Peter Cacciolfi & Pattimari Sheets
The White Light
By
Peter Cacciolfi & Pattimari Sheets
This book is fictional, and if anything in this book matches or resembles your life or anyone you know, it is only the imagination of the authors and not a factual story and is purely coincidental.
ESBN # 978-1-105-50680-2
۩ Lu lu Publishing February, 2012
Copyright, Pattimari Sheets
Dedications
To all those who have been to the light, realizing it may not have been their time and returned, and all those who inspired us by telling us their stories.
Also – to Peter & Pattimari’s children whom they love very much.
Acknowledgements
Jeanne Trachman
For helping with the proof reading and encouragement.
Char Johnson
Char brought this book’s idea to light.
Prologue
It was twenty years, easily twenty years, from that cold winter December morning when Toni Riccio put her Christmas request into her old antique desk. She had been nineteen at the time, and had just finished reading a hundred year old book called The Wizard. Within the pages it read that if one makes a wish and slips it into a drawer of an old desk; one at least fifty years old, then the written desire would come true. She knew for a fact that her desk was over 100 years old since it was her great grandmother’s.
The author of The Wizard hadn’t given a time period when Toni’s wish would come true, but it plainly said it would in time. She had laughed as she slipped it in the desk, and then marched over to her next door best friend, Tessie Sanderson, whom she had known since the age of five. She giggled as she told her about what she had just done. Tessie was sitting on the floor giving Toni a smirky smile as she listened about her friend’s written wish, and then wrapped her arms around her new puppy, Teaser, laughing as she whispered in her ear, “Teaser do you believe this crazy friend of mine? She thinks her request is going to come true, and if it does, then my request is going to be right there with her if it does come true.” She twisted around and looked at Toni and said, “What was your request?”
“I’m
not telling you Tess if you’re going to make fun of me, but if you
really want to know my request then you must write one too so that
you can be right there with me when it comes true.”
Tessie rushed over and pulled out a sheet of paper and pen from her pretty white desk, scribbled her request and then threw it at Toni and said, “Okay, if you’re so smart, let’s go put it in your antique desk. We’ll place mine next to yours, and then we’ll see if it comes true or not. Okay? What do you say?”
They
both jumped up and hurried next door, and soon after Toni placed
Tessie’s request in the desk, and then she told her to touch it.
“You must touch it…you know… to make it come true.”
Tessie touched it with her long slender fingers and then drew back
her hand and said, “Okay, I did it. Do you think we should wait to
see if our wishes come true or should we walk over to the mall and
buy our Prom dresses? I mean we have only two weeks before the prom
so don’t you think that’s more important than this silly old
request?”
Agreeing to go to the mall, off the two went to see what was happening and to take in the sales usually going on at some of their favorite stores. Following their spree they sat down at their favorite fast-food restaurant and had a frosty. Their conversation centered on the types of people who were shopping, visiting, walking or otherwise doing their own thing and studying the fashions on display on the passersby. It had always been fun to ‘people watch’ because there was always something new and different going on and they didn’t want to miss a minute of it. Getting caught up in their events at the Mall and the fun that came from laughing at some of the mad styles, the wishes and the old desk were forgotten. After all it was just a fun gesture, a superstition of sorts - wasn’t it? It was like finding a four-leaf clover when young and thinking of having good luck, or at the other extreme seeing a ladder in front of you and walking under it bringing bad luck. There have always been these sorts of beliefs or omens around for centuries and it was practiced by the very religious or gullible people who thought they would come true. Tarot card readers were thought as having wielded strange mysterious powers, as were palm readers, but making a wish and placing it inside an old desk? Not a chance! After all, it was not one of the popular beliefs; as a matter of fact Tessie never heard such foolishness in her entire life. If not - then why did she go along with the request from Toni? Probably because they were such good friends and what did it matter anyway? Why not go along with a simple innocent request - for what harm could possibly come of it?
On the walk home the two parted company, each went to their respective homes and never mentioned the events that took place again. The night came and went as did the next few days, and neither Toni nor Tessie had any contact during that interval of time because of the lives they lived and the jobs they had. They had always managed to come together at some point in time during the weekend and it was rapidly approaching.
On this particular Saturday afternoon Toni decided to sleep over at Tessie’s house. The two carried on as they had for many years, always enjoying each other’s company, but on this day Toni seemed off her course somewhat. When she shared her discomfort with Tessie, it was passed off as work-related fatigue; both have had the same feelings from time to time depending on their work-loads during the week, but this feeling seemed different and Toni said so. She couldn’t explain what was happening because she had no clue, but after talking about it she set it aside and went on with her visit in their usual way. Yet she knew something wasn’t right so Tessie was glad she was staying overnight with Toni.
