She wrote down some things and closed the notebook.
“Alright, go over it one more time.” Dr Harding said
to her.
Areya shifted in her seat and popped her knuckles. They had referred
her to the grey haired lady because Dr Charles wasn’t available. “It was
similar to the previous dreams I’ve been having consistently for a while. In
those ones, I found myself trapped in a car at the bottom of the river and I
tried to get out because I was drowning fast, then just when I feel like I’m
about to die, I hear my name and I wake up.”
“But this time, there was more.” The doctor said more like a
statement than a question. She stirred her tea continuously with a small tea
spoon.
“Yes, I saw someone, a lady. She had red hair and she pried the door
and helped me out. I don’t know what happened after that.”
“Do you recognize this lady?”
“No, I don’t think I’ve seen her before.” She squinted trying to
remember any details she might have forgotten.
“What of her voice? Was it familiar? Did she give any name?” Dr
Harding picked up the spoon and stirred the tea again.
“No, nothing at all” Reya wondered if she was ever going to drink
the tea.
“Well In that case, I think you need to stop thinking about the
accident and just let things happen. It’s possible that you are getting
fragments of what happened that day and it’s construing as a dream. It’s
normal. Just take your drugs and have an open mind.”
Reya nodded. The old lady was right. There was really nothing to
worry abo ut. She asked the doctor some more questions, thanked her and took
her leave feeling much better.
******************************************************************************
“Hello Demi…yes I got your message, Sita would be coming back
tomorrow so I would have to use her own to back it up… definitely,
thanks…alright, bye.”
“Was that Demi?” Cataleya asked, she was cleaning the sofa with a
spray and wash cloth. Reya sat on the mini-couch and punched the remote. They
were the only 2 at home.
“Yeah, she wanted to know how soon I could get the export sales. My
laptop is backed down so I have to wait for Sita.”
“Use mine.” She offered generously..
“The setup is on Sita’s laptop. I don’t have the flash drive where
the setup is even if I wanted to install it on yours. Thanks though.” Reya
replied with a brief smile.
Things had eased up between them the past couple of days but Reya
still had some grudges. She was however itching to bring up the convo they had
the other day but now didn’t seem like the right time. It was a breezy Friday
evening and she had other reasons to be nervous. Damon was coming over to spend
the weekend with them. Sita had suggested it the previous week. She felt she
owed it to her that they get along-an idea which Reya found rather extraneous,
considering the circumstances.
As she watched Cataleya put on her tennis shoe, she couldn’t help
but replay their conversation.
“What do you mean don’t go back there?” She had asked the therapist
that day.
“Areya, have you ever tried to understand what is happening to you
from different perspectives?”
“y-yeah I’ve tried but I can’t get any meaning out of it. Dr Charles
has been the one helping me and for you to tell me not to go back to him is
like taking the last piece of faith I’ve been holding to.”
“Do you trust me?”
“No”
“Okay, when you do…let me know.” She had replied and walked out of
the room.
Reya however had gone to see Dr Charles, but as luck would have it,
she was referred to Dr Harding. She grinned slightly; the grey haired woman
didn’t drink the tea after all.
…………………………………………………………………………………………….
He parked the car and removed his keys. He dropped them in the
compartment, unlocked the boot from inside and opened the door. It was a
terrible idea-spending the weekend at the house and to say he didn’t look
forward to it was an understatement. Sita had said it was healthy for their
relationship if everyone was on good terms and Reya deserved to know what she
missed. Yeah, Reya. Damon sighed. He
hadn’t still gotten over her reaction. There was something about her that he
couldn’t quite place a hand on. Sita was returning back from her trip that
evening which meant he was going to have to endure for the next 5 hours, he
checked his watch. Just 2 days…just 2
days. He removed the suitcase from the trunk and closed it shut.
Someone was coming out of the house and he figured it was Cataleya.
“Hey!” she jogged over to meet him and embraced him. “You look trim,
and buff.” She complimented.
“It’s good to see you, how is work?” He gave her the smaller bag.
“Great, you? How is the new place?”
“Amazing.” He smiled. “Who is home?” He asked as they were about to
enter the apartment.
“Just Areya and I” she replied with a knowing look and he sighed
deeply.
Reya was at the backyard when she heard voices. Quickly, she went
back into the house.
“Areya! Damon is here.” Cataleya called out. Damon took his luggage
to the guest room close to Sita’s room. Areya and Cataleya were occupying the
other 2 guest rooms in the house so he was left with that one.
“Hey” A voice said behind him, he turned around and met her eyes.
She was looking more relaxed than before and he observed she had re fixed her
nails to a purple color.
‘Hi Reya, good to see you again.” They walked back into the large
living room. “You look more relaxed than before. I’m guessing you are feeling
better.”
“Yeah, thanks” She smiled. He was trying hard to be less awkward,
but she knew she owed him an apology. “Damon, about the other day…” She paused
gathering her thoughts together. “I acted out of ignorance, it was a huge
surprise for me and I didn’t expect to hear it from you first but I get it now.
Sita and I talked about it and I’m happy for you guys. She is my best friend and she has done so much for
me so I’m sorry for what happened.” She faced him. “I really am”
He seemed surprised; he was smiling at her with admiring eyes.
“Thank you, although we are the ones who owe you an apology but thank you…
Hug?”
