Another Universe (Story by R.C. Peris)

It’s hard to say when I fell in love or even if it is an apt word to use. In my planet, you are born as a we, multiple minds and personalities. Some get weaned off or grow quiet. When I fell in love with her there was only me. One. An ancient mind persisting over the centuries with more energy than the other minds. I was singular.

She worked in an office. She processed accident claims. Her voice was quiet and sympathetic. The job was uninspiring but she sank her soul into it. She did her job well because that’s what she thought she should do. You have a job and do it well. No job is beneath you. I was often in her cubicle. Looking over her shoulder. I inhaled her scent. Something floral and feral. Her underarms and between her legs exuded a scent I was unaccustomed to but that delighted me. At lunch, I assumed human form and watched her slowly unpack her pink sack. Salad, grapes, string cheese, carrots, yogurt.

“Very healthy,” she said. “But I crave a burger.”

I bought her one. Burgers were strange but when she bit into it her eyes closed and she looked rapturous. Like we’s on my planet look when consuming sea bugs.

“I’m not from here,” I told her.

“Where? I’ve only lived in Allentown.” She bit into the burger.

“Farther than Allentown,” I said. “Where would you like to live?”

She set down the burger. “Another universe.” The sweet girl meant New York City. I learned this later but I was delighted. There is an infinite number of universes and I knew one with a planet that would be receptive to me and her. I closed my eyes and we left the cafeteria and hurdled through a wormhole. We were spat out on a grassy knoll and above us was a night sky with twenty planets, all gleaming. New stars, new galaxies. She couldn’t see Earth even with a powerful telescope and a magician.

“Where am I?” she asked.

“Another universe.” I stroked her hand. “We love you.”

“We?”

I laughed. “I. The others will love you too if they resurface.”

“What are we to do?”

“Live happily.”

She was about to protest but she looked to the heavens, varied and lit like a sports stadium. “I might like it here.”

“We will love each other here.”

She grasped my hand and I realized I didn’t care what universe we were in as long as I had her.

THE END

More Stories by R.C. Peris

The Monster Enjoys Elderberry Jam

When a Child Disappears

The Lovely Savage

 

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