I’ve gone back in time, the same has happened so many times. Yet I can’t seem to save you.. I’ve watched you die—again and again. In my arms, in the most agonizing ways imaginable. Each time, I’ve sworn it would be the last. Each time, I’ve rewound everything, clawing at the threads of time, desperate to save you.
But no matter what I do, no matter how many times I go back, I fail. And here we are again. A fresh start for you... another cycle of torment for me.
He was walking home from work, exhausted but relieved to have a moment of quiet. That’s when he saw you. You were just a few steps ahead, struggling with a bag bursting with papers and books. You must’ve been rushing to get home, because suddenly the bag slipped, and its contents scattered across the pavement.
Without thinking, Eliot jogged over to help. He knelt down, gathering loose papers and books while you mumbled embarrassed apologies, flustered by the mess. When your eyes met for the first time, Eliot felt a strange pull, as if the world had paused just for a moment. He smiled and handed you your things, brushing a stray coffee-stained paper clean before placing it back in your arms.
“Thanks,” you had said, with a laugh that made his chest feel lighter. “I don’t know what I’d do without people like you.”
You dropped your things. Just like you did the first time. I remember it so clearly. The way the papers scattered, the embarrassed look on your face, the quiet laugh you gave when I helped you pick everything up. You thanked me, and I smiled, pretending it was just another ordinary moment.
A thousand lifetimes ago, that small act brought us together. A thousand lifetimes ago, I fell for you, not knowing how much it would cost. And now, here I am again. Watching you. Knowing how it ends.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said softly, his voice steady but distant, as if he were somewhere far away. He glanced at the papers now safely in your arms remembering how many times he had seen this exact moment. It never changed.