When Tessie leaped out of bed the next morning realizing it was late, she hollered out to Toni that they’d be late for their appointments, but after getting no response, she stepped over and touched Toni’s arm and it felt cold as ice. She screamed and ran into Toni’s parents’ bedroom and pleaded for them to follow her because she couldn’t wake Toni. The three shook Toni several times until Toni’s father, Sam, simply picked her up and moved her to the other side of the bed and still she didn’t wake. Suddenly, Toni’s mother, Francine, quickly called 911 and within minutes the ambulance arrived and Toni was whisked away.
Upon arriving at the hospital, the attending emergency doctor quickly realized that Toni was in a coma. Although they didn’t know what was wrong they began running tests on her. It seemed she was unconscious for no known reason. While the testing was being done, Tessie was questioned by doctors as to whether they had taken any drugs. Each time Tessie screamed loudly, “No…no…absolutely not! Neither Toni nor I would take drugs.”
Toni wasn’t responding yet she knew the doctors were working on
her because she could see them, and hear them, but couldn’t bring
herself to open her eyes or even utter a word.
She kept seeing a
brilliant white light in front in her and the light made her feel
warmly protected, as well as loved, and she had a overwhelming urge
to move toward it, but the loud crying coming from her best friend
and mother kept her from going toward it. Holding back the urge she
finally struggled so strongly that she was able to open her eyes and
when she did she began crying because she had finally made it back.
Tessie and Francine screamed out in happiness, immediately both
Tessie and Francine reached across the bed and hugged Toni. What
happened to Toni was difficult to comprehend for it demanded the
complete recovery from whatever led her into this coma-like
condition. What was known because of the screams coming from Toni was
that there was a white light like nothing which could be found on
earth. Toni’s outbursts told the doctors in attendance that she
couldn’t see beyond the intensity of the light, and she was afraid.
She wriggled all over the bed trying to escape something that
appeared to be grabbing on her because she was flailing her arms
wildly as if to thwart them away and off of her. As Toni emerged from
her stupor she was wet with perspiration and her heart was pounding
wildly to the point where she had to receive an injection to slow
down her pulse. She quieted down, looked around and saw faces
familiar to her, but still she clung to her bedding as if she was
still in fear of being dragged away to some place she obviously
feared, but that story would be coming soon, as Toni relaxed her
death grip on the sheets, straightened out her body, slowed down her
breathing so as to produce a normalcy, exhaled as if completing a
marathon, and allowed her head to sink deeply into the pillow
provided for her on the hospital bed. Following another deep inhale
and exhale Toni spoke out with an obvious inquiry, “Where am I
Tessie, Mom, what just happened?”
“That’s
exactly what we would like to find out Toni,”
brought the response from Tessie preceding a deep sigh of relief.
“You had us scared half to death. We thought you had left us for a
minute and we were all pulling for you to return where you belonged”
“Toni,
my dear daughter, we feared for the worse. We didn’t know how to
help. There was nothing we could do but watch you in what appeared to
be agony. We didn’t know where you were or what was happening to
you. We were helpless so please don’t do that again. Ever! Please!”
pleaded Toni’s mother.
Toni
drew in another incredible breath and slowly exhaled, this time
followed by a faint smile. This seemed to indicate that she was
regaining her composure and might soon be able to break the silence
and try to piece together the seemingly horrible events that just
took place. Her trials and tribulations being observed by an outsider
would have led one to believe that this young lady had just had a
bout with the Devil and came out the victor. Perhaps that is exactly
what happened; time will tell.
Chapter One
It had been some time since Toni and Tessie had seen one another. Toni became a CEO for a large oil company and was transferred to Texas where she was in charge of the large refineries while Tessie remained in California teaching Psycho therapy in the Psychology Department at Berkeley University; each having enviable positions. They e-mailed one another now and then, but hadn’t actually gotten together for a few years until one Christmas morning when Tessie and Toni decided it was time to came home for the holidays and have their reunion. They thought it might be fun to meet in their old stomping grounds since their parents both remained at their respective homes in which they grew up. Tessie’s parents thought it would be nice to accept Toni’s parents’ offer to join them for their Christmas dinner, along with her parents as well, and while they were there they ventured into Toni’s old bedroom where Tessie pointed to the old antique desk and laughed. “Do you remember when we put those wishes in that old desk? I’ll never forget that experience.”
