Monday, June 27th, 1998, 12:34 A.M.
(Authors note: in the next few entries, there is very little relating to this story, but what was there, I have put down for you here, omitting, of course, the non-essential parts.)
So anyway, lunchtime finally came, and it was with great pleasure that I punched out for lunch. I walked through the parking lot to my car, and sat down. I started the engine and the Semisonic CD I had inside began playing. They were singing "Singing to me in my Sleep," as I closed my eyes and rested my headÉ I went to Arby's like I normally do, and pulled around to the drive-thru. When I got to the speaker, the nameless voice Welcomed me to Arby's and offered me a combo meal. I politely declined and ordered a couple of Beef n' Cheddars. They quoted me a price I found reasonable and told me to drive around, please.
When I came up to the window, it opened, and there was the girl. She immediately struck me as beautiful. She handed me my stuff, and closed the window, moving on with her work. After all, I'm just a customer, right?
Wednesday, June 29th, 1998, 11:35 P.M.
The girl was there again. She gave me my beef n' cheddar, and then closed the window on me again. She seems so familiar to me, but I know I've never seen her anywhere before. But it seems like she should know meÉ.
I haven't had any dreams in almost half a week. My sleep has been restful, and I'm not sure what that means. For a while, there were dreams, and then they justÉ. Stopped. It's truly weird. I'm not complaining you understand, just observing.
Thursday, June 30th, 1998, 11:57 P.M
I saw my Arby's girl today again. Her name is Taryn. She was wearing her nametag today. She looked at me today like she recognized me, but she didn't say anything other then the money I owed her, here's your food and have a good evening, sir.
Tomorrow I might talk to her. But I don't know. I can't just walk up to someone I hardly know and start talking to them. I have to get to know them. So, maybe I will, I don't know yet.
Saturday, July 2nd, 1998, 12:08 A.M.
So there I am, in line at the drive-thru, and she looks at me. "Sheesh," she said, "I see you like every night!"
"Yeah, I come her a lot," I replied.
"You do," she said, smiling as she handed me my food. "Have a good evening."
"I will. You too," I replied. I turned my radio back up. It was the Barenaked Ladies with "It's all Been Done Before." I reached over and turned it off, but not before noticing Taryn staring through the open window, and looking into the car, a look of fear, and surprise etched on her delicate features.
I drove back.
Tuesday, July 5, 1998, 11:56 P.M.
Today has to be one of the best days of my life. And the only reason is because Arby's has made me a very happy guy. Instead of the drive-thru this time, I actually went into the store, and ordered. She was there at the counter.
"Hi," she said. "I know you."
"I know you too. But, do you know what I want?"
"I sure do. You want a Beef N' Cheddar, right?"
"You know me so well." She murmured something under her breath at that point. I didn't know what, but it sounded like, "more then you know." That phrase caused a chill to run up my spine, though I didn't know why.
She stepped back into the kitchen, and began to make the Beef N' Cheddar. I swear I had no idea I was about to do this. I didn't want to, and I certainly hadn't planned on it, but it happened anyway.
"Taryn," I called out, "would you like to go see a movie with me?" Her head jumped up from where it was, and her eyes locked on mine. There was a look of fear, or something in her eyes, and then they softened. Faintly, words to that stupid song went through my head.
"You said goodbye, I said goodnightÉ." And then they were gone. Again, I have no idea why.
She finished with my beef n' cheddar, and wrapped it up. She put it in a bag, and handed it to me. Her eyes met mine again as she handed me the bag, and our hands brushed as I took it. An electric thrill raced through me, a feeling of completeÉ. I don't know how to put it. Rightness is the closest I can come. It was like, we were destined for each other, I don't know.
She smiled as her hand let go of the bag. "I would love to go see a movie with you, Mike." I had never told her my name, but I figured she must have read it off my nametag at some point, since I had forgotten my nametag today. I smiled at her, and asked when she would like to go.
"How about this Friday? Is that a good time for you?"
"Friday is a great time. I'll need your phone number, though." She gave it to me. "Thanks. I'll call you tomorrow, and we'll set everything up then."
"Okay. Cool." She laughed a little, and then brushed back a lock of hair. She was absolutely beautiful in that action. I think I'm in love with her.
Irrational? Probably. I tend to sell my emotions out too quickly. But she was beautiful and there was something just soÉ right about her.
Anyway, when I got back to work, this STUPID lady
Wednesday, July 6, 1998, 7:35 P.M.
I brought my journal to work, and I have no idea why I did, but I'm glad I did. I want to write down everything that happened while it's still fresh in my memory.
I pulled up to the Arby's drive-thru window, just like I always do, and she opened the window, just like she always does, and gave me her smile, as she handed me the food. I had had my radio turned down, but now, on impulse, I turned it up, and Jewel was singing.
Even after you're gone
I know, you love me
And soo-oon you will see
You were meant for me,
And I was meant for you.
She looked at me, and I at her, and realized the song was fitting what we were feeling perfectly. It embodied all the emotions we had for each other, and though we met just nine days ago, it was like I had known her all my life. It was a truly great feeling.
She smiled at me. "Friday," she said. "I can't wait."
"Me neither," I replied, and tipped her a wink. She winked back and blew me a kiss as I drove off. It was one of the most amazing things. It was like, just by hearing that song, our relationship had deepened to the level that means blowing kisses.
Friday, July 8, 1998, 11:34 P.M.
Today was the big date, and I'll try to explain it in detail, but like a dream, it's already fading. I must write quickly, 'fore it all disappears. I picked her up at her house. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, which was alright, 'cause I was too.
