Eli throws himself back in his chair, one hand to his head and the other limp across the chair’s arm. The box falls out of his grip and clatters on the wooden floor. His grandmother’s ring pops out of the box and skitters away from him. The diamonds taunt him in the moonlight.518Please respect copyright.PENANA8NAWwgijw2
518Please respect copyright.PENANA1kQjZlAfoM
“We can’t do this,” Mari said gently, curling his hand over the ring.518Please respect copyright.PENANAzTTF6jYlfV
518Please respect copyright.PENANAFGe55Vi68I
The memory makes him shudder. Good thing he did it alone rather than in a crowded location as he was originally planning to.518Please respect copyright.PENANAYTNkjaJyaR
518Please respect copyright.PENANAoL5fLQx9vA
“I love you,” he said.518Please respect copyright.PENANAm3XXUArPKl
518Please respect copyright.PENANAFgSHD0NWYk
“I love you too.” She stared at the flame of the candle between them. “But…how can we get married when you aren’t old enough to drink at your own bachelor party? Are we supposed to pop open a bottle of apple cider?”518Please respect copyright.PENANAUbmpwjJ6Ea
518Please respect copyright.PENANA1fmdtCs5BM
“I didn’t know drinking was that important to you,” he said stiffly, running his pinky along the rim of his water glass.518Please respect copyright.PENANAIuphPxbUqc
518Please respect copyright.PENANAGEzmUCTVCz
“It isn’t that,” Mari said. “It’s what being able to drink represents.”518Please respect copyright.PENANArZ90MNoAwj
518Please respect copyright.PENANA8NHcpCgcfw
“And what’s that?” he asked, knowing he wasn’t helping his case by sounding like a petulant child.518Please respect copyright.PENANAQg4VC9JNZC
518Please respect copyright.PENANAEjBrbjcP5h
“That you’re an adult,” she said, reaching across the table to put a hand to his cheek. “Which you aren’t yet.”518Please respect copyright.PENANAbA2haOvtJM
518Please respect copyright.PENANAtZ86zNswKP
“That’s not what you said last night,” Eli muttered.518Please respect copyright.PENANAoEfGoklI6s
518Please respect copyright.PENANA2t461JLywI
She shot him a look and her smile melted away. “I love you, Eli. You know that. But we can’t get married. At the very least, we can’t get married right now.”518Please respect copyright.PENANATEog27kRMk
518Please respect copyright.PENANAOtiqTUMPhd
The table is still set for dinner, even though Mari has long since left. The ice in her water glass has melted. He can still smell the candle wax.518Please respect copyright.PENANAYVXi05EhFE
518Please respect copyright.PENANAVUwbHsPebe
Mari wanted to go to the Epik High concert even more than Eli did. Or rather, Eli wanted to go but had to accept the fact that he couldn’t afford to do everything while studying full-time and working part-time at the university bookstore. But Mari wanted to do everything.518Please respect copyright.PENANALSnXtSpr2E
518Please respect copyright.PENANAOqXZp1mzTl
“I can’t go to the concert,” he told her.518Please respect copyright.PENANAq143XRaU2h
518Please respect copyright.PENANAGnTP3zRY9n
She bought him a ticket anyway, telling him, “It isn’t a big deal.”518Please respect copyright.PENANAV1FyOv2nX4
518Please respect copyright.PENANAytXtDiakRY
It’s always been like that. She casually buys him a ticket to something and doesn’t think twice about it. For him, however, each event she pays for becomes a brick on his back. He can’t imagine she’s as fine with it as she seems to be.518Please respect copyright.PENANARf3QW5WvQd
518Please respect copyright.PENANAiARqo3RZw5
He has never been sure what bothers him more—being a burden on her or the fact that she isn’t honest about how she feels, that she pretends it’s okay that she has to keep paying for him.518Please respect copyright.PENANAKp2jkA3DWm
518Please respect copyright.PENANAHNhUBzmVKL
Eli gets up, leaving the ring where it is on the floor and goes out to the balcony. He leans his forearms on the cold metal railing and leans forward, staring up at the sky. His favorite thing about living in a college town is that he can actually see the stars—especially since his apartment is at the top of the hill.518Please respect copyright.PENANAOxaxWeSlWc