“Ironically enough, I was just thinking about that last night. Hey, let’s see if the notes are still there.” Toni said as she moved over to the desk giggling with Tessie right there behind her chuckling. It felt just like old high school days when they’d hang out, have fun dreaming and planning about the present and future. Now here they were again, face to face beaming from ear to ear as if they had just been transformed back to their teen-age days. They pulled out the drawer and before Toni grabbed the notes Tessie asked, “By the way, what were our wishes? I’ve long since forgotten or did I just ask to...”
“An event as important as that was? Toni giggled, “I haven’t forgotten; you asked that you could be with me when my wish came true.” Toni chuckled as she opened the envelope and read out loud her request. ‘Wizard I wish to venture with you into the unknown; to visit the parallel universes that hold the existence of dual worlds.’
Across the room the lamp’s brightness shone through Toni’s hair giving it the color of honey, making the blueness in her eyes shine like a clear blue sky. It gave the look of a far away princess looking beautiful in her long evening dress, but the truth of the matter was that it was her silky night gown with the light shining on it until it looked florescent pink. Her flushed cheeks appeared as if she was glowing with happiness as she read and remembered her wish twenty or more years ago. “Wouldn’t that have been an exciting event Tessie?” Toni asked.
“Whatever made you ask for such a wish? I hadn’t known you to be interested in anything of that sort.” Tessie asked abruptly.
Toni scooted closer to the desk and smiled, “I remember reading an old Wizard book with directions on how to get a wish fulfilled. Out of the blue, I thought I’d play around and try it, but as you and I both know, it never came true, but nonetheless, it filled one of our days with dreaming about such a thing.”
“It
may have filled your day with dreams of it coming true, but if you
recall I never knew what wish you asked in that note, but nonetheless
I asked that I would be right beside you when it did come true. Do
you remember?” Tessie laughed.
“A brave soul you were?” Toni chuckled.
“Don’t give me credit for bravery too fast because I never believed the whole thing anyway. I guess I just wanted to be part of the great fun.” Tessie laughed as she took the notes from Toni’s hand and threw them up into the air, and almost immediately the room darkened and then lightened again. “Wow, did you see that? Do you see…?” Tessie hollered.
“Spooky…No, more like weird… Boo!” Toni screamed.
Tessie jumped back and as she did she noticed the painting on Toni’s wall of a willow tree she had painted in kindergarten was now worn and tattered, giving it a look of a hundred years old. “My hunch is that we’re imagining things Toni, but nonetheless, take a look at that painting of your Willow Tree on the wall? Does it look older than it did a few minutes ago?” The painting seemed to have recreated itself into a growing ageing body adding colors and nuances to its branches and darkening the trunk with such magnitude one would expect to see it push its branches out of the frame and drop leaves to the ground.
“I don’t know, but hey…oh my God! Look at my bedspread; it’s yellow instead of the original color of blue.” Toni shrieked. The yellow was intense as a ripe lemon. The subtle blue had faded before their very eyes and was being replaced with a growing spray of colors like waves spreading across it as if showing off its skills until the brilliance of lemon yellow completed its course, but there it was right before us.
“Look what’s happening, and look at butterflies spread across it too?”Tessie asked startled. The butterflies spread out their wings and laid them open only to be drawn in and absorbed by the newly created and enhanced color. If one looked closely, the butterflies could be seen as a dim silhouette, barely visible but undeniably there. The two jumped up off the floor and looked around the room and the whole room had changed. It now had an old bed frame made of metal with the most ornate and interesting iron-works that appeared to be hand-made. The bends and twists defied the imagination because where in modern times could such a work of art be created? It had to come from out of the past. Yellow flowers and green vines found themselves wrapped around each pole in such a way as if to be planted in the ground and coming up from the earth to adorn the frame. Toni jumped back and cried, “Tess, what is going on here? I’m getting freaked out. Are you seeing what I am seeing or are my eyes alone playing tricks on me? Is it playing with you too?”
Tessie screamed, “Toni, look at the floor? It’s no longer your nice plush carpet that your parents carefully selected for you because the colors were in perfect harmony with your likes at the time they were installed; it’s now hard wood flooring. This is freaky because this wood is such that could have only come from a certain location and such that it would have taken weeks just to install; it’s happening before our very eyes.”
