“In this frame of reference. I suspect there are rules about interference… the possibility of altering timelines and all.”
I shook my head vigorously back and forth. “I’m not on board with this one… it’s too crazy!”
Giddeon finished his beer and tossed it overboard. It disappeared before hitting the water. “You’re arguing with your subconscious aboard a Flying Dutchman about what is and is not possible. Don’t you find that a bit ironic?”
“The Flying Dutchman had dead people on board… I’m in a coma.”
Another beer appeared in his hand with a lime slice already pushed into the neck. He took a slow swig and smiled. “Details.”
“Anyway,” I continued, “I don’t have to worry about it… who would want to visit someone in a coma?”
Giddeon smiled. “You’d be surprised. You’d be surprised.”
His gaze turned towards the shore.
I followed his eyes. There on the bank, looking out into the water was a familiar figure. She had on khaki shorts and a blue halter top; a bag was slung over her shoulder and a camera was in her hands. She turned back towards the clubhouse and took a picture.
Melody.
Without thinking, I was on my feet. I ditched my shirt and shoes, made sure no wallet, keys or any other items were in my pockets, and dove overboard.
Chapter 37
I’m a strong swimmer. I spent so much of my youth in ponds, lakes and municipal pools, that I have a natural stroke. I cut through the water like a knife, covering most of the two hundred yards in a couple of minutes. When I was almost to shore, a dolphin surfaced next to me and called out in an excited voice. Melody turned back from facing the clubhouse and began snapping photos.
I stopped and reached out to the animal, but, of course, my hand went right through him. I had just a bit of a slick rubbery sensation under my palm as we intersected, and I could have sworn the dolphin looked me in the eye. I turned away and continued on towards the bank. ‘Flipper’ submerged under the water, and, in a few seconds, leaped into the air, breaching like a whale. Melody had a huge smile on her face; she kept clicking away with her Minolta 35 while I climbed up onto the muddy sand.
Rivulets of water were running down my bare torso as I brushed wet hair back from my eyes. I made my way up behind the third tee over the big, gray rocks to where Melody was standing on the grass overlooking the water. The dolphin made one final leap, this time with a partner, and then the two moved on… as if giving us some room.
I stood next to Melody and was having a hard time catching my breath, so I rested my hands on my knees for a few seconds and sucked in oxygen. I could smell her scent next to me, and as my breathing stabilized, I noticed that my heart did not. It was pounding in my chest, almost like the organ, itself, was excited by being so unexpectedly near to her. I stood up and reached out, but, as always, there was no contact.
She was so heartbreakingly close that it was wrenching to not be able to communicate… I gave it a try, anyway.
“Melody… I’m here. Can you feel me? I’m right here next to you.”
She turned towards the clubhouse, and then, back to the water as if attempting to triangulate exactly where we had been on the boat. The breeze played just a bit with her golden mane.
“This is where we were… this morning in the dream. You dreamed it, too, didn’t you?” I tried to hold her by the shoulders; once again, it was to no avail. I put my lips close to her ear and said in a soft voice, “I know you can’t hear me… but, can you feel me?”
The wind continued to gently move her blonde locks around her shoulders. She took another picture of the water, out there in Giddeon’s direction.
I went on, “Melody… I just want you to know… I… love you. I love you, and I’m going to do everything I can do to get back to you. I don’t know how… I don’t know when… but, I’m going to do it.”
Then, she turned… and, for a very brief moment I thought she could see me. There was such surprise on her face that for a second, just for a second, I believed I had become real and manifested right there next to her. It was by far and away the best moment of my life, up until that point.
As it turned out, the surprise she registered wasn’t from seeing me… it was from seeing Boris. I looked behind me, and there he was… walking carefully across the unfamiliar ground. Melody called out to him, and he started a little trot straight in our direction. I was almost as shocked as she was. I had never seen him so far from home.
“Come here, kitty. Come here.”
Melody stooped down, and she called to him, again. Boris ran right through me to her. She let him sniff her hand, and then scratched him behind the ears. She held out her other hand, placed it under his chin, and raised his head up so she could see his whiskered face.
“You have big yellow eyes, just like in my dream. Are you the kitty from my dream? Were you on the boat?”
Boris answered with a meow and flopped down in the grass. Melody began stroking him on his side and stomach. She took a picture of him lying there. He slowly blinked his eyes. That’s cat language for ‘I love you’. Maybe he was trying to translate for me.
“You’re not missing any meals, are you? No, you’re not,” she said, and began patting his belly. “Someone is feeding you, huh? Do you live here on the golf course? Is this where you live?” She continued scratching.
Melody looked so lovely resting on one knee, there, in the green of the grass. Her golden hair hung down, almost obscuring the cat, and I wished that I had a camera, myself. After the better part of a minute, Boris got up and moved away from her in order to come in my direction. He attempted to rub against my shins, but, naturally, was unsuccessful. Next, he stood up on his hind legs and tried to support himself upon my thighs. He fell forward, through me, and then rolled onto his back. Melody came over and started scratching, again.
