The Scariest Thought

     Walking alone in a dark maze never knowing what awaits around the next corner, being home alone during a storm and the lights go out, or even being buried alive -while I don't wish any of these fates on myself or anyone else, there is a fate worse than death: becoming a shadow of one's former self. Being haunted this way comes from second-guessing the 'road not taken' with regret. 

      Exorcising a ghost when that ghost is self is a human's biggest challenge. Remember that any step taken is a step toward something and so a step forward. In a way, we are all shape-shifters. Shadows can't catch us if we chose not to be caught.

     "What was that?" you ask.

     "A creaking door."

     "Jeez! That gave me the willies. Where does it lead, do you think?"

     "Walk through it and find out," I say with a lascivious grin.

     Whoa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! 

     (Cue organ music.)

     

The Pick Up

“Hey, Simms, check out the guy at the end of the bar. He could be your twin!”

Simms glanced in the general direction his friend Tag indicated, but didn’t see anyone who resembled himself. “Tag, I think you’ve had too much to drink. That guy doesn’t look anything like me.”     

“Simms, I’m telling you ―where’re you goin’, man?” Tag watched as Simms sat down next to his twin. The resemblance was incredible, even side by side ―especially side by side. Tag couldn’t help but smile as he watched his friend introduce himself.

“My friend over there thinks we look alike. Sorry, but I don’t see it myself. I came over here so he could see how wrong he is. My name’s Simms, by the way,” he said as he extended his arm to shake hands. “Sorry to have bothered you.”

“No bother,” the other man said as he took Simms hand. “Take a seat. I’d like to buy you a drink.”

“That’s okay. I should get back to my friend.”

“Oh, are you two together? He can join us if he wants to. I’d like to get to know you.”

“We’re friends, not lovers if that’s what you mean. You haven’t told me your name.”

“You can actually call me Simms. Hard to believe, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, that is weird; especially since Simms is actually my last name.”

            “So, Mr. Simms, have you ever called out your own name during sex?”

            “Ah, that’s going a bit fast for me. You haven’t even bought me that cocktail you offered yet.”

“I have a feeling this choirboy look of yours is a sham. Underneath it all, you’re as bad as I am. Bartender? What are you drinking, Mr. Simms?”

“I’ll have what you’re having,” he replied with a twinkle in his eye.

“Well then, now we’re getting somewhere. Hine, please, and get me another while you’re at it.”

“What do you do? For a living, I mean?”

“I’m an actor.”

“Really? That must be interesting. What might I have seen you in?”

“Nothing, if you tend to blink. So far it’s only been some background work for television.”

“I have a part for you you might like.”

Just as the bartender placed the drinks on the bar, Tag took his friend’s elbow. “C’mon, man. We should go. It’s getting to be a little weird watching you sit here talking with your reflection in the mirror. You bested me. The joke’s over now. Let’s get you home.”

“No, that can’t be!” Simms turned sharply to face his new companion. There were two glasses, but only himself and Tag. “I can’t believe it! I finally meet someone interesting who’s interested in me and you run him off!”

“Simms, seriously, you need to get home and get to bed to sleep this off. There was no guy. It was only the mirror. I shouldn’t have pranked you when you’re drunk. Now let’s go.”

“Oh, all right. Let me just finsh this.” When Sims raised his glass there was a business card stuck to the bottom. In blue ink there was a handwritten note. “Call me.” Simms slipped it into his pocket without a word and got up to leave with Tag.

Blurred Vision As A Path To Clarity

     Sometimes I see a blur of something in my peripheral vision that leaves me wondering what I saw. Often it's something or someone moving very quickly. For instance, sitting on a winter's night watching television or reading a book and a brownish blur flashes by. That one is a mouse who didn't realize I was there until it was too late! Sometimes, though it's someone from the other side who is with me, but not intending to be seen. At other times, being seen is the point. 

     Yesterday provided me an interesting lesson in perception. I inadvertently went to work without my reading glasses. Until then, I hadn't realized how much my dependence on them had grown. I decided to make the best of the situation by making enlarged photocopies of  the associates' extensions directory and using the enlargement feature for emails; a button I didn't know existed. All in all, the day provided a lesson. While details are important, sometimes we also need to step back for a look at the overall picture. After all, what do details really matter without context? For one day, I was forced to see my work in a new way. My self perception was also enhanced.

     What does this have to do with my theme of synchronicity or paranormal? I was set up. I am such a creature of habit there is no way  I would have missed picking up my glasses. In fact, I felt them in my breast pocket and continued to reach for them throughout the day. The routine is this: glasses go into the breast pocket of my suit. Next the phone goes into the side pocket, then the wallet goes on the hip. I reach for my house keys as I go out the door. Before I lock up, I do a touch test to make sure everything is in its place. I know I had my glasses. Somewhere along my route to the subway, one of my spiritual guides picked my pocket so that I would have no choice by to alter my way of seeing things. Out of the blur I received new clarity.

     Normally, I don't even use the directory to connect calls. I know them all by touch. Concern over my vision blocked my sensory memory at first. As I relaxed into the day, I became more adapt though not 100%. Whoever that spirit guide was wanted me to understand and overcome an area of weakness brought about by dependency. I will continue to exercise non-reliance.

     When I returned home, my glasses had been hidden. They were not where I last used them or where I would have picked them up. I had to look for them.

