Marsy Orellana, “There’s No Time”

THERE’S NO TIME

Marsy Orellana

Rose lived in New York City, the year 2022. Many people running, rushing to get on the bus, the smell of food and flowers fills Central Park, some people are cooking and laughing, they seem happy, and that’s where Rose met Steve. Throughout medical school at Mount Sinai, Rose and Steve had gotten close with each other. It got to a point where it seemed as if they liked each other, but for Rose it was nothing like that. For Steve, he thought it was more than being friends. Steve even let Rose meet some of his friends, but Rose, she didn’t see a relationship with Steve. Rose had a close friend who was very important to her, Lily. Rose expressed her feelings about Steve to Lily. However, things began to fall apart as Rose, Lily, and Steve began to have conflicts with one another. Even though Rose seemed less focused on him, Steve had a plan for how he would approach Rose. She’d do everything she could to avoid making him feel unworthy. Mr. Mark was a doctor at the medical school where they both worked, and he loved being friendly. He would help out many people and try to be there for them. Rose looked up to Mr. Mark because of all the things he would do, and she was amazed by everything he said. Steve noticed Mr. Mark helped out Rose every time. Steve was totally in love with Rose, and seeing how she was interested in Mr. Mark’s work, he decided to take notes. Steve always wanted things to go his way because he believed he was right, and he wanted to be the best he could be. Steve was debating whether or not to ask Rose out on a date the next morning. Despite his fear of what she would reply, he approached Rose and said, “Hey Rose, you look beautiful today!” Rose was well aware of Steve’s intentions, but she kept reminding herself not to make him feel insignificant. So she said, “Thank you,” and added, “You, too, look fantastic!”

For a moment, Steve regarded Rose, collecting the courage to ask her. “So, if you’re free this weekend, would you like to go out with me?” Rose responded by saying, “Sure, pick me up at 2:30 PM tomorrow?” “I’ll see you tomorrow,” Steve answered. Rose accepted even though she knew it would offer Steve some optimism. She felt it was past time to hand over the controls to someone else. Despite the fact that she just saw him as a friend, she knew he was different from everyone else. The next day, Steve picked up Rose with a huge smile on his face, and they were both delighted. Rose was anxious to see where he would take her, so Steve asked, “Where would you like to go?” Rose was excited to see where he would take her. She was unsure, so she answered, “Hmm, I’m not sure.” “The coffee shop, the one with a lot of flowers?” Steve asked. Rose said, “I love flowers because they bring me joy and peace, and their scent is so amazing.” Steve was relieved to learn that Rose would like it if he brought her a flower. Rose began to develop feelings for Steve, and he would buy her flowers, bring her food when she was hungry, and make sure she arrived home safely. Rose and Steve were both pleased with him. After they had gotten to know each other, Steve asked Rose out, and she agreed. After months of dating, Rose noticed how jealous he became anytime any other man came close to her, despite Steve’s assurances that he only wanted the best for her. Rose felt suffocated. Rose would try to explain to Steve how she felt about his jealousy, but he would not listen. So Rose put herself first and

said to Steve, “I’m tired of this: it’s time to break up. I’m tired of all the jealousy. I’m tired of you having to drive me home after our lessons are over. I’m tired of you. I’m tired of this.” He said “NO!” with a strange expression on his face. Rose put her hands on her chest and whispered, “I’m done,” with a scary expression on her face. “I’m ready now.” He let her go as she walked away . . . She was no longer trapped by jealousy and manipulation. She was both terrified and excited at the same time because she knew she was doing it for herself, but on the other hand, she knew things would change. She understood that no matter what he did, she would always choose herself before anybody else. Rose grew close to Mr. Mark after months of being apart and even went on dates with him. Steve, on the other hand, saw Mr. Mark and Rose together one night and wished he could go back in time and rectify things with Rose. He pondered it further as he closed his eyes, recalling the day he was enraged with Rose for being with a male buddy. And then, his head began to hurt, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Rose in front of him, describing how she felt about all of the jealousy and his attempts to control her; he remembered how it ended the last time she broke up with him due to his behavior. As a result, knowing he had the ability to travel through time, he decided to go back further and correct things. When Steve opened his eyes, he noticed Rose was on her first date with Mr. Mark. After Mr. Mark walked Rose home, Steve saw this as an opportunity to fix the relationship with Rose. “Hey Rose, I’m sorry for everything I put you through. I’m sorry for hurting you. All I ever wanted was to protect you and be there for you, always.” Steve hoped he’d be able to mend things, but it didn’t work, because even if he wanted things to turn out like he wanted, at the end of everything, Rose had already made a decision to leave him. Steve was never able to change the way he made Rose feel, and everything remained the same. Steve would not have done

anything to help. Steve devised a scheme to give Mr. Mark a ride, hoping that Rose would forget about him and return to him. When Rose learned of Steve’s activities, she decided that the best thing she could have done was to quit her relationship with Mr. Mark and remain single, for Mr. Mark’s and Steve’s benefit. Despite the fact that Steve was a jealous man, who was in charge of everything Rose did, every move she made, Rose would always find some type of love for Steve. Steve was a man she adored at one point. Rose knew she’d have to pick between Steve and Mr. Mark at some point. As a result, she picked herself. She will always choose her own self. She was proud of herself at the end of it all. She was relieved that things had come to an end, and she had the opportunity to learn and experience new things with them. She didn’t feel bad for leaving them. She felt happy and excited to go back and be able to love herself, even more.

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