TIME WARP: Everything in this world I'd forgotten (Open)

[Deleted]

Fall 2026

Oriel nodded to the face of someone he didn't recognize. If he paid any attention to the traffic of those coming in and out of the run down convenience store, then maybe he would have realized, or cared, that it was the face of a boy who came in there at least once a week, after school had let out, to buy a few sodas all while hiding a couple of PBR cans in his jacket pockets to give to his friends around the corner of the building. What did it matter? He wasn't selling it, he didn't see it, he had no obligation to stop it. The man of only 29 years - though the powder in his stubble and streaks of white in his hair, the sunken look in his eyes that were surrounded by fine wrinkles, made him look several years older - ignored the boy-customer as he left the store and proceeded to do the monotonous work that his employer required on him.

It had been easier than he thought to find employment, so soon after his discharge from the correctional facility in New York. Oriel would have thought that his record would have him being laughed out the door after every solicitation. But apparently someone was looking out for him. He didn't care who, but his appreciation was...somewhat genuine.

It wasn't a glorious position. Probably the lowest of the lowest thing he could expect, for someone with only a high school education and barely any experience. And the experience and skills he did have were just the bare minimum that the facility could provide. Oriel hadn't done much more in there than keep quiet...and silently, subtly terrorize his companions over the years. And now he was...stocking cigarettes behind a counter with a safe beneath it that easily contained $2000 dollars. It was tempting, to take it for himself and run, but even as broken as he was, Oriel at least hadn't grown stupid. He just needed to go through the motions...and maybe, eventually, that black hole that had been festering within him would somehow disappear. Maybe, eventually, he'd become something more than this empty person he'd become.

Oriel glanced up as the chime on the door rang, blinking and offering a fake smile to his incoming co-worker. They talked, shared a few quips and jokes, laughed before the other man, a younger man, ventured into the back room to prepare for his shift. Immediately, Oriel's went back to the stoic one it was before. He'd become an expert at faking his emotions. He had to, if he wanted to make it in the new, now unfamiliar world he lived in.

His co-worker returned to the front, allowing Oriel a chance for a break. The man slipped outside and rounded the corner. Twenty feet from the door, he reminded himself as he pulled out one of his last three cigarettes and put it to his lips. Once lit, he took in one very intoxicating breath and released it slowly through his nose as he leaned up against the side of the building and blankly watched the traffic pass by the store.

[Takchawee Ominotago]

The years had been somewhat kinder to Tak. Quite a bit, actually. She didn't live a glamorous life by any means, but she made a living as the town's infamous fortune-teller, giving sometimes creepily accurate predictions of people's character and what their futures might hold. Of course, a good portion of that came from her ability, but her customers didn't need to know.

Her house was like that of a gypsy, draped with rich, hanging fabrics and beaded decor; it was small, but a place to live, and she could work from it with whatever hours she liked. Part of her home was also a shop of sorts, selling anything from tarot cards to crystals and foreign jewelry and various other knick-knacks she picked up. She made a decent business that way. Tak got by. She couldn't afford lavish vacations or delicacies, but she was happy enough.

She'd never married, which probably wasn't a surprise - she still lived much like she used to, with one-night flings and flirtations. It was enough, really; she'd never expected to settle down with anyone.

Tak was on her way home now, having just made a quick run to the store to grab some groceries (yes, even mystical gypsies needed food like regular people). She was dressed as one might expect, in similar bright, silky attire like that of her home. Her hair was loose and flowing down her back, with random bits of ribbon weaved within the strands. As she walked down the street towards a corner, some guy honked and yelled at her from his truck; she ignored it, rolling her eyes and happening to glance at a man standing outside the side of a convenience store. At first she thought nothing of it, but as a small slip of recognition hit her, she whirled back to look at the man to check that....

It was. It was Oriel. No matter what the years had done to him, she would recognize that face.

"Oriel?" she called out, walking towards him. It had been years since she'd last seen her friend - with all the trauma and trouble that had happened, they'd lost contact. Tak had missed him terribly, but she didn't know what to do. She'd been struggling herself with just barely scraping by.

