The Flip Of A Coin

What secrets are hidden from us yet play a prominent role in our lives that we may live and re-live in our imagination or more often our dreams?

At a flip of the coin, I lost the call….we were now going to a small, out of the way tropical isle.

I couldn’t help but wonder if somehow Ron had duped me although I’ve known him most of my life and I truly trusted him.

 

Arriving at the isle in a small ‘row boat’ sized, motor powered conveyance, we disembarked and headed towards a poorly lit building surrounded by over-grown ivy.

It was easy to conjure up visions of evil, death and even the devil himself. There was a heavy hammer at the side of the entrance and Ron used it to strike the enormous sized door and announce our arrival.

 

Surprisingly, a very good looking young lady opened the door and graciously invited us in. With a smile she pointed to a large book on the nearby table and asked us to sign our names and list the names of our closest relatives in our immediate family. She then led us to a very elegant room, complete with a very elaborate library, a very well stocked liquor cabinet, a most impressive fish aquarium, endless rows of computers, play stations, over-stuffed chairs, butlers and maids waiting to make any and every whim your dream come true.

 

The ambience insured a comfort few human beings had ever experienced. The butlers and maids were like the finest watch ever offered as the mere wave of a hand or nod of the head ensured the guest would be immediately acknowledged and their desire completely fulfilled.

 

It was quite easy to become disengaged with normalcy. Neither of us had aspirations for material wealth yet while this place was overwhelmed with exorbitant luxuries neither of us cared to partake. That’s not the way we are, certainly not what we care to portray.

 

Ron’s enticement for my involvement in this tiny isle leaves me both excited and curious at the same time.

As I looked around I saw there were numerous clocks, some on the wall, some on tables but curiously, they had no hands. Ron and I sat next to each other and I looked at him with quizzical eyes, apparently he knew my curiosity was about to turn into a verbal question when he furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head NO!

I withheld my demand for the lack of hands on the clocks and trusted Ron’s foresight.

 

While that fueled my curiosity I was still spellbound by the very relaxing, carefree atmosphere that assuaged every sensory organ in my body.

The entire ordeal culminated without the perception of time. How long we waited was completely unknown and irrelevant.

 

Ron and I both stood as a very well dressed man approached us. He matter-of-factly stepped right up to me, introduced himself as Fredric and asked if I would follow him. Without waiting for an answer he turned and walked towards what seemed a narrow and inconspicuous doorway. I readily followed while having absolutely no idea where I was going or why I should follow this complete stranger that held me spell bound.

 

He stepped through a well lit but fog enshrouded passage and without hesitation I pursued his lead.

As I stepped through the narrow opening, a misty aura began to clear as I slowly recognized objects from my past, objects that were long ago discarded, lost or otherwise forgotten. I no longer felt a loss of them nor a desire to regain control over such objects but rather a numb feeling that what I was seeing was a mere fact of trivial things I had encountered during my life and used to perceive as monumentally important.

 

I now realized the previous feelings of importance to such material possessions were completely inconsequential.

 

I was temporarily mesmerized as I studied the numerous individual items and I relived the feelings I experienced with each object when they used to be so important to me. I could actually touch the very slinky I received one Christmas, the shirt and pants I received before starting the seventh grade, the bicycle brother Dick helped me purchase and I was so very proud of.

As I looked at or touched each item I once again experienced the original feelings that overcame me at the time.

 

I eventually tired of reliving the material treasures of my past as I realized their lack of importance.

 

I looked about for Fredric.

I could see walls of what seemed to be flowing water or electrical plasma but I could not calculate the distance. It may have been a few feet or many miles, it was impossible to distinguish.

 

Fredric suddenly appeared in front of me as though he had always been there. He asked me directly if I felt my life had now been fulfilled with all the material things I once so dearly loved and that I could easily take them with me if I so wished.

At first my face glowed and then dimmed.

 

Fredric had been studying me like a bug under a microscope.

 

He asked why I was not elated, that I could have ALL the precious material items I used to have and love.

 

The answer was painfully simple; as I hung my head I told Fredric the material objects were once a source of pride, love and joy but they seem so meaningless without the people I was able to share them with, indeed, the very people that made those objects of joy possible.

