Till We Meet Again

I paused for a few seconds at the foot of the front steps to an old brick apartment building. The air was brisk and the night oddly calm for this part of town. A heavy and cloudy sky stretched out like a blanket as far as my eyes could see. Usually I’m the one with sight but tonight I felt a presence in the air and it was I that was being watched. I could turn back now and pretend I came down with something. I had the notion to leave this one alone but I also had this intuitive feeling that I would find what it was they were looking for. Snow began to fall prompting me to escape the chill so I decided to follow my curiosity. I climbed the stairs and rang the doorbell.

A somber faced middle aged man answered the door and invited me in.

“ You must be Simone?”

“Yes, nice to meet you Mr. Williams.”

“You can call me Darren. My sister tells me you may be able to help us.”

“I certainly hope so.”

He placed my coat on a bench near the front door and led me down a short hallway to a large open space that combined the living room, dining room and kitchen. The apartment was small but very well kept and organized. Beautiful paintings of swirling iridescent colors hung on every wall.

“These paintings are beautiful!”

“Thank you, he replied. My wife’s an artist. These are her pieces. She’ll be out in just a moment. You can have a seat while I go get her.”

He started towards the bedroom then suddenly stopped, turned and walked back over to me.

“Listen, please don’t take it personal if my wife is a little stand-offish or hesitant. This wasn’t her idea and she’s been through so much already.”

“I understand,” I replied.

He nodded his head and continued to the bedroom.

I sat for only a short moment before standing back up and slowly pacing the room. My eyes once again landing on one of Mrs. Williams paintings. They were abstract pieces but there was something definite hidden beneath the array of colors. I reached out my hand to touch the frame.

“Excuse me, please, I’d prefer if you didn’t touch my paintings!”

“This is my wife Sheila, Darren interrupted. Sheila this is Simone.”

I hesitantly turned from the painting and walked over to Mrs. Williams. Reaching out my hand to greet her I introduced myself.

“Hi, I’m Simone.”

“Yes, the psychic, I know.”

She didn’t extend her hand to shake mine. Instead she folded her arms behind her back and walked past me over to the sofa where she sat down. How rude, I thought, but under the circumstances I’d overlook it. Her husband followed her and I took a seat in the armchair across from them. Shelia sat quiet with her head turned to the window. A stream of tears rolled down her cheeks while Darren gently rubbed her back. Even through her distressed and stern face covered in tears I couldn’t help but notice her beauty and youthfulness. I know the saying that black don’t crack but my goodness, even for a black woman she didn’t even look half her age. There was something strange about it to me.

“I know this is hard for the both of you, I’m only here to help.”

Darren gestured with a smile that he understood.

“So what do you need from us to get started,” he asked?

“It would help if you told me a little bit about him.”

As Darren began to talk his wife’s hands nervously clinched together gripping harder the more her husband went on.

“He’s a normal playful three year old like any other. Happy, hardly ever cries. He’s a really good boy.”

Darren’s face lit up as he described his son to me.

“What’s his favorite thing to do,” I asked?

“He likes to play in the park, draw and read on his tablet.”

“He can read already?”

“Yes, my wife started teaching him when he was only a year and a half”.

“Oh wow, that’s really good, and his name?”

“Jordan.”

I went on asking questions that only Darren answered.

“So what happened on the day that Jordan went missing?”

“Nothing out of the ordinary. It’s really weird. The night before he was asleep in his room. We heard nothing all night. We even have a baby cam set up in his room. There was nothing on the monitor. The next morning when my wife went to get him ready for daycare, he was gone. The window in his room was open.”

“Was there anything missing?”

“Yes, just his tablet. He liked to play games and read on it. Which was odd because how would anyone know to take that. How would a stranger know to take his favorite toy?”

“So you think he was kidnapped?”

“Yes, but the police couldn’t find one piece of evidence. No footprints, no bodily fluids, hairs, fabric, nothing.”