"Oh my God," she breathed as she reached him. "It is you." His familiar aura nearly overwhelmed her; even so, it was obvious he was a changed man, even if she wasn't looking at the physical differences. "I never thought I was going to see you again... How many times have I walked by here and didn't even know you were around?" Without further thought, Tak wrapped her arms around him, awkwardly clinging to her shopping bag as she hugged him fiercely.

[Deleted]

Oriel wondered idly how many of these things he had to smoke before his lungs finally failed. They were already riddled with holes. If he stopped now, the only thing that would come of it is that he would suffocate even slower. Of course what he knew about it was simply what the doctors at the prison told him before they sent him on his way. He still didn’t like doctors, though by now that was merely a faint remnant of his boy self and not for any more reason than that.

Oriel just didn’t care anymore. About a lot. There was no reason to.

He blinked slowly, his eyes coming unfocused the longer they stared into the dank city he’d returned to. It was hot and mucky. He wanted to take off his workshirt, but then he’d just have to put it back on in ten minutes. Wasn’t worth it.

Hearing his name was a surprise, though he didn’t react with much more than a shift of his eyes in the direction of the feminine voice. There was no confusion as to who the voice was calling to, there were only so many Oriels in the world, especially not in Pilot Ridge. Not like if he’d been named John, or Fred, or Steve….huh, he wondered how Kodi was doing?

The man didn’t move much as the small, gypsy-like woman approached, though his eyes did follow her until she stopped right beside him. “Tak,” he said, giving her a brief glance up and down. “You look good.” She did, as she always did. “I just got back ‘bout six months ago. Been here only a month,” he explained as she wrapped her arms around him. His response was slow, but his arm too eventually curved tightly around the familiar figure of his old friend. Oriel closed his eyes, taking in her scent, trying to evoke something more from this reunion than the apathy that seemed to persist. He broke away after a moment, feeling like he’d gained nothing from that. Still, he offered her one of his fake, empty smiles. "It's good to see you."

[Takchawee Ominotago]

It took Tak all of only two seconds to be hit with a flood of information about Oriel that hadn't been there before. True, it was still him, and there were parts of his character still there, buried deep. But there was so much trauma, so much anguish and heartbreak that he'd been through that her old friend was suffocated with apathy and cold, hard memories. It was enough to make the empathetic woman gasp, breathing in the scent of cigarette smoke off of Oriel's clothes.

Why didn't I look for him harder? she asked herself angrily. Maybe I could have helped him. Maybe...

"You look... Like you've been through hell and back," she replied softly. Even though it hadn't been that long, Oriel looked like he'd aged twenty years since Tak last saw him. It was hard for her to handle. "I wish... I wish I'd known you were back. I wish I'd been able to keep in touch after..." Tak trailed off. It hadn't been her own fault, she knew, but she still blamed herself for not seeing him more.

That empty smile wasn't buying her. "I know you don't mean that," she told him with a furrowed brow. "Don't you dare try to fool me, Oriel." Had he forgotten Tak could smell bullshit from a mile away? Her eyes softened again, and she took one of his hands in her free one, squeezing it tightly. "Come to my place after you get off work, alright? Here." She managed to pull out a scrap of paper and a pen, and scribbled down her address. "If you don't show up, I'm going to keep coming back until you do," she told him firmly. Her voice was filled with concern. "I'll have something for you to eat and a bed for you to stay in if you'd like. It's been too long, hun."

[Deleted]

“A lot of people didn’t keep in touch.” He didn’t blame them. Oriel understood that everyone else had their own lives to think about. It was childish and irrational of Oriel to expect any one of his friends to have put their lives on hold while they waited for Oriel’s to start up again. In fact, after a while, he began hoping that that’s exactly what people were doing; moving on. Being happy. He’d hoped that Phoenix had found someone to make him happy. By the time Oriel had heard of his former lover’s passing, he’d already accepted that they weren’t going to get back together. So he couldn’t be disappointed or sad from the loss. But there was guilt. For making Phoenix so completely attached and dependent on the man that he couldn’t survive without him. That had been Oriel’s greatest fear while he was locked up. It was easier to think that Phoenix had just moved on.

