I Remember (Remembrance Series)

by Cynthia P. O'Neill

  His mouth drew into a thin line and finally relented. “Okay. I could use some help with the bags. You may want to hang your purchases up so they don’t get wrinkled.”

  “I wish you and your mother had not insisted on getting me so many things. I feel that I now owe both of you so much.” My voice cracked with emotion on the last words. Then a sudden thought occurred to me. “How am I going to explain all this high end clothing to the girls at work?”

  His arms snaked around me and pulled me close to him, kissing me gently on the lips. “Don’t over think things, Jordan. If your co-workers ask any questions, tell them your new family took you shopping and found some really amazing deals.”

  I shook my head and smiled in amazement. The man of my dreams had an answer for everything.

  We quickly unloaded the car and then changed for bed. “I’m sorry, but I promised my dad I would glance over a PowerPoint presentation he will be sending out to the department heads, tomorrow.”

  Fear etched across my face at the thought of having to fall asleep alone.

  “I can either work on the presentation here, in the living room, or I can come to bed and work on it there. Which would make you more comfortable?”

  I hated to feel so dependent upon him, but opted for him to work in the bed, while I tried to relax and go back to sleep.

  He followed me into his bedroom, where he propped some of the pillows up against the headboard and climbed into bed, placing his laptop on his lap and calling up his work.

  I eased in beside him, turning to my side and scooting over until our skin touched. He provided me with such an overwhelming sense of comfort.

  His hand ran up and down the length of my back. “You can go to sleep, Honey. I have the clocks set and will be done with this presentation, shortly. I will leave the light in the corner on so we can ward away any darkness that tries to come around.”

  The noise from the laptop helped calm my nerves and I slipped into unconsciousness, dreaming about our future together. I saw both Lorraine and my mother helping me shop for a wedding dress and planning all the important little details that go into a wedding.

  The further my mind traveled toward our future, the more I felt my spirit being pulled to the past. My vision morphed into Angeline, surrounded by her mother and cousins, being fitted for a wedding dress.

  I watched as her cousin, Charlotte, entered the room and handed her a note. Angeline asked, “Who delivered the note?”

  “I have never seen him before.”

  I watched her read the mysterious note and hold it close to her chest, a broad smile quickly spreading across her face.

  The vision morphed, again, to Angeline, dressed in heavy traveling clothes, creeping out her second story bedroom window and shimming down the trellis at night. The air was chilled, causing frosted breath to escape her lips, as she dashed off into the darkness.

  Shadows began to swirl heavily around me, causing me to shake in fear. I felt a warm pressure on my shoulders and muffled cries. “Jordan…Honey, wake up.”

  I bolted upright in bed. His arms reached out for me as he placed a gentle kiss to my cheek. “It’s okay, Sweetheart. I’m here.”

  I collapsed into his chest, letting the tears flow freely. “How did you know?”

  “Know what?”

  “How did you know I was having another nightmare?”

  His hands caressed my arms, attempting to comfort me. “You went from having a peaceful expression on your face, to one of fear. Then, you started rubbing your hands over your arms and shaking, as though you were cold. Right after that, your breathing became quite shallow and frosted breath escaped your lips.” He paused for a moment. “Was it Angeline or the darkness?”

  “It was both.”

  He closed his eyes and then pulled me closer to his chest. “I’m done with my work. Why don’t we try going back to sleep and dream only of our future as husband and wife?”

  His arms circled round me, pulling me as close as possible to him. “I don’t understand why we are going through all of this, Jordan. But, whatever it is, we will get through it, together.”

  To my surprise, I was able to fall back asleep; but I was restless until Gregory found me in my dreams. Our dreams were content wrapped up in each others arms, watching a beautiful sunset and fantasizing about our upcoming nuptials.

  The next morning I slept through my alarm, waking only when Gregory’s erupted, thirty minutes after mine. I was able to get dressed and on my way, but would have to stop by to pick up my things, before heading back to Mom’s.

  Caroline loaded everyone up with new assignments and deadlines that were due by the end of the week. One of my projects required me to go to the library and pick up some literature for her. She had them pull books on the aspects of merging various therapy and sports medicine offerings. She was considering adding some new services to our already diverse mix of medical specialties.

  I gave the library a couple of hours before heading out to pick up the information. Rush hour traffic had already lightened considerably, allowing me an easy commute to the library’s parking garage.

  I had only been to the library a few times, but it never ceased to amaze me how large the place was-- a full block of literature. I made my way to the information desk and asked if the order was ready.

  “I’m sorry ma’am; we are still trying to locate two of the books she is looking for. We should have everything ready in about thirty minutes. Do you mind waiting?”

  I called Caroline and, to my surprise, she asked me to wait and told me to enjoy a break from the office. As I wandered back inside, I noticed a sign pointing to the Genealogy Department and decided to take a look.

  The department was empty, but contained a large amount of books and a nice set of computers. A sign read, “Out Sick Today;” however, there was a detailed set of instructions on looking up family history.

  At first I was apprehensive, but it was a great opportunity to see if Angeline and Daniel were real or imagined. It would put both mine and Gregory’s minds at ease.

