妻子的秘密

“Is something the matter?” I asked when I saw her stunned face.

“Huh? Ah no, sorry, I was just thinking about something.” Jen’s eyes flashed with a strange light as she shook her head back and forth.

“I will only be here for a few hours today,” I said as I signed the ledger. Grace quickly followed up after me.

“I see… Umm….” Jen paused her words before shaking her head. “Never mind.”

I tilted my head in confusion. I could tell she wanted to ask me something, but since she did not continue, I was not going to push her either.

My daily life continued like this, much at ease. My classes went off without a hitch, and many of the nobles in the class began to throw out their ideas of being hostile toward me. There were still a  few but nothing for me to really worry about. After classes, I went to the library. There I would speak with Jen, who seemed happy to talk with me. She was getting more and more chatty with each visit, but this was only when I was at the desk to sign in or sign out.

Today I was by myself. Grace was preparing for the weekend as her parents would be stopping by to discuss their daughter’s current situation. So I was alone today, which was kind of nice in a way.

I walked up to the desk, where Jen immediately put her book down and smiled at me. “Alone today?”

“Mmm… Grace had a few things to do today. So I came to relax by myself.” I replied with a smile. The more I got to know Jen, the more comfortable I felt around her. She gave off a familiar feeling.

“Mind if I join you today?” Jen asked, which was surprising since she had never left her desk before.

“Sure.” I saw no reason to reject her, so I signed the book, and the two of us walked up the stairs to the fantasy section. I was normally reading law books the past few days, but since I figured I would end up chatting with Jen more than actually reading, I figured I would go with fantasy.

“It’s been a while since I have done something like this,” Jen muttered.

“Oh? You don’t talk with the other visitors?” I asked.

“No, I am normally held up at home or here in the library, and even then, I would not speak to others so much. But you are different. You remind me of an old friend from a long time ago. So I kinda felt a small connection with you.” Jen explained.

“Yeah, I get that same feeling,” I replied with a smile. I was telling the truth. I was not sure if it was the name or just how we interacted, but it all felt similar to my time with my friend Jen in my past life. However, the Jen of my past life was not a bookworm.

We walked to the midsection of the fantasy area, where we sat quietly by a fountain. We did not get books. We just sat there in silence for a while before Jen finally spoke up. “You ever wonder if it’s possible to go to different worlds? This library is filled with stories of other worlds, but I wonder, is that even possible? Like we have many where people die and are transported to another world.”

“There has to be some truth to every story, no? Whether it is the way things are interpreted or the reason on how they got there. Some truths can come from the imagination.” I replied. Well, it was true after all. I was a living example!

“I guess so… I guess I can only believe that to be true.” Jen seemed to be depressed about something. I am not sure why but something must be eating at her.

“Well, we will never know what actually happens until we die. But we shouldn’t talk about such gloomy things. We should think happy thoughts and enjoy what life we have left.” I was trying to change the mood. Luckily it seemed to work as Jen smiled and nodded at me. But to my surprise, she leaned over and rested her head on my shoulder. I was stunned not because of her actions but because this was something Jen used to do all the time. When she was feeling depressed about something or just tired, she would always use my shoulder as her pillow.

This all had to be a coincidence, right? I looked down at the girl who now had her eyes closed and realized she had dark shadows under her eyes. She even fell asleep. I couldn’t help but stare at her as she slept because I was seeing images of Jen from my past life overlapping with the Jen of this life. And it made me think. It was a crazy idea, but it was not totally out of the question. But if it was true, wouldn’t this be a kind of fate?

I couldn’t even stop the hand that went to fix her hair as I leaned my head against hers. If this was truly what I was thinking, then I would need to confirm it when the time is right. But the atmosphere was a bit too relaxing with the fountain behind us. My eyes slowly grew heavy.

I do not think I slept long, but I was awoken by the sounds of sobbing. I looked down at Jen, who was still leaning against me, to see tears rolling down her cheek and her brow furrowed. I do not know what she was dreaming about, but it seemed to be very sad. I reached up and wiped away her tears before holding her hand and petting her head. She seemed to have calmed down a bit after that.

、 About twenty minutes passed when Jen finally woke up she seemed quite embarrassed because she jerked up with red cheeks. “I’m so sorry.”

I shook my head and smiled. “It’s fine. You must have been very tired.”