Chapter 3 / 51 · 1 min

I'm Thinking Whether to Offer You My Shoulder

“Are you feeling sleepy?” Aroni asked, holding back a smile.

It was our second date.

The CNG sped down the empty hill road. In the cold wind, I really was getting drowsy.

“Yeah, a little,” I said. “But these CNG seats are terrible…”

She smiled.

“I’m thinking whether to offer you my shoulder.”

The moment she said it, she flushed red with embarrassment.

I grinned. “So? What did all that thinking lead to? Can I rest my head on your shoulder?”

She shook her head quickly. “No way!”

But no meant yes.

I leaned toward Nefertiti’s shoulder. My head passed straight through her shoulder, then through her entire body, and came to rest on the CNG seat.

Nefertiti spoke. “Why don’t you forget that I am the Aroni your mind created?”

Then it all came back to me.

Four years ago, on a hill road just like this one, in a CNG just like this one, I had rested my head on Aroni’s shoulder. That was when we had the accident.

My head stayed safe on her shoulder.

Aroni’s head did not.