So Familiar

She fidgeted nervously as she looked around the waiting room. It looked more like a formal living room that the waiting room of a scientific research facility, a nicer living room than she had ever claimed ownership of. She could feel her heart pounding so hard it felt like it was about to come through her chest. When the antique clock above the fireplace chimed she nearly jumped out of her skin. A heavy, stained wood door swung open into the waiting room and a young man in a white lab coat stepped out from behind the door and motioned for the woman to follow him through the door. They walked down a carpeted, door lined hallway that looked similar to one of the hotel hallways in that Stephen King movie The Shining. At the end of the hallway was an elevator which they entered. The man in the white lab coat pushed the bottom button and they began the long descent down to the lower labs.

When the elevator reached it’s destination the doors opened into another hallway, the exact replica of the first except at the end of the hallway instead of an elevator there was a giant stainless steel door. Her guide slid a card through a scanner, punched in a code, then finally stood still for a retinal scan before the door finally unlocked and slid open. The lab was bustling with activity, people running to and fro, the noise of hurried movement echoed throughout the great open space. The man in the lab coat urged her onward toward a side room, ushering her in and smiling as he closed the door leaving her alone. The woman scanned the room. In the center of the room was a large, comfortable looking wing backed leather chair that faced a semi-circle of three other similar chairs. Slowly she walked to the center chair and sat down.

The door opened and three people walked into the room, two men and a woman, all dressed in similar medical scrubs and lab coats. The woman sat in the middle of the two men as they faced her, a stack of files in her hands. It was the woman who spoke. “Are you absolutely certain that this is what you want to do?” She smiled without even being aware of it as her mind wandered through time and memory….

She had never meant to fall in love, especially with someone who was not free, but it had happened despite every defense she had put up. What had started as amusement had changed and blossomed into something wonderful to be cherished and treasured, honest and pure, beautiful. They were perfect for each other in every single way but one, and that one single way was the fact that they were both already married- and neither could bring themselves to cause the pain it would bring to ever leave their families. They had both already committed to sticking things out with their mates no matter what before they had ever even met.

It was difficult, increasingly so over the years. They messaged back and forth and talked on the phone and video called whenever they could. At least a few times a year, though it took weeks of intricate planning each time, somehow they managed to meet for a couple of days- cherishing every single second of time they had to spend together, laughing and loving each other. They made love and talked or sometimes just stared into each other’s eyes. They touched each other slowly, lovingly, memorizing every detail of one another’s bodies. These times were the most wonderful and yet the most painful of the woman’s life, bittersweet because the time was never enough. Each time they parted ways her heart and soul felt like they were being ripped from her body. If only they could have met each other before they had each married, but fate had been cruel.

Many times over the years they had been so close to meeting, missing each other only by a few miles or a few days. During one of their many, many talks she had discovered that her love had been traveling through part of the state she lived in at a time when she had been supposed to go on a trip to that part of the state, but she had backed out at the last minute. It was during a time when they had both been free and had yet to marry their current spouses. Many times she wondered if she had taken that trip would their destiny have been different? Would fate have led them to find each other? If they did would they feel the same about each other? She wondered how different their lives might be. A second chance to get it right...

Suddenly the woman remembered where she was and what she was doing. “Yes,” she answered softly “I am absolutely positive that this is exactly what I want to do.” The three people in lab coats started passing files back and forth and whispering among themselves as she drifted off into thoughts of recent events. She thought back to the dinner party three years before when she had run into an old friend of her Godfather whom she hadn’t seen since childhood- a Congressman. They had vowed to stay in touch and exchanged phone numbers and e-mail addresses. It wasn’t long before the close bond of friendship they had shared when she was young had been re-established. Eventually the woman confessed to him her quandary, and how sad her life was without her true love in it full time. She poured her heart, and her pent up tears, out on the table for the first time ever. Her old friend held her as she sobbed and told her not to worry, that sometime soon he might be able to help her.

