couldn’t believe that she was staring at the likeness of her beloved face-to-face. She cleared her throat, breaking the uncomfortable silence while their eyes lingered on each other. “I can’t come in unless I’m invited,” she repeated. “Oh,” Cristian said, snapping out of his trance. “Where’s my manners.” “Of course, you can come in,” he said, stepping aside as she walked over the threshold into his loft. She looked around at the furnishings that consisted of a
the loft lacked a woman’s touch. She stopped at a framed picture of Cristian with a tall man with blonde hair and a woman with short brown hair. “So this is your bachelor’s pad?” she asked. “You can say that,” he said with a slight chuckle. “Have a seat,” he said pointing over to the couch in the center of the living room. Sage walked over and took a seat. “Can I offer you a drink?” he asked. She smiled. “No, but thank you,” she replied. He sat down in the adjoining chair and began to tap his knees nervously. Sage bit her lip trying not to laugh. “Maybe you can use a drink,” she joked. He noticed his nervous tapping and stopped. “Sorry, I’m just a little nervous,” he said taking a breath. “So how is it that you painted my portrait?” she asked. “Well,” he sighed. “It’s hard to explain. I kept seeing your face in my mind, and I decided to paint what I saw,”
faster than the wings of a hummingbird.They stared at each other awkwardly. “There’s something I want to show you,” he said, getting up from the chair. She got up as he led her to a room that was next to his bedroom. He opened the door revealing drawing upon drawing of Sage that covered the room wall to wall. It almost looked to be a shrine. “I don’t know why I couldn’t stop sketching your picture,” he said, looking at a stunned Sage. “I just couldn’t forget your face.” “You know, this would be my cue to run screaming for the door,” she joked. Cristian started to laugh. “Yes, a bit obsessed,” he said as they both laughed, breaking the tension between them. She looked at him and noticed that his hair was darker, much like that of her beloved. “Your hair is darker,” she said. “I don’t know how it happened, but it changed,” he said. “When I saw you,” he whispered nearly inaudibly. She looked at him in wonderment. “How can it be?” she thought. “That I’m standing here looking into the face of the man I loved.” Cristian looked at her puzzled as if he read her thoughts. Noticing the puzzled expression on his face, Sage wondered if he heard what she was thinking. “I think I should go,” she said feeling overwhelmed. “Can you stay just a little longer?” he asked. “We don’t have to stay here. We can go somewhere else. Please.” he pleaded. She smiled slightly. “Ok,” she said. He smiled. “I’ll just go grab my jacket,” he said.
She went back over to the couch to sit down while he went into his room to grab his jacket. Stopping at the mirror on the wall to check his appearance, he noticed that when he looked toward the couch, he couldn’t see Sage’s reflection in the mirror. Startled, he turned around to see if she’d left because he scared her off, only to see her sitting on the couch. Confused, he looked into the mirror again and didn’t see her reflection. Rubbing his eyes, thinking he’s seeing things, Cristian looked toward the couch again, and saw her sitting there. “Strange,” he thought as he grabbed his jacket. “Sage, I was wondering,” he stopped when he noticed she wasn’t sitting on the couch. “Sage?” he said, turning around to find her standing behind him, startling him. “I didn’t mean to startle you,” she said smiling. “It’s okay, I’m just a little jumpy,” he said. He didn’t know what it was, but whenever he was around Sage, he felt a strange sensation that he knew her. “So have you eaten? Are you hungry?” he asked as they went down the elevator to the lobby. “I’ve eaten,” she said with a grin. “So what do you want to do?” he asked putting on his sunglasses. “Let’s just walk,” she said putting on her sunglasses.
They walked out onto the streets as Sage used her powers of illusion to keep people from staring at them. Cristian was surprised that people seemed to walk right by them without noticing them. He felt an urge to hold her hand but resisted, because he didn’t want to appear to come on strong.
“So, Mr. West,” she said. “Please call me, Cristian,” he said.“Okay. ‘Cristian,’ she said, pausing on his name. “Do you bring a lot of women to your bachelor’s pad?” she asked.
He regarded her question carefully. “You are the only woman I’ve ever brought into my home,” he said. “No one has ever been there except for my parents.” She was touched by his honesty. “Actually, no one knows my address, because it’s under an assumed name,” he said.
“It’s for my privacy.” “I love my fans—don’t get me wrong—but sometimes they can be a bit aggressive,” he said. “I understand,” she said, knowing all too well how much she loves her privacy.