  The computer was already turned on and awaiting the input of a name. My hands began to shake as I typed Angeline Olivia Carlson and then hit enter.

  The computer began to search its files for the name. I feared that she didn’t really exist, rationalizing that the dreams were just that—a figment of my imagination.

  It took so long that I was about walk away when the screen refreshed with a hotlink: Angeline Olivia Carlson, Richmond, Virginia, Born 1865.”

  I clicked on the link to open up more information about Angeline. It was a newspaper clipping announcing her upcoming nuptials. It read,

  “Miss Carlson, the only daughter of Charles and Virginia Carlson, is set to wed Mr. Daniel Anthony Whitfield on Saturday, December 3, 1884, at the Valley of Hills Lutheran Church.”

  I quickly printed out the article and scanned the other hyperlinks located below it. One article title caught my attention, “”

  The article read, “Mr. and Mrs. Charles Carlson, along with Mr. and Mrs. William Whitfield, are asking the community for any assistance in locating their children. Miss Angeline Carlson disappeared, along with Mr. Daniel Whitfield, the night before their intended nuptials. The couple has not been heard from in two months. The parents are looking for any information or clues that might help them locate their children and reunite their families.”

  I glanced down at my watch, realizing thirty minutes had already passed and I should be checking on Caroline’s book order. I quickly hit the print button, again, grabbed the papers off the printer and headed back to the information desk.

  I was pretty much in shock, having a hard time coming to grips with the fact that these people really did exist, let alone had gone missing! I needed to talk with Gregory, but knew he would be tied up in meetings all morning. Not wanting to wait to share this with him, I texted him. “Call me, ASAP, need to talk. <3 you lots!”

  The morning went by quickly. Caroline had me pullin
g financial data and creating a statistical analysis, relating to her project.

  Lunchtime came and went without any word from Gregory. I was beginning to worry when suddenly, Karen, from reception, buzzed me. “Ms. Carlisle, you have a Mr. Riley on line 2.”

  I thanked her and picked up the line. “Gregory?”

  His voice was filled with panic. “Are you okay, Jordan?”

  “I’m fine.” I could hear a deep sigh of relief come across the phone line.

  “You didn’t answer your cell phone, so I called the office. Sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner but my phone was on silent and the meeting ran longer than expected. Your message said you needed to speak ASAP?”

  “This must be my lucky day. Caroline needed me to pick up some books for a research project at the library and, since they weren’t ready when I got there, I went to the Genealogy department and looked up some things on their computer.” My voice began to get shaky.

  “And?”

  “I didn’t have time to do a full search, but Angeline and Daniel do or did exist and they were set to be married.” I took a deep breath in before continuing, “They went missing the night before their wedding. So we didn’t dream them up. I wasn’t able to continue looking because I needed to get back to the office, but I printed out what I could and signed up at the front desk to get access to the files on my home computer, with a login and password.”

  His breath caught at the revelation. “Well, I was going to talk with you tonight about this, but I have a friend, Davis Marshall, who works for a genetics laboratory. I called him earlier today, and asked if it would be possible to determine if people are related by just a hair sample. Since both the hat and the hairbrush have traces of hair still on them, I thought we could see if we were related to Angeline and Daniel.”

  My mind was overflowing with all the possibilities and scenarios that could be revealed.

  “Davis said he could put a rush on things, but would need us to provide him a sample of our hair to compare the DNA to that of Daniel and Angeline.”

  “How long will a rush order take?”

  Gregory laughed. “Glad to know I‘m not the only one who is impatient with this. He said the process normally takes several weeks, but he could try to have some preliminary results to us within a week.”

  I was elated at the idea. “When can we get him a sample?”

  “I can drop it by his laboratory tomorrow morning on the way to work. His company is just right down the road from Teleco.”

  Then he continued, changing the subject. “So, how is your day going? Will you be late tonight?”

  “Today is quite busy, but I shouldn’t be too late tonight. I’m hoping to swing by your place around 7 PM to pick up my things, before heading back to Mom’s. Do you think you’ll be there by then?”

  He laughed. “I will take any opportunity I can to spend more time with my fiancé. Have you told anyone we are engaged, yet?”

  I looked down at my empty finger. I had decided to keep it a secret for a little while, having stowed the ring away in my purse. I swallowed hard, knowing he would be upset if he knew. “Only Mom knows so far. I wanted to keep it a secret until we have figured out what is going on with these crazy dreams. What if there really is an evil darkness out there trying to destroy us?” A shiver ran up the length of my spine.

  “I want to shout it from the rooftops that you have agreed to be my wife. But, I agree, maybe we should play it safe and keep it just between the families, for now. At least until we know what all this craziness is about.

  “I hate to do this to you, but I am being called back into another meeting. Can you let me know when you are leaving work?”

  “Okay. Bye, Gregory.”

  “Bye, Jordan…oh, and by the way…I love you!” His voice was filled with emotion.

  “I love you, too!”

  The rest of the afternoon went by in a blur.