Fast forward six months. That is when she received the letter that would change her life. It seemed her dear friend the Congressman was privy to some secret research projects, one of which happened to be experimenting in time travel and whether events in the past could be changed without causing any sort of major destruction or chaos. So far the program had been deemed successful but had been kept completely under the radar and out of the press. Just to apply to the program you had to be recommended by at least two Congressmen and pass any and all security clearances and physical requirements. Then your application went through an excruciating screening process, and if you made it past that then there were non-stop barrages of psychological evaluations and physical fitness tests. Constant interrogation as to one’s reasons why they wanted to travel back in time and what exactly they wished to change and how would they change it. If you weren’t completely honest you were escorted out of the building never to return, your opportunity for a second chance gone forever. Now, almost a full three years since the chance meeting at the dinner party she was in the final preparations- and she was ready.

The woman in the lab coat facing her spoke. “You do understand that this is a one way trip? And that there can be no guarantee of the results you seek?” She nodded her head. “Please understand, when you arrive the thought that you focus on as you cross will be the only thing you remember of this time- and you won’t know WHY the thought keeps crossing your mind. That will be the only clue or help you will have to change your fate, so you must focus intently. Otherwise you will likely live your life just as you did the first time, making the same choices, the same mistakes.” The woman nodded her head again in agreement. The three people in lab coats rose in unison. Each shook her hand in turn and wished her well on her journey and good luck on changing destiny. The young man who had escorted her to the room returned to escort her to the dressing room. There he waited while she changed into a paper gown and (cont...)

and removed all her jewelry. When she emerged from behind the changing screen the escort had a wheelchair and motioned her to sit in it as he wheeled her down the hallway to a different door, and inside the sterile laboratory. The machine itself looked like a giant MRI machine. Two doctor’s helped her out of the wheelchair and onto the table where they strapped her in. The escort stayed with her as the doctors retreated into the control room. He bent down so she could hear him as he spoke barely above a whisper. “As soon as this table starts moving focus on what you need to remember. Repeat it in your mind over and over and over. Use visualization. Remember that you have the power to change your destiny, believe it.” The woman looked at him and smiled. She wasn’t nervous any more. “Oh, one more thing,” said the escort. “There are many others who have done this before you- some have been successful, but many more have failed. The doctors keep track of the test subjects for decades. They even send people out disguised as surveyors and census takers sometimes to get first hand accounts and determine if the test subject changed his/her destiny as planned or if they failed.” Looking at the escort strangely the woman asked him if someone would be checking on her in particular. He answered that it was random as to who was interviewed in person and that she may be approached or she could be passed over and whoever is next on the list could be questioned. Either way he said she wouldn’t remember.

As the table she was laying strapped to started to move toward the machine she closed her eyes. She pictured his smiling blue eyes in her mind and repeated to herself over and over “Take the trip, don’t back out! Take the trip, don’t back out! Take the trip….”

From the treehouse the woman could see the dust trail left by the car driving back down the mountain. “Come on, let’s go see who’s been at the house while we’ve been playing up in this tree.” The woman and her two youngest kids along with her grandkid climb down the ladder and start walking toward the house, laughing and playing during the walk across the field toward the house. They all waved at the woman’s two older daughters who were working in the garden. One gave the hand signal that meant to please bring drinks and the woman returned the sign for okay. She told the kids “Y’all go get washed up and fix your sisters something cold to drink” as she walked around to the front porch where her husband was drinking a bottle of beer and strumming his old guitar. As she got close he grabbed her arm, pulled her into his lap and kissed her long and soft sending a tingling sensation through her body. “Damn, he still makes me feel like a teenager in rut!” she thought and smiled. “So, who was that leaving the house mister?” He smiled and said “That was a really weird census taker.” Puzzled she asked “What do you mean?” Her love grinned “First off he asked for me by name and came here in person. Don’t they just usually mail out census forms?” She thought about it and indeed, she could swear she had filled out and mailed in a census survey just a few years ago. Strange indeed. “Then when the guy asked what I do for a living he was sort of shocked when he found out my pen name- apparently he’s a big fan. Then he snapped to who I’m married to and turns out he’s an even bigger fan of your books. Lord, I hope he doesn’t come back all stalker/fan creeping around here!” The woman spoke. “Well, what’s so weird about that? We’ve had fans track us down here before.” The man replied “ He asked me how we met. I know that question isn’t on any census survey.”