  

     

     

     

Guard Duty

   He was awakened from a sound sleep by the screech of the screen door at the back of the house. Larry listened for foot falls as he reached for his glasses and the cellphone he kept on the nightstand. There it was; the squeak of the floor between the kitchen and dining room. Someone was in his house. He quietly slipped into a pair of jeans and stepped into his shearling slippers. With the .45 he kept in the nightstand he made is way downstairs.
     Larry saw the flash before he heard the shot of a gun being fired, but it wasn't his gun. The bullet grazed him as he fell backwards on the landing. Before he could make another move, Larry heard snarling, the growling, then yelling, "Get away from me!" Larry couldn't see what was happening in the shadows, but he knew the sounds of a dog attacking the intruder.
     "Get away! Get away!" the man continued to yell. "Call off your dog, man! Call off your dog!" The growling and snapping, the sounds of tearing cloth and flesh, the clicking of teeth on bone continued. Silence.
     Silence. It was over. Larry found a light switch and turned on the lights. The intruder was heaped in a soundless bloody mass that no longer moved. Whoever it was had been mauled so badly Larry couldn't discern a face. He called 9-1-1 on his way back to the bedroom to put the gun away.
     The police and the ambulance arrived within moments of each other. The officer was a friend of Larry's form Church. "Do you know this guy?"
     "Never saw him before tonight, Matt."
     "I got to tell you, Larry, I haven't ever seen a mauling this bad before. Sorry, but I'm going to have to take your dog. It's just for a couple days. You'll most likely get him back."
     "Matt, I don't have a dog."
     "I thought you had a Shepherd, or Shepherd-mix. What was him name?"

     "You mean Hawkeye?  He got a hold of the wrong end of a rattlesnake. He died about s couple months ago. I don't have another dog."

Midsummer Love

Here's a kernel of a story I'm hearing from the ether.

      With candle in hand he climbed the stairs to the attic. This was a room he visited only once each year. The room looked much like any other storage room containing various cartons of clothes, decorative objects, and furniture not suitable for use but too good to get rid of. There was a small solitary window through which the moon cast a single ethereal beam. This was reflected and magnified by the cheval mirror standing sentry nearby. He seated himself on an ottoman placed in front of the mirror. He carefully placed the candle on the floor between the mirror and him and settled down to wait. 

    His ritual had become a sort of anniversary observance for the last seven years. The commemoration wasn't due to a birthday or wedding, or even a first date. Midsummer night, however, was the first time they had met again. Seven years ago this night, Filip had encountered quite by accident his beloved for the first time after Lars had passed away. 

      To say Filip looked forward to these encounters would be a gross understatement. The two men had instantly been so close only Death could come between them. For one night, even Death was defeated. Theirs was a passion so strong they often wondered together in each other's arms if they might have known each other in another life. Now that Lars was on the other side, he was able to show Filip this was indeed true. Every year, Lars showed Filip another episode in their love affair that as it turned out spanned centuries.

       As Filip gazed at his own reflection a silvery ball began to pulse over his left shoulder and grow larger. In seconds that seemed like hours, the ball had grown into the image Filip knew so well. Lars had arrived.

Past Perfect, Future Not So Much

     I had a friend who didn't believe in much of anything except her talent for accumulating wealth. She  considered anything spiritual or paranormal as either delusion or scam. She surprised me one day by asking me if I knew of an honest psychic. I asked her what happened that caused her to seek a fortune-teller. She said she had had a fight with her only son and was taking him out of her will. It occurred to her if she could find out the name she has in a future reincarnation, she could leave her estate to herself. 

     Remembering this conversation also brought to mind a comment someone once made about people who claimed to know about their past lives. None of them ever recalled an ordinary life as a common person. They all seem to have been kings, queens, millionaires, etc. By the same token, there have been no public claims of having been a particular saint, martyr, pope or rabbi. 

   Who we were only matters for the lessons we bring with us. We all have either things we learned or things we didn't quite get and still need to conquer. The adage in the theater is that an actor is only as good as his last show, but that credential only lasts until the follow-up question is asked: 'What are you working on now?'

     My friend never did learn her future identity. Whatever lessons await her she will have to learn without her crib notes, just as we all do. Who knows, next time around, I might be a famous writer instead of a struggling one. 

     

Midsummer Approaches

     Midsummer is the most celebrated holiday in Scandinavia and other countries in the North besides Christmas. Celebrated on the Friday and Saturday between June 19th and the 24th, Midsummer is a time of bacchanalian traditions. The festivities of the Solstice include dances around Maypoles, bonfires, outdoor barbecues, and copious amounts of vodka; families and friends enjoying the longest day of the year. It is also one of the most magical. Shakespeare even wrote a play about it.
     Midsummer is also a time to beware.The bonfires originally were to meant to ward off dragons which were especially active to keep them away from the local water supplies. It was believed the dragons poisoned wells. Sprites, faeries, and daevas are also playing mischief with unsuspecting humans.
     For the Druids, this was a time when the young people of the villages drank and danced and paired off. The couple would stay together for a year. during this time, if a child was born, the couple remained together to raise the child. If there was no off-spring, each partner was free to dance around the Maypole the following year with a new partner.
     This is also a time when the passage between this world and the spirit world is open. So bonfires were like keeping the lights on. Even now it is said that if a person sits in a dark room and looks into a mirror by the light of a single candle, the people watching from the other side can be seen. This can be an amazing opportunity to re-connect with loved ones who have passed to discuss unfinished business with them. This is their chance to let the people left behind they are loved and cared for.