A few months later, on the message board, I
saw someone write: “Miss Karen, there’s a
birthday present for you at the cafeteria at 7
PM tomorrow, make sure you pick it up.”
Even though it was anonymous, I had a
feeling that it was Chris.
He handmade a three–layer pink cake. He
said, “I saw you post about *Three Lives,
Three Worlds*, so I made a pink cake for you
and I want to ask you, will you let me chase
you for three lives, three worlds?”
We got together naturally, and I got into a
fight with my parents for the Lunar New Year,
so I didn’t eat anything.
After he found out, he drove for five hours to
come see me from out of state.
I lived on the second floor, and he knew how
stubborn I was, so he got a ladder and helped
me sneak out.
I called him immature, but he acted like a
wronged wife and tried to win me over: “How
can I let my wife go hungry?”
When I was ready to go back inside, I realized
that I hadn’t told my parents that I had gone
out, but he had already texted my parents,
<
present into a USB drive. As I was getting
ready to put the drive in my purse, I saw a
blinking red light.
It had to be a bug that Jake’s son had put
there; he was capable of doing that.
I didn’t touch it and went to sleep.
I dropped my son off at school, and then I
went to work.
Alex was tailing me.
When I went to do my shift, I told him, “Wait
for me in the office. I’ll tell you what I want to
say after I get off work.”
He followed my instructions, and he even told
me, “Mom, I’ll wait for you.”
When I got back at lunch, my coworkers were
praising him: “Karen, that kid is really smart;
it seems like he hasn’t gone to high school,
but he was solving college–level math
problems.”
When he was ten, Jake’s son finished his high
school math courses, and he was solving a lot
of math problems on his own. Of course he
was capable of doing that.
“Is that your little brother? I didn’t know you
had a little brother.”
I was now twenty–eight, and Alex was fifteen,
so saying he was my little brother fit.
Alex opened his mouth to say something, but
I stopped him.
“Yeah, he’s from my extended family. He’s
here to play for the holidays.‘
I took him out to eat, and he said, matter–of-
factly: “Mom, can you not have your son be
your child? Can I be your only child?”
I laughed, asking him, “He’s my own son, why
wouldn’t I?”
Alex immediately replied: “Because I’m
smarter than him. I’m fifteen, and I’m going to
be an adult in three years. I’m going to be
able to make money. I’m a lot more useful
than he is. From an investment perspective…”
I stopped him: “Sweetie, kids aren’t supposed
to be a means of making profit. Kids are
supposed to be the result of love, and being
く
with them and watching them grow is a
precious memory, not the investment you’re
talking about.”
“I’m never going to get rid of my son.”
Alex didn’t say anything, looking down as he
ate his food.
If he wasn’t so stubborn, I had a feeling that
he would be crying.
“Even though you’re smart, you should still go
to school. Have your dad help you set that
up.”
“You mean Jake? He wants me to die.”
Alex was cold, but he shouldn’t have said the
word ‘die.‘
<
་་་
I said to him softly, “Did something happen?”
Alex bit his lip hard: “He blames me for
inventing the time machine.”
“After I was separated from you, I went to
find Sarah, but when I called her Mom, she
told me to stop. She was never pregnant. I
got a test done too; I’m not her kid.”
Jake and Alex were both smart, and they
knew that Sarah had left not because she
didn’t want to burden the family, but because
she was afraid of the family slowing down her
future.
Alex squeezed my hand.
you meet him? These days he’s
“Mom, can you meet him? These days, he’s
been going to hospitals and asking for your
name, but I was good, and I didn’t tell him
where you are.”
I looked at Alex. I’d been taking care of him,
and I had to soften my heart.
After I got off work, I told Chris that I’d be
home late, and then I went with Alex to his
“house.”
It was a small apartment that he had to get
after his house was given as collateral when
the company was having issues.
“You live here after you came back?”
“Jake said that this was your favorite place
and that you liked seeing the view from the
balcony, so he hired someone to build a chair
for you.”
The truth was that I didn’t like to see the
view; I could see me, Chris, and my son’s
house from here.
The house was clean, and it seemed like
someone had hired someone to clean it
regularly.
Opening the fridge, there was nothing but
eggs and water.
I furrowed my brow. It seemed like Jake’s son
hadn’t had it too rough.
“What do you eat when you’re here?”
Alex said, sounding wronged: “I order
く
“Is there a supermarket nearby? I can take
you out to get ingredients.”
Alex seemed to not respond at first. Next, he
turned around and gave me a happy smile.
“Mom, wait for me; I’m going to go change.”
We got back with groceries, and when we
opened the door, the lights were on and there
was the sound of someone cutting food.
Jake was back.
Alex grabbed my hand, telling me: “I didn’t tell
him, and I didn’t know that he would be here
so early…”
A dark figure walked over from the living
room, and his eyes were slightly red as he
clutched his knife.
“Karen, you’re back.”
