I'll See You In Your Dreams Read online

  Colton was now riveted. Sam continued, “she was magical in her handling of the beasts. Lord Blunt was convinced that she somehow mentally talked to the horses. They seemed so bent on pleasing her. They also discussed the possibility that her extreme beauty and poise affected the horses just as it did men.” They both laughed.

  Sam went on. “Lord Blunt told my father, the general, her story of being born into a prominent Swedish breeding farm. It accounted for her fair complexion and blonde hair. Then suddenly a seven-year-old came walking out from the barn with an Arabian following. “Now, who could that have been, Colton?”

  “Good God almighty, this is too much of a coincidence.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Why are you here, Colton?”

  “I’m seeking my destiny, my fortune, or at least some adventure.”

  “I have a deal for you, Colton. I believe in providence, and I have often thought of how lucky Lord Blunt was to have your mother on as a trainer. I’ve only hoped in my wildest dreams to find someone with such talent. Now here you are.

  “I suddenly see an opportunity for both of us. As a black man, I often hit the color barrier in some dealing or other. You with your sunny blond hair would make a perfect partner. Hmmm, I’m sure that together we can far more than double what I could do alone. So Colton, I’m offering you a partnership in this Arabian breeding dynasty consisting of fifty acres, a livery service downtown and twelve Arabians.”

  “Downtown San Francisco?” asked Colton.

  “No, downtown Fresno,” responded Sam.

  “Fresno? Where’s Fresno?” Colton asked with a puzzled look.

  “It’s in the San Joaquin Valley, not far from here. It’s near Yosemite Valley. So, what do you say? Remember it will cost you no money up front, just a commitment to a lot of work, for several years.”

  Colton thought over the uncanny coincidence of meeting Sam and of such an opportunity to use his most loved talent in pursuit of his destiny. “Well, I’ve decided,” Colton said with confidence.

  “What have you decided?” Sam asked with trepidation.

  “I’ve decided that you are my friend, and partner, Sam!”

  Colton and Sam shook hands.

  They made their way to the parallel rail line next to the main track, where cattle or horses were offloaded to be rested, watered, and fed. There awaiting them, were twelve magnificent Arabians. Colton and Sam soon had them loaded onto the train.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “Let’s go, Charlie; it is time to start arranging for tonight’s rendezvous with Anne.”

  “It’s only four o’clock, Stanley. Oh, my god, I forgot to return the key to Leslie!” Charlie yelped in a panic.

  “Now that you’re in a manic episode, as they say, I will confess to you that I returned the key to Leslie as soon as you hit the pillow.”

  “Whew, thank god you remembered.”

  Charlie looked suddenly dismayed and with a forlorn voice said, “How in hell will we get in tonight?”

  “In lieu of an antidepressant to numb you out of your manic depressant state, I must resort to the old fashioned way of solving a problem: to actually do something about it.” Stanley slowly pulled a key from his pocket and held it up.

  “I made a copy. Oh, coo coo, friend.”

  “Stanley, you’re the best, and I like you despite everything everyone says about you behind your back.” Stanley smiled and gave Charlie the finger.

  “Let’s take my car,” Stanley said.

  They approached his extremely modified BMW series three coupe. The beautifully contoured dash was just smooth leather, with a steering wheel. There were no instruments, gauges, or anything else for that matter. The car was all voice controlled-Stanley’s voice. The exterior was a flat dark grey primer. Stanley couldn’t decide on the exact paint, so he continued to drive it in its primed state.

  “This is one boring ass car, Stanley. There’s nothing to look at inside since you stripped it!”

  Stanley turned onto a four lane road and punched the accelerator. The two turbo chargers kicked in and their heads smooched back into the headrests.

  “Actions, not looks, dispel boredom,” Stanley stated smugly.

  “There is something to be said for both.”

  “Radio!” Stanley commanded. The radio came on.

  “Oh, I’m impressed,” Charlie said with his best nasal whine.

  “Asshole!” Stanley commanded again, and Charlie’s favorite station came on. “I programmed that just for you, Charlie.”