Tak had clearly moved on. And that was…good.

Oriel should’ve known better, though, than to try and fool Tak. In a way, he regretted even trying. But just the same, he also had some idea that maybe acting in a way against what he ought to would be enough to signal red flags in the small woman. Or maybe that’s how much he just didn’t care. Either way, when Oriel was called out on his ingenuity, he immediately dropped the act.

Sorry. Force of habit, he thought of saying, but half of it would’ve been a lie too.

Oriel nodded. “Alright.” He’d go to her place. He had nothing else to do. Oriel took the scrap of paper, glanced at it, then placed it in his pocket. “Knowing you, you’ll probably come by everyday anyway.” A rough hand came up to gently brush over the fortune-teller’s cheek. There was still affection there, at least. “You’re always trying to take care of someone, it seems.” Oriel fell silent for a moment as he gazed down on this older, familiar woman. “How is your daughter?” She should be about thirteen now? Fourteen?

[Takchawee Ominotago]

"I shouldn't have been 'a lot of people'," Tak murmured. She didn't dwell on it, though, because there was nothing she could do about that now, only offer her support and love now that he was back; Oriel looked like he needed it. Tak had been devastated to hear about what had happened to Phoenix; why hadn't she been there for him, too? Had she been so caught up in her own life that she'd let those she cared about slip away without a fight? A horrible guilt still weighed heavily on her, but she didn't speak any more of it.

At least she hadn't been some dependent bitch and gotten married. That was something she actually took pride in; she enjoyed her independence far too much to be held down by anyone.

She was concerned for him, though. Incredibly concerned. There was so much bad overwhelming the good in his life that Tak was nearly overwhelmed by it herself. "I'm so sorry," she breathed, eyes slightly distant as she looked over him. Her other hand wrapped around the one she was already holding, having put her bag on the ground. "I wish I could heal the wounds you bear, and not just see them..." It was one of the downsides to her ability; there was only so much she could do for those with traumatic memories. She wasn't a telepath, or a memory manipulator. She could only see.

Tak dipped her head as he agreed to come see her, glad he was telling the truth. "I probably will," she smiled faintly. Now that she knew Oriel was here, she'd definitely come by and give him company, if nothing else. Maybe she couldn't fix anything, but she could try to make him at least a little happier. Tak's eyes closed at the gentle caress, and her hands squeezed his more tightly. "I guess my maternal instincts never faded," she replied quietly. She looked at him again, letting her eyes wander over his features. Tak lifted her hand to touch a strand of graying hair. "She's doing great," she replied, affection coloring her voice at the mention of her daughter. "Yasmine has raised her wonderfully. I know she has a bright future ahead of her." There was much she could brag about, but Tak knew Oriel probably had to get back to work, so she refrained.

"You'll have to meet her sometime," she added, reaching down to pick her bag up again. She stood straight and asked,"What time should I expect you?" Tak wanted to have something nice planned for the broken man. It was the least she could do.

[Deleted]

Whatever. Oriel still didn’t blame her. It didn’t matter how much Tak regretted it now anyway, it wasn’t like it was something she could take back. Not like anyone could just suddenly go back in time and fix everything they did or didn’t do to Oriel. If that were possible, Oriel would have already done it so he didn’t fuck up in the first place.

Whatever, it was fine.

“It’s not your fault,” he said. It might have been an attempt to make her feel better, but he was still stating fact. Oriel messed up all by himself. And he was going to have to live with it all by himself.

Even if Phoenix had still been around, there was little he’d be able to do for the worn man. Oriel just wanted to get on with his life now.