“Could he have climbed out the window and wandered on his own?”

“No, we don’t keep the windows open in his room and besides, the police checked for that too. They said a toddler would have definitely left a trace. There was nothing.”

“May I see a picture of Jordan?”

Darren walked over to a shelf where there was a picture frame lying flat. He picked it up and handed it to me. The cutest little brown boy with tight curly black hair and large slanted eyes stared back at me.

“He’s handsome.”

“Yes, he looks so much like his mother,” Darren replied.

I looked back over at Shelia whose eyes were now fixated on me which caused me a slight feeling of uneasiness.

“Can I see his room,” I asked Darren?

“Sure,” he responded.

Mrs. Williams got up and stormed into the bathroom.

“I can’t do this,” she yelled!

Mr. Williams led me to their sons bedroom and stood in the doorway. I moved about the room for several minutes running my fingers across the ledge of his dresser and shelves. I touched and smelled his clothes, held his toys then kneeled down besides his bed and picked up his blanket. I bought it close to my face and rubbed it against my skin. I know this probably seemed quite strange to Mr. Williams but I never know where I’ll pick up on something.

“I need a moment alone. Is that alright?”

“Sure, he responded, take all the time you need.”

I closed my eyes and sat on the floor holding Jordan’s blanket and went into a silent state of meditation. Darren had quietly come and gone several times. A few times I could sense Shelia’s presence in the doorway as well. After about twenty minutes or so I could feel his energy in this blanket. I could feel Jordan and he was alive, and well. No harm had come to him.

“Mr. Williams are you there” I asked while turning towards the to door to Jordan’s room?

“Yes, did you see something” he asked nervously?”

“Your son is okay. Jordan’s alive, I can feel him.”

“Oh, thank God! Where is he? Can you see where he is?”

“No, not yet”, I explained. I can only feel his life force, his energy and that he is still with us. He hasn’t crossed over.”

“What do you mean crossed over?”

I stood up from the bed and walked over to Mr. Williams.

“Crossing over to the other side of the vail. When we die we cross over. If your son were dead….”

I had to quickly change my words. Sometimes I forget how insensitive certain words sound. I’ve been doing this for so long I’ve developed a directness that some perceive as cold. I go on.

“If your son were not alive his energy, life force would feel different.”

He didn’t respond. I could see this kind of information was too uncomfortable for him.

“I need to go tell Shelia.”

I lifted the blanket from my lap and noticed there was a blue stain on it. An iridescent blue, similar to the colors in Shelia’s paintings. I took the blanket with me into the living room and held it up against the painting I was drawn too earlier. The colors were identical. There was a strong presence here. Darren was still in the other room with Shelia so I touched the painting. Gently moving my hand up and down across the surface. There was a connection and just like that I received a vision. I could see Jordan standing in the midst of tall pine trees with two people by his side. People without faces. I couldn’t see their faces.

“My wife asked you not to touch the painting!”

Startled, I jumped as I turned to face Mr. Williams.

“I know and I apologize, but there is a connection between your sons blanket and this painting and touch is my strongest sense of receiving information. I need to touch things in order to see.”

Just then Shelia walked back out into the living room.

“I’m sorry Simone, she yelled as she grabbed the blanket from my hands. You’ve been here over an hour already. If you haven’t found our son yet this just isn’t going to work.”

“I know where Jordan is.”

“You found him,” Darren exclaimed?

“Partially. I know his location. I got a vision of him.”

“You did,” his wife asked surprisingly?

She had a scared look on her face. But not the fear of a mother concerned about what might have happened to her son but more afraid that I may have seen too much. Something I wasn’t supposed to see.

“There’s a nature reserve about two miles from here. Blue Lake Park. He’s there, near the lake surrounded by the tall pines. I think you should call the police and have them check out the area.”

“No more police,” she cried.

“What, her husband responded! Why not? We need to act fast to get our son back.”

“I don’t trust the police Darren.”

