“And Mereau succeeded.”
“Spectacularly. And after we found the Sinethal Muran used to store Pebbles’ mind, Mereau helped us reunite her mind with her body.”
Tears formed in Anlon’s eyes as he recalled the moment when he first heard Pebbles speak after the reunification was complete.
“This has been a trauma for more than just Pebbles,” said Sanjay.
“Yeah, it has.” Anlon swept away some more tears and cleared his throat. “Which brings us to Muran and Aja Jones.”
“Ah, yes.”
“The FBI was involved in helping us find and rescue Pebbles after she was kidnapped, and they discovered evidence linking Muran with a woman named Aja Jones. They ended up raiding Aja Jones’ home on New Caledonia, looking for evidence related to Pebbles’ kidnapping, and found a trove of ancient artifacts. Thousands of pieces she’d accumulated and hidden, over ten millennia. The collection is supposedly worth billions, but its true worth is impossible to value. There are hundreds of pieces that have no connection with any known cultures.”
“Is the bird carving one of those mystery pieces?”
“I don’t know. It’s the reason Jen put in a call to Cesar Perez. He’s an archaeologist and a friend of ours. He was called in to help the FBI catalog the collection before the New Caledonians kicked them out.”
“Kicked them out? Why?”
“Well, I guess the New Caledonians felt the FBI was overstepping its bounds. Plus, they discovered Aja Jones died without a will and no heirs. Under New Caledonian law, that made her estate the property of the government. And once they found out how much the estate was worth, they booted out the FBI and seized the collection.”
As Anlon spoke, Happy trotted over to the bench and began to whimper. Anlon patted the dog and asked, “What’s the matter, buddy? Run out of things to sniff?”
“No. He is telling us he’s hungry.”
“Ah. I guess it is dinner time, isn’t it, Happy?” said Anlon. The dog barked loudly. Anlon turned to Sanjay. “I see he knows the word dinner.”
“He knows our words for any kind of meal.”
On the way back to Sol Seaker, Sanjay asked Anlon if Pebbles was familiar with Muran’s collection. “By that I mean, has she seen it in person or seen photographs of some or all of the pieces?”
“As far as I know, she’s not seen anything from the collection. You have to understand, Sanjay. Muran is a very touchy subject with Pebbles. She doesn’t like to talk about her, think about her or come into contact with anything to do with her. It’s been that way ever since Mereau reunited her mind and body.”
“I see. We’ll have to broach the subject more carefully, then.”
Dinner turned out to be more of a work session for Sanjay than a social occasion. Pebbles, Jennifer and Griffin had finished grouping the journal entries and Pebbles was eager for Sanjay to review the dream-packs.
So, in between bites, Sanjay read through one of the packs. When he finished, he asked for another. After reviewing a third pack, he looked up at Anlon and said, “You know, reviewing the entries in this way, I can better appreciate why you suspect the dreams may be memories. They are so alike. They follow the same timeline. There is never an alternative ending or disjointed scenes. While the entries do not always include the same details, and here and there Pebbles has added new details after the fact, there is tremendous consistency from entry to entry.”
“Yeah, but there’s one problem with that theory. They aren’t my memories,” Pebbles said.
“That may not be true. You may be experiencing amnesia.”
“Amnesia? Look, I don’t mean to be disrespectful, Sanjay, but I’m one hundred percent certain I’ve never been chased through woods or through a temple. I’ve never had an animal skin bag in my life or been in a village with a bonfire. None of that stuff.”
“I do not doubt you.”
“Then how can you suggest I have amnesia?”
“Just because you have never experienced the events in your dreams does not mean they are not memories.”
With a quick shake of her head, Pebbles turned to Anlon. “Is he making sense to you?”
Before Anlon could answer, Sanjay said, “You might have read a book about similar adventures earlier in your life. Or seen a movie or television program. Someone may have told you a story. Your mind may be treating the memories of one or more of such stories as your own memories.”
