Page 58 of Time Loops & Meet Cutes
I shake my head.
When he walks away, my sign feels even heavier than it did before.
I stay at the market for two more hours, like I said I would, and the only people who talk to me are a family looking for a washroom and a man asking if I’ve found God.
Before I leave, I buy some cupcakes from the place that I considered too expensive on my very first trip to the night market.
Avery has made herself comfortable in my apartment by the time I arrive. She’s scarfing down pretzels and watching TV.
“Any luck?” I ask, but I know the answer. If she’d gotten anywhere, she’d have texted.
She shakes her head. “What about you?”
“Nothing. But I got you a treat.” I hold up the box in my hand and open the lid. “Happy birthday.” I considered buying her a present as well, but it would have disappeared overnight anyway. Food, at least, is meant to be consumed.
She gives me a faint smile, and that’s enough for me. “Thanks. What are the flavors?”
“Salted caramel, candied ginger calamansi, chocolate raspberry, and lemon rosemary.”
“Ooh.”
I’m not surprised when she reaches for the salted caramel. I try the ginger calamansi, the swirl of perfect, pale buttercream topped with thin slices of candied citrus and ginger.
Well, now I understand why the cupcakes cost so much.Holy shit, that’s good.
As I savor my treat, I pull out my phone to see if there have been any helpful comments on my Reddit posts. Nothing worth mentioning.
But right before bed, I get a direct message.
dustypeony:I swear my mother told me a story—a real story—about a woman experiencing the same day over and over. I’d ask her about it tomorrow, except I’m not sure how that’ll work for you. Here’s my email address. Email me first thing when you wake up, whatever day that happens to be, and hopefully I can talk to her that afternoon.
I can’t believe it. After all this time, I’ve finally got a real lead!
I commit the email address to memory.
The next day, I send the email as I make coffee. After remaking my sign, I head to Yonge and Bloor. Rather than holding the sign on a broomstick, I’ve fashioned a stand—also out of cardboard—so I don’t have to hold my arm up.
Once again, I’m not successful. Some people pick up their pace after reading the sign.
I’m not delusional!I want to shout.
I’m sure that wouldn’t help, but even if I were hallucinating this entire situation, I’d deserve compassion, right?
I obsessively check my email all day, but it’s not until the evening that I get a response from dustypeony.
My mother says that when she was a girl in Japan, she knew someone who got stuck living the same day. The woman said that after the thirtieth time, it simply ended, and it never happened again. She thinks it was supposed to repeat for a fixed number of days. I’m sorry I can’t tell you more.
I groan. This is the closest I’ve come to finding anyone who’s gotten out of a time loop, and it’s just a vague story aboutsomeone who knew someone decades ago. It’s no help to me. And thirty days? If only! I’ve been stuck for a lot longer than that.
I try yet another Chinese herbalist. These herbs aren’t quite as bitter, but they don’t help with my problem, and I sigh when I wake up to my alarm yet again.
As long as I’m stuck on June 20, life isn’t real. There are no true consequences.
Yet in a way, life is very real, isn’t it?
I certainly have more feelings. Before, I was on autopilot, but now, I’m definitely not, even if I’m repeating the same day. I experience lots of disappointment and frustration and sadness… and the beginnings of love.
Then there’s Avery. It feels like she’s slowly becoming hollow. A shell of her former self. I make another attempt to encourage her to write fanfic, but she just sighs and asks what the point is.