“That’s good to hear,” he said, honestly. Anything other than that would have been unfortunate. The girl, Tacicala, deserved to have a good life to look forward to. Oriel nodded, refraining from saying one way or the other if he even wanted to see the child. Oriel didn’t honestly know himself, but knew that Tak would probably think it’d do him some good to re-connect with people. “I’ll be out of work at five,” he said. “I can come right after.” He wasn’t a child, so didn’t need to check back with his mother. Just the same, Oriel would call the woman and let her know.

[Takchawee Ominotago]

It didn't make Tak feel better, but at least she was determined now to make up for not being there for him for the past several years. She was going to make him smile again, she was determined to.

"Yes... We're both very fortunate," Tak replied, though she felt a slight pang of guilt for saying so in front of Oriel, who obviously had suffered a lot. Still, she wouldn't have wanted anything less for her daughter. And she wouldn't push Oriel to see her if he didn't, although she hoped he would. "Five, alright," she nodded in confirmation. "I'll see you then, hun. Come hungry." She stood on her toes and pecked one of Oriel's worn cheeks before grabbing her bag and heading off with a wave.

When she got home, she did a little bit of tidying (while her work space and shop portion of her building was clean, her bedroom and private rooms were a bit less organized, but nothing a little dusting and primping couldn't fix) and set about to prepare a meal. Tak usually didn't make anything too fancy, but tonight she decided to make something special for Oriel - a nice salad, Moroccan chicken, some red wine, and even a very expensive, very fancy pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream in the fridge for dessert (okay, so she didn't spend that much on it).

The chicken was just about finished by the time there was a knock on her door. Tak wiped her brow and checked her makeup before heading to greet her old friend. She'd slipped into her more common home attire - a loose, knee-length asymmetrical skirt and a blank top, which of course showed a fair amount of generous cleavage (some things never changed). She smiled at Oriel as she opened the door and ushered him inside, curling a strand of her long, loose hair behind her ear as she shut the door behind him. "Welcome to my shop-slash-home," she told him with a slight, dramatic bow. "Make yourself comfortable. Dinner's just about ready."

[Deleted]

Oriel nodded, to confirm the time and allowed the short woman to see him off with very chaste kiss. Oriel watched as she left crossing the parking lot in the direction she was heading prior to being distracted by the man loitering outside on his smoke break.

The man snuffed out the cigarette and headed back inside, droning through the rest of his day until his shift finally ended at 5 o’clock. It was in reality a little bit after five when he was finally released, as what sometimes happened maybe two or three times a week when his relief was held up and came in late. Oriel stood through it, though, without complaint. He wasn’t in any rush. Therefore he didn’t, once he was clocked out and free to walk towards the location indicated on the scrap of paper Tak had given him. He removed the stuffy work-shirt on his way there, feeling physically relieved to finally be out of it and free to cool off in the fall air. He checked the address again to confirm it against the residence he’d arrived at before knocking on the door.

There might have been excitement buried beneath that emotionless wall of his, at the prospect of reconnecting with a person who often knew him better than he knew himself. Of an old friend. Someone he cherished…once upon a time. But none of it showed on his face when the door finally opened to reveal the woman clad in an outfit very much befitting of spiritual woman. Oriel did, however, offer her a nod at her dramatic greeting and let himself inside. He looked around the shop/home, thinking that the decor suited her as well. “What does your shop sell?” he asked, poking gently at one of the crystals set on display. Oriel never really understood all this spirituality stuff.

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Tak tried her best not to pry her ability more into her old friend, to see how best it might be to make him happy, but she couldn't help but feel a little. Most everything was covered up, though, by the strong wall of apathy she'd been hit by earlier. She was determined to start chipping away at it.

She looked around the place as he asked her about it, smiling fondly. "An assortment of things," she mused. "I tell fortunes in there," she started, motioning to a darkened room behind a slightly open door on the opposite side of the shop. "And I help people develop their chi and teach meditation practices." She chuckled and nodded towards the shelves. "I sell books, tarot cards, teas, crystals to balance chi, henna... Just a lot of different trinkets and items I find helpful or just pleasing for the eye." She shrugged and motioning Oriel back to behind the curtain that cut off her shop from the rest of the house.

