Chapter 3: Growing Old With You

Yesterday is a perfect day for Zero as he had a chance to speak out its feelings for Juana. Fortunately, things turned out good for Zero as Juana feels the same for it too.

When Juana departed Andrew's house, he already went to Andrew's bedroom and lied down on the bed. With its smile reaching its ears, it is evident how happy was it in what happened.

The following day, it woke up in another body, particularly an old man with no one else with him living in his house. It found itself inclined ina rocking chair facing the front of the television.

"Ouch! My joints hurt! I can barely move!", Zero exclaimed as he felt the loud creaks and cracks squeaking in the old man's body's knees, elbows, and shoulders.

"I can barely see! Oh, what is that? A pair of eyeglasses? Oh, yes. Much better." , a complain with a sigh of relief from Zero subsequently.

Zero grabbed the cane it saw on the floor and walked gently to the small cabinet with an antique frame with a picture of a man and woman in their middle years in a formal attire. Beside it is the lamp made out of chiseled wood with carvings and Japanese paper to disperse the light from the bulb inside it. In the middle of the two is a smartphone with a wallpaper of two old couples and one boy dressed in casual wear.

Zero grabbed the smartphone and grabbed its usual routine. He took a selfie. In this rare event, there is no downloaded Instagram app in the phone and just games like 4 Pics, 1 Word, and Candy Crush Saga so it installed the app first then proceeded to logging in its account and uploading its taken selfie earlier, yet again, without context.

The next thing it did is to open its Facebook account and messaged Juana to come to the old man's house for a surprise. What surprise? That he is old now!

"DING! DONG!!!! DING! DONG!!!!" , Zero took a look outside and saw Juana ringing the church-like ambiance given by the house's doorbell.

Zero gladly welcomed him and decided to give her a joke.

"Why are you ringing that doorbell this early? What do you want? Who are you looking for? Don't you know that you disturbed my sleep, you, young woman?" , Zero pretended to be a grumpy grandpa to the pitiful Juana

"I am sorry, Mister. I went to the wrong house. I did not meant to disturb you.", apologies of Juana with a terrified look in his face and sweaty hands.

"Are you really convinced I am a grumpy old man? Juana, IT'S ME! JERICHO! I am sorry for scaring you..." , Zero also apologized and introduced himself at the same time.

"Truly silly of you are, Jericho! You fooled me there! I hate you! Hmph", said by Juana with a contrastingly happy tone to her voice.

"Come on, let's hop in!", Zero or Jericho's invite to Juana.

~~~

Zero, in an old carcass, did put itself at rest at the L-shaped sofa occupying the corner of the living room. Due to the pains and aches that succumbs its current body's energy to move and do kinesthetics, it made use of Juana's energy to ease what it feels.

"Juana, can you massage your poor grandpa? You love grandpa, right?", as Zero teased Juana to affirm to it's simple but tiring request.

"You're not my grandpa! But I love you, you silly m----" , Juana did not finished what she was about to say as Zero stole a smack to her zesty, pinkish-red lips.

"JERICHOOOOOOOO!!!!", Juana exclaimed as he gave a funny, cold, blank stare to Zero's sagged face and dry lips.

"You want a massage? Here it is!", she added with a suspense.

Juana used all the force and energy she can exert to tickle Zero in his current body and it is evident in Zero's hysterical grumpy laugh seemingly like Santa came home earlier than expected that her evil revenge is successful.

Juana took care of Zero all day. She gave her the medicines it needed, lent him the things it needed no matter how far it is from where are they, bought foods for them from lunch, dinner, midnight snack, and even snacks for them to eat while Zero is in that body. Juana showed no selfishness nor sensitivity to Zero's physical form, age, voice or anything. To her, the thing that only matters is that even he has no true and permanent physical form for now, it; and it will always be her one and only true love.

Juana also cooked all the ingredients she bought from the market while Zero sings their love theme song while she is cooking which made her smile, and Zero is unaware of that.

"You know, Jericho? You can always nail that song even if you are in any body you can ever imagine you can possess. You are such a versatile singer, you know that? Believe me, my dear. You are truly talented.", Juana praised Zero randomly out of nowhere in the thin air and thick walls of the kitchen.

"You know what is more versatile than my singing, my dear?", Zero asked Juana which made her raise an eyebrow.

"What was it? Do not leave me baffled out here, my love!!!", she exclaimed flirtatiously.

"Your cooking. As they, they key to a person's heart is always through his or her stomach. Any dish you cook, may it be fried, stewed, or even baked... You also always can nail it! Why do not you start your on business? A small restaurant perhaps? I think it will successful grow. Mark my words. All of the things I say to people usually becomes true. Little do you know, yours can become one too!", Zero answered which outmatched Juana's statement of praise to it.

"Dinner's ready! I have to go since your changing phase is near. I also have some work in my night shift to accomplish. See you around! I'm excited for the "you" I will meet tomorrow.", Juana did bid her goodbye and hurriedly ran outside the street wetted by raindrops falling for almost an hour already.

Unconditional love, truly it is. How lucky was Zero to have a Juana in its life.