Jeff dreams. He is standing on the spot on the river bank where he marked and left the grave earlier that morning. Belle sits on the grass, cross legged, opposite her daughter. They’re unaware of Jeff’s presence as they play the hand game. With a sense of invisibility, he listens to hand claps and laughter. Jeff maintains his distance for fear of intrusion. He needn’t have worried. Belle looks up, then leans forward and whispers into her daughter’s ear. She looks at Jeff and smiles before standing up and walking away. Belle taps the grass, inviting Jeff to sit by her side; he walks over and sits beside her.
“Thank you.” Her eyes are sincere.
“What for?”
“For keeping your promise.”
“That’s okay.” Jeff feels coy. “How are you?”
“Free, as free as a bird to sing and to fly. I have a curiosity though. Do you still see through the bars without realizing that they’re there?”
“I didn’t know I was caged?”
“You are.” Belle reaches out and holds his hand. “Did you have any new insights?”
“I sense something beyond this darkness, but I just can’t reach it.” Jeff looks down and gives her hand a gentle and affectionate squeeze, before looking back up. “Wouldn’t it be simpler for you to tell me?”
Belle laughs as if catching the punchline of a joke; she pulls her hand away.
“How do you tell a blind man how to see, or a man who’s not yet opened his eyes to what lies beyond? This is your discovery, not mine. It will all fall into place when the time comes.”
“Will I see you again?” He fears this will be the last time.
“Only if your desire is strong enough may we come round again.”
“Can I sit with you a while longer?” He can see by her face he cannot. “Please.”
“I’m sorry.” Belle looks momentarily down. “As precious as this moment is for both of us, you still have to leave.” She pats the grass. “Lie beside me.”
Jeff reluctantly does as he’s told. This time he doesn’t try to sit back up. He can smell the grass, see the blue sky and hear the river flow. Belle’s hand draws across his brow. He watches in silent anticipation as her beautiful face and luscious lips draw ever closer.
“I just wanted to say thank you Jefferson Davies.”
Belle, with love, places a kiss on his lips. Her touch is magical. As his eyes open, it’s Eve who pulls away from him.
“Time to wake up, sleepy head.” Jeff visibly jumps. “Sorry! Did I startle you?”
“No.” Realizing he must have woke with a look of shock on his face, for one unforgivable moment his heart drops. “Of course not.” He smiles, but did he just hear Belle’s faint laugh?
***
The door chime has Sarah up off the sofa. Everyone’s hungry and fast food is the easiest choice this evening. She returns with three large pizza boxes.
“Help yourselves.”
No one needs to be told twice. Once they have eaten, and the table cleared, Marcus opens the discussion on the events at Black Top City.
“Have you had time to evaluate your experiences, Jeff?”
“I’ve no explanation other than the paranormal to fall back on.”
“So you’re a firm believer?”
“I can’t deny my experiences. Without prior knowledge, I couldn’t have known about the town or characters who lived there. So how did I know the exact spot a female was entombed a hundred plus years earlier? All of this is impossible without some form of external contact.” He scratches his head. “Whatever that may have been.”
“And the technology?”
“Impressive, but as a lecturer, I now feel fraudulent. My teachings were wrong.” He outwardly sighs. “Years wasted.”
“No. You taught what you believed to be the truth.” Marcus can see Jeff struggle with his own ethics. “You’re a good, honest and reliable man.”
“Maybe.” Marcus’s words are kind, but Jeff still feels he's betrayed his students, and has been betrayed by the system he put his trust in.
“The technology would be put to good use at a crime scene.” Eve tries to deflect the conversation into a more positive vibe.
“Yes it would. However, this knowledge would open up a can of worms so big it could disrupt our belief systems and social order.” Marcus reaffirms the government line. “As a psychiatrist I’m sure you’re fully aware of the dangers?”
“Of course. The human mind works best within the confines of the box, and not outside.” She senses Marcus’s apprehension.
“And with the lid firmly shut.” Marcus looks to Jeff, who appears to be in a world of his own. Then back to Eve. “I think Jeff got more than he bargained for, don’t you?”
“Yes, he has.”
“You must look after him.” Marcus raises his voice. “Jeff.” This snaps him back to reality.
“Yeah?”
“What time are you leaving tomorrow?”
“Hmm, early afternoon. Do you have prior arrangements?”
“No, that’s perfect. If it’s alright with you Eve, I would like to borrow Jeff for a few hours in the morning.”
“Of course.” She’s curious.
“That’s settled then.” He gleefully rubs his hands together. “There’s one more person I would like you to meet, Jeff, before your return. No offense, Eve, but it’s wiser we go alone. He’s illusive at the best of times, and might not show if there’s a crowd.”
“That’s fine with me.”
“Eve.” Sarah interrupts. “There’s a new shopping mall we can explore.”
“I’ll look forward to that.” She smiles at Sarah, as she would a close friend.
“That’s all settled then.” In celebration Marcus reaches for a beer.
“Who are we meeting?”
