Sylvia said, “It’s not that mysterious. It’s just been a little confusing, that’s all.”
Fred said, “Most people think our lives are determined by the choices we make, but there’s more to it than that.”
Sylvia asked, “What do you mean?”
Fred answered, “The numbers in your life have a meaning. They’re not just a random jumble of numbers. They mean something.”
Marley said, “The trick is to decode the numbers. Once you do that, you’ll unlock the secrets of the universe.”
Sylvia thought, “I smell bullshit. I know a huge secret of the universe. You don’t know about it, so you fell for a load of hooey.”
Marley continued, “If you can find a pattern in your numbers, you can find patterns in your life.”
Jenni said, “So how do we do it?”
Fred answered,” It’s up to you to find the patterns, but be sure not to overlook any important numbers. Your birthdate, your address, telephone number, identification numbers and any other significant numbers are important. If you look hard enough, you’ll find a pattern.”
Jenni said, “Do you have any formulas or books you can let us look at?”
Sylvia thought, “I’ll bet they have a whole library dedicated to this garbage. Stupid people go looking for shit that’s not real when they can’t find the answers they need.”
Marley said, “We have a few books, but I think my pamphlet has all the major points in it.”
Fred fetched the pamphlet and brought it back to the table. It was a professionally printed pamphlet with glossy printing. Sylvia laughed internally and tried not to smile too noticeably.
Jenni said, “Can we take it with us?”
Fred said, “Of course. We have a few thousand of them. We were trying to publish them, but no one wanted to buy them.”
Sylvia thought, “I wonder why. Could it be because it’s fucking crazy?”
Sylvia took the pamphlet and stood. She thanked Fred and Marley for their hospitality and walked toward the door. Jenni followed her.
Jenni asked, “Don’t you think you’re being a little rude?” under her breath.
Sylvia said, “Not really, and they don’t have the brain capacity to recognize what rude is.”
Jenni went back inside and apologized for Sylvia’s rudeness. The numerologists were understanding people, which surprised Jenni. She took rudeness to heart, and it always surprised her when other people responded differently.
Fred said, “Some people don’t see the value of the numbers. They think numerology is hokum.”
Marley said, “I had to be convinced at first, too. Once I figured it out, my life made so much more sense.”
Jenni went to the car and sat next to Sylvia. As she put her seatbelt on, she reprimanded her best friend.
Jenni said, “You think you’re the smartest woman in the world, but you’re not. Other people can offer you a different perspective on life.”
Sylvia said, “I understand that, and I don’t think I’m the smartest woman in the world. I just recognize hooey when I see it.”
Jenni asked, “Is hooey your favorite word?”
Sylvia answered, “It’s my favorite word to use when I don’t want to cuss but I see bullshit. I can’t always say bullshit.”
Jenni said, “I don’t remember you having this superiority complex before you had your realization. You were always level headed and down to earth.”
Sylvia said, “I don’t have a superiority complex. I don’t think I’m better than anyone. I just recognize bullshit when I see it, and numberology is bullshit.”
Jenni said, “It’s numerology, not numberology.”
Sylvia said, “I don’t give a shit. It’s fucking stupid, and I want no part of it.”
Jenni said, “Why don’t you give it a chance?”
Sylvia asked, “What would that accomplish, other than wasting a shitload of my time?”
Jenni said, “So you’re rejecting it out of hand.”
Sylvia said, “It’s fucking stupid.”
Jenni started crying. She really tried to help her friend, but Sylvia didn’t seem to want her help.
Sylvia asked, “Does it mean that much to you?”
Jenni cried, “Yes! I’m trying desperately to help you, but you don’t’ seem to want my help.”
Sylvia said, “If it means that much to you, I’ll give it a try.”
Jenni said, “But don’t just try it to prove it wrong. Really give it a chance.”
Sylvia said, “I’ll give it a chance. I promise I’ll give it an earnest effort.”