  They hit the freeway and soon pulled off into an industrial area by the airport. Stanley pulled up to a body and paint shop. The owner came out and gave Stanley a high five.

  “It’s all ready, Stanley, and full of gas.”

  “Okay Frank, thanks!” Stanley handed him some rolled up bills, and Frank pocketed them without counting.

  “What do you think?” Frank said as they approached a white van. Frank pointed at a magnetic sign attached to the side of it that read Antique Restorations.

  “Perfect, Frank. I’m sorry for the short notice.”

  “No problem, Stanley. With the new computerized sign painter, it’s a no brainer. Here’s a key to the yard to pick up your car when you’re done.” Frank handed Stanley a key.

  “Well, Charlie, now we have a cover. If we’re spotted by anyone, our story is we are restoring antiques and must do so at night, so not to disrupt tours. Got it?”

  They unloaded the camera and other equipment from the car to the van and got in. “You know, Stanley, we are becoming a sort of Magnum PI, or since there are two of us, more like what’s their names, the two doofuses with the red car.”

  Stanley let out a long breath of air and slowly shook his head.

  After catching dinner at the Old Basque Hotel, across from the train depot, they pulled up in front of the Meux home. They opened the back of the van, and Stanley pulled out two sets of overalls.

  “Here, put these on. It will add to the cover.”

  “Bond, James Bond,” Charlie murmured as he stepped into the overalls and hummed the James Bond tune.

  They grabbed the equipment and were soon in Anne’s room. They set up the camera, and Stanley pulled an infrared lamp from his canvas bag. He removed a small laser pen, Ion detector and the magnetic field detector from his pocket and placed it on Anne’s bed. “We might as well test all the equipment we can for workability now that we know a ghost resides here. You never know what we may be up to in the future,” Stanley said.

  After all was set up, Charlie and Stanley sat down on Anne’s bed.

  “What time is it, Charlie?”

  “It’s eight o’clock.”

  “You stay here, Charlie. I’ll move over to the rocker so Anne won’t be surprised by my presence.”

  He got up to move when Charlie pointed at the floor and said, “Watch the broken board, it’s a grabber.” Stanley flinched and stopped. “Made you jump, made you jump!” Charlie said to the ‘nener nener’ taunting tune.

  “Charlie, I’m going to catch you sleeping one of these days and super glue your lips together. My god, man, you shouldn’t have tried to lobotomize yourself in eighth grade,” Stanley mumbled grumpily as he made his way to the rocker.

  <><><>

  At one o’clock in the morning there was a small beep from the mag detector. Charlie opened his eyes on the bed and Stanley leaned forward in the rocker. They both turned their heads slowly toward the corner where Anne had appeared before. There was a small, almost imperceptible pinpoint of faint light there. They both held their breath as it turned brighter, until a small orb of light appeared four feet above the floor and slowly lowered to two feet.

  More orbs started to appear in rapid succession like so many pixels on a TV screen. Soon the outline of Anne seated in the corner began to materialize.

  “Charles?” she whispered. Anne blinked as though trying to focus.

  “Anne, I’m here.” She began to become more solid as
she heard Charlie’s voice. She turned to Charlie and smiled.

  “I am so glad to see you again.”

  “I’m glad to see you too! By the way, before I forget, I would like to introduce you to my best friend, Stanley.” Charlie gestured toward Stanley. Stanley stayed perfectly still and simply smiled.

  “It is a pleasure to meet you, Stanley.”

  “Truly, the pleasure is mine, Anne.”

  “Thank you.” She turned to Charlie.

  “What do you now think of our first meeting?”

  “Well, I can honestly say it was the most riveting evening I’ve ever had! I can think of nothing else.”

  “And so it was for me.”

  “I even dreamed of you as soon as I went to sleep.”

  “Yes, and it was wonderful!” Anne replied softly.

  “What?” Charlie raised an eyebrow.

  “Your dream was wonderful, I’m so glad you came to me.” Anne smiled.

  “That was … you … not just a dream?”

