A Past with an Alien

CHAPTER 46

IRIS

I am standing on the old bridge again, where we first met. Vehicles seldom pass through here anymore because our government built a much more modern highway decades ago, which is now more accessible and convenient for the people of Poblacion.

I lean on the steel railings, which look rusted and worn out due to old age. The bridge's structure is still sturdy and has stood the test of time. Whenever I get flashes of those memories, I can't help but grin from ear to ear. I can't believe how time flies; it has been two decades since our first encounter here. I glanced at the sprawling terrain from afar. Before, it was just an extensive rice field visible from these horizons. But now, you can see houses growing like mushrooms because a private real estate company owns most of these fields. Most of the locals' lives here in San Francisco have become prosperous.

I grab my Android phone from my denim shorts and check for a text message from my kids. But I was stunned when the AMOLED screen turned white and static appeared. My heart skipped fast from trepidation because it wasn't unusual. I then looked around and saw Melvin's black SUV in the distance. He drove me here and didn't go outside with me, but he, too, was waiting for Hector.

Even now, I can't believe that they met ten years ago. I keep thinking, What happened ten years ago? Then I started to stare blankly into space again. I raise my head and look at the azure sky.

"Iris!"

I thought the world had stopped when I heard my name behind me, and I could never be wrong. A surge of sudden mixed emotions erupted—trepidation and delight. I closed my eyes first, and when I opened them, I looked for him everywhere.

The ambiance from where I stood had changed too. Ripples of transparent light wrapped around my surroundings. A glowing, oblong-shaped doorway popped out at my left, looking familiar. Hector came out of it, and I cried when he appeared. I covered my mouth with my palms because he hadn't changed much.

His hair was still pink, and his face showed no signs of aging, which was unbelievable. He walked towards me with a smile I had been longing to see. But he halted and laughed, which startled me.

"Why, Hector?" I asked him after twenty years.

"You remind me of an alien race who had bulging bodies."

I stopped crying, and my face shifted. I crossed my arms together. "Just tell me that I'm already fat."

"Whoa!" he said, surprised. He raised both of his palms and shook them in the air. "That was not what I meant."

I gave him a snub and turned around. I leaned back on the railings. "You came here just to mock me."

Then I felt the weight of his hands on my shoulder. I thought I was blushing again, like I was back at my twenty-two-year-old self. There was a hint of giddiness inside, but not too much anymore because I already had a husband.

"You never changed," Hector said. He, too, was leaning on the railings. "You're still the Iris I met ages ago."

My lips curled upward, yet I could feel the warm tears at the sides of my eyes. I stared at Hector's handsome face. His oriental eyes—his eyes that never blinked, not even once— His smooth face were almost the same as a porcelain doll's.

"How could this be? You never age?" I asked.

He glanced at me too. "As I told you before, this was just a part of my human shell. I'm in my fourth sequence now, which means I'm in my late thirties here in your world. There were physical changes that you wouldn't see. That's why I wanted a new human shell for my age."