We got into my car, and went to the movie theater. We sat down in the middle aisle, and watched the movie. I had my right arm around her, and her head was snuggled into my shoulder. I held her left hand with mine. The movie was Patch Adams. She cried into my shoulder when his girlfriend died.
After the movie, we went out to eat. We went to Sizzler. We had a nice dinner, filled with nice conversation. She ordered a salad, with olive oil as a dressing. I had the spaghetti marinara. I learned we had a lot in common.
When I dropped her off, we stood outside her door for a few minutes.
"I had a really great time," she said.
"Me too," I replied lamely. Hurrying for something else to say, I blurted out the first thing that came to my mind. "There's a county fair next weekend. You wanna go?"
She looked into my brown eyes with her blue-gray ones. "I would love to!" She reached up and kissed my cheek, then opened the door. "Goodbye, Mike."
"Good night
(You said goodbye, I said goodnight)
Taryn."
It all seems a little crazy, I know, but it really happened. You might say we were too young to be acting the way we were, or that we haven't known each other long enough or well enough, but you'd be surprised what information can go back and forth while you're waiting for your food at a drive-thru windowÉ
Monday, July 11th, 1998, 1:37 A.M.
ÉThe only good thing I can say is, the dreams have stopped. The weirdness goes on, but not in the dreams. I suppose the whole day would have been fine if we hadn't caught sight of that Faux Fortune Teller, but we did, and things just went to wackyland after that.
Me and Taryn went to the carnival today. Well, yesterday I guess, after church. We had gone on the ferris wheel, and the Berserker (a ride that goes round and round ad nauseum, pun intended), and we were about to get in line for the merry-go-round, which Taryn told me was one of her favorites, when she saw the Fortune Teller.
She stepped away from the line to the merry-go-round, and stepped toward the Fortune Teller. "Look, Mike," she said. "LetÕs go over there, and have out fortunes read."
"I don't know. That's a pretty steep price for something that probably isn't true."
"I know, but it'll be fun. C'mon beef-n-cheddar boy, I'll pay." I colored in embarrassment. I hate when she calls me that.
"Alright." We walked over to the Gypsy who started speaking as soon as she knew we were coming to her tent.
"Ahhhh, welcome, my young friends," she said in a voice that was a cross between Russian, Scottish and Spanish (If you can imagine that). "Please, please, come in. I will read your fortune, and only for a one time low price of seven dollars." She sounded like a used car salesman. Maybe we would get used fortunes, I thought. I almost laughed out loud at that thought.
We sat down, Taryn on one cushion to the left of her, and I on the cushion to the right of her. She took our hands in hers. Her eyes closed, and she began to slowly rock back and forth. As she did, something seemed to change. I don't know what it was. I guess it was the noise level outside dropping off, or something. Suddenly, it was totally silent in the tent.
Then, a breeze started blowing, and it whiffled around the tent, blowing Taryn's hair all over, and the Gypsy's into her face. A low moaning came from somewhere, I thought form the Gypsy. Then, she began to speak, and when the moaning continued, that's when I began to get really scared.
"You have very old souls," she said, all trace of her Russo-Spanish-Scotch accent gone. Now it was totally American. "The dreams were meant to bring you together, and to give you warning. One of you will die. I know not which. It has all been done before. It will all be done again, until the Chosen Time, when the spirits of the two shall overcome, and defeat the third, for all time. Then, and only then shall the two spirit s be at rest." The wind picked up, and whipped the door flaps of the tent around and around.
A bright light shone from somewhere, and then was gone. When we awoke, we were sitting on the ground, at the carnival, and it was night. I glanced at my watch. It was almost ten-thirty. We had stepped inside no later then seven. What had happened? And where had those missing three hours gone?
I don't know. Was she a real gypsy? Had she been a pawn in whatever game the Fates were playing with
Holy rolling Moses. I wrote that down before I knew I was going to. It just came right out, and through my hand onto the paper. This is frightening. Something is going on, but I don't know what. I'm afraid. So afraid.
And one of us is going to die. That's what scares me the most. She said it has all been done before, and it will all be done again. Which was the exact same terminology as in my dream, and Taryn's.
But I got off the track. I should finish the evening. We got up, and decided we should be getting home, so I drove her home. We pulled up in front of our house, and she didn't get out. She just looked at me.
"You had the dreams, too, didn't you?" An icicle grew up my spine. How had she known? How had she not known? If what the gypsy said was true, then we both had the same dream.
"Yes, I did. Most of the time, they were great. Until the end. I don't exactly remember what happened in them, but I have them written down in my journal at home."
"I have them written down, too. Will you come in and take a look at them?" I said I would.
We walked down the walk to her house, and she unlocked the door. We stepped inside and she went back to her room. She came back in a few minutes with a book that looked surprisingly like my Journal.
She opened it, and read one of the dreams. As she did, all the memories of my dream came back, with horrible clarity. As soon as she was done though, it was gone. Just like before.
And the really weird part was it was exactly the same dream I had, only told from her perspective, with me as the one sneaking up behind her.
She was still the one to die in the end (I had to look back to remember that), though.
After that, I went home. I got back around twelve-thirty in the morning, and spent the next hour or so just thinking. What was happening to us, and why?
I couldn'''t come up with any answers though, and so I write, hoping that someday, we will learn what happened and why.
Quote of the day: "Die! Fools!"
-Some Berserk
-Myth: The Fallen Lords
PART 3