“Never mind the flooring, take a look at yourself in the mirror; you’re wearing a long old fashion dress – almost like in the early 1800’s.” Toni said and then looked at herself and saw the same type of outfit on her own body. These dresses were long and extended because of the cage-like structure underneath the material giving it the effect of being swollen. The materials were of elegant imported silks and cottons unknown in modern times for these dresses were fitting at the President’s Ball or other such events. The color patterns were adorned with ribbons and floral patterns, interspersed with lace obviously hand crocheted. Now here they were, each admiring one another but so stunned by the event that Toni was sickened. Even at this heightened brilliant array of looks and beauty it was too much for either of them to comprehend because they were exhausted by the suddenness of all the commotion and it frightened them while exciting them; they simply couldn’t wrap their minds around the goings on.
Silence fell. Toni broke it at last. “I feel ill Tess. I think I’m going to lose my…” She said as she ran to the bathroom and saw an old fashion toilet and screamed. “Tess, come here…come quickly and take a look at this toilet.” She leaned over the old tub and lost every bit of what was in her stomach and then wiped her mouth with a cloth hanging over the curvature of the design. It had brass fittings with angel-head creatures, claw feet of bi-metals that looked as if they were gripping the floor to keep the body of the structure from slipping. Perfectly finished porcelain interior with hand-painted borders surrounding the outer dimension of the tub were in great profusion with works of art likened to the Sistine Chapel; art created only by a great master. The flush bowl of the toilet was raised at least six feet from the ground with a tube attached to its center so as to allow a gravity pull forcing water down to eliminate the matter within the bowl. The flush mechanism consisted of an ornate pull chain which activated the flushing action allowing the water to flow. It too was heavily designed obviously not made for a common household, but for someone with means. She turned on the facet and began cleaning up the waste when the lights dimmed again and then brightened, and that’s when everything went back to normal. The two stood and looked around the bathroom, bedroom and themselves and saw it as it was minutes prior. Out of fear or need they tightly hugged one another and didn’t utter a sound; they were too overwhelmed by the events loosed upon them which created an emotion that had no immediate solution. What had just happened could only have been reproduced in a horror or fantasy movie where the characters were delusional or simply being tortured by some evil being. So here the two were, closely embraced and unable to rationalize what they saw or imagined and if their story was related to others, offer proof of anything they told. When the shock abated, but not gone, Toni released her grip on Tessie and rushed out the door, down the staircase, and into the living room where Toni’s mother was relaxing in the quietude of the Christmas spirit alone in her thoughts.
“Is everything okay Mom?” excitedly asked Toni with wide eyes.
“Why Toni, what’s
going on? You look like you just saw a ghost. Is everything okay with
you two?” returned Toni’s Mom.
“Has anything unusual
happened since Tessie and I was upstairs?
“Well, if you
mean the TV - it quivered a little, but it does that from time to
time; other than that all things are quiet and peaceful as they
should be this time of year” responded Toni’s Mom, Francine. “I
love the holidays and I’m extremely happy to see you and Tessie
together again just like old times, but what’s all this excitement?
What’s going on with you two? Are you getting into mischief like
you did when you were kids,” reminisced Francine.
“Oh my goodness,” exclaimed Toni. “Something happened to Tess and me, but, no, it’s a long story; one that we will tell you later.”
“I’m not sure what you mean dear,” assured Francine.
Toni ran back upstairs to make sure Tessie was still there and in good shape what with the events that had just taken place
“Tess, Tess,” exclaimed Toni. “Do you realize that what just happened to us only happened to us? I mean they didn’t happen to Mom sitting downstairs. Nothing happened anywhere but here with the two of us. Did we lapse into a state of insanity for a short time? This is your field, my friend. Have you tried to come to terms with what has happened? Can you explain this manifestation of our minds? Are we mentally ill?”
“Oh, my God, Toni, do I look like a mind reader or a sear out of the past? Do you honestly think I can explain what just happened to us? I’m as dumbfounded as are you my dear friend. I have not the slightest idea what just happened. I can honestly say it was too fast and furious to explain, and I might add it was exciting while it was unfolding before our very eyes, and I am happy that no harm came to us, but only the shocking jolt it gave our brain and psyche. What a strange happening!”
As Tessie and Toni stood in awe at the events of the recent past the thought of the old antique piece of furniture entered their minds at about the same time. “The wishes!” they exclaimed at the exact moment. “It was our wishes, or at least my wish with your okay that sent this event to us,” exclaimed Toni. “We were given a glimpse either into the past, or into an alternate dimension, whatever that means and wherever that is. We have leaped, so to speak, out of our realm of current existence and were allowed to pass to another time and place” exclaimed Toni.
