of recalling in memory, she lived inside it. If Chronos moved his scythe once again, she could stumble to the worst scenario ever.

"Stop!"

"Not until I found where she was when she annihilated one innocent life in this world!" Chronos swung his scythe harder.

The timeline screwed up. There was one event overlap the other; it was so confusing that Maven couldn't be able to describe what happened. All she could notice was one golden chain tied one event to another.

"Show yourself, wicked witch!" Chronos screamed.

Maven shut her eyes; she ducked and reached for the pockets. She was looking for the card, she dumped all stuff on her pocket, money too. She was panicked that she couldn't think straight.

The card now on her right hand, she screamed, "Take this Chronos!"

The card flew away from her hand; it reached Chronos left palm, "Heh, you should've done earlier. I almost exchange your life for her. You didn't deserve to live, because you bluff me. But, I don't want to bargain to God in this dimension."

"What?" Maven was puzzled.

"Never mind, I'll take you back in time."

Maven still shook at this point. She recollected her memories, and ran to her room, crying. She was in a point where she could believe in no one to tell this story.

"No one will, even a psychiatrist. Except I create something from my point of view so that people will believe in it."

Maven rustled on her old box, she found an old diary. She picked it and looked at her old manuscript. It was a Narnia fan fiction that she made when she was in high school. Crazy old times, Maven dumped the idea because she thought it was stupid.

Some parts of the diary being ripped. It was a traumatic time, Andini ripped some of the pages that she found that the main character was Maven crush. Maven dropped her diary, she held her head. A strong memory is a curse; she wished to burn the diary.

"Screw it, I'll write it on a laptop," she dumped the diary.