"We talk all night, we talk all day...

...wish I can meet you on the other side."

"What's this?" I stared at a strange object Ethan has grabbed from his dusty invention pile.

"This," He prepared to say with pride, taking in a deep breath. "this is my proudest inventions."

It was just a piece of headgear with wired electrodes. "Good for you?" I narrowed my eyes with confusion.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "It's going to help you meet Mikhail."

I sprung up from the couch, "Really?" My eyes glowed shine.

"Yes," His hands studied the invention as he walked towards me. "It's supposed to be an electroencephalogram."

I blankly stared at him, "Huh..?"

"An EEG is a test that detects abnormalities in your brain waves, or in the electrical activity of your brain. During the procedure, electrodes consisting of small metal discs with thin wires are pasted onto your scalp." He clarified, and I'm still not sure I understood that well. "The electrodes detect tiny electrical charges that result from the activity of your brain cells. The charges are amplified and appear as a graph on a computer screen, or as a recording that may be printed out on paper."

"And.. what does that have to do with the multiverse teleporting?" I raised my eyebrows at him.

"I've created this device," He showed me another object, a tiny one this time, too black to study it's details, it was made of iron and had a shining red light. "so I could attach it to the EEG, if I did, it'd supposedly help the brain cells focus on a specific matter such as a parallel universe, making it easier for you brain to realize it's own purpose, which is teleporting to that specific world. At first, you had unconsciously done it multiple times without the help of a device guiding your brain. But now we are going to let you teleport by your own will and choice, not accidentally so there won't be any risks like before."

"So it's like shifting realities?" I questioned.

"Exactly, a reality that your brain has already teleported to many times before." He added, "You'll just have not to lose focus."

"How am I supposed to do that?" I anxiously knitted my eyebrows.

"You're gonna know everything, for now I just want you to relax on this couch till I prepare the psychic experiment." He said, reaching for his computer.

"How'd I know you won't mess this up?" I reached and laid my back on the couch, "What if I died through this experiment?"

"I thought we moved past the trust part." He tilted his head, offended.

"We did, but isn't the EEG supposed to be carried out by a highly trained specialist?" I narrowed my eyes at him, deeply horrified from such risk. "You're just a psychology teacher!"

He sighed, rested his arm on the computer and looked to my direction. "Don't you wanna see Mikhail?"

I swallowed hard at that. "I do."

"Then trust me on this." He nodded with certainty, and I pursed my lips. "Evelyn, if this experiment was successfully done, I'm gonna go somewhere else. But if it wasn't, if you couldn't survive, then I'll let Camila file a case against me." He blurted with much confidence and he fixed back his focus on the computer.

"That still won't satisfy me." I crossed my arms with a frown.

He then reached to me and placed the headgear on my head, connecting the electrodes with his computer.

He sat on a chair next to me, and wandered my eyes for a moment. "I'm gonna need you to sleep."

"Wait, why?"

"Well, it's a sleep-deprived EEG." He shrugged, pressing his lips together. "You don't expect to stay awake, do you?"

"Fine, I'll try to!" I sighed, impatiently. "I don't know, tell me a short story."

"I'm definitely not doing that-" He said before getting up and proceeding to walk away from me.

"Wait! Wait!" I grabbed his arm, "Alright, no short stories!"

He sighed and sat back on his chair.

"I'm just," I readjusted my seat, nervously playing with my fingers. "Freaked out by this."

"You won't be when you meet the love of your life." Ethan mentioned, his eyes full of despair. "He's worth meeting for a one last time."

"I feel like I can't," I frowned with much sorrow. "I can't face him after all of what happened, after all of what I've said and done."

"I'm sure he'll understand." Ethan placed a hand on mine, smiling with sympathy. "I'm sure he'll be happy to see you."

I smiled back, trying to compose myself. "What about you?"

"What about me?" He knitted his brows with confusion.

"Have you ever loved someone?" I questioned, curiously. I've never asked him this before. How come he hasn't been married for this long? "I'm pretty sure you did at least once in your life."

"I have married once before." A wide smile was shown on his face, I heard him giggling a bit. "Her name was Sarah."

"Really?" I grinned, wanting to know more about her. "Was she beautiful?"

"She was the most beautiful human being who's ever wandered earth." He gazed down, still smiling. "We met in college. And the moment I looked into her eyes, I instantly knew she was the one for me."

"Okay, mister romantic." I almost blushed, and playfully poked his shoulder. "Why aren't you with her then?"

"After eight years of marriage, she finally got pregnant with a girl, I was so excited to meet her. I was so excited to create a family with her and our baby. Everything seemed out perfect." His smile suddenly disappeared, and I knew what followed that up wasn't going to be satisfying. "But then I lost her at the hospital. I lost her and my daughter in the same day." He swallowed hard, took off his glasses and rubbed his glassy eyes.

"I'm sorry." I choked out, tears welling up my eyes. I felt really bad for him. Why does the world have to hurt us that way? We're just innocent people, we don't deserve any of this.

"This laboratory I built was her idea, she's always dreamed of being an inventor, she's always wanted to create brilliant stuff and show them to me. I was her number one supporter." He wore his glass back again, sniffing. "And I couldn't-I couldn't get over her, I wasn't able to easily forget about us. So after she passed away, I decided to build this laboratory myself, to cherish her memory."

"That's so beautiful." My heart broke into pieces hearing his story. He's always been quiet as though he was content with his life, as though nothing has ever bothered him. It hurts knowing what he actually feels deep down inside.

He nodded with pursed lips. "The reason I started to do studies about the multiverse was because I desperately wanted to meet her once again. And I invented this," he pointed out at the headgear I wore, "in order to teleport myself through a universe where she exists, where she's happy and content, where everything is enthusiastic and we're able to be together for good."

"Why didn't you do it?" I questioned, noticing guilt and regret consuming him. "Did something change your mind?"

"You did, Evelyn." He wandered my eyes and shivers ran down my spine. "You taught me that no matter how far someone is away from you, you can still deeply love them from a long distance, and never give up on them. Seeing you feel guilty of ruining something you never was the fault for, has completely awakened my self conscious, it made me realize a lot of things. What if I met Sarah again and she was already happy with someone else? Ruin her relationship in order to fix mine? That would've been selfish of me."

"Sometimes you have to save your loved ones by letting them go." A tear ran down my cheek.

I never understood what that phrase meant, I always thought it was absurd to let go of someone you're deeply in love with. Because as for me, I'd have clinged tightly to that hope, no matter how badly it hurt me I'd still not dare give up on it.

"That's why you should go and fix things with Mikhail, once and for all." Ethan smiled and reached for my hands to hold. "You're a daughter I've never had, Evelyn. I wouldn't like to see you break like I did."

I smiled, forcing in tears. "I'm sure your daughter would've been ten times better than me."

"I wouldn't underestimate the powers you have, Eve." His smile became wider as he gazed into my eyes. He playfully reached for my cheek to squeeze, "Go and get your man, I'll see you on the other side."

_________

[Utopia] (n.) : an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect.