Soren Kierkegaard
Dangerous
The turmoil of the past few days completely upended my routine, because I was supposedly on vacation.
But having a girl from the past show up on my doorstep was completely unexpected since she was from the 1960's.
And the weird thing is, we somehow recognized each other.
Fortunately, my colleague, Charlotte Thomas, is fascinated with weird and strange events particularly as they pertain to mind/ body duality and quirks in time.
She's convinced me Kath and I have an ancestral connection and that's how I was able to draw her to me in the present.
And now I'm not just caught in a wrinkle in time but struggling with having to iron out my deceased cousin's past missteps.
Don't get me wrong—I'm not complaining. It's not exactly a trial by ordeal because Kath has been in my dreams all my life and frankly, I love the girl.
It just seems nothing about our relationship comes easy. The best I can hope is we're not star-crossed lovers but twin flames destined for each other and able to unravel this twist of Fate .
Kath was exhausted from shopping with Charlotte for fashions suitable for the 21st century, so I persuaded her to take a rest break while I dropped into the university to clear up some administrivia and prepare a new course on Victorian Prose and Poetry I’d be lecturing on in the fall.
But secretly, I also wanted to drop by Charlotte's office and confer with her about my own unsettling experiences and get her opinion on whether or not to share them with Kath.
If my dream was to be trusted, my cousin Brad had a secret relationship with another girl and if Kath was unaware, I didn't want to spoil her memory of her war hero who died in combat.
Yeah, not a pleasant position to be in and I certainly didn't want to blow it by making an impulsive disclosure that could really upset her.
I caught up with Charlotte just as she was entering her office.
"Having a late start this morning?" I teased her, "Kath was also exhausted from that shopping spree."
She rolled her eyes. "Believe me, trying on clothes never exhausts women—if Kath's exhausted it's because she's overwhelmed by adjusting to a future world full of technology, not to mention the fast pace of downtown Toronto."
"You have a point—she was amazed by my laptop computer and the Internet—but she's probably relieved women's fashions in 2023 look nothing like their depiction in The Jetsons.
"Thank God!" Charlotte sighed, melodramatically, "they're bad enough, in my opinion. Personally, I'm hoping for a return to the 1930's look—very feminine and chic."
"I don't know—sixties mini-skirts are quite fetching, but I also like Audrey Hepburn fashions if you like the classy look."
"Yes, Kath would suit that 60's vibe of business suits and pill box hats. But I think you're enamoured with her regardless."
We were seated in her office now and I took her last remark as an opportunity to segue into my reason for seeking her advice.
"Speaking of being enamoured with Kath, I had an unsettling dream yesterday when you two were out shopping."
"You're not going to reveal intimate details, are you?" she asked nervously.
"The dream wasn't about Kath, but another girl."
"Oh, it goes from bad to worse."
"You have no idea," I moaned.
She held up her hand as a caution.
"Look, having an erotic dream about another woman doesn't mean you don't love Kath."
"I know that. I wasn't worried about me. I think it involved Brad, my dead cousin. I think he was playing around behind Kath's back."
She arched an eyebrow and stared at me.
"I suppose you think you're channeling Brad's life and being given privileged glimpses behind the veil of his tawdry affairs?"
"Something like that."
"I doubt that," she said dismissively, "the ancestral connection with him would only pertain to what you shared mutually."
"Okay, then what does it mean?"
She shrugged. "I don't know just now—but it's not that. Don't fret, it will all come out in time. You're adjusting to Kath as she's adjusting to you. Just wait and don't leap to conclusions."
I went silent a moment, letting her words sink in.
"Then, I take it I shouldn't say anything to her about the dream?"
"Well, definitely not for the moment."
She paused and then lowered her voice taking me into her confidence., " Actually, I'm glad you dropped by. I talked to the police. I have a responsibility to report a missing person, particularly someone who's a possible amnesiac."
I groaned. "Oh God, do you have to report it? You know they'll hospitalize her and keep her under observation."
"No, I know the chief of detectives—met him on one of my cases. Spoke to him off the record and he's willing 'off the record' to not involve hospitals right now because I'm an M.D. and a psychologist and she can be seen as technically under my care."
"Then, why report it at all?"
"Because she just might be an amnesiac and her family may have reported her missing."
I was not happy. I know such things have a way of snowballing.
"Well, how are the cops going to investigate it?"
"Not cops—just one female detective the Chief trusts. She's discreet and professional, a bit rough around the edges, but she can be trusted to keep a low profile."
"Okay, how will this work?"
"Her name is Amanda Leonard—calls herself Mandy. She'll drop by your house this evening and take a report and interview Kath and then take it from there."
"So, low profile and discreet?"
"Right," she smiled, "but listen, don't cross this woman—she can be fierce."
"You know me," I said, giving her my boyish grin.
She gave me a baleful look. "That's exactly why I'm warning you,"