Nearly a week had passed. Every day after school, George would stop by different shops, carefully selecting gifts, each one carrying a piece of his heart. He would attach a small handwritten note before leaving it for Eliana, hoping she’d understand the depth of his emotions despite his distance.
One such note read:
"Eliana, even though I am not beside you, my heart is always near. The way you used to pull me by the hand, dragging me to class with that determined look—I didn’t realize it then, but my heart was already yours."
At school, George now sat at the back of the classroom, deliberately keeping his distance. His eyes would linger on Eliana for only a second before forcing himself to look away. But in his mind, a thought echoed over and over.
"Am I even allowed to love this girl?"
Eliana, still able to hear his thoughts, felt her heart ache each time those words repeated. Sometimes, the urge to run to him, to shake him and demand answers, became unbearable. But she waited. She always waited.
Then, one evening, as George made his way toward a boutique to pick out another gift, something in the glass storefront caught his attention.
A reflection.
A hooded figure.
His pulse quickened. He had seen this person before. The build, the stance—something about them felt oddly familiar.
Slowly, George turned around, his eyes narrowing as he tried to get a better look.
The hooded figure hesitated for only a moment before panic set in—and then they bolted.
Crash!
In their frantic attempt to escape, the figure collided with a tall, unattended ladder. An employee had left it there while putting up decorations, but now, it was tilting dangerously, about to come crashing down.
Without thinking, George lunged forward.
He shoved the hooded person out of the way just as the heavy ladder came crashing down—slamming into his back, sending him sprawling forward. His head hit the cold, hard floor.
A sharp pain. Then darkness.
Before his consciousness faded, he barely managed to whisper one name—
"Eliana..."
Eliana clung to George’s arm, her fingers trembling as she held onto him like he was the last thing tethering her to reality. His face was still, his breathing slow but steady, yet he remained unconscious.
Tears welled in her eyes as she whispered, “George... please wake up.”
Then, a ripple.
Something inside George’s unconscious mind shifted, like the crackling of a broken signal before a forgotten transmission resumed.
A memory exploded within him.
It was that day—the day everything changed.
The memory played like a scene unraveling in his mind:
He had arrived at school, alongside Eliana. The usual chatter of students filled the air, the sun casting soft golden hues over the campus. Then, without warning—
His phone spoke.
But it wasn’t a ringtone, nor a notification.
The voice was cold. Robotic. Artificial.
“Initializing... Pulsation sequence activated.”
A strange pulse vibrated from his phone, and before he could react—reality collapsed.
A swirling abyss. A gravitational force unlike anything imaginable.
A black hole.
It expanded and swallowed him whole.
Everything turned to darkness. Cold. Silent. Endless.
But this time... the memory didn’t stop there.
For the first time, he saw what happened after.
He didn’t just wake up in this world. No. He was reborn.
A baby.
He lived an entire life—his childhood, his youth, the long nights spent in his room, reading a novel. A novel he once thought was mere fiction.
His entire existence—his so-called "real world"—was nothing more than a fleeting dream.
And now, the truth dawned upon him with an overwhelming clarity—
This world. This novel. This life.
This was reality.
His fingers twitched. His breathing grew heavier. The weight of this revelation bore down on him like an avalanche.
And then—
His eyes snapped open.
Eliana gasped, her tears freezing mid-fall as she looked at him, stunned.
His heart pounded in his chest, his pulse syncing with a rhythm far older than himself. He had remembered.
While George remained unconscious, a hospital attendant arrived, carrying an enormous package—a delivery sent by his mother.
Inside the box lay nearly a hundred carefully wrapped gifts.
Eliana, still seated beside George’s hospital bed, felt a painful lump in her throat as she reached out and opened the first one.
Inside was a small, delicate charm bracelet. Attached to it was a handwritten note:
"Sorry that I'm not there… but when you held my fingers and dragged me to class, my heart beat so fast that I realized—my love for you had already grown beyond control."
Eliana’s hands trembled.
Her vision blurred with fresh tears, but she couldn’t stop herself. She opened the next one. Then the next.
Each gift contained a message—a fragment of his love, his longing, his regret for being distant.
By the time she reached the last one, her hands were clenched, her heart screaming in agony.
“Idiot… you’ve been loving me for so long, and I—”
She lowered her head onto George’s arm, sobbing uncontrollably. Regret stabbed deep into her heart.
Then, without warning—
George’s fingers twitched.
Eliana gasped, lifting her head.
And then—his eyes opened.
For a moment, there was silence.
Then, a thought echoed in George’s mind.
This idiot hurts me even more.
His eyes widened. The voice—it was Eliana’s.
Yet, her lips never moved.
I regret not answering your feelings for a year.
If you're really awake... I’m going to ask you to marry me. Marry me. Marry me, idiot.
George nearly choked on his breath.
Wait… what?
His gaze snapped to Eliana, who was still crying, her mouth shut, yet her voice resonated in his mind.
And then—realization crashed down on him.
He could hear Eliana’s thoughts.
And before he could even process this impossible phenomenon, Eliana suddenly froze, her teary eyes going wide.
She had just heard his realization.
Is this real? I can hear Eliana’s thoughts... She wants to marry me?
She gasped.
Wait. HE CAN HEAR ME TOO?!
For a long moment, they stared at each other in complete shock. A new, inexplicable connection had formed between them.
Then, Eliana moved.
Without hesitation, she knelt beside his bed, grabbing his hand. Her grip was firm, desperate, as if trying to make sure he wouldn’t disappear.
Through teary eyes, she whispered—no, spoke directly into his mind.
"Yes. I can hear your thoughts. And you can hear mine as well."
Her lips trembled, but she did not hesitate.
"So, George…"
She took a deep breath, her heart pounding.
"Marry me."