"But anyway, you can go ahead and sit at the table if you're ready to eat. I'm just going to finish up in here..." Tak swayed into her kitchen and pulled out the chicken, quickly finishing up the meal, taking out the salad, and grabbing plates and glasses and utensils to place on the dining room table. She popped open the bottle of wine and poured them each a glassful. "I hope it's alright," Tak said a little sheepishly as she placed the food on the table and motioned for Oriel to take his fill. "I can't say I'm the best cook around, but I tried my best." She wasn't bad by any means either, but she'd just never been particularly gifted in making food.

Once the food was out, she sat across from her old friend and gave him a warm smile. "Is there anything on your mind that you would like to talk about?" she asked, opening their conversation for whatever he would like to discuss, if he wanted to talk at all. She figured the best way to get to the worn man was to let him speak at his own time.

[Deleted]

Oriel wasn’t always stone-faced. Sometimes a smirk managed to break through his cold exterior. And not a fake one either. It was always evanescent, thought. And in response to…random things. Oriel wouldn’t even be able to tell you what they were. So if Tak wanted to start ‘healing’ Oriel, then…she was on her own on figuring it out. Oriel wouldn’t know where to begin.

“I see.” The place looked well put together. Very…Tak. He idly wondered if he shouldn’t get a reading done himself. Maybe find out if there was….there probably wasn’t, but….if nothing else, then just for Tak’s peace of mind. She’d probably like to do one anyway.

Oriel silently made his way to the dining room table, taking an extra circle around the shop before finally leaving it to sit down. He nodded to Tak as she served him the meal, and even a glass of wine. Wine…he hadn’t had alcohol in a while, now that he thought about it. Actually, he couldn’t even remember the last time he’d had it. “I’ve never been picky,” he said. It wasn’t meant to be an offense to her cooking. It was probably fine. But it was still true that it didn’t matter how good or bad it was, Oriel would still eat it. “I could teach you a few things, if you want me to.” Why not? He didn’t have anything else to do.

Oriel picked up the glass and sipped slowly on the wine. It tasted nice on his pallet. “I don’t know what I would talk about,” he answered honestly. He assumed she knew about Phoenix. And he assumed nobody wanted to know what he’d been up to the past ten years. Tak already had a good idea anyway. There wasn’t much he could say that she didn’t already pick up on.

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Tak would definitely like to do a reading for Oriel. While a good portion of her 'ability' as a fortune teller just came from her actual ability, it was still pretty accurate (probably because her ESP was, well, real). So she thought perhaps taking a deeper look into Oriel's aura would give her some answers she needed to figure out what might bring the old Oriel back out again.

She chuckled at his reassurances and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "That's good to know," she replied, picking up her fork to start eating. At his offer, her smile widened a bit as she mused ta the idea. "That would be very appreciated," she decided, taking a bite of the salad. "You were always gifted with cooking, weren't you? Maybe someday you could open your own restaurant." Tak knew Oriel probably had no dreams or goals anymore, given how empty he seemed, but maybe she could somehow spark a light of some kind back in him if she tried hard enough.

She nodded as he admitted to not knowing what to talk about. Tak had thought that might be the case. And it was true that she knew a good deal of things just from word of mouth and now being in the presence of her old friend. "You know, it can get pretty lonely, being a single working woman," she mused, taking her own sip of wine. "I don't suppose you'd be interested in... Spending the night, would you?" Tak's eyes found his, and her lips spread into a more playful smile.

[Deleted]

Oriel nodded, following Tak’s lead once again and beginning to consume his meal. He put a piece into his mouth. It wasn’t bad. “I wouldn’t know how to start that,” he admitted. Starting his own restaurant had been one of the many things he’d considered doing with himself in his youth. Starting a restaurant. Being a non-invasive tattoo artist(with someone else doing the artwork). Dancing on Broadway had been his biggest dream. But Oriel had no real education. Just high school. Working at a gas station was probably the best he could manage right now. College, he figured, was still out of the question for him, though he’d already long since learned how to overcome his reading disability.

