Timelessly (ENGLISH Version- Ongoing)

CHAPTER 6

SIX: "Memories of you..."

“QUINT! Let's go!" Quint was called by one of his male classmates and friends when he walked outside the library.

He walked and reached their noisy classroom, as his other classmates were always, when vacant or there was no teacher, gathered to talk, laugh, and others gossip and play like kids.

He knows everyone because, ever since the first year, they are just one section, and they are also classmates. All of them are also wearing complete school uniforms– a real indication that he’s been back to the present…

He frowned one day as he was walking down the path and saw his name among the representatives listed to join the Poster Making Contest for the upcoming literary events for the simple celebration of Nutrition Month. It’s been a week since he was back, and the feeling’s kind of unexplainably empty that he doesn’t even know why.

He stopped right in front of the bulletin board where his name was listed to represent the Pharmaceutics Department.

“Quint, we already listed your name there. You know that every year you are one we expect to attend the Science contests, right?”

The question in his mind was answered by what the President of the Department of Students Council of Pharmaceutics said when he approached Quint, and that was the confirmation.

He just sighed. What else could he do?

The simple celebration for Nutrition Month has finally come to date. There is no program culmination and no interruption in classes, regular classes still matter, and the student representatives of literary contests like poster making, essay writing, science investigatory projects, quiz bee, etc., will only be excused from their respective subject sessions because they will participate in such contests.

Quint finished his poster work on time for one hour straight. He was about to return to their classroom because he was going to attend the class for their next subject when he passed by the area outside the gym that didn't exist at the time and he remembered where Flor's booths used to be used to sell vegetables when there was a culmination of health appreciation. He stared at that part, and the girl inevitably entered his mind.

"Flor!" It was nostalgic. He could even hear himself going back to those worthy treasured moments.

The girl stopped arranging the display of the product for sale to look at him, and then she also smiled brightly when she saw him. "Quint, there you are!"

He nodded. "May I ask what makes you busy?”

“I sell healthy veggies and fruits. I have minor Science subjects, so we are here because our professors have required us to participate in such programs at the culmination of Health Awareness Month.”

Especially when he happily helped her sell her goods with his charming marketing strategy…

He hung other vegetables on his body, made beads of alugbati and nettle, and then tied the eggplants and ampalaya with string to hang around his waist. He even made bracelets and others that looked like decorations on his body.

"What are you doing, Quint?" Flor was laughing beautifully when she noticed the crazy thing he was doing for a market strategy.

He wrapped a bunch of beans around his forehead. He gazed at the girl with a silly smile. "I will help you. We will sell your goods.”

Later, he went out and stood in front of the booth and then started dancing a funny disco dance and some stepping that he remembers that they used in their Mass Dance Entry when he was in his first year of college, and it was an Intramural event.

Quint was still holding the hem of his uniform while dancing sexily, so there, finally, the passing fellow students noticed Flor’s booth, especially the women who approached and watched Quint with excitement. Some were laughing, and most were really thrilled and super entertained. Who wouldn't be thrilled? Apart from having a sense of humor in the way he moves, Quint's gentle and happy face is also handsome, which can attract girls’ attention.

“Buy it! Buy nutritious vegetables here at Flor’s Booth! Come on, woo hoo!”

So, that was it. People and co-students were finally encouraged to take a look and purchase products from Flor’s booth. She felt so glad that Quint was doing his best at helping her in a way she didn’t even expect he could do such a thing. Many customers were being accommodated, and he was busy entertaining and talking to them, convincing them to buy her goods. She was glancing at Quint every now and then, no matter how busy she got with her selling.

“Ha! I felt tired but satisfied somehow that we made the markets,” Quint said lightly as he was one by one removing the vegetables and fruits displayed on his body.

There were only a few left because the vegetables that were hanging on his body earlier were not missed by the female customers who pretended to be his fans with great comfort and excitement for him.

Flor moved to help him remove the other straps on his forehead.

“You're good at selling, aren't you? Your marketing strategy was so effective that I almost ran out of my products,” she proudly complimented him.

He wasn’t even aware that he was smiling as he remembered that happy moment with the girl in the old days.

Days passed, and the winners of the contests were announced and posted on the bulletin board. As always, Quint was the Champion in the poster making he participated in.

“You’re cool! Pride of Pharmaceutics Department! ” said one of the officers, who was also his friend, while happily looking at the list of winners in the bulletin.

Quint humbly smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Secretary!"

Even his classmates and those who knew him congratulated him. He simply nodded and thanked each one of them. He’s always been like that, humble and down to earth despite his victories.

He walked and kept on walking until he could pass by and take him with his feet to where Flor had also taken him before. Yes, and he remembers the girl again. Maybe there’s no way for him to forget Flor. Her smile, gentleness and beautiful face, her kindness… Moments with you were just so beautiful that I couldn’t forget you, Flor...

"Where are we going?" He could hear himself talking to her again in his memory…

“We will be touring some parts of the campus while it is not yet time for our classes. I will tour you. I'm sure our school looks different in this day and age than in the modern era where you really come from.” Her soothing voice somehow made him feel it was also a good thing he teleported to the wrong era, so he met Flor…

He just laughed softly as she enthusiastically continued pulling him towards the field.

“Really? It is very different in your time. Maybe it looks nicer there, doesn’t it? Because you’re advanced, and you can almost do anything in the advanced era,” he asked, stunned, as they stood and stared at the old-fashioned Gabaldon building.