“To be honest Jeff, I’m not really sure.” Marcus is telling the truth. This arcane and strange man, if that’s what he is, has frustratingly run rings around him ever since their first meeting. “He introduced himself to me. I assure you it’ll be worth your time. If you’re lost in the woods and see an arrow, he most likely put it there for you.”
“Are you hinting that I’m lost?”
“Aren’t we all?”
“You’re talking in riddles?”
“It’s difficult not to. He certainly will.”
The rest of the evening is spent discussing the events surrounding Jeff. Marcus is insistent that he’s kept updated, and discusses stories of his own encounters. The oldest and most unanswered question of all crops up; why are we all here?
The following morning, the gravel crunches underfoot as the men walk to the garage. Even before the doors open, Jeff would place bets on a sports car being behind them. He isn’t disappointed.
“You have a Lamborghini?” The bright orange car makes no apologies for its flashness, nor the beautiful symmetry it possesses. Jeff walks around in awe, as he would an object of power, beauty or antiquity at a museum.
“I’ve not been in one of these before.”
The scissor door opens on the driver’s side. Encouraged by Marcus, Jeff slides in. Orange and black leather interior; the steering wheel displaying the famous insignia. Marcus hands the key over.
“Start her up.”
With a simple twist of the key, the Lamborghini produces a spine tingling burst of harmony. The accelerator produces a growl from the V12 engine, the sound of the race car on the grid.
“Draw her out.”
Jeff declines. This car can hit sixty in a mere three seconds. Eve on the other hand would have jumped at the chance. When she sees them cruising past a minute later, she gives Jeff an excited wave, and this only encourages Marcus to put his foot down further. The exhaust note is orgasmic, especially when they pass through the electric gates and pull out onto the highway. A supercar in the hands of Marcus is certainly an experience. The lines on the road are a mere blur in his sunglasses.
“What do you think?” Marcus is showing off, he knows, but loves it.
> “It’s a cool ride.”
Jeff forgot that Marcus was always a bit of a head banger, and it all comes flooding back. At least he gets to cruise suburbia in a Lamborghini, and for once the excitement is enjoyable. The growl from the exhausts shatters the early Sunday morning peace, and the lack of congestion eases them to their destination. Marcus pulls into a car park surrounded by trees and gardens.
“Is this where we’re going to meet him?”
“It’s where you’re going to meet him.”
“Aren’t you coming?” Jeff’s surprised, he at least expected an introduction.
“No, this is your meeting, and as such you must go alone.”
“I see.” This doesn’t make sense to him. “At what time?”
“Now is as good a time as any.” Marcus understands that Jeff’s agitated by his lack of social etiquette, but this is no normal meeting. “In front of us is the rose garden, walk through and it will open out. Take a left; you will see a big oak tree that stands alone, overlooking the lake. There will be a bench beneath the tree. Introduce yourself and sit down. If he’s not there, wait.”
“What if someone’s already sitting there?”
“There won’t be, go on.”
Jeff steps out of the car and starts walking. He looks back to give Marcus a quick raise of his hand before disappearing into the rose garden. The colors are wonderfully vibrant. The centrally located waterfall has a statue of an angel that appears to smile as he passes. The end of the path opens out to sloping grassland. He scans the terrain, spots the solitary oak tree. There’s an empty bench beneath the branches; as instructed he strolls over and takes a seat. With no one around it’s a peaceful moment. He takes in the fresh air, and feels the first warm rays of the day’s sun on his face, listens to the leaves rustle, as shifting branch shadows dance on the floor.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
Jeff’s startled. He didn’t see anyone walk over. Yet when he looks to his side, there’s an old man beside him. This can't be his contact; this homeless man who has sneaked up on him. Long matted hair sprouts from beneath a brown hoodie. The man’s unwashed face is scarred with some of the deepest lines he’s ever seen, and the long white beard trails over his dirty and torn overcoat.
“Yes, it’s beautiful.” Jeff’s in a dilemma, how does he get rid of him? “I’m sorry I don’t mean to be rude, but hmm, I’m waiting for someone.”
“That’s quite alright, you can wait elsewhere if you like. It’s you who’s on my bench.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” This man might be psychotic. Jeff stands up to leave. The hobo beside him bursts into laughter.
“Sit back down, Jefferson Davies.”
“You know my name?” This doesn’t make any sense to Jeff…unless?
“Indeed I do.”
“Then you’re my contact?” Jeff does as he’s told, and sits back down.
“The problem with you, is that you only see what you wish to see.”
“I’m sorry?”
“If I lived in India, a homeless mystic or spiritual man will be bathed, fed, and respected in the community.”
“I do apologize.” Now he’s belittled by the hobo! Whatever next?
“Yes.” The man weighs Jeff up and down. “At least you’re more polite than your friend was when I first introduced myself.”
“Marcus?” Jeff can only imagine what Marcus said to him. “Yes, he can be a bit, well you know.”
“I do.”
“Why am I here?” He’s puzzled by the whole scenario.
“Because you choose to be.” He points his finger to Jeff. “You create your own reality.”
“Yes.” Jeff frowns, and thinks to himself: what’s that got to do with anything? But plays along. “I have my own free will.”