Jenni said, “Thank you. Why does it always take me crying to get you to open your mind?”
Sylvia said, “Because you’re my best friend. You’re the only person I don’t want to hurt. Even when Brian cries, it doesn’t affect me the same way it does when you cry.”
Jenni asked, “You do know that I’m not gay, right?”
Sylvia answered, “I know; neither am I. But with Brian, I know that I can do something to make up for hurting him. With you, I have to give in to what you want.”
Jenni said, “I don’t want to hear about your sex life.”
Sylvia said, “It’s not always sex. Sometimes I do other things to make him happy.”
Jenni said, “So, you love me but not in a sexual way.”
Sylvia said, “No, nothing sexual about my love for you. I’m straight and so are you.”
Jenni said, “Okay.”
Sylvia asked, “While we’re on that subject, though, Brian was bisexual in the universe where I met him. Do you know if that’s the case here?”
Jenni said, “Why don’t you just ask him?”
Sylvia said, “Because that would require me to tell him my secret, and I’m not ready for that yet.”
Jenni said, “Well, I’m not going to ask him. That would be weird as fuck.”
Sylvia said, “Then how can I find out?”
Jenni said, “There are ways. You just have to observe him. When you’re with him tomorrow, keep an eye out for anything that might signal he likes men.”
Sylvia said, “Won’t that be obvious?”
Jenni said, “You have to be slick. I have faith in you. I know you can decipher your boyfriend.”
Sylvia and Jenni spent the night together and Sylvia went to work the next morning. It was like a new beginning now that she knew the universe’s secret.
Chapter Fifteen
Date Night
Sylvia called Brian to invite him over to her house. She wanted to be with him, but she really didn’t want to go anywhere.
Brian said, “So, what do you want to do?”
Sylvia said, “We could just hang out and watch TV.”
Brian said, “That could be cool. Should I stop on the way to get something for us to eat?”
Sylvia said, “That would be nice. My mom’s not here tonight, so there’s no food.”
Brian said, “You mean she left you alone and starving?”
Sylvia said, “No, she just didn’t cook anything. I don’t feel like cooking, either. There’s food, just nothing easy.”
Brian asked, “What should I get?”
Sylvia answered, “How about a pizza?”
Brian asked, “From where, and with what on it?”
Sylvia said, “I don’t care where you get it. I want pepperoni and ham on mine.”
Brian said, “While I’m there, I’ll get us some sodas and a side of wings.”
Sylvia said, “That’ll be great.”
Brian got off the phone and got in the shower. After he got dressed, he went to get the food for his date with Sylvia. He went to a local pizzeria because the pizza was better than the ones from the big chains. He got two sodas and two sides of wings. He got barbecue wings for himself and extra-hot wings for Sylvia.
He got to Sylvia’s house an hour and a half after they talked on the phone. He apologized for taking so long, but she wasn’t worried about it.
She
said, “Why don’t we just sit on the couch and relax?"
Brian got very excited. His mind went to a place that Sylvia didn’t intend to send it. She had to bring it back to reality.
She said, “We’re not going to get naked. I just want to hang out with you and see where this is going.”
They sat on the couch and turned on the TV. They were watching a show with a lot of attractive men and women. Sylvia wanted to see which he was ogling. He gave no indication from the people on TV. He mostly talked to her and kept his eyes on her.
Sylvia thought, “Oh, great. I need to know if he’s into guys and he’s being a perfect gentleman. Or maybe he wants something.”
Brian asked, “Why haven’t you eaten any pizza or wings yet?”
Sylvia said, “I was waiting for you to start.”
Brian said, “Well, I was waiting for you to start. I hope it’s not cold.”
He opened the pizza box. Steam escaped, so he knew it was still warm. He opened his box of wings and started eating. Sylvia ate some pizza and tried to be subtle as she watched where his eyes went.
Brian asked, “Why are you watching me so closely, babe? Did I do something wrong?”
