Marianne sat there in the bar, taking it all in. Sarah was quiet now, but there were tears trickling down her cheeks. Would Mari believe her, or write her off as just another crazy?
"Ok, look," Mari paused and gathered her thoughts. "We need to talk about this at length, but this isn't the place."
A spark of hope ignited in Sarah's chest and a fresh cluster of tears sprang from her eyes. "You don't think I'm going crazy?"
Mary chewed this over for a moment. "No love, I don't think you're crazy. I can't for the life of me imagine when, but I'm sure we've had this conversation before. I've already got the day off. Why don't we go back to my place and talk this out."
To herself she thought Something's going on here! Why is this story so familiar? Finished with their meals, the two left the bar in silence.
***
"I'm not saying I want to break up with her." Jared and Johnny had been working out details of the new game, but Jared seemed more interested in talking about his girlfriend than planning strategies.
"It sure sounds that way dude." Johnny was ok with the distraction. They'd been working on building this level for what seemed like weeks already. "I mean, shit, if she's not into you, then bag it. What the hell?"
"I don't know Johnny. I mean..." Jared paused. "She just gets on my case for the littlest things. Like this whole working late thing. She gets pissed if I don't call her to let her know I'm staying late. But, Jesus, I'm always late. She knows that. I don't get it."
"Chicks, right?" Johnny was always having trouble with women, when he had the chance.
"No. Not right. I gotta get this worked out. I'm crazy about Crystal, I've just gotta get back on track with her."
"Why bother man? Sounds like this chick's more trouble than she's worth."
Jared looked up from his monitor. "I don't know why I even talk to you."
"Me neither man, you never take my advice." Wisely, perhaps, the two went back to working on the game and dropped the relationship talk. I gotta get this back on track, Jared thought as he worked on building the scenery for this level.
"Fuck! I'm gonna cut loose early today." Jared perked up at the thought and continued. "I'll bounce early and take her out to dinner. That's gotta be a step in the right direction. Right?"
"Whatever, man." Johnny seemed unimpressed by the grand gesture. "You never listen to me anyway."
Having settled on a plan, a first step at least, Jared felt better and was able to concentrate on the derelict building he was designing.
***
"I know it all sounds crazy Mari," Sarah was still afraid that Marianne would think she was suffering from a breakdown. Maybe she was. "It's just that this doesn't feel like home. Somehow, I don't belong here."
"You know," Marianne started, cautiously. "We all feel that way at some point. Are you sure you aren't just depressed?"
"No," Sarah countered quickly. "No, this is real. I know it, I just don't know how I can prove it."
"Ok. Well, here's the thing." Marianne paused and considered her next words carefully. "I do believe you. I don't know how or why, but I know that you've told me this before. I swear, the two of us have sat here, having this same discussion in the past. But it feels like a lifetime ago."
"I know," Sarah said with relief. "It all feels like so long ago, until I wake up from one of the dreams again, and it's all so fresh. So terrible."
"Proof!" Marianne exclaimed. Sarah looked at her friend suspiciously.
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Over the Rainbow
الخيال (فانتازيا)This started as an entry for the Open Novella Contest, 2022. Unfortunately, I was having some medical difficulties (which I won't bore you with) and felt I needed to drop out after the first deadline. Shortly after taking up the story again, I reali...