518Please respect copyright.PENANAWieoLye2hJ
He drops his gaze down toward the school and can even see Bell Hall, the building with the lab where Mari works. There are some lights on, although he’s fairly certain Mari isn’t there right now. She’s probably soaking in a hot bath—probably reading to calm her nerves after rejecting Eli’s proposal.518Please respect copyright.PENANA3pxHytaZW5
518Please respect copyright.PENANA9Y33kIf38v
He grips the railing and leans back, eyes turned upward again. The night breeze pushes his hair off his forehead.518Please respect copyright.PENANA4iJmi4CwSz
518Please respect copyright.PENANAjOMXD5HEeG
He went to the lab with her once, but only once. Mari had needed to stop by and start an experiment before they headed out on a date. He had trailed in after her, wanting to see what she did and just wanting to be in her presence.518Please respect copyright.PENANAh07lJI1jdp
518Please respect copyright.PENANA1DNDUbVnvn
One of her coworkers stopped by to talk to her and glanced at Eli questioningly.518Please respect copyright.PENANAeeXXLfi8GM
518Please respect copyright.PENANA0VCZZGCwsS
“Alan, this is my boyfriend, Eli,” Mari said.518Please respect copyright.PENANAA7nW8UB4yi
518Please respect copyright.PENANAs3Yu2V3tlk
“So, Eli, what do you do?” Alan said as they shook hands.518Please respect copyright.PENANAKtG3rvQXYZ
518Please respect copyright.PENANAaVCBzpcGeE
“Are you really going to pester my boyfriend right now?” Mari said, taking Eli’s arm and tried to pull him away.518Please respect copyright.PENANA1TX91vHn7n
518Please respect copyright.PENANAJK2x2bIhNm
“Pester him? I’m just trying to be polite,” Alan said. “Is his job top secret or something?”518Please respect copyright.PENANA99otxwsa2C
518Please respect copyright.PENANADyrvDypvAQ
Mari’s lips were pressed together. Clearly she had never told her coworkers she’d met her boyfriend while she was a graduate student T.A. for his undergrad biochem class.518Please respect copyright.PENANAKVL7iEztfW
518Please respect copyright.PENANAcIBRXGUqcq
“I’m a student,” Eli said, suddenly wanting to leave the lab and head out to their movie.518Please respect copyright.PENANAVIYqEjD0Ca
518Please respect copyright.PENANAfqlu44WDMD
“PhD? What do you study?” Alan said.518Please respect copyright.PENANATgR0My7PAg
518Please respect copyright.PENANAOjBPh2xnwF
“No, not a PhD student,” Eli said, his neck and cheeks starting to heat up. He couldn’t meet Mari’s gaze.518Please respect copyright.PENANABBbvs0FGU6
518Please respect copyright.PENANA2y0P4FvJrD
“Oh, Master’s then?” 518Please respect copyright.PENANAVBxWg4TwSF
518Please respect copyright.PENANAIsFi059tSv
“Actually, I’m an undergrad,” Eli said.518Please respect copyright.PENANAXnEll0k3ch
518Please respect copyright.PENANAb393L0hqBF
“Oh.” Alan looked at Mari and then back at Eli. “Well, it was good to meet you, man.”518Please respect copyright.PENANAZOOnKjddGG
518Please respect copyright.PENANAYS5yk4TgmH
Eli followed Mari in silence. He could feel something like embarrassment or shame rising off of her, but she turned around and placed a hand on his forearm, forcing a gentle smile.518Please respect copyright.PENANARatsBoy4pe
518Please respect copyright.PENANAhCEiFok75x
“Don’t worry about it,” she said. “This is just because of your age. One day, you’ll catch up to me—maybe even pass me—and it won’t matter. We’ll forget there was ever a time like this.”518Please respect copyright.PENANA7ePcCN3vkw
518Please respect copyright.PENANAtsCn5DdBf3
Eli sighs. Crickets chirp in time with the twinkling of the stars. As he stares up absently, a giant meteor falls. He watches it streak across the sky, getting brighter and brighter and brighter until the blazing light fills the sky, fills his vision, fills his mind.518Please respect copyright.PENANAQPJcNzLEF0
518Please respect copyright.PENANAehczyg4MMd
