Page 1 of A Lab Rat’s Guide to Fated Love

Prologue

A crisp morning sun met the shallow ribbon of a gently flowing stream before scattering into thousands of tiny diamonds across the surface.

Nearby, a woman with bushy waves of salt and pepper hair stood watching her five-year-old granddaughter plucking fistfuls of rocks from the bank only to toss them afar with all her might.

She giggled as each pebble hit the stream with a splash.

“Nori,” Grandma called. “Come, it’s time to go back home.”

“Wait, Gramma. We can’t go,” Nori chirped. “You haven’t told a story yet!” She scooped another pebble and tossed it into the water.

Splash . Giggles.

Grandma knew Nori wouldn’t budge without getting a story out of her first. This was one stubborn child.

Just like her mother, whose relentless obsession with her work had her dragging the husband around the world, leaving their only daughter in Grandma’s care.

But Nori didn’t seem to mind as long as she got her fill of these late afternoon walks with a new story each day; and at times, the same one retold over and over .

“Okay, come here. Which story would you like today?”

“Pengun!” Nori squealed. “The one about Pengun!”

“Ah… Penguins again? Aren’t you bored already?”

“No! Pengun!” Skipping to her side, Nori plopped down and sat caressing something in her hands.

“What do you have there?” Grandma asked, taking a seat next to her. She hoped it wasn’t another baby rodent like last week.

Nori opened her fist to show a shiny white pebble sitting in the middle of her palm. Her mouth curved into a grin. “Tell me about Pengun!”

“Once upon a time,” Grandma began with a relieved sigh. “A Penguin fell in love.” She chuckled, watching Nori bounce her feet in excitement. The girl knew the story by heart, and yet…

“Do Pengun live on beaches, Gramma?”

“Some do. On beaches that are very cold.”

“And have a lot of pretty pebbles!” Nori giggled, her large brown eyes widening in anticipation.

“Yes. The prettiest.” Grandma laughed. “Our Penguin set out to find the perfect little pebble. The shiniest, smoothest, prettiest of them all for his beloved’s pebble-nest.”

“Yes!”

“He searched till he found the one that was the shiniest, smoothest, prettiest of them all. And with it, he confessed his love to her.”

“And she loves him, too? What if she says no?”

Grandma squinted at the uncharacteristic worry scribbled all over Nori’s face.

“Well, then our Penguin would have to respect her decision, wouldn’t he?” She affectionately touched her finger to the tip of Nori’s nose. The girl nodded, her face a little too somber for a five-year-old, making Grandma chuckle again.

“That makes sense,” Nori spoke after a few seconds of silent contemplation.

“But in this story, she tells our Penguin she loves him, too. She accepts the pebble and puts it in her pebble-nest.”

Nori’s face broke into another toothy grin. “And they lived together…”

“… happily ever after,” Grandma finished. “Let’s go home now? ”

Still beaming, Nori sprung to her feet with the pebble sandwiched between her palms. But the very next moment, her smile morphed into a scowl, and she stood staring down her dress from side to side.

“What is it, kitten?”

“Gramma, why doesn’t my dress have pockets? All your pants have pockets.”

“You can wear your pants, too, once we reach home.”

“But I like wearing dresses. Why can’t I have pockets if I want to wear my dresses?”

“Well… why not…” Grandma raised her brow. “How about I sew some nice pockets to your dresses when we get home? Would you like that?”

“Yes, please.” Nori nodded, grabbing her outstretched hand. “Can you keep this safe till then?”

Grandma took the pebble and turned it between her fingers, admiring, before she slipped it inside her pocket. “Are you going to give it to someone?”

Nori nodded, but didn’t say anything.

“Is it the same kid you made the birthday card for earlier?”

Her eyes widened into saucers as she looked up and pressed a finger to her mouth. “Shh, it’s a secret. You can’t tell anyone.”

Grandma touched her own lips in response and sealed the secret safe with a wink. They walked the rest of the way to the cottage, discussing the different kinds of pockets Nori wanted. Deep ones with zippers, and others secured with buttons.

When Grandma dropped her off at school the next morning, Nori paused by her classroom’s door to scan through the scattering of kids inside, her brow furrowed in concentration.

But she didn’t find whatever it was that she was looking for, and with her shoulders slumped dramatically, she shuffled to her seat.

“Bye Gramma.” She waved.

“See you later, kitten.”

On her way back home, Grandma noticed a boy, all of four-five, running towards the school. Wasn’t he the other new kid from Nori’s class?

“Careful, little one.” She slowed as she passed him by.

The boy paused to offer her a lopsided grin, displaying a large gap where two of his front teeth were supposed to be.

Grandma watched, amused, as a single glistening line of snot slowly flowed from his nose down towards his mouth.

Right as it was about to touch his upper lip, the child snorted it back up.

And the gooey liquid began its downward journey once again.

All the while, a neatly folded napkin sat pinned to the front of his shirt, pristine, begging to be used.

Grandma chuckled, resuming her commute home.

The boy stared at the lady’s bright purple bicycle while she pedaled out of view. As he turned towards the school again, something shiny caught his eye—a smooth white pebble nestled in the dirt at the side of the road.

So pretty .

He picked it up and stood staring at it for a full minute before sliding it into his shorts’ pocket. He’d give it to Nori at recess with the card he’d made for her. She was going to love it.

Setting his sight towards the school gate, he started running again. It was embarrassing having to stand in the tardy kids’ queue at assembly. He clenched his jaw and ran faster.

Faster .

A sharp pain exploded in his chest, making him gasp.

He struggled to breathe while the world tilted at an odd angle and the road came up to meet his face.

The last thing he saw before everything went dark, was the pebble as it escaped the confines of his pocket to go tumbling down the road and launch itself off the edge.