“Hmm…I think I’d remember if I saw a movie with any of the stuff in my dreams.”
“You experienced a coma, Pebbles. Regardless of what caused the coma, your brain was injured, and it is quite possible your memory was affected.”
“But I haven’t lost any of my memories.” Pebbles once again turned to Anlon. “Have I?”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
She turned to Jennifer and Griffin. “I haven’t forgotten who you guys are or my name or anything like that, have I?”
“If you have, I haven’t noticed,” said Jennifer.
“Me neither,” Griffin said.
Pebbles directed her attention back to Sanjay. “See.”
“Amnesia can affect older memories—”
Her voice turning gruff, Pebbles cut Sanjay off. “Look, I don’t have amnesia. Okay?”
Sanjay sat back. For several seconds, he stared off into space. When he spoke, his voice was level, almost melodic in tone. “I apologize. I did not mean to upset you. I merely meant to present a possible explanation for the flashback-like qualities of your dreams.”
“Well, you’re barking up—”
“Hold on, Pebbles,” Anlon said. “Let’s hear him out.”
“Why? I don’t have amnesia.”
“Your coma occurred roughly eleven months ago, correct?” Sanjay asked.
“Yeah, so what?”
“And for a period of time afterward, you experienced flashbacks about your kidnapping. From what Anlon shared, they eventually faded and for a stretch of six months or so, you had no nightmares. Then, all of a sudden, these new dreams began to occur. They, too, seem like flashbacks even though you do not consider them memories. Better stated, you do not consider them your memories.”
“Yes, all that’s true. Again, what are you driving at?”
“Amnesia occurs when a brain injury damages areas where memories are stored. Sometimes the damage is significant enough that a person never recovers certain memories, but in most people, the brain eventually establishes new connections, and lost memories are at least partially restored.
“For example, you may always have remembered a birthday party based on your memory of a favorite gift you received. But as a result of your injury, the area storing the memory of the gift may have been damaged, causing you to forget about the party because you don’t recall the gift. But, later, as the brain links together new pathways with other memories of the party, you find you can recall the party again. However, instead of the memory of the gift being the cue that triggers the memory, it might be the taste of a cake or the sound of children singing Happy Birthday. Depending on the severity of the brain injury involved, the process to build new links to lost memories can take weeks, months or years.
“The time gap between when your early flashbacks ended and your most recent dreams began suggests your brain has been in the process of building new links to certain memories lost as a result of your coma. The emergence of your drawing ability supports this conclusion.”
“My drawing ability? What does that have to do with amnesia?”
Anlon interjected. “I think what Sanjay means to say is that your sudden artistry is an additional indication that your brain is in the process of establishing new connections.”
“Correct,” said Sanjay. “As Anlon and I discussed in Sedona, brain scans of people who develop savant behaviors after brain injuries often show damage to the temporal lobe, a part of the brain heavily involved in memory management. Damage to the same lobe is also prevalent among people who suffer from
amnesia and PTSD.”
“Look, I’m not disputing a connection between my dreams and the drawings,” Pebbles said. “They both started around the same time, so I get that they’re related, even though a lot of my drawings have nothing to do with my dreams — like today with the bird carving. What I am disputing is that I have amnesia. These dreams, if they are memories, aren’t my memories.”
“I would not be so sure. They could be bits of disparate memories that your brain has linked together to create a unified memory. That’s what dreams are at their core,” Sanjay said. “I can give you an example in my own life. I am fifty-six. I was born in Kavali, India, though I remember nothing of living there.”
Griffin piped up. “I’ve heard this intro before. You’re going to tell your spooky Pearl Harbor story, aren’t you?”
“Your memory serves you well, my friend.”
“What can I say? I’m good at remembering spooky stories.”
Sanjay smiled and returned his attention to Pebbles. “As I was saying, I was born in India. When I was a small boy, my father moved our family to Vancouver. I lived there with my family until I went to college in the United States in the early 1980s. Somewhere during my life, I do not know when or where, I must have read or seen a graphic depiction about the Pearl Harbor attack, an account I do not remember. Whether it came from a history book, or we talked about it in a class or I saw a move, I just do not recall.