 

Fredric placed a finger under my chin, he raised my head so we were looking into each others’ eyes. He told me that many things are possible and that I was in a perfect position to realize the truth of his words.

 

 

With a quizzical look on my face I said, “I don’t understand”.

He said, “I know but let me tell you a story.”

 “Everything you have ever touched or seen has been at least two dimensional, but time itself has no dimension, it can not be measured by length nor width. What you and all those that you know have used as a measure of time is merely a perception of attempting to control the impossible; for time itself does not exist."

 

He continued, "It is inside this compound where everything is timeless but the area you call ‘your world’ is a speculative concept where rationale and chaos collide.

 

In ‘your world’ material things are the only objects you can control while the psyche is most elusive and can not be bought or sold without the direct consent of the owner and that is on a minimal, short-term basis only.”

 

He further explained, “Right now you are experiencing a realm you have never before sensed. It can only be accessed by those with an intuitive and visceral consciousness and offered up only by a salient, competent and entrusted member of the Time Continuum.”

 

As he spoke I looked all around me, there were multi-colored pools of pure serenity overflowing with an opulence never before seen in my relatively diminutive world.

The sense of euphoria dominated every fiber of my body and instilled the desire for a never-ending life that would emulate such a profound, enrapturing state of being.

 

The totality of my idyllic mesmerized world was quickly interrupted when Fredric said, "We should move on to what is most interesting to you". He implied that I need not dwell on superficial emotions but perhaps I should concentrate on what might be more meaningful and tangible.

 

I needed a moment to collect my thoughts about what he had just implied. He looked directly at me and in a knowingly manner he raised one eyebrow.

 

With anticipating reluctance I asked, “Do you mean….It is possible to revisit one of my deceased relatives??

“Indeed it is”, he replied, “your loved ones, and all others, have only deceased in ‘your world’, it is the ‘Time Continuum’ where reality actually exists.”

 

My instincts were overwhelming, my heart was pounding with anticipation as he removed a small device from his pocket.

It was about the size of a book of matches but it was an iridescent color and exquisitely gilded. It had a soft aura of unlimited colors of mist that seemed to emanate around the object.

He asked if I was ready to visit my deceased family members.

I was nearly unable to answer, my mouth and tongue seemed disconnected as I fought to speak a simple word, “yes.”

The object in his hand brightened as he passed his thumb in a circular motion over the object……and, despite my anticipation and lack of trustworthiness, there before me stood Mom, Dad, Dick and Lyle.

 

There was no doubt it was my very own flesh and blood that stood before me but this degree of what seemed a physical manifestation was remindful of David Copperfield or Harry Houdini which left me with thoughts of self-delusion and questioning my own sanity.

 

I didn’t have time to process my thoughts when the greetings and compliments flooded the area, followed by hugs and tears of joy that lasted an eternity.

 

After the original reception quieted to a mild roar we took turns telling each other what has happened since our separation.

We must have spent days, even weeks, non-stop, telling each other of our existence and past experiences along with all our blessings and adversities.

We had eventually exhausted our mutual reiterations of love and admiration. Eventually  the climax had subsided, the reality had set in and normalcy had returned to a most exceptional and extraordinary encounter.

 

They eventually departed and I was left with the strongest of emotions; happiness, sadness, hopefulness and even contentment.

I stood in a room that was devoid of my loved ones yet filled with comfort, mixed with disappointment countered with optimism.  

 

Fredric again appeared from nowhere then said, “Under the circumstances your visit is restricted to immediate family only but once you have reached this realm yourself, there would be no constraints on who(m) you visit. ‘Your world’ is merely a stepping stone and while it is not the greatest achievement it is in fact a simple beginning to all that is desirable.”

 

I was completely overwhelmed and I asked that he lead me back to Ron, that I was concerned about him.

In the blink of an eye we had rejoined Ron at which time Fredric commented to me, “have faith, believe in all that is good and trust your instincts.”

 

I thanked him with all the benevolence I had as Ron and I walked out past the very large doors that had allowed us into this most unusual compound with endearing experiences.

 

As the doors closed behind us, unbeknownst to me was an instantaneous loss of memory as I asked Ron, “What are we doing here, it seems like a creepy, desolate place? “Surely there’s nothing in there for us.”

He said, “Yeah, I know, let’s get out of here.”

 

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