They walked seemingly in minutes to Central Park over to Bow Bridge overlooking the lake to take in the sunset, taking off their sunglasses. “Sometimes I come here for serenity,” he said softly. He looked at her as she stared in silence at the sunset, completely overwhelmed by what was happening and the feelings reawakening inside of her. “This is beautiful,” she said, breathlessly, looking at the burnt orange and red sky. “You are beautiful,” he said, staring at her bathed in the orange glow of the sun’s rays. Sage felt as though her knees were going to buckle when he uttered those words in almost the same way and tone as she’d heard them spoken to her centuries ago. She stared at him, unable to express what she was feeling. It was as though she traveled back in time, found Cristian again, and they were making up for the time that was lost.
She looked into his eyes. “I don’t know why,” he said, gazing into her eyes, “but I feel like I know you.” He stared at her lips. Caught up in the moment, he leaned in to kiss her. “Cristian, please,” she said, putting her fingers to his lips. “We just met and we barely know each other.” He nodded his head, disappointed. “You’re right,” he said. “We did just meet and are getting to know each other.” He gently lifted up her chin. “But I feel like I already know you,” he said.
Sage swallowed hard, wanting to kick herself for ruining a romantic moment, but she didn’t want to throw caution to the wind and act impulsively just because he bore a resemblance to her lost love. Having heard people talk about past lives, she never believed in it or thought it was possible. She knew that this was more than just happenstance, and there had to be an explanation for this. Walking through the park, they got on a horse-drawn carriage taking them on a tour. Sage felt a strong sense of déjà vu. She felt a deluge of emotions run through her body as she remembered riding in a carriage with Cristian in the past going to the river where they had their first and only kiss. “Did you want to ride on a ferry after this?” he asked. She didn’t respond as her mind envisioned, as if it was happening in the present, the image of her parent’s horrifying deaths. “Sage, are you alright?” he asked when he noticed her horrified expression as she was reliving the last moments of her parents’ lives. She jumped when he touched her shoulder. “What are you doing!” she snapped, her booming voice reverberating across the park. “I’m sorry,” he said, taken aback by the change in her personality. She softened her expression. “I didn’t mean to yell at you,” she said apologetically. “It’s just my parents died on a boat and your mentioning riding on a ferry brought back those memories.” “I’m sorry,” he said, feeling remorseful. “You wouldn’t have known,” she said. “Can we start over?” he said. “I feel like I’m making so many mistakes. You’re not doing anything wrong,” she said reassuringly. “We’re just getting to know each other.” She smiled. They got off the carriage when they arrived in the city and continued their stroll. “So where are you from?” he asked her. “I was born in Barbados, but I’ve lived in Egypt,” she said. “Your accent sounds American,” he said. “English is the language I speak the most, although I tend to pick up the lingo from wherever I live,” she said. “Do you have any siblings?” he asked. “No, I’m the only child,” she replied. “And you?” “Do you have any siblings?” she asked. “I’m the only child as well,” he said. “Where are you staying?” he asked. “In Tribeca,” she replied.
A silence fell between them as the streetlights lit up in the darkening night sky.
“Well, I guess I should let you go,” he said with reluctance, not wanting the evening to end. He noticed, as he was staring at her in the light, that she didn’t cast a shadow when he could clearly see his own. “What is it?” she asked. “I’m seeing things,” he said, blinking his eyes. “It’s nothing. So can I take you home at least?” he asked. “Sure,” she said. He hailed a taxi as they both jumped inside grinning at each other. When the taxi arrived at the entrance to her building, she opened the door to jump out when he said, “Wait!” “I’d like to see you again,” he said. “I’d like that too,” she replied. He grinned. “So I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asked. “I’ll call you,” she said coyly. “Goodnight,” she said. “Goodnight,” he said as she shut the cab door and watched as it drove away.
Sage chuckled, watching Cristian nearly twist his neck trying to wave good-bye to her. She walked inside the building smiling warmly when Pedro appeared from the shadows. “So what does he want?” he asked, barely concealing his jealousy. “He doesn’t want anything, Pedro,” she said slightly annoyed. “There’s something about that hombre that isn’t right,” he said, his eyes blazing. “Don’t let him deceive you,” he said vanishing into the darkness. “Pedro, may have a point,” said Anna standing in the doorway. “What do we know about him?” For all we know, he could be helping Pearson set you up for the kill.” Sage didn’t want to believe that the man that made her feel alive again would have a sinister ulterior motive. “I don’t believe that,” she said. “Sage, you’ve survived for all these centuries on your instinct,” Anna said. “You’ve got to trust your head, not your heart.”
Rafael, with John lagging behind, hurried through the airport to board their flight. Having not been to an airport in awhile, he muttered under his breath when he saw the scanners, realizing that he had to have his bag checked. “I need to scan your bag,” the airport scanner said. Rafael grudgingly placed his bag down as it ran through the scanner. The airport scanners looked at each other. “We’re going to have to detain you,” she said as they looked at the crossbow and gun that showed up on the screen. Rafael threw his hands up in the air frustrated while John, who was able to get through the scanners, watched unsure of what to do.