“But one day in the mid-1990s, I was in Fiji on vacation, and I woke up and took a walk on the beach. And there was something about the color of the sky, the puffy clouds hovering over the water, the humidity in the air, or all of it, that triggered the most intense vision I have ever experienced.
“I swear to God I was there. At Pearl Harbor. Just as the attack began. I can close my eyes right now and hear the whine of the Zeros, the ocean breeze rustling the palm trees. I can see the black spots coming over the mountains toward the base, growing into planes as they drew near. I can remember taking cover when the first explosions occurred. The smell, the acrid smell of burning fuel, is so strong in my memory, I can detect it in my nose right now.”
Sanjay’s eyes opened. “Pearl Harbor happened seventeen years before I was born. And before that vision I had never been to Oahu. But after the dozenth time I recalled the vision, I went there. I stood at the very spot where my vision takes place. I ask you — how is this possible?
“Did I read an account of the battle that was so vivid it lodged into my mind as my own memory? Was I half asleep during a television program that recounted a survivor’s tale? Was it a reenactment I saw in a documentary or movie? I cannot say. I have researched every resource imaginable, but I have never been able to find any book or movie with a depiction of what I experienced during the vision. But, if the wind blows a certain way, or I hear the whine of a vintage airplane over Sedona, or the sun peeks through the clouds and colors the sky just right, the vision sometimes pops into my mind as clearly as if I were standing on the base again.
“Is it a figment of my imagination? Most likely. But it is so vivid, I cannot believe such a vision could be manufactured in mind without reference points. Therefore, it must be a memory of some kind, but it cannot be my memory because I was not there.”
Griffin interrupted again. “Reincarnation, dude. That’s the answer.”
“As we have discussed before, Griffin, my mind is open to the concept of reincarnation, but I think there is a more rational explanation for my Pearl Harbor vision. My mind has concocted a false memory about the attack based on bits and pieces of information my mind has accumulated over the years. The vision feels like my memory, though it is not. It cannot be. By the same token, it also cannot be someone else’s memory.”
Sanjay touched Pebbles’ hand. “Look, I do not know for certain if you have amnesia. I freely admit I am theorizing. But the more I read your entries, the more they seem like flashbacks, and the harder it is to ignore the possibility of amnesia.”
“Let me play devil’s advocate,” said Jennifer. “Let’s say you’re wrong. Not about Pebbles’ brain making new connections, not about the dreams being flashbacks, but about amnesia. I know we keep harping on it, but what if Pebbles picked up bits and pieces of someone else’s memories when her mind was transferred into the Sinethal? And those pieces tagged along when her mind was transferred back into her body. Couldn’t the dreams be Pebbles’ mind’s way of trying to fit those foreign pieces into her own memories?”
“My mind is open to that possibility, Jennifer. But amnesia strikes me as a more likely explanation.”
“So, where does that leave us? Leave me?” Pebbles asked. “Are you saying I have no choice but to let the dreams continue until my brain sorts everything out?”
“No. There are some things we can try to alleviate the frequency and intensity of the dreams.”
“I’m not taking any drugs.”
“I am not suggesting you do.”
“Then what are you suggesting?”
“Let us start with the daydreams. If we can pinpoint the stimuli that seem to be triggering them, we may be able to reduce the frequency with which they are happening by avoiding the stimuli or employing strategies to condition your mind to react differently to them.”
Oh, that’s not gonna go over well, thought Anlon. He winced, waiting for Pebbles to erupt at the suggestion that Sanjay “condition” her mind. To his surprise, Pebbles said, “At this point, I’ll try anything to make them stop. What kind of conditioning are we talking about?”
“There are several approaches we can try but we should first focus on identifying the triggers.”
“Like the bird carving,” Jennifer said.
“Yes, that clearly seems to be one of them, or flickers, woodpeckers, in general.”
