Deja Vu

When morning came, Zach nodded slightly when he saw his reflection in the mirror. Emma helped him tidy up his bow tie before smiling smugly.

After perfect preparations, Zach sighed before looking at his wife who had a beautiful appearance. The white dress and thin lips, beautiful brown eyes made Zach unconsciously smile faintly.

Emma looked at the clock on the wall and said pulling Zach's arm "My father is waiting for us"

The two of them came out of the simple house and were immediately greeted with the morning sun. The streets are busy with people.

They were all wearing old-fashioned casual clothes. Zach put on his round hat and walked in rhythm with Emma holding his hand.

After a while they arrive at a much bigger house. It looks better than Zach's house but still carries the old-fashioned theme.

The door ahead opened with a creaking sound. A ten year old girl was surprised to see Zach and Emma standing outside the door. Her expression changed and showed a sweet smile before jumping to hug Emma.

"Emma!" Said the girl hugging Emma.

After that politely, the girl greeted Zach, "Good morning Mr. Alfred"

"Good morning Violet" Zach smiled looking at the cuteness of the child.

"Mom and dad are waiting for you inside" Violet said pulling Emma's hand into the house.

Emma enters followed by Zach from behind. Inside the house there is a large table. A middle aged man with clean wrinkles on his face sipped coffee before greeting Zach.

"You're here," said the middle-aged man.

The man is Zach's father-in-law and Emma's father. He was one of the top merchants in the city of Obsidia. His looks matched his fame. He has black hair and golden eyes. Beside him, a middle-aged woman also sat looking at Zach and Emma with a happy smile. Her graceful brown eyes and brown hair flowing in the fresh breeze conveyed grace and wisdom.

Zach took off his hat and bowed his head in greeting. "Good morning, Mr and Mrs Franciss"

"There's still a few minutes, have you guys had breakfast yet?" Diana Franciss said looking at Zach and Emma.

"We had breakfast before leaving the house" Zach said politely.

"Um, then Zach sit down first" Leonard Francis asked Zach to sit on a chair.

Zach stared at Emma for a moment then sat down on the chair. Diana stood up and led Emma and Violet into the kitchen. Seeing that Zach felt a little goosebumps.

He just kept quiet and didn't dare to meet Leonard's eyes. After a while, Leonard put down the newspaper he was reading and started a conversation. "How?"

Zach just smiled, "How? what does that mean?" Zach muttered, he glanced towards the kitchen before saying "everything is fine"

Leonard sighed and said in a slightly disappointed tone, "Heh, Emma is our eldest daughter, even if she's a woman. You as her husband should be the ones to continue the family business."

Zach changed his smile but still in a polite manner. He looked seriously at his hat on the table and said, "I'm sorry Mr. Francis, I'm a gatekeeper, and a gatekeeper can't carry on the family business."

"Besides, I'm not good at trading" Zach added in his heart.

"I'm sure Gerald would be better suited to inherit that" Zach gave a small compliment to one of Emma's younger siblings. Gerald Franciss who is currently not in town.

"Mm, if that's what you want and as long as my daughter is happy then there is no other choice" Leonard took another sip of his coffee.

After a conversation that was in the business sphere that Zach didn't understand at all, they finally left the house together.

Leonard was wearing a gray shirt and black vest. Glasses with silver frames and a brown halved hat. On the other hand, Diana wore a white dress that almost matched Emma's. Although the wrinkles visible on her face due to age but that does not detract from her grace.

Violet was wearing a blue dress and looked very cute and excited. She held Emma's hand as she walked and got on the horse carriage that had been provided.

They got on the horse-drawn carriage and arrived at a large church. The five of them entered and sat in the middle row. While the priest gave a little sermon, Leonard whispered to start a conversation with Zach.

"How is the current state of the gate?"

Zach went back to remembering the horrific scene he had seen, his face was gloomy for a moment and then replied in a low voice "Nothing strange"

"Well it's been centuries since the war ended after all. It's no surprise but I often hear rumors about bandits increasing outside the walls. We merchants should think twice about shipping or supplying goods" Leonard showed concern.

Zach frowned as if he had just experienced deja vu, he had experienced this before! "No no no, this is probably just because of excessive fear" Zach calmed himself down.

"We can't do anything about it, if that's true the higher ups will send the police or us Gate keepers to check" Zach came back into the conversation.

"Well, you're right" Leonard returned his focus to the sermon.

Throughout the sermon, Zach felt a heavy deja vu. He seemed to know what the priest would say next. Connecting with the scary incident that he experienced, Zach felt like throwing up.

Zach covered his mouth and stood up slowly, he asked permission to go to the toilet. Leonard, Diana and Emma could only be confused by Zach's behavior.

Zach walked sideways to a small door that led directly to the toilet. He went in and rinsed his face. "I've been through this before." He looked pale as he started to think about the previous pain.

Zach stared at his face in the mirror, drops of water fell slowly. He quickly wiped his face with a handkerchief in his jacket pocket. After that he put on his hat again and returned to the row where he was sitting before.

Emma who was beside him whispered out of worry, "Are you okay?" she said.

Zach rubbed his forehead saying "Yeah, that's fine"

As the day wore on, Zach and Emma said their goodbyes and headed back home. This is a special tradition of the Franciss family, after the wedding it is obligatory to visit the church to pray. Even though Leonard doesn't really believe in the existence of God, he still carries on the tradition.

Arriving at home, several people greeted them with congratulations. Zach just smiled and Emma returned the congratulations from people.

Zach came into the house, sat on a wooden chair and held his forehead as he took off his hat. His head was spinning again as he remembered that this incident had already happened to him.

"Something's wrong..." Zach leaned back and closed his eyes without taking off his black vest and coat.

Before long, Emma also came in after exchanging greetings with the neighbors. She sat beside Zach and said worriedly "I knew you must be sick"

"..." Zach was silent lost in terrible memories.

After lunch, Zach rested and fell asleep in his bed soundly. until nightfall. Zach woke up, turned his head to the side and stared at the dark blue uniform with the bullet badge hanging on the left side of the wooden cupboard.

"I better not go" Zach sighed.

He came out and saw Emma who had prepared dinner. "Are you feeling better?"

Zach nodded "Yeah, I guess so"

Zach sat down at the dining table and started eating his wife's homemade food. The night was dark, the moon only gave a faint light and the stars were barely visible.

Zach returned to resting in his room, staring fearfully at the dark blue uniform hanging on the side of the wardrobe.

Until Emma came into the room and sat beside Zach. "Do you need to see a doctor?" Emma said as she leaned on Zach's shoulder.

"No it's just a cold" Zach said and kissed his wife.

They then complete what they were unable to complete the night before.