22

"What have you been thinking about for so long, Elsa? I'm really starting to worry. Is there something serious?" Her father asked, his brow furrowed as he sat across from her. Elsa had been shifting in her seat, unable to let him sleep, nor could she find peace herself. She had insisted there was something important to discuss, yet every time the conversation veered into trivial matters. Whenever her father would try to get up and leave, she’d stop him, claiming the talk was urgent, only to fall into silence again when he sat back down.

Finally, she broke the tension. "I’ve been meaning to introduce you to someone." Her voice wavered, the truth finally emerging.

"Oh? Well, let’s meet them then. What’s the big deal?" His demeanor shifted instantly, going from concerned to intrigued.

"Really?" A flicker of hope illuminated Elsa’s face, and she let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.

"Of course," he reassured her. "After what happened with Joseph, I didn’t think you’d be ready for this anytime soon. So, who is he? Where does he live?"

"Joseph." The word hung in the air like a ghost.

"Joseph?" His shock was palpable. "Wait, there’s an actual Joseph?"

"There wasn’t... but now there is. I didn’t realize it at first, but he was there all along."

"What do you mean? What does he do?"

"Uh..." Elsa hesitated, her mind racing for a plausible answer. (He raises people from Earth to his planet and conducts research... and he’s the ruler of his world.) But out loud, she said, "He’s a doctor—a heart surgeon." She exhaled, relieved she hadn’t revealed the full truth. After all, how could she tell her father that Joseph wasn’t even from this planet?

"Wow, impressive. Where’s he from?"

(Another galaxy... She suppressed a laugh.) "He lives here, in the same city."

"That’s great! So, when are we meeting him? How about we get engaged before you start your residency?"

"Tomorrow isn’t possible. He’s... out of town right now. You’ll meet him when he gets back," she stammered, quickly retreating to her room to avoid further questions.

"Oh, God," she muttered under her breath, collapsing onto her bed. "I never thought Dad would ask all that."

"How are you feeling?" Knox asked, his voice sharp with irritation.

"Great," Joseph replied, his voice laced with sarcasm. "Thanks for asking."

"You're playing with fire, Joseph. What do you think will happen if Elsa finds out? Do you have any idea what she’ll do to me?" Knox ran a hand through his hair, exasperated.

"Who’s going to tell her? You? Me? No one, that’s who." Joseph’s laugh echoed through the room. Knox muttered something under his breath.

"When are we going back?" Knox asked, taking a bitter sip of his drink, the weight of their plan bearing down on him.

"After a month," Joseph replied casually, "but you’re not coming. Joseph is."

Knox stared into the mirror, his reflection showing Joseph’s face instead of his own.

"She’ll never know the man she’s living with isn’t really Joseph." Knox said, his voice thick with regret.

Joseph didn’t flinch. "Doesn’t that bother you? How can you let her love someone who isn’t you?"

"I can live with it," Joseph said calmly. "Love is about her happiness, and if she’s happy, that’s enough for me."

Knox couldn’t argue. His face was Joseph’s now. No one could tell the difference.

"How long until I wake up?" Knox asked as he lay on the operating table.

"An hour, tops. And within a week, you’ll feel better than ever. Trust me, you’re in the hands of the best doctor," Joseph reassured him.

A group of masked figures entered the room, their movements swift and clinical.

"Are you ready for this?" one of them asked in an alien tongue.

Knox smiled faintly, but his mind swirled with unease. Soon, he was unconscious, the intricate surgery underway to replace his ailing heart with one that would allow him to survive on Joseph’s planet. This was all part of Joseph’s grand plan. Knox’s heartbeat, erratic on Earth, would return to normal once he was fully integrated into Joseph’s world.

As the operation concluded, Joseph’s chest healed instantly, the advanced technology of his race making the process seamless. He looked at his reflection in the mirror—he was no longer Joseph, the man who loved Elsa. He had become something else, something not of this world. But Knox... Knox was now Joseph in every way that mattered, from his face to his heart.

After Joseph disappeared, Elsa felt an overwhelming loneliness. Her father was busy, and her best friend Sana lived in another city. Bored and restless, Elsa decided to visit Sana, who lived in the same city as her college. But as she drove through the streets, memories of Knox surfaced. She hadn’t thought of him once since Joseph arrived.

She turned her car toward Knox’s house, parking outside the familiar building. The memory of their last awkward encounter came flooding back. She rang the bell, her heart fluttering with nervous anticipation. She wanted to thank him and ask how he knew Joseph, a question she had never found the right moment to ask.

After ringing the bell three times with no response, she asked a neighbor about Knox's whereabouts.

“He’s been out of the country for a month,” they told her. Disappointed, Elsa turned to leave when she heard a voice call her name.

"Elsa?" A young woman, barely in her twenties, came running from the house next door.

"Yes? How do you know me?" Elsa asked, surprised.

"Knox told me you’d come by," the girl said, catching her breath. "He asked me to give this to you." She handed Elsa an envelope.

"What’s this?" Elsa turned it over in her hands.

"I don’t know," the girl shrugged. "He just said not to open it."

Elsa thanked her, tucking the envelope into her bag. She headed off to Sana’s house, completely forgetting about the mysterious letter as they began discussing plans for their upcoming trip.