  The one bright spot was mom calling to let me know she had made it home. I explained that I would be a little late tonight, having overslept this morning. She told me not to worry, since she had to run to the grocery store.

  “Where do you think you are going?” A snarky voice came from behind.

  “I’m done for the day and headed home, Pamela.”

  “Have a wonderful evening,” I replied with a forced smile and turned toward the door.

  She huffed and I could hear her footsteps retreating from me, toward her office. I was thankful she wasn’t going to push a confrontation with me. I was still baffled by her bi-polar attitude that ranged from friendliness to downright rudeness.

  As I stepped into the parking garage, suddenly, all the cars disappeared and there was nothing there but me and a man dressed in all white. I racked my brain trying to remember why this scene looked so familiar. Then it all came flooding back. “Ramiel?”

  “Hello, Jordan. You’re starting to remember,” he said with a warm and gentle smile.

  “Why are you here?”

  “I’m happy to state that you and Gregory are uncovering everything you need to know, in order to right your path. It was time for you to remember our conversation from a week ago and to start utilizing the tools I gave you to help you figure things out along the way.”

  My mouth twisted as I tried to recall the tools he was referring to, suddenly, the memory of him handing me a package flashed through my mind. It dawned on me that the magnifying glass and code key was from him. “How are those tools going to help me?”

  “Your powers are just starting to come in. Use the magnifying glass to see where the shadows are. The code is the key in knowing who to trust and who to keep at arms length, by means of their auras.” He was about to say more, when he glanced over his shoulder at a bright sparkling light headed towards us. Then he disappeared.

  I was back in the garage full of cars, standing at my door with my key in hand. I shook my head, wondering if my mind was playing tricks on me, again. That’s when I saw a white feather strategically placed into the edge of the car door, along with a note.

  Unnerved, I quickly started the car and headed for Gregory’s; desperately needing to talk to him about what I discovered at the library and what just happened in the garage. I wasn’t sure who Ramiel was, why we needed to right our path, or why he was helping us; but somehow, I felt I could trust him.

  Gregory was waiting for me outside his townhome when I drove up. As I got out of the car, he quickly grabbed me into a full hug and planted an urgent kiss on my lips.

  “What’s wrong?”

  He held me close to his chest and planted another on my forehead, breathing in my scent. “Sorry, it has been such a long day and with what happened to your arm this weekend and with the dreams, I just feel that I need to hold you closer for some reason.”

  When we walked inside, I noticed his coffee table loaded down with take-out food. I was about to object to the Chinese food, when his arms wrapped around me from behind, and said, “I already cleared this with your mom. She isn’t expecting you until around 10:00. That gives us some time to eat, talk about what we learned today and finalize a wedding date.”

  “Why do we have to finalize the wedding date?” I asked, turning to face him.

  “My mom is already telling all of the family about our engagement and everyone is already wanting to ‘Save the date’ on their calendars.”

  “I thought we were going to wait.”

  He grabbed both my arms. “Believe me; I’m not happy about it. But, it makes her happy, so what can I do?” He sighed deeply, “Why don’t we eat, before the food gets cold?”

  I sat down, on the pillows surrounding the coffee table and he started undoing all the containers, revealing wonderful delicacies.

  Do you want to go ahead and see what your fortune is?” He asked, holding up two cookies.

  I usually held off until the end of the meal, but decided to go for it. “Sure, why not?!”

  He let me choose one and then began opening the other. I
noticed his smile fade.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing, what does your fortune say?”

  I opened the cookie, hoping for the usual upbeat message, only to find, “Major changes are coming your way. Life as you know it will cease to exist.”

  My fingers felt like they were on fire. I quickly released the paper and watched it float to the ground.

  Gregory picked it up, reading it slowly, before turning to me. “Are you going to be all right? You know these things are bogus and made up.”

  I knew something was up, when he still didn’t share what was on his fortune. “Please tell me what was on your fortune.”

  He took a deep breath in, finally opening up his palm. I grabbed the fortune and read it, as my eyes widening in horror, “Be prepared. A battle of epic proportions comes your way.”

  I took both of our fortunes and threw them on the table. I dismissed them as nothing but a prank. “I think the person who wrote these must have gotten bored one night.” However, internally, I had a, feeling these fortunes where a warning of things to come.

  Placing a hand on Gregory’s forearm, I looked into his eyes, “Let’s just forget about all this and enjoy a nice dinner. We can either discuss things over the meal or wait until another day. I’m just happy to be spending more time with my fiancé.”

  He laid his hand a top of mine. “You literally took the words out of my mouth,” he said, before leaning in for a quick kiss on the lips.

  Dinner was incredible. When I asked where he got the food from, it turned out that we had frequented the same Chinese takeout, Dragon Palace, which I used to go to, just down the street.

  Gregory told me how he knew Davis. He was an old friend of his eldest brother, Philip, and Gregory had recently helped set him up a wireless system inside his house. As a result, he was now calling in a small favor regarding the DNA.

  I got up from the floor and grabbed some of the empty containers, placing them into the bag, and took them towards the kitchen to dispose of them. I noticed the crumbled up fortunes and decided to take another look.