Chapter 2: For a second by your side, my beloved (part 4)

Looking out the window, you can see white sheets and some clothes hanging in the backyard.

—I'll start cooking, Razar.— She smiles, rolling up her white shirt sleeves.

—Do you need any help?.— I ask, taking the groceries out of the bag and placing them on the table.

—Hahah.— Henrietta laughs lightly, and walks towards me, putting one hand on her waist and with the other extending her index finger and touching my chest.

—You sit down, I'll do the rest.— She adds, with a smile, leading me to the chair.

Without saying anything, I sit down and rest my face on my hand, leaning my elbow on the table.

—Besides, you don't like cooking, do you?.—Henrietta asks, opening the package of noodles.

—No.— I reply honestly.

—I knew it, it was subtle, but when you said "Do you need any help?", it was obvious you'd prefer not to do it.— Henrietta says, adding water to a pot and then the noodles, without breaking them.

—Every time you speak, it's hard for anyone to notice, but you choose your words very carefully. They sound the opposite, yet they actually express exactly what you have in mind. The problem is that generally no one understands it.— Henrietta continues.

—True...I speak in such a direct yet subtle way that it's hard to notice.— I say.

I do nothing but stay calm, watching her move delicately and gracefully, preparing each part of our lunch. In the distance a song can be heard through the window, coming from outside.

—Razar, does infinity exist?.— Henrietta turns her face to look at me when she asks, and then focuses again on preparing the food.

—Mmmh… as an example, numbers are infinite, but even though there's the number one million, you don't have a million eyes. Astatine, which is a chemical element, has the atomic number 85, not a billion. It's a simple relationship of how reality, if infinity is observable like the passage of time, shapes and restricts the possibility for something to end. The only way to know if infinity exists is to know what happened before the creation of the universe, and after it's destroyed.— I reply.

—Kyaaa, talking in code again!.— Henrietta says, bringing her hands to her face in a very feminine way, extending her fingers and closing her eyes.

She continues preparing the food, now making the meatballs.

—Time was born with the Big Bang, the problem is; what would happen to it if everything disappeared?, can we really go back to a starting point where time doesn't exist and get rid of the law of conservation of energy?.— Henrietta asks, albeit rhetorically.

—Mmmh..I think we both know the answer, knowledge becomes a problem when it becomes a limitation.— I say.

—Hahah, I feel worthy, my Razar.— Henrietta smiles, cooking the meatballs with olive oil in a pan.

Suddenly she approaches me and gently blows on my face, her breath is warm and sweet as always. Then she smiles, softly kisses my cheek, and continues preparing the meatballs… It's as if she were perfect.

—The noodles are almost ready.— She adds.

Henrietta places the meatballs ready in a white bowl, mixing them with tomato sauce. She sets plates on the table, utensils, glasses of water..

—...I feel uncomfortable letting you do everything, Henrietta.—

—Haha, don't worry, you're honored and deserving of my care.— She smiles, looking into my eyes.

—And after we eat, we'll go find a more suitable place. Are libraries open in the afternoon?.— She adds, while draining the noodles.

—Yes, probably until 6, 7pm.—

Henrietta mixes the noodles, sauce, meatballs, and brings it to the table on a large platter..

—It looks delicious.— I say, admiring what she has prepared.

—Thank you, I love cooking for you.—

—...…— I look at her seriously without saying anything.

Finally, she slices some bread and brings a cheese grater to the table, sitting close to me.

—Everything's ready, do you like it?.— She asks.

—Yes, eating what a lady has prepared is beautiful.— I respond.

—Any lady?.— Henrietta asks.

—A lady.— I say.

Henrietta smiles, closing her eyes and takes my hand.

—Lord, we thank you for the food we are about to receive.— She says.. a prayer?

—This is very important.— Henrietta continues opening her eyes, and pouring water from a pitcher into my glass, then into hers.

—The cheese.— She says, taking it out of its paper wrapper, then grabbing the grater and adding it to my plate.

—It's something essential, could this be your favorite dish, Henrietta?.— I say, watching it fall onto the red sauce.

—Yes..it is, and the cheese for this dish is...intelligence.—

Yesterday, The Pentagon, United States;

—..has confirmed that this girl's existence through different decades is real.— Says the Secretary of Defense.

—If we don't act before she catches up to the present time, it's not an exaggeration to say that she could unleash something worse than a world war... there would be no survivors.— I say.

After the briefing and coordination with the armed forces, national intelligence, and government higher-ups, we've moved from the general room to an office where the president would decide how we'll proceed.

—But this girl... Henrietta, if she's going to fall into Japanese territory, we can't just send our armed forces to act freely.— Says the president.

—Besides, the soldiers stationed in Japanese bases don't belong to any special unit.— He continues.

—The impact will be in 11 hours, the only chance we have is to tell Japan the truth, part of the truth.— I say.

—As a gesture of collaboration and of course self-interest, we'll say that we've detected an evidently extraterrestrial life form that will arrive in their country. In exchange for the information, we'll send a group of scientists and two platoons of special forces as their custodians who will pose as low-ranking soldiers.— I add.

—The political impact this would have if it's discovered, Hans, Japan is an allied nation.— Says the president.

—But Japan will simply refuse if we ask for permission after she falls into their territory, we'll lose track of her and may never find her again.— I say.

—..The country's best resources telling me that a life form, composed who knows of what, and shaped like a girl, could be such a big threat, and at the same time a source of knowledge beyond our time..— Sighs the president and continues.

—How long would it take to get what we need to Japan?.—

—From 10 to 11 hours. Our best SEALs are in US territory, we currently don't have that kind of soldiers in the Pacific.— Responds the Secretary of Defense.