  “It was as much a dream as you are now, and a good dream, too!” Anne smiled again.

  “You seemed more real in the dream. That is, I could touch you and feel you. Oh, I’m sorry. I mean, it was real.”

  “We mutually created that moment in our own universe, so it was more real. The ancient ones told me.”

  “I don’t understand.” Charlie looked puzzled. “Who are the ancient ones?”

  “Those who have been in this universe for a long, long time. I learned a lot about the other universes from them.”

  “What other universes?” Charlie asked with apprehension.

  “Well, there’s the physical universe, right?” she asked mischievously.

  “Duh,” said Charlie.

  “There is your universe, isn’t there?”

  “Uh, that would be in the affirmative.”

  “There would be my universe, wouldn’t there?”

  “Absolutely,” Charlie said.

  “There would be the universe created mutually, like relationships of all sorts, friendship, marriage, communities, etc. It is created by agreements and attraction of some sort.”

  “Okay, I’m tracking with you.”

  “What was that?” Anne furrowed her brow.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, tracking with you means, that I understand what you are saying, and to continue.”

  “Oh, I see. Well, anyway, it seems that someone’s thoughts are more real than the real universe.”

  Charlie looked puzzled as he contemplated what she said. “So, if I have this right, it is the thought universe that everything else depends on? You are even saying the thought universe is more real than the physical universe?”

  “Yes,” Anne said.

  “Wow, that’s hard to believe. The physical universe seems so much more real.”

  “And yet, Charlie, anything I could point to in this room is only a copy of the original, like that lamp. It seems authentic, but the original is a thought in some designer’s head. Everything seems to have a thought preceding it.”

  “How about trees and rocks and things not manufactured by man?” Charlie cocked an eyebrow and continued. “That is the ultimate question. Whose mind contains those originals?”

  Charlie turned to Stanley. “Do you have any questions, Stanley?”

  “Only one, Anne. When you say the thinker can control the thought universe, does that mean capable of, as opposed to actually aware of how to control the thought universe?”

  “That’s right, Stanley. It takes some understanding of the laws of the thought universe. It has taken a lot of investigation for me to do a few of the things I can do.”

  “I’m impressed,” said Stanley truthfully.

  “I need a favor from both of you,” Anne said, suddenly serious.

  Both nodded. “Sure, anything, Anne,” said Charlie.

  “Whatever we can do,” added Stanley.

  “Could you both please stand up for me?”

  Charlie and Stanley looked at each other and complied.

  “Hold your hands out as though you wanted me to kiss them.”

  They both smiled and held out their hands.

  “Now this is important. I want you to close your eyes and not open them until I tell you to, okay?”

  “Sure,” They both replied simultaneously, now riveted.

  “It’s important not to open your eyes, no matter what, until I say so, and don’t be startled by anything. Just listen to my voice and do what I say, deal?”

  “Deal!” said Charlie.

  “Deal!” said Stanley.

  “Now close your eyes and hold your hands back out.” They raised their hands palms down; fingers curled, and closed their eyes.

  They’d stood there for a good sixty seconds when they started to feel a sensation in their fingers. They both honed in their awareness on their fingers and strained to feel it. Then it increased, and they each felt a bit of pressure and started to realize it was Anne’s hands holding their fingers as if to lead them blindly.

  “Now, step forward!” she commanded. They each took a step, although it seemed to each of them that nothing happened as they stepped forward. “Now keep your eyes close until I say to open them, and don’t be confused by anything you see when I do tell you to open them.” They both nodded.

  <><><>

  “Now, open your eyes.” They opened their eyes and were still in Anne’s room; only now they faced the opposite direction, and it was daylight. They both looked at Anne, who stood between two sets of windows. She was completely solid. They could feel the warmth and softness of her hands. Charlie looked to his left and realized her room was furnished completely differently. He turned back to gauge Stanley’s reaction, and his breath caught in his throat.

  Anne’s voice caught his attention. “Don’t be startled. Just give it a moment. It will come to you.”