“You also have an entanglement with God.”
“And if I don’t believe in God?”
“Then we shall take your academic perspective and call God energy. You now have an entanglement with energy.”
“You’re talking on a sub-atomic level?”
“Through quantum physics, science dictates that you yourself exist as energy. All energy operates and is entangled within larger or smaller energies; including your thoughts.”
“Where are you going with all of this?”
“It’s not I who’s going somewhere with this, but you.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“It will. Why are you on the spiritual path? Why do you seek awakening, to evolve, to be enlightened?”
“Because the path presented itself to me.”
“There are many paths presented before us, you chose this one. Answer my question, why?”
“I have devoted my life to truth, to be as authentic to myself as I can be.”
“Yes it’s true, you have spent many years surrounding yourself with books, attending seminars and memorizing texts. Why when time is so precious did you let life pass you by?”
“Who are you?” Jeff’s had enough, now he demands answers.
“Merely the voice of reason.”
“To whom?” Jeff raises his voice, through fear as well as anger. “Where are your credentials to offer me advice?”
“I offer nothing that you don’t already know.” The vagabond remains calm, at peace with himself the nature of the world that surrounds him. “I simply ask why do you search? To bring life to a head, when you can stop, and create a new life for yourself. A new university; fresh inquisitive minds to pass on your hard earned knowledge. Retire knowing that you made a difference.”
“It’s not enough.” How can this hobo know his inner feelings, and question him about them? Jeff retorts. “I have seen glimpses of a different reality and I have to seek out the truth.”
“But to seek is to move away from that what already exists.”
“Yes, but what is there to find?”
The tramp simply raises his hand and smiles.
“That’s for you to find out, if it’s truly your wish, but there are no U-turns at the end of this road. You may find that you’re simply wiped clean and restored.”
“If that’s my destiny, then let it be so.”
“Then Casey Lee Jones is your key. Do what he says and you won’t go far wrong. My only other advice is to go swiftly and see your daughters while you still can, remember them as they are in the now. This memory, and this time with them, is more precious a gift than you can imagine.”
“How do you know of my daughters?” Jeff barks, and in return receives the same back.
“Are you still on my bench?”
“Yes.” He snaps back.
“I told you, you can wait elsewhere.”
Jeff stands up, confused. In truth he’s relieved to be walking away from this eccentric character. After a short distance he glances back. A dog walker passes, unsure as to why Jeff has abruptly stopped motionless on the green. Only the tree exists, the tramp, along with the bench, are gone. The park’s suddenly full of people, children play football; boats sail on the lake. Walking, Jeff wonders if Marcus will exist on the other side of the rose garden.
Reassuringly the bright orange Lamborghini can be seen through the roses. Marcus can see as Jeff approaches that he appears a little paler than when he left. When he gets back into the car, there’s no smile, just bewilderment on his face.
“How did it go?”
“I’m not sure.”
“He was there?”
“Yeah.”
“What did he say?” Marcus knows that extracting information out of Jeff can sometimes be hard work.
“That he’s the voice of reason.” Jeff looks and studies Marcus’s face, debating to himself just how much does Marcus know? “Did you know that he would warp time and space around me?”
“Yeah.” He can see that Jeff believes he should have warned him. “You had to experience that for yourself.”
“Then what is he?”
“We don’t know, but he’s left important clues for
us about the nature of the universe.”
“What are those?”
“That also has to be seen to be believed.”
A short drive across town has the Lamborghini drawing up outside a glass fronted building. The signage leaves Jeff in no disillusion as to where he is.
“This is where it all happens.” Marcus speaks with pride.
They step out of the car and walk towards the entrance. Jeff reads out the quote by Confucius carved into the plaque beside the doors.
“Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.”
“My favorite quote.” Marcus opens the door, and they enter the building. Talking side by side they walk along the corridor. “Do you know the holographic principle?”
“Yes, I call it the credit card theory. The chip is flat and contains all the information required to create a three dimensional object.”
“Correct. Some physicists state that the real version of the universe is flat, and we’re the hologram projected into existence.”
“Yes but really?”
“Some will go as far to say that we’re nothing more than a computer simulation created by our descendants.”
“Nonsense.” As far as Jeff’s concerned, scientists should be scientists, and not divulge in wild speculation.
“We can’t censor ideas simply because at first they appear to be crazy. The human race has expanded its knowledge through those we first called insane.” Marcus stops outside a grey steel door, his fingerprints alone permit access. They walk into an empty circular room which is seamlessly mirrored.
“Where are we?”
“Inside a machine.”
“A machine.” His eyebrows raise in curiosity. “What does it do?”
“Imagine worlds just beside this one. Infinite levels of reality. Here every moment is possible before thought comes into being, and the very instant it does one reality emerges.”
“In the quantum field it’s a theory.”
“We’re the masters of our own creation, and our essence is energy. Not only do we interact with the world through our senses, but it’s also proven that our emotions, thoughts and intentions do influence the quantum field around us.”
Of That Day and Hour: A psychological thriller Page 19