August 7th 2020, Friday 12:40

One month before the graduation, Ansel spent the rest of his time by having a new hobby, reading web novels. He was fond of reading, only non-fiction, but then he found out a fiction online that somehow answers some of his questions that he had months ago. Ansel now had to binge read stuff that correlated with his life.

They waited on a train station, Ansel, with his new hobby, scrolled his phone, reading. He didn’t care about the surrounding. A crowd that brought luggage and big bags shoved out from the arrival door. Some meet their family or their friends; some were rummaging their phone ordered a taxi. The hum of a diesel machine filled the atmosphere of the place.

“It’s quite strange that you changed a lot, after the crazy dream. Years ago, I offered you to go to the comic market, but you refused. And now?”

“So, that place is where a bunch of nerds socialize and have their fun?”

“No! It’s hard to explain it to a normie like you!” Brian scratched his head. “It’s not just nerd fest, some creators, artist; they made something to be sold there.”

“And the reason that I should care is?”

“Raven, your crush went there, as a contributor?”

Ansel’s face flushed red. “It’s Maven. I know I know that I was asked to accompany her, that’s it.”

“Whoa whoa~ you know, you could ‘propose’ her when she was in the crowd.”

"NO! If she rejects me, my life would be a joke again! She's a writer; probably another writer has an eye for her, write A+ poetry. Me? My thesis was trash. I wonder why Mr. Sigmund just nods and accept it."

Brian laughed, he patted Ansel’s shoulder and said, “small talks would be fine. Besides, your crazy dream meeting a deity that could twist a time was a good point to make her … interested?”

It was a coincidence when Ansel found out about her. When he blurted out his crazy dream online, she gave him a link to a story. It was one of the top-notch web novels. Chronos was an antagonist, much to his surprise, he followed the story. The girl was so enthusiastic about her writings; day and night she kept talking about it. Ansel offered help to be her beta reader.

He was quite pissed off knowing that Chronos was an antagonist, and so he asked for the story to change. The reader liked what he advised, and then the story's rank rocketed into the first rank.

The relationship got closer; Ansel had a chance to get her real contact for the sake of knowing her. She was a cutie pie, shoulder length jet black hair, big eyes, small lip and nose. Ansel sometimes imagined her wearing a Lolita dress. There goes his fantasy.

She asked him to accompany her to an annual comic market in Jakarta. This was her first experience and the best moment for her to contribute to the event. Ansel said yes.

“Well, if I keep telling her about it, and when she finished, the relationship will be boring.” Ansel pouted, “Best to know about her other side by this, even though this comic market stuff was not my thing.”

Brian disappointed, “thought you were enthusiastic for it.”

“I—“

“Ansel Cakara? Where’s that guy?” a man called him from distance.

Ansel searched for it, he looked at the entrance. A small girl with small luggage and brown sling bag searched for someone. Beside her, her father in a brown jacket brought a bag of food. Ansel tiptoed. It was her, Maven. Ansel waved at her. Maven ran to him, she was swallowed by the crowd, perks of being tiny. Lucky, her father takes her to them.

"She's so small, like your sister," said Brian

“Ah! Sorry, traffic was hell, let’s get for the tickets. Bye pa,” Maven kissed her father’s hand.

“Take care!”

Their cargo was the last one, it was spacious. Lucky it was not peak season. A few people filled it. The tail of the train was one cargo away. The diesel hum, creaking sound of wooden ramps, and a soothing wind were their companions in the travel.

Maven decided to sit alone on the right side, near the window. She put on her earphone.

“You missed the chance~”

“Shut up.”

A young couple entered the cargo. The man was tall and skinny, he has tan complexion, his hair was neatly combed. The girl has a curvy body, which could make a sane male eyed on her. A fair lady more than a girl, the girl startled Maven.

“Ey Meg! I don’t know you’re going too!”

“Course I have to go there! Fan sign session!”

Brian leans to Ansel, "Oh boy, famous cosplayer, Puffy-chan. I'm too shy to greet her."

"Don't be a creep," Ansel whispered.

"I should've gone with you." Maven said.

“Uh, I … stayed at my boyfriend’s house.”

Brian eyes widened, “man, I wonder what will they—“

"Shhh!" Ansel hit Brian’s head

“Those two? Your companion?” Meg asked.

“Yup,” Maven walked to them, she pointed to Ansel, “the red jacket, Ansel. The big guy, Brian.”

“Ansel? Oh~”

There was a murmur, mostly girl’s talk, sometimes giggling. The girl's talk was about love, sometimes Maven blushed and shook her head. Ansel looked at her, Gosh, he blushed again. Ansel looked away at the window, ignored them.

From behind them, Meg’s boyfriend stood beside Brian, “Hello there.”

Brian jerked, “You creep me!”

He smiled, “that’s my ability, sneaking. My name’s Lintang.”

“Ansel.”

“Brian.”

"I heard that. Anyway, first time going to the comic market?"

“I’m not, been there twice, he is,” Brian pointed at Ansel.

"Mine's first time, lucky I got my baby brought," Lintang opened his jacket, a camera dangling. "I'm a part-time photographer.”

"Nice, I want to learn about photography but I don't know where to start," Ansel said.

“Well, I could explain a lot of it. But start from something simple, something that you like to capture.”

“Yeah, you could take a snap of my motorcycle!” Brian suggested.

Ansel spat, “freakin showoff.”

“Interested in Itasha?” Lintang asked.

"Used to," Brian scratched his head, "but my father got mad, he said don't put Barbie sticker on your motorcycle. It's not Barbie, it's my waifu, Asuka Langley Soryuu! Anta baka!"

"More like belong to trash," Ansel sneered.

"One more and I kicked you from this train!"