“Oh, my, God, Toni, duel worlds – get it? You know the wish? Nonetheless, I must agree with you,” assured Tessie. “There were case studies of such events in some of the courses I had to take while in college, but they seemed far-fetched back then - how could anyone rationalize another existence just by thinking about it?
“If I wasn’t a believer before, I’m leaning closer to it now. My mind is so confused right now that I’m unable to make a sound judgment of the happening. Are we to expect these things to happen again and again? And if so will we have to be together when they do? Surely they won’t happen when we’re back at our jobs? All these questions must be addressed, but how do we attend to them when we can’t explain or understand them? Toni, I think I’m afraid!” nervously iterated Tessie to her friend, “I’m truly afraid of what might happen in the future.”
Peter
Chapter Two
A month later, after Toni and Tessie returned to their individual homes; Tessie in San Francisco and Toni in Texas, the incident never happened again.
One morning Toni had just gotten out of a meeting with some oil specialist and a group of men that discussed a new product in the business. One man younger than the others and all of them under thirty, whose name was Bob Steinman, a careless experientialist, a brilliant technician, as well as with a daring philosophical mind approached Toni and invited her to dinner to discuss some of the products that her company might be interested in. She readily accepted and once settled at their table sipping on wine, he asked her if she had ever experienced any near death experiences. The question was sudden and Toni wasn’t comfortable sharing her years ago experience with him, but she did mention that she had heard of such things and proceeded to ask him why he asked. He became uneasy as he paused for a moment and then said, “I’m not sure. I mean I just met you today but during our meeting I kept seeing a bright white light above your head. At first I thought it was the sunlight coming in through the window, but when the receptionist closed the shades I continued to see the white light. The first thing that came to mind was when I experienced that same white light in my near death experience. I don’t know why I’m telling you this except that…I…well, never mind. Shall we order?”
“No, please don’t stop or feel uncomfortable about your experience.” Toni said with great eagerness.
“I don’t think I wish to discuss this subject any further,” he said unwillingly, “I just asked on an impulse.”
“I wish you would. You see, I haven’t been straight forward with you because I did have a near death experience over twenty years ago. In fact, during that incident and while unconscious I saw the doctors working on me and heard every word they said. I don’t believe they ever understood why I went unconscious but once my consciousness was regained and sharing with them my experience of hearing and seeing them while in my coma-like state they only looked at me as if I was strange. Never mentioning the incident again to anyone except my childhood friend I was uncomfortable about it as you are now so please....”
“I suppose you know that when someone has experienced such a thing that all those having experienced it know the other like the back of their own hand?” Bob said with excitement and leaned closer to Toni placing his hand on hers and further stated, “I felt connected to you as soon as James Weiner introduced us. However, I didn’t think any more about it until I saw the white light above your head. It shined so brilliantly that it immediately took me back to my near-death experience, but being in a meeting among my colleagues I had to dismiss it without delay. Later, when I saw you exiting the room a power overtook me and I had to approach you to invite you for this drink and dinner. It’s so unlike me to mention such an incident to anyone, yet it came out of me like a flowing water stream and before I could stop myself, it was done. Then when you seemed taken aback from it, I didn’t know how to wiggle my way out of it. Sorry I sounded so curt earlier, but I’m pleased you trusted me enough to come forward with your incident.”
“I do realize others have had near-death experiences and have told about them, yet the fact remains that they are still unexplainable. Sure, some psychiatrists rationalize why this phenomenon happens, but this is only speculation on their part for where does their knowledge come from, and who gives them the authority to identify an event of such magnitude without knowing the facts,” responded Toni. “What happened to me was real and although I could see and hear what was going on all around me I could not offer one iota of proof of what was happening to my mind or body, and I would defy anyone to prove that they know either.”
“I’m with you, Toni. I have done research and have come to the same conclusions as have you; it’s such a nebulous, cloudy field of study, it can only be rationally explained by someone who completed the journey, saw what was to be seen, and was allowed to return for whatever reason. Then, if that person had answers that might be the proof, but if someone, on the other hand merely speculated, that would be proof of nothing more than what that ‘expert’ learned in his studies; nothing of true value.”