She thought back to the night she had met the love of her life. She had planned to go on a trip with some friends to the northern part of her state and had decided not to go so her friends left without her. Something kept niggling at her brain telling her to go, so at the last minute she had packed up her car and headed out to meet with her friends at their first stop. It started raining really bad and water pooled up on the highway. A semi truck flew past her, sending a tsunami of water over her car- which then flooded out. She coasted to the shoulder and popped the hood, bringing a rag to attempt to dry the distributor in the pouring rain. That was when a small, black truck pulled up behind her and a man got out and asked if she needed help. As he neared and she could see him better he smiled, and she looked into his eyes. They looked so familiar, smiling blue eyes. Her life would never be the same…

“So, did you tell him the story?” He laughed “Well, you know I love telling a good story! But what was really weird was when the guy looked at me dead seriously and asked me if I was happy with my life and if so far it has went the way I wanted. Of course I told him my life is perfect and I wouldn’t change a single thing. He just got this really huge grin on his face and made some notes, then shook my hand, thanked me for my time and left.” The woman kissed her husband on the forehead and rose to go check on the kids when he stopped her and told her “You know, I could swear that census taker was the same exact guy that came to the apartment before the younger kids were born and we got our first publishing deals.” She cocked her head and gave him an odd look. He looked into her eyes. Funny, the night they met when he first looked into her eyes he could swear that he KNEW those eyes- they just seemed so familiar……

That was amazing! I like many different genres but romance is one of my favorites I suppose because I like the happy ending! It kept my attention right from the first sentence and I truly thought it was well written. Thanks for sharing!!

reply to post by queenofsheba


Thank you for taking time to read it, I'm glad you enjoyed it.
It is the direct product of a long night of insomnia-
I actually had a little peace and quiet and amazingly my brain started to function again!

reply to post by littled16


Bravo, Littled!!! (standing ovation)!!!

Great story... if only we could really do this! Well... I think we can, but it has to be an entirely new lifetime. I don't know if I would want to come back again.

reply to post by littled16


I enjoyed the read my sweet friend. I really did.
I'm glad you were up late and became creative and wrote this.
Sometimes I sure wish there was a time machine...but then I think maybe I wouldn't be who I am today if anything changed... Oh who knows..

Thanks for sharing this.

Peace and love and hugs to ya web mama
~little natalia~

reply to post by sled735


Thank you Sled! Sometimes I wonder if the technology really does exist and has just been kept well hidden. I think that if time travel ever did become available it would have to be a one way trip because the future you would return to would not be the same future that you left. I also think that memory loss would have to be induced if it didn't occur naturally in the process. If one were to travel back in time with one's memory in tact there would exist the chance for abusing the technology for power and wealth rather than being used to divert disaster or for purely unselfish reasons.

reply to post by natalia


My little natalia, something tells me that you would still be the same person- no matter what!
Which reminds me, when can we expect a new poem from you? If I have missed something recent forgive me- I'm still trying to figure the new site out. I'm calling it " Technological Sometimer's ".

Insomnia, in your case, it's a good thing Wonderful story.

Loved it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a great story,Littled!

Keep it up,it is some great work!

Peace,
K

Iamschist
Insomnia, in your case, it's a good thing

Wonderful story.

Thanks sugar, I'm glad you liked it!
We definitely must catch up sometime this weekend- maybe I'll give the new Chat another day in court!

reply to post by kdog1982


Thanks Kdog! I value your opinion greatly so it's awesome that you like it!
I was having a moment of clarity and inspiration, a formerly unknown to me side effect of sleeplessness.

Nice!
That was a good read for this morning while I made breakfast.
I hope all is well. Have a great day.

reply to post by woodsmom


Good morning woodsmom! Hope you and the boys are doing great!
Thanks for stopping by and giving my story a read. Hopefully there will be others coming soon; I've been feeling inspired lately!