Promise

“Can you keep a secret?”

I looked up with a smile on my face and a spoonful of pudding in my hand. “Sure.”

Maggie shifted uncomfortably. “This isn’t our first time meeting each other.”

“Right,” I said. “We’ve been friends for three months now. Of course it’s not the first time.”

“No, Tara. That’s not what I mean.”

I set down my spoon and frowned. “I don’t get it.”

Maggie looked up at the ceiling with a worried look for a few seconds, and then looked back at me. “We were friends before. You just...don’t remember.”

“What does that even mean?”

She looked down. “I knew you wouldn’t believe me.”

“It’s not that I don’t believe you,” I began, in what I hoped was a soothing tone. “It’s just that you’re not making any sense. What do you mean ‘I don’t remember?’”

Maggie pushed herself back until she was sitting up straight in her chair. “We’ve always been friends. We’ve known each other for more than a lifetime. This is the second one, actually.”

I picked up my spoon again and started pushing my pudding around my plate. “So you mean to tell me that other lives...exist.”

“Not just that,” Maggie persisted. “Each lifetime is the same as the last. We make the same friends, date the same people, have the same children, over and over and over again. The only differences are in identity, appearance, and career choice.” I raised an eyebrow, but she continued. “Tara, haven’t you ever wondered why you kept changing your mind about what you wanted to be when you grew up? It’s your other life surfacing.”

“Okay.” I said, even though I didn’t believe a single word. “So, assuming you’re right, why is this only my second lifetime? Wouldn’t I have existed since the beginning of time?”

Maggie pursed her lips. “It’s not that simple. Some people have existed since the beginning of time, but others appear along the way.”

“But you said everyone always has the same kids.”

“They do. And that always follows the same pattern. But, sometimes people aren’t meant to exist until later on. Everyone has a purpose, and when your purpose becomes a necessity, the patterns shift, and you’re born.”

“So I’m immortal.”

Maggie pulled on the ends of her hair frustratedly, and I could tell my questions were stressing her out. “Not exactly. I mean, you’re going to keep existing, but always in a new body. Your memories reset.”

“So why do you remember all of this, and why don’t I?”

“Tara, you do.”

“But you just said our memories-”

“Reset. But they don’t ever fully disappear. Tara, look at me. Really look at me.”

I made eye contact with her, and we stayed that way for a long time. However, I got impatient and looked away. 

“Tara,” Maggie said impatiently. “You can’t see anything because you won’t believe me.”

“How can I? It sounds unbelievable. You mean to tell me that I’ve existed before? That I knew you in another life? That we…” But I trailed off. For a second, a memory flashed in my head. I saw a white gown, fresh flowers, and a church. I blinked. 

Maggie sat up excitedly. “Tara, you saw something didn’t you? Believe me, just for a moment. Please. Look at me.”

I looked up at her reluctantly. The memory flashed again, but this time it lasted longer. It was my wedding day. I was wearing a lovely white gown, and I was holding a bouquet of white lilies. My maid of honor was walking down the aisle with me. I looked over at her, and I saw an unfamiliar face. However, deep inside me, I knew she was Maggie. She was who Maggie had once been. At the end of the aisle, waiting for me, was a tall man with wild dark hair and sharp green eyes. I blinked again, and Maggie reappeared in my vision. 

“You,” I whispered. “You’re Clara.”

“Yes. Yes!” She stared at me happily, her eyes full of tears. “I’ve missed you, Stella.”

The name didn’t belong to me, but I could feel that it had once been mine. “You were at my wedding.”

She nodded excitedly. “Yes, I was there. Oh Stella, I’ve missed you so much. I’ve spent so much time looking for you.”

“Maggie-” I paused. “I mean, Clara. Or…”

She grinned. “I know, sorry. This must be really overwhelming for you. Maggie is okay. Maggie is who I am now. But I have all of Clara’s memories.”

I swallowed. “Okay. Maggie. If the memories are meant to be wiped, then why did you have them from the beginning? And how did you bring them back for me?”

“We made a promise a long time ago. We said that we’d find each other in the next life. The promise-and our friendship-were both so strong that we were able to remember everything. You start to remember when you find people you were close to.”

“So how did you remember?”

Maggie smiled brightly. Her eyes shone with excitement. “Tara, the boy. The one you married. Don’t you remember? He’s my brother. We’ve been remembering things since we were children because we grew to be very close in our first lives.” 

I frowned. “Why can’t all siblings do that? I mean, I grew up with three sisters. Why wasn’t it the same?”

“Not all relationships are as close. Besides, they’ve existed many times already. You’re only on your second life.” I furrowed my brow, and she laughed. “It’s a lot to process, and it’s kind of hard to explain. It took me years to figure everything out.”

A brief moment of silence passed, and then I spoke. “Maggie...thank you for telling me. And…” I closed my eyes, and another memory flashed. “Thank you for keeping your promise to me. You found me.”

“By the way...he’s here.”

“Who is?” I looked at the expression on her face, and a hundred butterflies exploded in my stomach at once. “Oh you didn’t.”

She smirked. “I told him to come pick us up.”

“That’s so embarrassing!”

“What?! It’s not like he knows...”

“You literally just told me he remembers everything.”

She exploded into a fit of giggles, and it was hard to not laugh with her. We gathered our things and stood up to leave. When I looked up, there he was. He had completely changed since the last time I had seen him, but one thing had stayed the same. His sharp green eyes looked into mine intensely, and I felt a soaring feeling fill my entire body. 

“Hi,” I said. “I’m Tara.”