Lintang wheezed, "My parents also mad when I tried to photo some cosplayers, thinking that I collected some girl photos for dirty stuff, but now," he tipped his head to Meg. "I want to make them understand I don’t have that kind of fetish.”

“Good luck, parents are hard to deal with especially with ‘love’ stuff.” Ansel retorted.

“Well about Mega they already buy it. But they still didn’t accept the reality that I just do photography for pocket money."

“Lucky you, my parents forbid me from any hobbies since my dad smashed my stuff…” Ansel recollected the piece of his memories, some of them happened on the other side of his life, a side where he would pass if things were not fixed. “I forgot when.”

“I never heard about that.” Brian twitched his eyebrows, “or have I forgotten?”

Ansel bit his lip, he was lost at words, and he couldn’t brush them off by telling that the event once happened in another timeline. He has to lie. “Somewhere in junior high, I just remembered that.”

“Oh man, that was harsh,” Lintang closed the jacket and put his camera inside.

Brian bought the lie. “At least now you could do anything freely.”

“Dear passengers, we're about to stop for fifteen minutes in the nearby station. If you wished to depart, please prepare in fifteen minutes. Thank you."

“Finally, stop to smoke,” Lintang uttered.

“Smoking? Again? Not under my watch,” Meg curled her arms to his neck.

Lintang coughed, "Yes, fair maiden."

..

One person entered the cargo. The sound of their footstep made Ansel frightened, a sharp tap of a high heel. He was still traumatic about that event. Took a deep breath, reset the mind, Ansel thought it was a different person. And it is.

The woman wore black latex long coat, her hair was golden white but covered by the coat. A pair of sunglass with golden frame adorned her oval face. Ansel shifted his position slowly, Brian noticed, they looked at the woman.

“Whoever wore a high heels boots on a train? I don’t understand fashion.” Brian raised his eyebrow.

Ansel focused on the feet, high heel boots, with dark purple rose as a decoration, so flashy. She could steal pickpocket attention.

"She might miss her plane and opt for the train? Maybe her relatives passed away so soon so she has to be like that?" Maven speculated.

“As expected from a writer,” Brian added. “What do you think Ansel?”

Ansel awkwardly sat on his position, “uh what?”

“You ever saw her on your dream?” Maven asked.

Ansel sat beside Maven, leaned on her and whispered. “Yes, Chronos enemy.”

You promised that I would never see her again, damn you Chronos.

Maven took a deep breath, “maybe your brain rigged up some childhood trauma.”

How am I going to say that it was not childhood trauma? It will happen or would happen? I couldn’t say it was my past, but it was.

“Psychology stuff,” Ansel stared at empty space. “I can’t remember the past vividly, so, yeah maybe.”

Dammit, Chronos please help me. I don’t know how people in another dimension pray for your help.

“Dear passenger, we’re about to leave the station, please sit on your seat.”

Should I leave the train? I don’t want to be her slave.

Loud long whistle from train alarmed him. Meg and Lintang entered the cargo.

But what about my friends?

The train slightly moved.

How do I explain to them?

Ansel’s heart beating fast, faster than the train itself. Cold sweat ran through his body. His vision blurred.

"You okay?" Maven touched Ansel's cheek.

White, Ansel stared at the lamp. He almost lost his consciousness. Blue speckles, then green, filled his eyes. His eyes stuffed up. Darkness.

..

“Are you okay?” it was a warm voice. A soft hand reached for him. “Tea, as you please.”

Ansel opened his eyes, still white. He raised his upper body; slowly he could hear the hum of diesel. His sight gradually better, all of his friends, including the stewardess surrounded him.

“I—“ Ansel took the tea from the stewardess, “thank you.” He sipped the tea, and then put it on a small table beside.

"Road Sick, glad you got better."

Ansel slightly nodded. The stewardess left them. Maven patted Ansel’s shoulder.

“You should’ve taken some fresh air with Lintang,” she said.

“I don’t have asthma. It’s just strange.”

"You haven't eaten from the morning? Here's food," Lintang gave him warm soup.

"Thanks…" Ansel opened the lid of the soup. Warm chicken soup with dumplings has woken Ansel's appetite.

“So, you fainted for no reason?” Maven asked.

"It’s actually…" Ansel peeked; the woman was not there, not her luggage too. "Panic attack?"

"Panic attack?" Maven raised her eyebrows, "my parents are doctors, and mostly the fainted patients are the ones who have severe motion sickness, blood loss, and no oxygen went to their brain."

Ansel took a deep breath, "Can I have time, with you alone?"

“Sure.”

Both of them went to restaurant cargo. It was spacious, the scent of warmed microwave food filled the air. Stewardess went back and forth from one cargo to another to bring the food. Ansel and Maven sat on a bench on the corner of cargo, looking side by side.

“You know that woman? Black coat?”

"She moved to another cargo, her seat was actually behind Mega. What's wrong with her?"

“I don’t feel a good vibe. And I was scared. Do you know Chronos? The stuff that I told you? Everything was real.”

"You came back from the future by his help so that you won't see the apocalypse bringer? And you were so frustrated that he won’t help you?”

“Yes! She could probably start an apocalypse on this train!” Ansel leaned to Maven, he whispered with rage.

“Listen. She is a good person. You must have lost your mind.”

“But you said you believe in me!”

Maven stared sharply at Ansel, "I know. I had that. I met both of them. It was real, but please, don't be afraid of it. We don't know exactly when apocalypse going to be. Chronos could be lying.”

“You met him?”

“I had. The story that I made was real, I met them, both. That’s why I kept talking to you, for reference and for therapy. It’s hard when no one believed in you.”

“So, the beginning of the story was actually real?”

“Yes. But after that, some parts are altered; I don’t want him to hunt me down.”

“Tell me what actually happened next.”