“Wow! Is this heavy stuff, or what? Toni exclaimed. “Does oil have anything to do with these events?” she laughed heartily. Bob also saw the humor in the statement and could not contain himself and burst into laughter as well bringing their dinner dining experience back to a less heavy subject. Concluding their get-together on a much lighter note, Bob escorted Toni back to her house and wished her a good night, vowing to meet with her again before the conferences were over. Toni returned the verbal gesture and assured Bob that their togetherness would continue, for sure, for there were obviously many roads to be explored in this relationship; that feeling was shared by both.
Because of their near-death experiences Bob and Toni became so connected that they talked over the phone every night before going to sleep, e-mailed one another every morning, and often visited one another; either Toni flying to California to stay a week with Bob, or him flying to spend a week or more with her. Within that year they were seriously thinking about one of them relocating so they could share a house together and maybe write a book about their experiences or teach a seminar. Their goal was to help those with their own past experiences that weren’t as comfortable with their events as were Bob and Toni were.
Tessie called at least once a week after their Christmas happening and she too got involved in perhaps helping them with seminars. She confessed she had always wanted to help those that claimed to have experienced UFO kidnappings, and the like. It was believed in her field that those victims created these incidents in their own minds and hallucinated yet were convinced they were real. After Toni and her experience that Christmas night, she wondered if this was a true statement or not. In fact she wondered so much that she began reading everything she could on the subject. Her office looked as if she had more books in it than furniture or anything else.
Chapter Three
One cool autumn night another incident occurred, only mildly, but nevertheless Toni knew it was another experience that she’d never forget. She had been walking along her neighborhood river bank where she jogged every morning, however this evening she had decided to simply take a nice walk reflecting on Bob relocating to Texas and him sharing a house with her, when out of the blue a strange greenish yellow bird flew down and landed on her shoulder and stuck its long brown beak under the collar of her jacket. As startled as she was with what was happening she found herself unable to react and as it was occurring - she swore she heard it say, Soon…soon Toni…you shall have your wish come true. Be ready. She jerked her head and shook off the bird in fear that she was losing her mind, and in doing so she dropped to the ground to catch her breath but overtaken by fear she began to moan. Was she having a panic attack or was she simply losing her mind and had imagined that the bird spoken to her? She knew better. What she didn’t know at that moment was that the bird was indeed real and as she shook free of it, the bird flew off to a nearby tree and secluded itself amongst the branches so as not to be seen. She convinced herself that it hadn’t really happened and before she could question the incident any further she lifted herself from the ground, got her footing firmly on the path, and tore out of there in a dead run and didn’t stop until she reached the front door of her home. Before she could react any further, and at that exact instance a bird was seen circling that house as if fixing itself at that location before flying off to a nearby loft, however in full sight of Toni. At that same instance she pushed in her key, nudged the door with her foot and opened it. She closed the door, fully out of breath and had a feeling as if she was going to faint, but instead stooped down resting on her hands and knees and lowered her head until she felt the blood coming back and flowing through her body and reaching calmness.
She dashed over to the phone with an unsteady thrust and called Bob, and when he answered she told him about the occurrence with the bird. He didn’t scold her or tell her she was losing her mind; quite the contrary, instead reassured her and told her he was catching the next flight out and would be there as soon as he was able. But before Bob arrived Toni had felt urgency to rest, and decided she had no choice but to stretch across her bed and quickly went into a dream-like state.
She heard or thought she heard the phone ringing and it jolted her awake, but when she awakened she discovered much to her chagrin that she wasn’t at home at all. No, she was in some strange city she couldn’t immediately identify hiding behind a building that looked like it was made of glass and pointed on each end. The surroundings were modern in fact so modern that she had only seen this type of structure in science fiction movies. She slapped herself several times trying to wake up until she realized she was real, awake, and she was in a real city. While in this location her eyes or her mind’s eye saw what looked like little car-like planes flying in the air and it was almost as if there were streets up in the sky because she could plainly see that they stopped at certain points waiting for another to pass before proceeding on. But how could this be she thought, for surely flying objects such as she was seeing couldn’t just stop at will and then proceed again while afloat in the air. She couldn’t tell whether or not these planes were occupied although there seemed to be total control in the airways with no incidents of fender-bending. She looked down at herself and saw that her clothing was made out of something that looked like plastic but also resembling leather. Her breathing was accelerated, her pulse was racing and she wanted to run, but to where? She didn’t know. In fact she didn’t know where she was or what city she was in because she had never seen anything like the surroundings she found herself in. No structures resembled commonly known buildings and these were made of materials foreign to her existed; this included the structure where she found herself hiding. As she leaned against the brick-like work the texture felt odd to her, but she was too confused at the time to be overly conscious of it right then. Besides all that was going on, Toni, in looking down, noticed she was wearing boots that had pockets in them and couldn’t understand why they were there, so she reached down to see what was in them. No sooner after doing so she turned her head to the left and saw Tessie sitting down on a funny little bench hugging herself as if in fear, crying uncontrollably.