The two argued back and forth while I continued gazing at the painting.

“I’ll go search for him myself, she screamed! I don’t want the police involved. If someone has our son they will hear the police coming and run off, then we’ll never get him back. Let’s just go tomorrow morning and check out the lake. The snow is coming down hard now anyway. We can’t go in a blizzard,” she pleaded.

“You’re acting weird and irrational”, Darren yelled back. Don’t you want to find our son?”

“Of course I do,” she cried.

“He’s not in danger Darren,” I interjected.

My intuition again sensed that the police weren’t needed.

“It’s odd but the energy surrounding your son feels safe, protective even. I can’t explain it. You can go in the morning but I do strongly suggest calling the police because I can’t see everything. I guess I should go now that you know where your son is. I think my work is done here. If I receive anymore information I’ll call right away.”

I was a little disturbed by the fact that my vision was blocked which felt intentional. I needed space to clear my head and make sense of things.

“I’d like you to stay and go with us in the morning,” Shelia said to my surprise. We’re going to need your guidance. I’ll pay you triple what my sister-in-law paid you. Please. Besides, it’s a blizzard. You can’t travel in this snow, it’s too dangerous. Please stay the night and accompany us in the morning?”

It seemed a crazy idea but I agreed. Not only did I need the money but my car battery had died and I had taken the train. I wasn’t exactly looking forward to walking in the snow to the nearest station that late at night.

The three of us shared a quiet dinner. I learned that having a child didn’t come easy for them. Even after several tries of In vitro. Shelia then found a doctor with a new form of experimental IVF who eventually made their dream of becoming parents come true. By then they were in their early 50’s when Shelia finally gave birth to Jordan. I could tell the two loved each other very much and Jordan too.

After dinner Shelia brought out a nightgown, blanket and pillow and made up the couch for me to sleep on. I never put on the nightgown though, just in case I had to make a sudden run for it. After all I barely knew these people. I had to force myself to sleep that evening. I could’ve stayed up half the night studying Shelia’s paintings that hung on the wall above the couch and I guess from staring at them as I dozed off they made their way into my dreams.

I found myself walking in the woods. The entire forest illuminated. Vibrant colors danced above my head and before me a little curly haired boy appeared in his pajamas. He was standing in between two people who were each holding one of his hands. I couldn’t see their faces though, only Jordan’s. I started to run towards him yelling out his name but the closer I got they began to move towards the lake until they walked right in and submerged under the water.

“Jordan,” I screamed!

I jumped up out of my sleep still saying his name and found a fully dressed Shelia standing above me.

“Mrs. Williams, what are you doing?”

“You were having a bad dream and you called out Jordan’s name. Were you dreaming of him?”

“Yes but why are you standing over me?”

“We have to go now.”

“Now? It’s in the middle of the night.”

“Please, get dressed. Just you and me.”

“What about your husband?”

“He can’t come.”

“Wait, I don’t understand.”

“You will soon.”

I don’t know why I trusted her but again I did. What’s the saying, curiosity killed the cat? Well let’s pray I’m not that cat tonight. It was like a force greater than my own common sense was propelling me. I got dressed and we quietly left the house while Darren slept in the other room. Shelia asked me to drive. She wanted me to go to the exact location of the dream. When we arrived at the park we had to stop about a quarter of a mile from the lake because the snow was too thick to drive through. We walked the rest of the way. There was nothing but an eerie silence hovering above the snow covered ground. No animals stirred, no sound of cars or people nearby. Just Shelia and I, yet I had the feeling we were not alone. We came to a wall of tall pine trees encircling the lake. We walked till we reached the lakes shore where we looked out over the water scanning the entire area. There wasn’t a single sign that anyone had been there.

“I don’t know what to tell you Mrs. Williams. This is where I saw your son. I know he’s here. Though my eyes see nothing I can feel his presence strongly. Maybe we should walk around to the other side and call out to him?”

