by Maya Daniels
I grab the folder, my purse, my phone and push the laptop closed as I head towards the door. I’m in front of him, standing, but he hasn’t moved an inch. He is still standing there looking at me...well like the lab rat I am for him, I guess.
“Are we going or there is something else we need to discuss before we head out?” My voice breaks the silence. Like waking up from a dream, he shakes his head, clears his throat, and turns around, walking away like he wasn’t just staring at me a few seconds ago. He really is a strange man, I think to myself as I close the office door and head after him towards the parking lot.
“Table for three under Stamelos. Our party may already be here,” Philip says to the hostess who’s checking him out and batting her fake eyelashes. You almost think she’ll take flight if she continues.
I’m taken aback by my snide thought. It doesn’t matter that it’s an internal dialogue. It’s so unlike me that I want to slap myself. Why do I care what she looks like and if she’s checking out my boss? It’s not like I look at him as a man. He’s my boss and I have no interest in men any more anyway.
“Mhm, sure. You don’t see the nice sculpted muscles under the shirt, or when he sits down, his thick thighs stretching the fabric to its limit? Or those brown eyes with all the storms hidden beneath the calm?” purrs a husky voice in my head.
I panic but I have no time for this right now. I need to be calm. “You’re losing your mind, Al,” I say to myself out loud just to shut the voice down.
“It’ll be okay, Al. I’ll do all the talking. You just need to explain the theory of what the project is all about. I’m sure he won’t even understand a word of what you say, but I’ve seen you talk about your work. You have a passion for it so strong that even I agreed to start this nonsense before thinking how costly it would be for the company and never reaching the finish line,” Philip says, thinking he’ll put me at ease because he knows I don’t like to be around people much. I don’t pay attention to the rest of his words, because I’m fuming instantly.
“You think my work is useless??” I say so loudly that a couple of people turn around to look at us.
He grabs my elbow and leads me towards a corner. “Don’t raise your voice like that! The investor might be here. I don’t know what he looks like,” he hisses through clenched teeth. “What I think is not important. What’s important is that you believe in your work, and the only way for you to keep your job and keep doing what you’re doing is to get this person to believe in you so he gives us the money for it. Understand?”
“First of all, it’s not nonsense. I have already proven that the electromagnetic field of the planet syncs with the frequency emitted by the human heart, Mr. Stamelos. It took years of research, and I will not stand here and let you belittle my work,” I fire back at him.
He starts laughing, which makes me want to slap him again. Why is this man getting to me so easily? I keep asking myself.
“Okay! Okay!” He lifts both hands up like he is surrendering while I’m holding a gun pointed at his chest.
“I should’ve phrased it differently. I was trying to make you relax. Not many people understand it, you know, so to us, it sounds like a science fiction novel. The only thing I can tell you is that your passion and commitment to your work could convince a mother to sell her child. You’re that good at making someone believe it to be true.”
He says this smiling sweetly, and I can’t help but smile back, looking at his boyish attempt to look cute and shut me up, which I regret the next second because his smile is gone, his eyes turn guarded, and he takes a step back from me. What the hell is wrong with this guy? I want to scream but I turn towards the door so I don’t have to look at him anymore. He and his mood swings are not my problem.
“Your table is ready, Mr. Stamelos,” the hostess calls out, and as we both approach her, she gives me a quick check up and down, then dismissing me, she gives Philip her biggest smile. “You and your wife can follow me?” She says it as a question and waits, still looking at him like a deer caught in headlights. I roll my eyes.
“I’m not his wife, and we have a business meeting, so if you don’t mind?” I gesture with my hand towards the inside of the restaurant.
“Oh, I’m sorry. How rude of me to assume,” she says breathlessly and starts walking in front of us. I’m thinking if I ever tried to walk like that, I might end up at the ER with a dislocated hip.
