Second Chance
Neoma sat awkwardly in her papasan chair, watching Nova as she made tea for them. She hadn’t aged a day, and even though she had been a frog mere moments ago, she appeared to be completely herself now; she was even humming while she waited for the water to heat up. Just like she used to.
But Neoma was nervous all the same. After all, it had been years since they’d been together.
“What’s on your mind, sweetheart?”
Neoma had to smile, Nova always knew what when something was wrong. She didn’t even have to look.
“How did you find me?”
“Well, I heard that the big scary bog witch was turning frogs back into humans.” Nova said as she brought Neoma her tea.
“What have you been doing for all these years?” Neoma asked, still feeling a sense of wrongness within her.
“Well, at first I was trying to assess the viability of Millcreek for long-term life, but then more people were sent in and they failed the company’s test, so they started killing people. After that, I ran. I ran to the edges of the world and hid where I thought they wouldn’t find me, and then the fog came.” Nova paused to sip her tea, “The fog kept me trapped, and then a new wave of people came. They must have failed the test too, because the company had started the destruction sequence; but then everyone turned into frogs - which I suppose was your handiwork.”
“It seemed better than death.”
“Oh, absolutely, but your magic encompassed the entire world, and the next thing I knew, I was a frog as well.”
Neoma chuckled, “I’m sorry, babe.”
“It’s okay.” Nova smiled that warm smile that Neoma loved so much, “I’m just lucky the fog cleared and I could find you, I’d still be a frog if it hadn’t.”
“So, what do we do now?” Neoma asked with her face in her tea.
“Well, we can stay here, live out our lives, but the company will always be right outside..”
“Would we be allowed to leave? To go back to the real world? We’ve been gone a long time, and Milo is still with Jenny..”
Nova was silent for a few minutes, but Neoma could see the wheels turning in her mind. All of the sudden, she slammed her teacup on the counter and stood up quickly.
“I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going now?!”
“One last mission, my love.”
Neoma sank deeper into the papasan chair, “It’s always one last mission..”
“Hey, just trust me.” Nova said softly as she stroked a hand across Neoma’s cheek before she kissed her and ran out the door.
Three days had passed and Nova hadn’t returned. Neoma knew that time moved differently in Millcreek, but she couldn’t help but think of the mission that started all of this, and how she only just got Nova back, and how she may have lost her all over again. Tears filled her eyes as she sank deeper into her bed, covering herself with all of her blankets so she could pretend that she didn’t exist. If even for a moment.
But then, she heard a soft creak in the otherwise silent night.
Neoma peeked her head out from under her covers as the floorboards creaked under someone’s feet, someone who was clearly trying, and failing, to be sneaky.
“Who’s there?” Neoma croaked out, her throat dry from her anguish.
“Oh man, you’ve been awake this whole time?”
That voice, that’s…
“Nova!” Neoma jumped out of bed and ran to Nova.
“Wait, wait, look who I brought.” Nova opened her bag and Milo jumped out onto the bed. After a big stretch, he chirped and walked over to Neoma, rubbing his face on her arm.
“Oh my gosh, Milo!” Neoma exclaimed as she burst into tears.
“I’m sorry I took so long, I had to make sure we would be safe here.”
“What did you do?”
“I gave us a second chance, baby.” Nova said, avoiding the question, as she walked over and kissed Neoma deeply.
Image: Unsplash - NASA
Whaaaaaaat?!
Ooooh! What'd Nova do???