The Fading Moon Chapter 19: The Day Time Stood Still

Read chapter 19 of The Fading Moon by MananTayal on NovelPedia.

The days after the trip to the seaside cliff felt strange. Not bad. Not good. Just strange. As if time itself had slowed down. As if the world knew something was coming and had decided to move more carefully. For Mike, every day became precious. Every smile. Every message. Every laugh. Every second with Jessika. Nothing felt ordinary anymore. A few days later Mike woke up to dozens of notifications. Half asleep, he grabbed his phone. The first message was from Jessika. Wake up, sleepyhead. The second message arrived a few seconds later. Important mission. The third message came immediately afterward. Meet me in thirty minutes. Mike stared. Then another notification appeared. No questions allowed. He sighed. Only Jessika could declare an emergency before breakfast. Forty minutes later he found her waiting outside a train station. Wearing a yellow scarf. Holding a small backpack. And smiling like she had discovered a secret treasure. Mike walked toward her. "You said thirty minutes." "You took forty." "I needed to get ready." "You needed coffee." "That too." She grinned. Then grabbed his sleeve. "Come on." "Where are we going?" "No questions." "You literally kidnapped me." "Exactly." An hour later they arrived at a small amusement arcade hidden inside a shopping district. Mike stared. "An arcade?" Jessika nodded proudly. "Today is important." "Why?" She pointed toward a poster. A tournament announcement. Various games. Prizes. Crowds. Excited participants. Mike looked confused. Then Jessika proudly announced: "We are going to win." "Win what?" "Everything." "That's not how tournaments work." "It is today." Mike already knew arguing was pointless. The entire morning became chaos. Jessika challenged strangers. Lost repeatedly. Won occasionally. Celebrated every victory like a world championship. Complained dramatically after every defeat. Mike spent most of his time laughing. Something he had not done enough recently. For a few hours illness disappeared. Hospitals disappeared. Fear disappeared. There was only laughter. Only fun. Only today. Eventually they reached a claw machine. Inside sat a large white rabbit plush. Jessika immediately stopped. Her eyes widened. "I want that." Mike looked inside. The rabbit was buried beneath several other prizes. Practically impossible to grab. "No." "I want it." "You'll never get it." "I believe in myself." Five minutes later she had already lost six attempts. Mike folded his arms. "Told you." Jessika glared. "Silence." Another attempt. Failure. Another. Failure. Another. Failure. The machine seemed personally offended by her existence. Eventually Mike stepped forward. Jessika narrowed her eyes. "What are you doing?" "Saving us." "You think you're better than me?" "Yes." She gasped dramatically. Three attempts later Mike managed to knock the rabbit into a better position. Two attempts after that, it finally dropped. The plush tumbled into the prize chute. Jessika immediately screamed. Several people turned around. Mike nearly died from embarrassment. The moment she held the rabbit, however, all embarrassment disappeared. Because her smile returned. Bright. Pure. Beautiful. The kind of smile Mike wanted to protect forever. "Thank you." The words were soft. Genuine. Mike smiled. "You're welcome." Jessika hugged the rabbit tightly. Like it was priceless. The afternoon passed quickly. Too quickly. By sunset they were exhausted. So they bought drinks and sat in a small park. The city glowed around them. Orange sunlight painted everything gold. For a while neither spoke. They simply watched the evening sky. Then Jessika suddenly asked: "What's your dream now?" Mike looked at her. "My dream?" "Yeah." "You already know." "No." She shook her head. "Not the old one." He understood. Photography had once been his dream. But life had changed. He had changed. Mike thought for a long moment. Then smiled. "I want to publish a photography book." Jessika's eyes brightened. "Really?" "Yeah." "A real one?" "A rea