“Tessie!
Tessie! Is that you? What are you doing here? How did you get here
– where ever here is? Toni shrieked.
She hurriedly raced
to Tessie’s side and threw her arms around her to comfort her but
in reality she was offering herself some comfort because in fact she
thought she was alone in this strange surroundings. But at least now
she had a friend who might be able to rationalize where they were and
what was happening. As they calmed down as much as they could the
two began to converse more coherently. Each in turn tried to tell
their story of what brought them to this strange weird place, but
neither could come up with any answers. It suddenly dawned on them
that they were experiencing another event that happened to them that
Christmas time years ago when the rooms they were in changed to
another time; this seemed to be a re-run. This time it was different
because neither Tessie nor Toni knew where they were nor did they
know the date. They only knew that the buildings were different and
that the flying objects in the air were flying autos. Their comfort
brought great relief to one another because at least they were lost
together, but now they had to find out where they were; more than
that they had to find out if there were any people around with whom
they could communicate
They brought themselves to stand, checked out their bodies for missing or bruised parts, after finding none they tried to formulate a plan of attack. With all their brain power they could surely locate something that might offer a lead as to what was happening.
Bob was frantic after he arrived at Toni’s home and found the house empty; with Toni nowhere in sight. Touring all rooms and the yard Bob was convinced that Toni was indeed not anywhere to be found. He checked her answering machine and looked for her cell phone, but the machine was empty and the phone gone. He tried to make a call to her but was surprised to hear such static which made listening all but impossible. What happened was that Bob thought he picked up a faint sound of a voice although undistinguishable, yet it sounded like a screech, but it could have been part of the static or it could have been someone on a short wave radio cutting in on the cell phone line. He hung up and tried the call again, and once again he heard or thought he heard a human sound; this time slightly more audible. He yelled into the phone but to no avail, or so he thought. Then he heard it again - like a Help! Help! Once again Bob yelled into the phone that he was there and that he heard the call for help. He asked if the person needing help was Toni. This time the response came in more recognizable. “Bob! Bob! Please…please Bob! Is that you?”
Bob was either trying to convince himself that Toni was on the other end when maybe in fact it was all in his mind, or she was indeed in trouble and was trying to reach out for him, in either case he was at a loss to know what to do. A thought suddenly came to him to call his cell phone carrier and ask them to identify the location of the call he had just made. He told them that his girl friend was in trouble and was trying desperately to reach him but the message was garbled. He needed to know the transmission point so that he could assist her in her need. The phone company could see the sincerity of Bob’s request and sent out a finder. They were stunned when a signal was sent back that although they could recognize a call, they were unable to trace a location because none appeared to exist in all of their stations; they were in fact just as confused and puzzled as was Bob.
Toni and Tessie were in the open between two enormous buildings trying to use their cell phone to locate a signal. The phone registered nothing telling them that no transmitting station was within reach of their location. Toni would not accept that so she dialed Bob’s number and yelled into it “Bob! Bob! Please Bob! Help! Is that you? Is that you Bob? Bob…”
When Toni and Tessie regained their sensibility they discovered
that there were people all over the place and that they needed to do
was walk up to one and ask where they were, so they did. They
spotted a police officer and upon approaching him he offered a
greeting and told the ladies that they didn’t look so good and
asked if he could help. They told him that they were lost and needed
to get back home. When he asked where they belonged, Toni said she
was from Berkley, California. When hearing that the officer informed
them that they were close and only needed to get on the train and
head north, for they were in southern California. Tessie thanked the
officer and asked him how to board the train. He pointed out the
tunnel leading to the underground boarding station and away they
went.
“Can you believe this guy, Toni? I mean he thinks we’re in southern California, giggled Tessie with a nervous voice.
“Do we look stupid? Anyone can see that we aren’t in California at all…not at all…oh well,” reiterated Toni.
Nevertheless, they entered the tunnel and went down below and sure enough there was the loading platform. One of the destination charts indicated train numbers and locations, and sure enough there was one bound for Berkley; it was train 74. After a short wait, along came train 74 and they were surprised.