She chuckled nervously and embraced him trying hard to control her
heart beat that was thumping madly in her chest. That was when everything
went wrong.
As soon as his arms touched her, she felt power flow out of him and
into her body. She tried to steady her heartbeat but it wasn’t her heartbeat,
it was something else. She was feeling dizzy and it seemed like she was being
pulled out of one scene into another. The living room tilted and the walls
spiraled. One minute she was facing the portrait that hung on Sita’s living
room wall and the next minute she saw herself in a diner. She was sitting on a
chair in what looked like a small café.
There was a waitress standing next to her, smacking her lips in a very
annoying way. Reya found herself staring at the lady.
“Can I have your order sir?” she asked with a flirtatious smile.
Reya edged a brow, and felt the need to wipe her face. She reached
into her pockets hoping to find her face towel when she suddenly realized why
the waiter had referred to her as a male. As a matter of fact, she was a man.
She was dressed in suits and the rest of her body had nothing feminine about
it. Alarmed she sprang up immediately and staggered to the only mirror in the
café. The waitress followed her. Reya nearly fainted when she saw her
reflection in the mirror. She was not just a man; she was Damon…Damon Scott.
Why was she him? Was this her dream or his? Was it possible to swap bodies?
“Damon?” A voice said and she spun round to see who had spoken. Reya froze for almost 10 seconds. The lady who
had spoken looked like her-actually, the lady looked just like she did some
years back. Reya was confused. She was in Damon’s body and she was talking to a
version of herself. It was a very weird feeling. She found herself conversing
with the lady. They knew each other. They met at a conference some time ago and
they exchanged numbers. It was when she
typed in her number into the lady’s phone that she noticed the date, it was
November 2006!
“Areya! Areya!” Cataleya was tapping her continuously. She opened
her eyes slowly and saw cataleya and Damon bent over her, looking rather
frantic. She was on the sofa and she propped herself up.
“What happened?” she managed to whisper.
“You blacked out. Are you okay?” Damon asked.
“Yeah…yeah I’m fine.” She replied staring into his eyes. Then she
realized, she was actually not okay. What in the world just happened?
******************************************************************************
SATURDAY EVENING
“You ready?” Cataleya asked her. It was her third outing since the
accident and she was grateful for a change in environment. Areya applied some
perfume and picked up her bag.
“Yeah, let’s go”
“Do you feel better?” Leya asked. “You seem a little fuzzy, did you
have another blackout?”
“No, I’m okay.”
Reya knew she wasn’t okay. There was nothing okay about blacking out
and having a memory or vision of you in someone else’s body. She wanted to tell
somebody but she didn’t know who she could trust. Sita just got back from a
trip, she didn’t want to bother her plus Damon would be with her most of the
time and he was the last person she would want to know about the dream. But how
was it possible? She had felt a rush of power. Could it be a side effect from
the drugs? She didn’t even know if Dr Charles would have an answer to this and
didn’t Cataleya tell her not to go back to him? She didn’t know what to do.
The wind blew across the beach and Reya buried her feet deeper into
the sand. She was sitting on a deck chair in a relaxed position. Cataleya was
next to her in a similar chair. Sita and Damon were playing near the water.
Sita had suggested they come to the beach for a picnic. She just wanted a
chance to come out and feel normal.
“You know, “ Leya said breaking into her thoughts. “I’ve known Sita
for a long time and I’ve never seen her as the type to commit to a
relationship, but this…with Damon. It’s surprising, very hard to believe.” She
glanced at Reya, the latter didn’t seem to be paying much attention.
“Areya?”
“Yeah?” she took off her shades, “I don’t know what to say, right
now. My head is a mess.”
“What?” she laughed in amusement. “Why?”
“I’m not sure I should tell you.”
“Excuse me miss.” A man said interrupting the conversation. He was
holding a note pad and a pen.
“Can we help you?” Cataleya inquired with a edge in her tone. She
knew he was a reporter judging from his composure.
“I just want to ask you a few questions about the accident.”
“Why?” Reya asked
“I’m a reporter, I’ve been looking into the case and I happen to
take particular interest in the circumstances surrounding it.
Reya sat up. “Go on”
“The second person in the car, how come nobody talks about him/her?”
What second person
He seemed to read her mind. “The night of the accident. Your car.”
“Okay you need to leave now.” Cataleya was furious. “Get out”
“No, wait!” Reya called after him but he was gone. She glared at
Cataleya “What is your problem?”
“He is a reporter, this is what they do. They capitalize on every
situation just for media and publicity. We told them no press.”
Sita and Damon returned just in time to notice the situation.
“Who was that?” Sita asked taking out bottled water from the cooler
they had brought along. Damon washed off the sand on his legs.
Neither of the women responded.
“Areya, what did the guy want?”
“Was there someone in the car with me that night? The night of my
accident.”
The question came as a total shock to Sita and she stuttered. “I-I
d-d-o-n’t know, I arrived at the scene late. You were being taken into the
ambulance. I couldn’t have known.”
“I think if there was someone else, we would have been informed.”
Damon said. He was also surprised.
“What about the officer? The one who resuscitated me?”
“Officer Brady” Cataleya said.
“He is on leave…so I heard.” Sita said.
“Well, I’m going to find him; someone has to have an explanation for
all these crap.” Reya got up from her chair and walked away. The others watched
her in silence.
Cataleya bit her lip. She had
to act fast.
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