“And how are we going to do that?” Pebbles asked. “I mean, how are we going to find other triggers?”
“Your drawings seem like a good place to start to me,” Sanjay said.
The suggestion made sense to Anlon. Pebbles had recognized the preponderance of flickers in her sketch pads and journals. And the discussion about them, or seeing the stone carving, had prompted her latest dream. Perhaps there were other clues hidden in her drawings.
“What about comparing them to Muran’s art collection?” Jennifer asked. “Maybe there are other artifacts that look like some of your drawings? Or maybe seeing pictures of the artifacts will trigger visions? When Cesar calls me back, I’ll ask if there’s a way we can tap into pictures of the rest of the collection. Who knows, maybe he has a set?”
“Good idea,” Anlon said. “When do you expect him to call back?”
“Given the time now, and the fact he’s ahead a few time zones, I’m guessing I won’t hear back from him until tomorrow.”
Anlon saw Pebbles sigh as she turned back to Sanjay. “What else can we do?”
“Hmm…you said you had a vision earlier this morning. Do you remember what you were doing right before it happened? Were you drawing? Thinking about your dreams?”
“No. None of that. I had just escaped Jen and her attempt to get me into yoga. I went to the kitchen for a smoothie. I took it up to the patio on the upper deck. I was just going to enjoy the sunshine and then boom…the next thing I knew, I was wrestling with Jen on the sofa up there.”
“Maybe there was a flicker around,” Griffin suggested.
“At the marina?” Pebbles said.
“You never know, there’s lots of wood. Maybe you heard one of them pecking. You said they were woodpeckers, right?”
“I did. But the flickers in my drawings don’t peck wood. I looked it up. They peck the ground, trying to snag worms and bugs and such.”
“Hold on, Pebbles,” Sanjay said. “Griffin may be on to something there. Do you know what a flicker sounds like?”
“Yeah. I listened to some recordings online when I researched them.”
“Maybe you heard a bird make a similar sound, whether it was a flicker or not. The
triggers do not have to be visual. They can be sounds, tastes, smells or all of the above.”
“Okay, I’ll give it some more thought, but I don’t remember hearing any birds. Then again, I can’t say I was paying attention to any particular sounds when I went up top.”
“That is another reality we will face,” said Sanjay. “Some of the triggers will not be obvious. You may not consciously notice them.”
In listening to the conversation, Anlon became concerned that the discussion of triggers was focused solely on Pebbles’ daydreams. He asked Sanjay how Pebbles could identify triggers of her nightmares.
“That is more difficult, since nighttime dreams often lag the stimuli that trigger them significantly. For nightmares, I typically recommend evaluating sleep hygiene as a first step. Much like Pebbles is keeping a dream journal, that means starting up a sleep journal where she records her nighttime routine for the few hours leading up to sleep each night. Oftentimes, we find clues to triggers in those routines, everything from variances in what time people go to sleep each night to what they watch or read before turning out the lights. We look at conversations they have before bed, foods or drinks they consumed, those sorts of things.”
“I can totally start doing that,” Pebbles said, “but is there anything we can do to get ahead of a nightmare? Like something I can do tonight?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, we can. We could try a therapeutic technique called imagery rehearsal therapy, or IRT. It is a common treatment for PTSD-related nightmares, particularly repeating nightmares. Have you heard of it?”
“No.”
“You and I would pick one of your nightmares, one that is comparatively less disturbing than your most frightening dream. We would discuss the nightmare and then imagine alternative aspects we could insert into the dream, including an alternative ending. We would write down the alternative scenario and then have you mentally and verbally rehearse it before you go to bed. It is not a technique that can be counted on to produce immediate results, as repetition of the therapy over a number of days is typically needed to produce an effect, but it is a proactive step you can take tonight to start trying to manage your nightmares. I have used IRT with many of my PTSD patients in the past and I have found it effective in reducing the frequency and severity of repeating nightmares for most of them. Would you agree, Griffin?”
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