“What do you think Toni? Should we get on board? It says Berkley so what do we have to lose?” quizzed Tessie.
“Hey, you’re right. If we get lost, we will be lost together” The two ladies boarded the train but didn’t realize they hadn’t paid their fair, but it was too late for the train was about to leave so they got aboard, took a seat, and then the train began to move.
Two hours later the train came to a halt, and out the window they could read signs indicating that they had arrived in Berkley. Thrilled at their luck they disembarked and found their way up to the street level where they expected to look around and recognize the old home stead, but instead were surprised and shocked to find a city all right, but not one they recognized. Once again they found someone to quiz and once again that person assured them that they were indeed in Berkley. He asked them where they wanted to go and when they told him he put the street name into his GPS. It didn’t find the exact street name, but one similar.
“Ladies, this is as close as I can come to the street you are trying to find, but just wait on that corner over there next to Marcy’s store and the driver will take you to this street I have written out for you,” the young man responded, then turned and smiled.
The ladies, although puzzled again, followed the direction given, got on board and tried to offer the driver money, but he said none was necessary, and that he would let them know when he arrived at their street. Not too long after the driver pulled over the mini bus and told the ladies that they had arrived at their location. Tessie and Toni got off, thanked the driver, and looked around to see if they could recognize anything. The street name was different, but some of the houses seemed familiar.
“I know this house Toni. I looked at it a while back hoping it was for sale; it looked good to me. Let’s walk this way and we will come to my house. I know we will,” assured Tessie.
“Hey, this is
your place so I am just one step behind you; all the way my
friend…all the way for sure,” assured Toni.
So
off the two went, down the street in search of Tessie’s house. It
wasn’t too long before Tessie yelled out that the house across the
street looked just like hers, but it wasn’t quite the same;
something was odd yet familiar at the same time.
“Hey Toni, this is it, at least I think it is. I’m delusional or my house has been altered since I left, and who knows when that might have been, owing to the strange goings-on we have been experiencing.”
They approached the house and nearly everything seemed to match, so Tessie decided to play it safe and ring the doorbell. She did several times but got no response, so she decided to try her key and low and behold it opened the door. The two cautiously entered the home and looked around. What they saw amazed them for on the mantel were pictures of the two of them when they were in high school. “Hey, Tess, I didn’t know you had put out this picture of us from way back when,” stated Toni.
“Tell you what is so weird my friend, I don’t remember putting it out either,” came the startled response.
Not knowing what
to do at this point in time, and being totally exhausted, they
beckoned for the bedroom in great need of sleep. It was as if they
were drawn to the upstairs rooms where they almost felt compelled to
jump into bed and sleep. Each followed their sixth sense, did as
their minds suggested and upon lying down found themselves falling
into an uncontrollable deep sleep as if they were drugged. Losing
all track of time from that point on, they slept deeply. They were
awakened by the bright sun shining in on them. Tessie came out of it
first so she looked around and things appeared different than when
she climbed into bed. She slowly got up and studied the arrangement
of all that was visible, and to her great surprise and amazement
discovered that everything was hers, exactly as she had left it
before she vanished, so to speak. She went screaming into the other
bedroom. “Toni, Toni, wake up, wake up. We are home, I mean this
is my house, I am home and you are with me” screeched Tessie. Toni
came to and looked around and agreed with Tessie that they were in
the Berkeley home. They walked down the stairs and cautiously opened
the door and peeked out. Immediately Tessie recognized everything
around her for after all it was her home, for you see, they had
mysteriously arrived back in the Berkley they knew, and all was well,
once again.
Chapter Four
It had been four weeks since the happening with Tessie and Toni and they had been confused for weeks, and mighty tired of not knowing from month to month whether they would end up in some place lost in a strange exotic land, or whether next time they’d even be able to find their way home at all. This concerned them constantly, but one morning a tall and singularly graceful young man rose to his feet when he saw Toni rushing down the company’s hallway. “Oh Miss, are you Toni Riccio? You know…the one who works for Parks Oil Refining and Production Company?”
“Well, yes, who are you?” Toni asked as she stopped and turned to the man who seemed to be nervous and tense about something.
“Toni I have something to report to you…well, too vague to be a report, but nevertheless, I…well, I need to tell you that this time you won’t be so fortunate to find yourself without fault in your actions regarding the new product that you accepted from Kim and Kim Oil Corp.” came the astounding words from this total stranger who suddenly appeared out of nowhere.