  <><><>

  Charlie was staring at a black man.

  “Stanley?” he inquired.

  Memories started to flood in on him, and he paused as they started to sort themselves out. He looked at Anne, as she smiled and continued to hold his hands. Charlie looked back at the black man who was smiling as well.

  “Sam, my god, what’s happening?” Charlie began to smile, too.

  “Colton?” Sam moved forward and pulled him into a hug.

  “You always were a bit slow, Colton, and you didn’t get any faster as Charlie!” They all laughed.

  “Shush, my mother’s napping, and I need to get you both out of my room, so go out the window, tip toe across the roof to the elm tree and climb down. I’ll meet you in the carriage house.”

  Anne tip toed down the staircase, keeping her feet to the outside edge of the steps to avoid the squeaks. She slowly opened the servants’ door at the back of the house, farthest from the master bedroom where her mother slept, and eased herself out. She arrived at the carriage house and quickly entered.

  “I know I promised not to be confused, Anne, but I don’t seem to be able to help myself. So which of you geniuses want to explain who, what, when, where, and most important, why?” Colton cocked an eyebrow again.

  Anne looked at Sam, and he gestured go ahead.

  “No, wait!” interrupted Colton/Charlie.

  “I want to hear Sam explain it. I know you know, Anne, because you got us here, but I want to hear good old Sam/Stanley explain it. Otherwise he will just say he knew it all along.”

  “Worm holes. Simple as that, as postulated by Einstein and other top physicists. There are time warps, and the doors to them are called worm holes. Black holes are postulated to possibly be worm holes or portals to another time or universe. So I think that there are two universes next to each other that are creating negative energy. Anne has discovered a worm hole right in her bedroom, or more likely has inadvertently created one. It is exciting and, as bizarre as it seems, I truly believe it’s the future of space travel. It has been postulated that time machines are truly possible. I read it in Scie
ntific American, January 2000. I think the article was Negative Energy, Wormholes, and Warp Drive.”

  “Well, that was quite a soapbox.” Colton turned to Anne. “What did he just say?”

  “My word, I have no idea!”

  “Worm hole seems like such an ugly name,” Anne replied with a laugh.

  “Besides, it’s not a fixed hole like a door. It’s sort of like waking from a dream. It starts with a slight awareness of an area, like when you are dreaming and slowly you start to realize you’re dreaming and you become aware of the bedroom and the area of the dream starts to fade. It’s like that both ways.”

  “Wow, I can almost see that,” replied Colton.

  “Then how did we get here, Anne?” added Sam.

  “Merlin taught me that.”

  “Oh man, I’m afraid to ask. Who’s Merlin?” interrupted Colton.

  Anne laughed and continued, “Not the famous magician, silly. At least, I don’t think so. He’s wise like a magician and has helped me answer some of my questions, so I call him Merlin. He is like no one else here. I can’t see any of his mental pictures or read any of his thoughts. He just appears in my mind when I need him.”

  “He?” asked Sam.

  “How do you know it’s a he?”

  “That seems a contradiction, I know, since there’s no physical form, but there are male and female points of view. Whether it is male or female, both points of view exist, and it’s good.”

  “So Merlin showed you how to get Charlie and me here?”

  “Yes, Merlin taught me the aditus, as he called it, and compared it to an entrance to a play. He described it as an actor going from the wings to the life of the play. He also helped me snare Charlie’s foot so I would have time to talk to him.”

  “Do we have any free will here or are we just here to serve you and Merlin?”

  “Oh, no, no, it must all be free will. If you or Colton ever decides that you don’t wish to help, then it is Merlin and I who must abide by your will.”

  Sam replied, “I’m not certain what we’re here to help you with? I am here as an explorer and investigator. I believe Charlie or Colton is in love with you, or wishes to resolve that issue with you. Something like that.”

  “It’s exactly like that, I need help resolving my love for Colton and just as important, I need to resolve the guilt I feel at what my indecision and blindness caused. It involved you too!” She suddenly sobbed, turned away from Sam, and stared out the barn door.