He blinks. He’s in the living room of an apartment. There are no lights on, and the time reads 2:57 a.m. on a digital clock with green numbers—just around the time he was standing outside. 518Please respect copyright.PENANAdAUeiQon3J
518Please respect copyright.PENANASABBWSKUd0
He realizes with surprise that there’s something in his hand. It’s a piece of a rock. He would think it’s a dream, but the rock smells like metal and fire. It’s warm. Eli brings it to his face. 518Please respect copyright.PENANAhoj0J9enJL
518Please respect copyright.PENANAPUnTpOoXAU
He doesn’t see how it’s possible, but he wonders if it’s a part of a meteor—maybe the meteor he just saw.518Please respect copyright.PENANA12tDAHmkat
518Please respect copyright.PENANAMv4BM7IAXI
He surveys the apartment. It’s bland and undecorated, but the wooden dining table seems ready to splinter under the weight of open textbooks and notebooks. A closed MacBook charges, precariously close to a half-finished mug of coffee. Eli leans forward and looks at the notebook, immediately recognizing the handwriting.518Please respect copyright.PENANAjTgOEdMhSR
518Please respect copyright.PENANAaMahR6rppW
It isn’t possible.518Please respect copyright.PENANAFeTXUt27P1
518Please respect copyright.PENANABMYzOG0VAk
He glances toward a closed door that he assumes is a bedroom and makes his way over warily, quietly pushing it open. There’s a bed on the other side, up against the wall. Moonlight streams directly upon the sleeping form. Her back is turned, and even if it weren’t for the dark hair ribboning across the pillow, he still would have recognized her.518Please respect copyright.PENANAh46Rvw71MC
518Please respect copyright.PENANAZLayhOa77A
He creeps closer—she’s a notoriously light sleeper—and takes a better look. She shifts in her sleep slightly, as though she can sense she has a visitor. And then he sees her face. Mari looks pretty much the same as she did when he saw her a few hours ago, only more vulnerable. There are streaks of lavender in her hair, starting at her scalp and traveling out. Her bangs are shorter, settling on her closed eyelids. There’s still a hint of baby softness that hasn’t yet melted away to reveal the sultry cheekbones in the Mari he loves.518Please respect copyright.PENANAci87IGyhSF
518Please respect copyright.PENANAV2TIcpwsUG
Eli presses a button on her phone, illuminating the screen, to see the date. Five years ago to the day.518Please respect copyright.PENANARhwU5jePnc
518Please respect copyright.PENANAW0Uh92W0PL
If this is right, if this isn’t a dream of some sort, he’s seeing her when she was the same age as he is now. He looks at the meteor, still in his hand. He isn’t sure how he knows this, but he’s suddenly sure the meteor was his ticket here and will be his ticket back to his year.518Please respect copyright.PENANA1zV1XGsEvC
518Please respect copyright.PENANAASHC13Bb3w
But he has an idea. Now that he’s here, why not stay? He’ll age with her, and she will no longer be five years older than him. He’ll make it work, somehow—find a way to survive as a twenty-year-old in this year, stage a run-in with her. She’ll fall in love with him again, but they’ll be on equal ground.518Please respect copyright.PENANAIRVBKLQ8Wo
518Please respect copyright.PENANA8ql1ZZINCt
Sliding the little meteor piece into his pocket, he takes a deep breath, excitement mounting at the thought of starting again with her at the same age—even if she is still a month older. They’ll have five more years together than they would have otherwise.518Please respect copyright.PENANAE8MHrUr3jt
518Please respect copyright.PENANAfap2CNAHR9
“Is this really want you want?” Mari asked him multiple times, a shrewd look on her face. “With me five years older than you, you do realize things might need to happen five years faster than you want them to, right?”518Please respect copyright.PENANAmyJDdbVQ7i
518Please respect copyright.PENANAoszFVS4ZxZ
“Like what?” he said.518Please respect copyright.PENANA9gM9KSYcnr
518Please respect copyright.PENANAPRynpm1ajd
“Getting married, having kids,” she said.518Please respect copyright.PENANAKTGzheh2fT