The president has a tired expression, brought on by the abnormality of the situation and the potential repercussions.

—Ahhh...get in touch with the Japanese Prime Minister and inform DEVGRU of the mission.— Says the president with regret.

Military base, DEVGRU operations center, location unknown, United States;

In a not very large room, there are 23 men seated and one standing, the lieutenant in charge of the operation, wearing a pixelated military uniform in shades of gray. Next to him, the projector displays the mission name on the wall: "Subject A."

—Gentlemen, this will be the mission with the most negative effects we've had if anything goes wrong. In 20 minutes, we'll take a plane with a detonator that produces an electromagnetic pulse, a group of scientists led from here by a person named "Hans", head of the Anomalous Phenomena division, and we'll travel to Japan.— Says the lieutenant.

—Our task will be to pose as low-ranking officers who are already inside our military base in that country.— He continues.

—We'll travel in two vehicles to a residential area where we'll meet our target.—

—Now we're babysitters?..— Asks one of the unit members.

The projector focuses on a photo of Henrietta floating in space.

—I had this same conversation with the high command. It's real, as implausible as it may seem, it's real.— Says the lieutenant.

—We must capture her and bring her back to our base, then she'll be sent back to our country by air and escorted by fighter aircraft.—

—The reason for this mission is simply, she's very dangerous and can affect, or serve, national security. She won't agree to come peacefully and according to the man Hans, the only way to render her unconscious is to shoot her several times directly in her body.—

—Will we open fire on a girl?, she looks like my brother's daughter.— Says one of the soldiers.

—If she sees us before we see her, she can break our bones with her hands. It's not just a saying, is that clear?.—

—When we see her, shoot at her torso until you run out of ammo, when she falls, we'll pick her up.— Concludes the lieutenant.

Most of the men look skeptical about the situation, but due to their leader's seriousness and the events surrounding Henrietta, all assume they're simply facing an unprecedented situation.

—The agreement our nation reached with Japan is that we'll have permission to operate within the town where her body will fall.—

The lieutenant shows photos of the types of buildings and the layout of the houses.

—We'll have satellite support and a helicopter. But if she escapes, we won't be able to act until the Japanese government reviews the area in search of the lie they've believed, like remains of a spaceship or a monster, basically, they know nothing about this girl. After this, we'll have permission to continue "accompanying" the scientists out of the town as long as the Japanese forces are aware of our search operation. Of course, the conversations will be jammed, and they won't really know what's happening.—

He turns off the projector, and walks to the front of the room.

—I insist, if anyone finds out what we are going to do, the diplomatic impact would be unparalleled.—

—Get ready, we leave in 15 minutes, the rest of the details will be given during the flight.—

With a concerned and serious expression, the lieutenant finishes establishing the objective and the mission's overview.

Quickly, everyone stands up and leaves the room. The lieutenant remains silent for a few seconds and pours himself water into a glass from a pitcher on a table.

—Do you want more water?.— Henrietta asks.

I'm almost done with the delicious dish she prepared, sometimes I drink a lot of water when I eat. Henrietta just ate a small portion and then just rested her face in her hands, watching me eat without doing anything else..

—Thanks, Henrietta.— I reply as she pours more into my glass from the glass pitcher.

—You have a little...haha.— She smiles gently.

Henrietta wipes my mouth with a napkin.

—Sometimes you're like a child, Razar.—

—I won't deny it.— I say, taking the last bite of noodles and meatballs.

—It was delicious.— I add, taking one last piece of bread to mix the flavors.

—No, don't worry, I'll do it.— Henrietta says when I try to lift my plate.

—It doesn't bother me at all, really.— I insist.

—Razar, I want to do it for you. I would never tire of doing something for you.— She says with affection and seriousness.

I realize it doesn't make sense to object, so I pat her head, and she, with a smile, clears the table on her own.

—I'll go brush my teeth.— I say, getting up and heading to the bathroom.

—Sure, I'll have everything ready for when you're done.— Henrietta says.

I think she's extremely sweet..

—Are you thinking about me?.— She asks from the kitchen, not raising her voice too much, it's a small apartment.

—Haha, how clever.— I say with a slight smile.

To think we could have just bought more canned food, she preferred to cook herself... in the midst of all this.

I tell myself looking at my reflection in the mirror... and before finishing brushing my teeth... Henrietta is behind me, smiling... She starts brushing her teeth quickly without taking her eyes off mine through our reflection.

—Are you ready, my everything?.— She asks when we finish, hugging me..

How should I respond to something like that?.

—Yes, we can go now, Henrietta.— I say, looking into her big brown eyes.

—I left the kitchen as I found it.— Henrietta says.

—Even though it would have been easier to just blow it up with a gas leak, hahah.— She adds as we leave the bathroom.

—Hahah.— I let out a small laugh at her sarcasm, or her honesty.

—Are you sure we need a different place?.— I ask as she takes my hand, as if she's ready to leave the room we've only been in for a few hours.

—Yes, we'll look for a quieter and more peaceful place.— She replies.

—Mmh, kay, I trust you.— I say, giving one last look at the blue sky and the clothes hanging on the patio from the window.

I take the canned food we bought and pack it into my backpack, lock the apartment door, and head back to the stairs.

When we reach the reception, the woman who may have been the manager or owner is no longer there, but the radio is still on with some quiet music.

"..Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt our program of dance music to bring you a special bulletin from the Intercontinental Radio News. At twenty minutes before eight, central time, Professor Farrell of the Mount Jennings Observatory, Chicago, Illinois, reports…"

The music is interrupted by a man's voice in a serious tone.

—It's not important.— Henrietta says in reference to the radio, leading me by the hand so I don't stop.

I don't deny that whatever the reason, I trust her.

We step outside, much like the window, the blue sky.