Laughing at myself, I follow her, passing Philip, who’s giving me a look that says I’ve lost my mind. And who knows? After everything, especially today, I may start thinking the same thing. As we approach the table, I can see an elderly gentleman in his mid-sixties talking on his phone. He’s gesturing with his hand and I almost laugh out loud. He looks like he’s directing an orchestra. What the hell is wrong with me today? I need those pills and I better remember to grab them from my car when we get back to the office. The investor hangs up the phone just as the hostess moves away from in front of me and walks by Philip, brushing her body on him, but I have no time to think why that bothers me because the person sitting at our table goes pale while staring at me wide-eyed, and I’m scared that he is having a heart attack.
“Philip! Water!” I walk around to try and help the man. Help him how, I have no idea, but I have to do something.
“Are you okay? What’s wrong, sir, can you tell me?” You can hear the panic in my voice, and as if that helped him, he looks into my eyes like he is searching for something. “Sir?”
I can see the color slowly coming back to his face just as Philip comes back holding a glass of water while talking on his phone and I can hear him say “No, no, it’s okay. He looks like he’s better now. Let me ask.” He looks at the investor. “Would you like the ambulance to come and check you?”
“I don’t need an ambulance. I’m perfectly fine, thank you.” He says he’s fine, but he’s not looking at Philip, he’s still staring at me and I feel very uncomfortable. Looking at him now, I can see he looks pretty good for his age. Apart from his gray hair and his skin, nothing shows that he is in his sixties. Thankfully Philip decides to end our staring match.
“My name is Philip Stamelos and this is Al Semiramis,” he says,
holding out his hand to the investor.
Finally, the investor turns his head away from me and looks at my boss. “Yes, yes, of course. Nice to meet you, Mr. Stamelos. Sorry about the scare, but looking at Ms. Semiramis was like looking at a ghost from the past. The name is Thomas. Thomas Bail.”
They shake hands, but he only nods at me and sits back down, so I follow suit and so does Philip. We order our drinks, and thankfully everyone is back to their own thing after the drama we created, so I relax a little, although I still look at Mr. Bail warily. There is something about him that isn’t right. I don’t have much time to dwell on it because he continues with his apology.
“You see, I knew a woman in my younger days who looked so much like Ms. Semiramis that when I looked at her, I thought I was looking at Margaret, but you see, she’s been dead for over twenty years, last I heard. I was caught off guard, because I’ve never seen anyone who even remotely resembled her, but your colleague not just resembles her, she is so like Margaret that if she didn’t speak, I would’ve bet my life I was seeing a ghost. She looks exactly like Margaret. Even that beauty mark on the left side of her lip is in the same spot. Amazing.”
He’s speaking breathlessly, but I don’t buy it. It seems too forced, too dramatic and my inner alarms are going off. There is more to this story, so when I hear him say my grandmother’s name, I force myself not to move a muscle on my face, not to show one emotion, like I’m a statue. He is explaining to both of us, but he won’t take his eyes off me as if he’s is expecting a reaction, which proves to me even more that something is fishy here.
“How interesting.” I pretend I find it fascinating; two can play this game and I’ve been wearing my mask much longer than him—obviously, because he looks surprised at my reaction.
&
nbsp; “You must miss her so very much, judging by your reaction. I’m sorry that my looks brought up painful memories for you,” I say with as much sincerity as I can fake.
“Well, yes, it was definitely not expected.”
That’s all he says, and I know I’m right. This person is no friend of my grandmother’s. So, who is he and how does he know her?
Philip changes the subject, thankfully, and they start talking about the firm, what we do, etc. I switch off and make up many scenarios in my head about this stranger. I get jolted out of the fruitless trip down memory lane, where I was trying to remember if I’d seen him at some point in my life, when Philip kicks my foot under the table. I look at him, annoyed.
“I was telling Mr. Bail that you brought your presentation of the project.” He looks pointedly at the folder sitting on the table.
“Right! Yes, I have all the findings and research so far summed up, so you can have an idea of what you’ll be investing in,” I start, but he cuts me off.