518Please respect copyright.PENANAMiVzRbQjmF
“Well, good thing you warned me about it now,” Eli said. “Now I’m mentally prepared.”518Please respect copyright.PENANAHXYiC7A0uA
518Please respect copyright.PENANA7KqKQ2Mbls
“Seriously, though,” she said. “Don’t you want someone your age?”518Please respect copyright.PENANAUesUZrE64Z
518Please respect copyright.PENANAK1cShdz8sS
Eli sits cross-legged on the floor beside her bed, deflating instantly. If he stays here isn’t he finding someone his own age. He told her he didn’t care about their age difference. And he doesn’t, really. He presses the heels of his hands to his eyes, feeling a little dizzy as if he just got off a rollercoaster.518Please respect copyright.PENANA55WJf9Akj4
518Please respect copyright.PENANA1golNTFgMa
“I can’t believe you’ve never ridden a rollercoaster before,” Eli said.518Please respect copyright.PENANAqKeqvWl72n
518Please respect copyright.PENANAUlsUMyB5Ib
Mari gripped his hand, her nails digging into his skin. Her eyes were wide, focused on the car that sped by thunderously. The riders’ screams seemed to hover in the air behind them.518Please respect copyright.PENANA5k6BOLiFHA
518Please respect copyright.PENANAtQJClBTZ6F
“Well,” she said. “I guess this is all part of our goal of making new memories together.”518Please respect copyright.PENANAykb35UVQJK
518Please respect copyright.PENANApvLB13MjR0
This Mari sleeping in front of him doesn’t have that memory of riding the rollercoaster with him. She doesn’t have any of the memories they’ve created over the past two years. The situation would be unbalanced with him knowing her soul even as she tries to discover his.518Please respect copyright.PENANA8AlQLc1Nny
518Please respect copyright.PENANA7U6HaXHtdQ
Eli takes the meteor out of his pocket. It seems like it’s getting warmer. He stands up and looks at her again, a little sad at the thought of a future that can never be. Taking his chance, he leans forward and presses a kiss to her forehead, just above her left eyebrow. Even five years ago, she used the smell shampoo she uses in the present.518Please respect copyright.PENANAEymoCsqX2h
518Please respect copyright.PENANAWiDi4cjDJC
Mari stretches and blinks blearily at him. He knows she was almost blind pre-LASIK. This Mari can barely see anything without her glasses or contacts. He must be just a blonde-haired outline to her, too indistinct for her to even tell he’s Korean under that blonde hair.518Please respect copyright.PENANAXy3t6azBdm
518Please respect copyright.PENANAH9dsZStPbw
“Who are you?” she murmurs.518Please respect copyright.PENANAPZnXRhCiGs
518Please respect copyright.PENANAjeKVhtUREV
He thinks about it for a moment and speaks softly to keep from waking her up completely. “I’m someone you haven’t met yet—someone you’ll meet in the future and fall in love with, but not quite as deeply as I’ll fall in love with you.”518Please respect copyright.PENANAalFP6BxB43
518Please respect copyright.PENANAiyiytTZTvm
“Why?” Her voice is still groggy, eyes half-closed.518Please respect copyright.PENANAnjsq8Hib1c
518Please respect copyright.PENANAkhAPAw1toA
“Because I’m younger than you,” Eli says, gently putting a finger to her cheek. “It’ll bother you, and I think you won’t believe me when I say just how much I love you. But I love you, and only you, and especially you when you’re five years older than me. Don’t forget it, okay?”518Please respect copyright.PENANAjrSwWHoGi2
518Please respect copyright.PENANAhwbmfaedmL
He holds his pinky out to her. She curves her own pinky around his. Her skin is almost as warm as the meteor.518Please respect copyright.PENANAZ2HwShunYK
518Please respect copyright.PENANA09RR4Goag1
“Okay.” Her voice is nearly gone now as she sinks back into sleep.518Please respect copyright.PENANAFS6hkJBBwy
518Please respect copyright.PENANAoBmxDEKVxr
He holds the meteor in his palm as it burns more fiercely, watching this Mari and thinking about the Mari waiting for him back in his present.518Please respect copyright.PENANA1s0SS2yyOl