“You’re a strange one, too. Just like my Samantha. Aren’t you? I think you two would get along. Want to come home with me? Want to be an indoor kitty?”
I wasn’t sure that was a good idea, but, then again, I wasn’t sure it was a bad one, either.
If I didn’t know better, I could have sworn Boris was contemplating it, also. Finally, he got to his feet, rubbed up against her suntanned legs, and began walking away… back towards the marina which was almost a mile away. My loyal cat meowed back at her just before spotting a butterfly; he began to chase briefly after it, and then, continued on.
Melody stood up and waved.
“I guess not. You probably have a good life, here… be a good kitty! Bye, bye!”
She turned and took one more picture of the water. I watched her put the camera away and then make her way across the fairway towards the putting green. She was everything I wanted, incarnate.
I made my way back out into the bay. The saltwater tasted just like tears.
__________
I swam slowly to the boat. Giddeon threw a rope ladder down over the stern for me and I climbed up the wooden slats that were knotted into the hemp. He handed me a towel.
“You could have just transported yourself there and back, you know?”
“I haven’t really gotten the hang of that, yet,” I said. “Besides, it’s a good day for a swim. Did you see Boris? He must have followed us here.”
“That’s some cat. I guess he wanted to make sure we didn’t sail off and leave him.”
I nodded. “Melody recognized him… she even asked if he was the kitty in the dream.”
“What did he say?”
“I don’t speak cat, but it sure sounded like he answered in the affirmative.” I shook my head. “By the way… what was up with that dolphin? I could swear he was staring right at me.”
Giddeon grinned. “Looks like we’re gonna have to add another animal to our list of those that can detect us. I wonder if it has anything to do with their sonar? Pretty cool… you learn something every day, huh?”
“You didn’t know?”
“Nope. Brand new info,” he replied.
“Humph… I wonder if the time travelers in my head knew about it?”
Gid hauled up the anchor and threw me a grin. “Hard to say… they don’t talk much. It’s impolite to make noise in a theater, you know?”
I stowed away the ladder. “How many do you reckon are in there?” I asked, pointing at my head.
He shrugged his shoulders and chuckled. “According to my calculations… at least several thousand. Probably more.”
“Humph… don’t you think they would have somewhere better to go? Like into Elvis Presley or Valentino?”
“Oh, I’m sure they get their fair share of viewers. But, they’re kind of at a disadvantage compared to you.”
“How so?” I questioned.
He fired up the little outboard engine, and then shouted over the noise,
“They didn’t know Melody!”
Chapter 38
On the way back to the dock, I contemplated the possibility that there were people inside my cranial vault living vicariously through me. I didn’t really buy it at the time, but, still, the thought was disconcerting. If they could see through my eyes, could they also hear my thoughts? Would they feel what I felt? There are some things I would rather keep private… actually, there are lots of things I would rather keep private. It just seemed impossible to me that they were in there… but, then again, cell phones and computers would have seemed impossible to a cave man, too.
The more I thought about it, though, the more I had to concede that with so many infinite realities (and, I had personally seen evidence of those) the chances that a civilization in the future would eventually develop such interfacing technologies were good.
I took some solace in the argument that reasoned that if time travel was possible we would have already been visited by people from the future. The fact that we haven’t had visitors is considered by some as proof that it’s impossible. The problem with such a line of logic is that it’s hard to prove a negative. What if our descendants are just very well behaved and don’t interfere?
I pondered all of this as we made our way through the bay. Finally, I decided that although there could be something preventing actual bodily transport through time, the same rules might not apply to the transfer of consciousness. Maybe that was still possible. Kind of like when Gid and I sampled alternate realities but didn’t ‘crash’ the systems. I thought to myself that if they were in there, the ‘firewall’, or something like it, could be separating them from me like it had me from Gid.
I shook my head and let the wind dry my hair. I took in the day around me; the air was clear and sweet as is often the case near the island. I certainly understood why tourists from all over flocked to Coronado for vacation. Could it be that maybe the same holds true on a larger scale? I wondered, on the ride back to the dock, if the island was a place so unique that everyone wanted to visit… even those from the future.
I didn’t know, but I supposed that if there were people in my head they may as well have a good view. I turned this way and that, taking in the scenes all around me. The bridge aft and the island to my right. The green of the golf course and red roof of The Del in the distance. Masts of sailboats in the marina pointing skyward with seagulls and pelicans flying in and out of frame. Pretty much a living postcard. Nope… I couldn’t really blame them for wanting to come here. I couldn’t blame them at all.
__________
I could feel a song forming in my brain. I had come to recognize that feeling… I knew the finished product was in there, and all I had to do was uncover it. When we were docked, I went straight for the Ovation and Giddeon grabbed his Martin. This is what came out in the next twenty minutes:
There’s a revolution in my head.
There’s a revolution in my brain.
They say if I don’t get out of bed,
There’s gonna be a revolution of pain.
They say they’re from the future.
They say they’re from the past.
They say they paid good money,
They say they’re here to have themselves a blast.