“There is no need, Ms. Semiramis. I’m aware, just as much as you are, that I will not understand a word you say to me. I don’t know much about quantum physics frequencies or energies, but I was advised that it is a good investment and that’s where the future of business is, so as a good businessman, if I may say so myself, I’ll trust your word on it, and I’ll let you know by tomorrow if we can start working on this project of yours.” He smiles at me, but I feel uneasy. Obviously, I’m being quiet for too long, because I get another kick.
“That sounds wonderful and I’m looking forward to it!” I plaster a smile on my face while my brain is working a hundred miles per hour.
“Perfect! If I decide to invest, please make sure there’s an office ready in your building for me the day after we sign the contract,” Thomas Bail says, and before we can register his words and react, he gets up, slaps Philip on his shoulder, nods at me and starts walking away.
“I have another meeting, but hopefully, we will talk tomorrow,” are his last words as he turns his back and walks briskly away. We just stare at each other.
“What just happened?” I say more to myself than to Philip.
“I think we need to clear an office,” he says grimly, and the look on his face mirrors mine, I’m sure.
The drive back to the office takes forever and we both sit, each lost in our own thoughts. Just as we near the parking lot of the building, I turn my head to look at the old building across the road on the corner, with its beautiful arched windows and stained glass. Before I can even take in enough air to scream, a car slams straight into the middle of our limo. The driver tries to straighten the car that is fishtailing wildly. I hear a scream. Is it mine? I have no idea. Everything slows down and like in a slow-motion film, I see my body lifting off the seat. I watch as Philip’s head hits the window and bounces off towards me. My arms go around his shoulders to hold him so he doesn’t go back to hit the window again and as I touch him, a bright golden light envelops us both. I’m watching the car flip many times, but we are not moving. We’re floating in the middle of the limo like we’re in water. My necklace floats in front of me and the beautiful butterfly looks like she is taking flight. A rainbow of colors reflect off of it like a lightshow before it bursts into a million tiny pieces and I close my eyes so they don’t blind me. The car slams into something and completely stops. I look at Philip’s face; his head is on my chest and I’m startled by the look in his eyes. Awe? Amazement? Fear?
“Who are you?” he says breathlessly and passes out.
I look at him, look around the limo and then at my still-glowing arms around his shoulders, while the glow is slowly fading away. I hear voices from the outside trying to get to us and see if we are alive.
“Who am I? Now that’s a very good question,” I whisper as darkness slowly takes over and I gratefully slide into oblivion.
2
The sound of waves crashing against the shore lulls me in a dreamlike state. Salty air enters my nostrils as I take deep breaths like I’ve never been able to do before while a gentle breeze moves my hair like fingers brushing through the strands. Feeling like a loving embrace, the sun warms my skin and I smile, turning my face towards it. I stretch my body, twisting like a cat on a lazy morning, my arms raised above my head and my toes pointed down, half buried in soft sand. I feel wonderful, like I’m floating on a cloud.
“Ah, good, you’re awake,” says a woman’s voice on my left. Still with my eyes closed, smiling, I turn my head towards her.
“Come on, we don’t have much time. We need to get you all cleaned up and dressed,” says the same voice.
I’ve never heard this voice before in my life, yet it sounds so familiar. Wait! What? My eyes fly open and I jump up from stretching to a sitting position on the sand, staring at a lovely woman around my age with a thick mane of curly black hair and soft brown eyes that are crinkled at the corners while she is trying very hard not to laugh. She looks Middle Eastern to me.
“Who the hell are you?” I rasp. Wow! I sound like I haven’t said a word for months.
“My name is Remi, and we can talk as we walk because we really don’t have much time. It took me a bit to find you on this beach. I’ve been at it for a couple of hours since we heard the alarm that someone passed the veil,” she says sternly, reaching for my hand. I pull away and look at her warily.
“I asked who you are, not just what your name is, and I’m not going anywhere with you until you tell me how I got here and where this ‘here’ is.”