“No, she replied. There’s no need to do that.”

“So what do you suggest we do?”

“I was supposed to return home last year but I refused, she started to explain. Three years ago when I found out I was pregnant I made the choice to stay. I couldn’t bring myself to leave.”

“What do you mean return home,?”

She turned from the lake and faced me.

“My assignment was only for ten years and everything was going well until I met Darren. I fell in love with him. I wasn’t supposed to do that. I love Darren so much. I never wanted to hurt him.”

Shelia raised her hands to her head and began to remove her hair, what I now know was a wig revealing the top of her head which was slightly elongated and cone shaped. Then she removed what appeared to be her skin from the sides of her face and her eyes grew large and wide. She was still beautiful but the more she removed the more she resembled somewhat of a feline. Don’t be afraid she whispered to me. She had seen the shock and fear in my eyes. She continued to explain to me that she had broken the rules, removed her tracking device to live a life with her husband and their son. Darren didn’t know of her secret and she didn’t want him to find out. He wouldn’t understand and she was afraid he would never forgive her.

“What are you,”I asked?

“A visitor,” she answered. A visitor from another star system very far away from yours. We’ve watched your planet for thousands of years.”

“Why,” I asked, why are you here?”

She turned back towards the lake and let out a loud screeching sound that I couldn’t even attempt to mimic if I wanted to. If I didn’t see her do it with my own eyes I would’ve assumed it was the call of some sort of bird.

“They took Jordan to lure me back. I knew it was only a matter of time before they found me.”

The once dull and dark gray lake had now lit up with luminescent colors that resembled Shelia’s paintings and a large disc like object rose up out of the lake and illuminated the entire park. Flashing colors quickly revolved around and round at the underbelly of this machine. Then three beings floated down from its center. Jordan was one of them. They stopped at the edge of the lake where Shelia ran ahead to meet them. She dropped to her knees embracing Jordan. Then she lifted him in her arms and began to communicate with the two beings who stood before her. They had the bodies of humans but their faces were like a hybrid of a human and lion mixed. A very strange sight to see. Like creatures from the island of Dr. Moreau. Around their necks they wore a necklace with a glowing blue stone in the center. The stone didn’t seem solid, however. The blue liquid like substance moved about in a clear encasing trimmed in gold. It was then that I noticed Shelia was wearing a similar necklace. It had been concealed under her blouse. Now I know where the stain on Jordan’s blanket came from.

“Shelia, Jordan”, a voice yelled out!

Screams were coming from behind me. It was Darren. He must’ve awoken and found us gone. It only made sense that he would look for us here. He ran right past me and then froze about ten feet away from Jordan and the visitors.

“Jordan, come here baby,” he cried out.

“Darren, it’s me, Shelia.”

“Get away from my son you monster!”

The two accompanying beings just looked on calmly as Darren pleaded for his son. Shelia then walked slowly towards her husband putting her wig back over her head and repairing the removed skin on her face. She started to resemble her old self once again.

“I don’t understand,” Darren lamented.

Shelia took him by the hands and told him everything. She told him she had to leave and take Jordan with her and would return one day but didn’t know when. She gave him a long hug where they wept in each others arms. Then she kissed him and turned to join Jordan and the visitors. She turned around again, looked at me and with a sad smile said thank you. The four of them faced the ship and a beam of light streamed down upon them lifting them up. The light carried them into the mid section of the ship where it opened up and they were gone. Darren fell to his knees and quietly sobbed. I wanted so much to comfort him but I knew there was nothing I could do or say to ease his pain or confusion. I stood looking in awe at this massive floating spacecraft. So many questions I had left unanswered. Then the ship opened once again with the light beaming down on Darren. His body began to lift off the ground and over the lake and then he too disappeared into the craft. And with the speed of light it was gone, without a trace, into the night sky blending in with the stars. And I heard a voice. Sheila’s voice, whisper.

“Till we meet again.”