And, they want it all real fast.
And, video killed the radio star, and the radio
Killed the stage.
We all killed adventure,
When we printed out the page.
Simple evolution, that’s what they said.
Ain’t no entertainment like being there,
In someone’s head.
So, let’s dance…
Let’s sing…
Let’s laugh…
And, show them everything.
Let’s love…
And, let’s sigh…
Let’s live…
‘Cause it ain’t time to die…
Inside my head.
There’s a revolution in my head.
There’s a revolution in my brain.
Every time I get out of the bed,
I love to see the sunshine and rain.
I say there ain’t no future,
I say there ain’t no past.
I say I paid good money,
And, I say I’m here to have myself a blast…
And, I want it all to last.
And, Video killed the radio star,
But, the radio, it ain’t dead.
I tried to change the channels, but, they’re
Changing me instead.
Simple evolution, that’s what I say,
Ain’t no entertainment like being here,
All the way.
So, let’s dance…
Let’s sing…
Let’s laugh…
And, show them everything.
Let’s love…
And, let’s sigh…
Let’s live…
‘Cause it ain’t time to die
Inside my head…
Inside my soul,
There’s a common thread
We all love rock and roll,
Inside my head…
Inside my soul,
There’s a common thread
We all love rock and roll,
Rock and roll, rock and roll…inside my head!
Boris once again meowed his approval. He had come in halfway through the process and sat there watching, silently letting us work. When we were done, it occurred to me that since the cat could see us, he might possibly be aware of… others. I observed as Boris rubbed up against the leg of the table, the corner of the couch, and then came and jumped in my lap; he looked hilarious with his head poking out from the center of my guitar. I played a few chords and let him watch my fingers on the frets.
I supposed maybe anything was possible.
Chapter 39
Life is a wonderfully strange phenomenon in the circus of strangeness all around each and every one of us.
Sharing a life exponentially increases that effect.
I never used to sit and think about such things. Not like I do, now. I was mainly concerned with golf, work and keeping my boat afloat, both literally and financially… introspection and altruism weren’t my strong points. I wasn’t much of a student, so classes didn’t really interest me much… I pretty much just kept going to school because I didn’t know what else it was I was supposed to be doing.
Maybe some of my aimlessness was due to having lost my parents at the end of my adolescence… I had no real guidance. My brother, bless his heart, tried, but he had his own fish to fry at the time. He always told me just to do what it was that I really wanted to do… the only problem was, I didn’t have any idea of what it was that I really wanted to do.
So I drifted… always on the surface, like a piece of wood. Luckily for me, Coronado was a good place to drift to. Had I not encountered the woman of my dreams and then been hit in the head by a golf ball, I don’t think I ever would have been able to go any deeper into the strange waters of life than a broken bit of flotsam on the bay. For all practical purposes, that’s what I was. A lump of carbon-based mole
cules with no real goals or appreciation or insight… a floating, bobbing cork with no true intention or meaning.
Only when I met Melody, did I get a flash of what could be.
Only when I was next to her, did the expansion of the universe begin to make sense… there simply isn’t enough room for the way she makes me feel.
__________
I knew instantly that I was inadequate compared to her… mentally, physically, emotionally and any other ‘ally’ you can possibly think of.
Yet, as perfect as she was, oddly, my deficiencies didn’t seem to matter to her. I know she didn’t really know me, but, I have the feeling that my lackluster performance on this planet wouldn’t have been a big deal. She probably would have intrinsically understood that she had the ability to help me evolve and live up to my potential, if that was what I wanted. Had I not gone into a coma, I’m sure we would have both totally enjoyed the process.
With her by my side, in that reality, maybe I could have even grown into something she would have been proud of. I still can’t believe I didn’t trust her enough to tell her about my situation with school and work.
Looking back on it, she most likely would have just laughed and thought it was cute.
__________
In our brief time together that afternoon, I feel like we connected so deeply that she knew things about me that I didn’t quite realize, myself. Like I said before, I don’t know what she saw in me… but, now that I think about it, maybe she saw something that I didn’t even know was in there.
Maybe she saw Giddeon.
__________
As far as my perceptions went, I understood that day that she was smart… and, beautiful. Also, that she was kind. It would be hard not to be attracted to those things. Mostly, though, I think I was drawn to her wonder. The way she looked at everything in a low-grade state of awe. She took in her Greek Salad as if each bite was a prayer, and each sip of tea as if it was a blessing.
Her overall attitude was one of thanks.
She was simply mesmerized by the sights and sounds all around her, and fortunately, those sights and sounds included me.
I don’t know how I knew all of this so instantly, but, I was as sure of her inner landscape as I was of gravity. It’s like when a vibrating tuning fork is held next to another one of the same note; the quiet one picks up the resonance and begins to sing, also. I somehow just absorbed what she was feeling and thinking because natural laws that I don’t really understand transmitted her essence to me. I had lived for over two decades, and had never vibrated. Had never heard the sound I was born to make. Only when I was next to her did I feel the harmonics that were buried in my soul.