Sylvia scrambled to find an excuse for spying on her boyfriend. She said the first thing that made any sense.
She said, “I’m just looking at how gorgeous you are, babe. I didn’t want to stare.”
Brian said, “I do that to you sometimes, too. Except, I think I’m a lot more subtle about it.”
Sylvia said, “I’ve caught you a few times. You’re not that subtle; I’m just willing to take the ogling.”
Brian said, “I wish I could see you with less clothes on, though.”
Sylvia thought, “He’s never going to take his eyes off me until I sleep with him. I wasn’t planning on having sex tonight, but I need some answers.”
Sylvia took her shirt off and removed her pants. She walked into her bedroom and gestured for Brian to follow her. He ran from the couch to the bedroom. He tore off his clothes, and tried to tear off her underwear.
She said, “Take it easy, there. It’ll still be there in the ten extra seconds it takes to pull my panties down without hurting me.”
They emerged from the room twenty-five minutes later. They were both fully clothed and went to the couch.
Brian said, “I’m going to warm up the rest of the pizza. It got cold while we were in there.”
Sylvia said, “Okay, babe.”
When he came back to the couch, he sat right next to Sylvia and put his head on her chest. They watched TV for the next few minutes while the pizza was in the oven.
Sylvia asked him, “Did you always like me, or was it my boldness that lead to you being my boyfriend?”
Brian said, “It was a combination of both, actually. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be with a boy or a girl. You made the choice pretty easy. No one ever pursued me like you did.”
Sylvia said, “I love you, Brian.”
She thought, “So, he’s the same Brian I wanted in my previous universe. He’s just bolder and more devoted. I think I can probably trust him.”
Brian got up to get the pizza out of the oven and came back to the couch with it. Sylvia looked at the pizza, and there was no ham on it.
Sylvia asked, “What happened to the ham on the pizza?”
Brian said, “There was never any ham on the pizza. You said you wanted pepperoni.”
Sylvia realized that she died. She didn’t remember it happening, but she knew the only way the pizza could’ve changed is if she entered an alternate reality.
She thought, “Brian killed me when he was being so rough. I died in that reality and came here. Oh, this is terrible!”
Brian sat on the couch next to her, but she pushed him away. Brian didn’t understand why she didn’t want to be next to him.
Sylvia thought, “I don’t know if I can trust him now. He’s got a dark and ugly side. I’m actually a little scared.”
Brian said, “What did I do wrong, babe? I settled down in the bedroom and I was super gentle with you. I promise not to get that rough ever again.”
Sylvia said, “You’d better not. You could’ve really hurt me. I don’t know if you can control your anger.”
Brian said, “I wasn’t angry. I was just overly excited. I’ll be gentler in the future.”
Sylvia thought, “Wait, he’s not the Brian who killed me. That Brian’s in the last dimension. I hope this one’s as nice as that one was. I wonder if other travelers die as much as I do.”
She said, “Brian, I’m going to forgive you. I love you, but you can’t get too rough with me. If you do it again, I’m going to leave you and call the police.”
Brian said, “Okay. I’ll be a lot gentler.”
Sylvia said, “Okay, now come sit next to me and eat some pizza.”
Brian snuggled up next to her and got a slice of pizza. He was happy to be sitting next to Sylvia, and tried to show her that he loved her.
Sylvia thought, “It might be a different version of Brian, but this proves he has the potential to hurt me. I’ll still be his girlfriend, but I can’t tell him my secret. It’s just too risky.”
Sylvia wanted to reward this Brian for not killing her. She allowed him to spend the night with her. They made love all night, but Sylvia refused to tell him her secret. She didn’t care if the universe wanted him to know, he proved that he couldn’t be trusted with that information.
Chapter Sixteen
Psychiatry
Doctor Henley called Dr. Johnson into his office. He wanted to congratulate her for dealing with the traveler so perfectly and give her advice on how to deal with them in the future.
