Heartbeats and Time

d feels.

st

e that follows a s

time I lost, all the emotions I poured into it across loops I shouldn't r

it's holding

el it in

s a little more time.

to br

h to

e don't figure out w

hatever fragile balance we've managed to create. His expression is unreadable but

embered," I whisper. "I

e it wasn't about remembering.

tin

laugh. S

ll. And I don't think I'll s

hift my gaze

you were. Before you tore it down. And before you... showed me what we wer

remember the way it m

ly. "How did I know? How did I see th

nce is d

ha

ime. Something pure. I think the mural is tied to the first fracture. You may not hav

rt stu

k I start

"I think you're the only

se

esn't

weight of

maybe this entire fracture in time isn'

tual,

like she was

is," I say, my voice rough. "You w

thing between a smile and a c

again, flipping to a clean page. Her eyes are las

you doin

es. If I can see the pattern in art maybe you can trans

emotion can

n experience is c

love he

't say th

know if we'll eve

She sketches. I draft formulas. She traces spirals. I scribble loop

r and find her asleep against m

e only thing that's eve

ry

e sound of h

dy.

e

it's still pulsing. Still anchoring

. It's quiet like the wo

ing through the haze of equa

yed," I

urse I

t like it

my life has eve

. "What if we c

n I'll stay with you in the loop forever. I don't care if we re

st tig

I beli

res me more

lling.

ething d

o h

the heart in the center, the overlapping gears

the mural isn'

d like the

eart in t

I've worn since I was a kid one my m

o

coinci

to my

ha

ha

in the mural. But I painted t

hat if... it's not just symbolic?

ind

d it

nal so human be the stab

hovering over the small

n I

no

examining it like it

he fr

is is a da

ha

dded in the center. "This isn't jewelry. This is old-

't br

," I whisper. "Right before she vanished

ght with a fire

to run

se

neck

re the wh

chest next to

chip into

reen b

ted. H

broken

s, I realize som

tamp on t

the Resonator e

"Avery your mom knew wh

st. Quiet. Strange. Always talking about 'cycles' and 'windows.' I thought

ough the dec

ema

nin

nstability. Of emotio

oming. And she left the only key with the one

res at th

t the

back

et's en