Oriel just didn’t have many option at this stage of his life. He wasn’t in any hurry either to do anything with it. There was very little point to it these days. Phoenix was gone, which meant there was little for him to live for now. And he wasn’t sure if it was worth it to find another reason.

Without any goals for the future, and nothing of the past he wished to reflect on, there wasn’t much for Oriel to talk about. As such, he’d grown very quiet in his age…he was still not even 30 yet, and he felt like an old man already.

His eyes flitted up at Tak’s offer. He wasn’t surprised by it. He may have even expected it. Oriel swallowed before answering. “I’ve never been one to turn down an offer.” No matter the circumstance. At least that hadn’t changed. Though Oriel didn’t get many offers these days. And Tak…was definitely still more his preference than some of the other offers he’d gotten.

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Tak smiled and motioned around herself, to the building they were in. "This didn't all happen in a day," she told him with a shrug. "One thing sort of just led to another and eventually I managed to figure out how to get this set up." Had Oriel had his hands free, Tak would have taken one in her own. "You're too young to give up on life, Oriel," she said softly. "I know you feel older, but you still have so much left to live. Phoenix would... Phoenix would want you to keep pushing on." She said this carefully, knowing it was a sensitive subject. She missed the poor pixie quite a bit herself; she could only guess (and pick up what she could) how Oriel felt about it.

She looked back down at her food and ate a bit more, hoping she hadn't stepped over any lines. Tak knew trying to get through to Oriel wouldn't be easy; she couldn't rush into it. It just pained her so much to see her friend like he was now.

Tak smiled a little at his response, glad that at least something hadn't changed. "Well, here is your offer, then," she chuckled, sipping some more wine. She swirled the glass around and looked away for a moment before returning her gaze to the younger man. "You know, I never saw myself settling down with anyone, and I still don't have any desire to, but..." Her smile turned a tad shy and she looked down into her cup. "I'll always regret not being able to be the mother that Tacicala could have had, had I been older and more stable." She let out a small, breathless chuckle. "I guess... It's safe to say that I have pretty bad... What is it called? Baby fever?" She put down her glass and started eating again, surprised at herself for rambling. "Sorry, I didn't mean to lay that on you. It's just not very often I feel so comfortable talking with someone."

[Deleted]

“I’m not saying it did,” he said. “I just….you know I didn’t go to college.” And that made a difference in this day and age. If you didn’t, then getting a job as a convenience store attendant was about the best you could do for yourself. Oriel didn’t have very many other skills and even if those mattered, he didn’t have the minimum education required for most jobs. Starting his own business…his own restaurant….he wouldn’t even know where to begin.

Oriel was about to comment about his age when she said exactly what he was thinking. He did feel older. By about 20 years. That had always been a thing, even when he was a child. He had to grow up too fast so it was easy for people to forget that the teenage boy was exactly that…a boy. Oriel had been bitter about that for a long time. Now…it just didn’t matter. “I know…” he said quietly. Oriel just didn’t know how he was supposed to move on. And if there was a way…how was he expected to find it?

Oriel didn’t want his pessimism and vacancy to bring down the mood…to cause his old friend such distress. But there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn’t pretend in front of Tak, she would see right through his act. And he couldn’t switch his mental state at will as if it were a light switch, no more than he’d been able to do as a boy.

Oriel nodded. He thought it was an offer. And he was more than willing to comply, even if it was just something to do. But this was also Tak they were talking about. Oriel had always enjoyed his relations with her. Perhaps re-igniting them would help?

He sipped more of his wine as she spoke of her daughter and mother hook. It…made sense to him. Somehow. “….if you want me to do something, you know you just have to ask,” he said, looking straight at the sheepish woman. It wasn’t hard to figure out what she was trying to say. “I just don’t know why you’d want me for that sort of thing.” Oriel was the sort who didn’t believe that his genes should ever be passed on. That’s why he was always so careful in his intimate encounters.