He said, “Mikayla, you did a fine job with patient four, but it can get so much worse than that.”
Dr. Johnson said, “Please don’t call me by my first name. It’s not professional.”
Henley said, “I can respect that. Dr. Johnson, you did a fine job with patient four, but it can get so much worse than that.”
Dr. Johnson said, “It was pretty bad. He was throwing his feces.”
Henley said, “That was just a distraction provided by the universe. You were asking a question that no member of the Gylvanian Guild of Psychiatry is allowed to ask. I’m talking about real problems.”
Dr. Johnson said, “I thought you couldn’t remember what the problems were until and emergency situation arose.”
Henley said, “That’s still correct, but they can cause problems without threatening to alter the fabric of the universe.”
Dr. Johnson asked, “Like what?”
Henley said, “They can make your life a living hell while they’re in your care. They can also disrupt the clinical setting pretty severely. That can lead to people who need psychiatric help not being able to receive it.”
Johnson said, “So what can I do about it?”
Henley said, “You need to be able to recognize the difference between the three types of disruptions. There are crazy people. They’re harmless. Then there are traveler disruptions. They are the absolute worst and most dangerous. The other kind is what you experienced today. The universe prevented you from forbidden knowledge.”
Johnson asked, “So, how do I know the difference?”
Henley said, “The universe doesn’t like to do this when the realizer is female and the presenter is male. You’re not going to be hurt. You’re going to go numb, and you’ll be unable to talk except to ask me questions about what I’m about to tell you.”
Mikayla’s body went numb. She was frightened because she didn’t understand why she couldn’t move. She hadn’t been paying attention to Henley.
She thought, “What the hell is he doing to me? Is he going to hurt me?”
Henley said, “I can’t move either. I promise that you are safe. I’m going to share the psychiatrist’s equivalent of the travelers’ realization with you.”
Mikayla was still scared, but the universe calmed her nerves. She realized
that she was safe, and there was no reason to worry. This was a necessary step in her residency as a Gylvanian psychiatrist.
Henley said, “There are several things you need to know about what it is we do. We are sworn to help people who have serious mental deficiencies. It was not an accident that the universe chose our profession to keep its secrets. We are the only profession that can declare someone insane. We can do it on any planet in the universe.”
Mikayla was very relaxed, but focused on the words Dr. Henley was speaking. The universe made sure that she paid attention to every word he spoke. It was the most important part of her training, and the universe was not going to take any chances.
Dr. Henley continued, “The travelers are a threat to normal civilizations. If we let them gallivant the universe, they could take over the universe and bend it to their will.”
Dr. Johnson asked, “How do they do that if they can’t choose their path?”
Dr. Henley answered, “Because there are secrets that even psychiatrists aren’t allowed to know. These things are forbidden knowledge to us.”
Dr. Johnson asked, “So who knows the answers?”
Dr. Henley replied, “The time people warned us many millennia ago, and we were granted the psychiatric knowledge of the universe when we accepted their advice.”
Dr. Johnson asked, “You didn’t answer my question. Do the time people have all the answers?”
Dr. Henley answered, “No one has all the answers. They are just mortal people, albeit less mortal thanks to their multiple lives.”
Dr. Johnson asked, “Why did we accept their advice?”
Dr. Henley said, “Because we wanted their help advancing our society. We weren’t very advanced at that time. They gave us the knowledge to become what we are today. We’re the most advanced civilization in the Andromeda galaxy.”
Dr. Johnson said, “But it’s just one galaxy. Why are we in charge of enforcing the rules of psychiatry for the whole universe?”
Dr. Henley answered, “There are other psychiatric guardians in the universe. We’re actually not in charge of every galaxy. We learned that the universe is divided into sections, just like galaxies are divided. There are local cosmic clusters of galaxies that make up a region. They’re separated by a dark force only the time people understood.”
Among the Stars Page 9