As they continued to walk in his memory of Flor, he also continued to walk up to the Science and Medical-related courses building. He stood up and took his place in the same place he used to stand before when they stopped there under a big acacia tree and looked at the said building.

"I guess those wooden windows and pallets were already made of solid steel and glass in your time, am I right?"

He closed his eyes, nodded, and smiled. You're right, Flor… If only I had lived and met you in modern times, I'm sure we'd be standing here twice now, and I would not be all alone…

He walked further until his feet carried him to the huge wide field of the campus. The weather is hot now, and the sun is shining,, so there aren't many people hanging out there. Only a few students pass by.

"Is this still a vacant lot in the modern era?"

He shook his head. “Greenfield was covered by Bermuda grass everywhere. Only a few parts have been turned into gardens, gated by white wooden-made gates, and maintained to make them even more beautiful. The rest of the huge wide field is a free field where students can roam around and can hang out when there are no classes. Students with P.E classes sometimes turn it into a soccer field. ”

"Based on your stories, I really feel you come from a great period."

Flor is indeed right, and the innovated and modern era is even better as seen, and this is where Quint stands today. When he was once put in the wrong era, he was very eager to go back to the modern world… but now that he's finally back, he keeps on reminiscing about those old gold memories he had for a short period when he was in black and white times.

He shook his head and just went on. Sometimes, he really couldn’t understand himself.

One morning when the sun was shining and when Quint was walking down the corridor of the floor of their building and just coming out of the classroom after class, Flor was still really on his mind. He passed a classroom next to the row of classrooms before theirs, and he couldn't help but look back.

He walked down the corridor, not knowing exactly where he was going that their strict professor's class had let him out. As he was walking around, he saw in a classroom the beautiful woman he had talked to in the library. He listened intently and quietly to the teacher's lecture in front of him. Quint just leaned on the concrete railing of the floor outside the said classroom and then watched the woman from the window.

He couldn’t help but smile as he gently shook his head. She’s amusingly beautiful that, even for a second, he forgot his problem that time…

He shook his head and just tried to get the girl out of his mind. This is what he wants, isn't it? To be finally back to the original and modern era where he belongs. Flor is just purely part of a good memory, and he needs to finally get over her…

So that he could no longer think of the girl, he decided to go straight to the school’s library to entertain himself by reading a random book that he hand-picked from the shelf and read it.

The Subconscious. That’s the title of the book he got. He sat down at the long table with no one else sitting in the chair but himself and began to open the book to read.

-It takes 3-4 years to really know a person. Couples who have known each other this long before getting married are less likely to divorce.-

One turn to another page, and he stared at the air for a few seconds turned out he wasn’t even aware of doing so. And little by little, Flor's good memories flooded his mind again.

That moment, he woke up after he turned the old gold clock’s hands to 12:00, and he found himself trapped in an era he never imagined he could ever go to. He found himself in the old library asleep. His head was still resting on his arm lying on the table. Without moving, he moved his eyes around first, and there, his gaze was caught by the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

Quint seemed to have suddenly come back to his senses and wanted to slap himself! There he is again and thinking about Flor almost endlessly!

He sat up straight and adjusted himself. He tried to focus on the book.

-That person, who you can never get out of your mind, is also probably thinking of you.-

He frowned at the quote he read in the book he was reading.

Was it true? Could it be that Flor is also thinking of him in these moments as he does to her?

After a while, she seemed to feel and notice him as if he was staring at her, so she suddenly moved and seemed to be lost. On the other hand, he easily straightened up and adjusted his seat while still smiling affectionately at the girl.

“Sorry. Just keep writing,” he talked to her.

The amazingly beautiful girl seems to be a studious student too.

He returned to the court and was frustrated that he had just closed his eyes. He really wants to punch himself because he repeatedly thinks the woman should be just a part of his shortest past!

“You're probably tired now, and you danced there for an hour in front of my booth. By the way, I reserved a vegetable cake and fruit juice for you. I made them myself, and I keep them for you. This is my little way of saying thank you, really, for your help.”

Quint felt surprised and good. “Wow! Did you reserve one for me? Great! I’m sure these will be tasty!”

Flor nodded cheerfully and then grabbed a fork of vegetable cake. "Here, taste it."

And so he tasted the creamy cake, and his eyes brightened a lot with its deliciousness.

“What do you think about it? Does it taste good?”

He nodded with a smile. "So good! It's like I could even forget my name about the taste of the cake you made!”

She chuckled. "You're exaggerating! Hahaha! ”

Quint just tweaked himself like he was going crazy! He opens his eyes, he sees her! He closes his eyes. He still sees her! What is he supposed to do to completely divert his mind to other things and not remember Flor anymore?!

Another quote from the book and it made him realize a thing...

-Do you know? Without being aware of it, you may miss someone so much and think of that person like crazy. The unexplainable and mysterious emptiness, no matter how the world shows you you're happy, you still feel like something is missing, and you can't just be as cheerful as you should be, probably because in the deepest of your heart, you're missing someone and your soul wants to be near with that person again.-

He finally figured it out! He was missing Flor so much, and he was only denying it himself because he thought that when he returned to the modern world, he would be as happy as he had hoped when he was still there. He often feels that his past has a part in his shortcomings because there is someone he should always be close to, he can always see and be with…

He has finally decided he wants to teleport back to 1991! He should see her again no matter what it takes!