I frown at her and she starts to laugh, which grates on my nerves. What the hell is wrong with people that every time I get upset, they find it funny? This woman, Remi, is laughing. My boss laughs, too, when I get upset....Memories hit me like a shockwave in my head. The meeting, the investor, driving back to the office, Philip. My thoughts trail off.
“I’m dead.” I say it without emotion. My voice sounds flat to my own ears and I start laughing. This is hilarious! I’ve survived so much in my life when any normal human being would’ve been long gone, and here I die in a car accident going back to work! I fall on my side on the sand and laugh so hard that I have tears running down my cheeks.
“Are you okay?” I hear Remi ask and I look up at her. She’s asking like she’s worried, but when I look at her face, she looks more annoyed than worried.
“Oh, I’m peachy, thank you. I’m just celebrating my own death!” I tell her while still laughing.
“Well, celebrate while we walk. I don’t want to get in trouble. Come on, move it. And for your information, you’re not dead. You’re just in a coma until we’re done here,” she says while grabbing my hand and pulling me to my feet. She starts walking but doesn’t let go.
“First we go to the pleasure gardens, then to your chambers to get ready and finally we go to the temple. We have maximum of an hour and a half, and the way you look right now, it’ll take half a day to get you ready,” she says.
I don’t believe her that I’m not dead. I look down at myself and see that my boots are missing, my knee-length skirt is torn in many places and is covered in patches of dirt and sand and my silky blouse that was ivory color just this morning is now something between gray and green with what looks like blood splatter in couple of places. Reaching up with my free hand as I half walk, half run after her, I touch my hair only to feel little pieces of glass fall from the netted lumps around my head. I sigh and speed up my walking. For a short little thing, Remi walks pretty fast, I must say. I start examining her from the corner of my eye as she pulls me silently towards a line of trees in the distance. She’s wearing silky black pants that sit on her hips tightly but balloon down to her ankles, where they’re tied up with perfect bows. They sit nicely on her rounded hips. I always wished I had rounded hips like that, but Mother Nature had a different plan for me, I guess. She has a silky black scarf wrapped around her torso, full breasts and a medallion in the shape of a black rose sitting in the center of her chest. Barefoot, just like me, she has some s
ort of chain decoration with little bells on her feet. She looks like a woman, with her rounded belly and rounded behind, walking with her head held high and full of confidence. Me? I’m lucky for my breasts, to be honest. If those weren’t a C-cup, I could’ve easily passed for a boy with my narrow hips and tiny butt. Tomboy, my grandmother used to say. While I’m lost in my thoughts, as strange as they are considering the situation I find myself in, we are already at the trees and she starts leading me towards a narrow path that will take us into the forest. I follow silently. I don’t know what to say to this woman. She’s a stranger and yet I still feel like I want to grab her and hug her like a long-lost friend I haven’t seen for years. I don’t know how long we walked through trees so tall that when I look up, I can’t see their tops. Barely any light comes through the branches. There’s just enough for us to see where we’re going. Beautiful fern and dwarf palm-like bushes surround the path, some with flowers as big as my head in rainbow colors. I look left and right in amazement, trying to take it all in. Being dead isn’t that bad, I think to myself. I could stay in this forest for eternity and be perfectly content. I hear the husky woman’s voice in my head laugh softly, like she can hear my thoughts. I don’t even panic this time. Even dead, I guess I’m still crazy, hearing voices in my head. But at least I’m already dead and nothing can go wrong here, so I ignore it. We round a bend on the path and my breath catches in my throat. I’m staring wide-eyed at the beauty in front of me. In the middle of what looks like perfectly-manicured gardens, there is a rectangular pond filled with colorful little fish with lotus blossoms and flowers around the edges. Around the pond there are rows of trees, sycamores, palms and grenadiers alternating with flower beds. The edges of the pond are sloping and there’s a stairway on one corner. Around it are columns supporting grapevines with intricate and colorful cone mosaics in geometrical shapes, people, animals, and black roses. Remi walks towards the pond like it’s an everyday thing and she doesn’t even see the beauty around her. I guess for her, it is and she doesn’t.