It was the first thing I heard while I was slowly waking up again. I felt a hand on my arm. Oh no, the moment I looked up in the direction the sound came from, I saw the same face again. Now it was much closer and it felt so familiar.
"John?" I whispered. My throat was terribly sore at once. I opened up my eyes and moved around a bit.
"There you are," the voice said.
"Where am I?" I said looking a bit puzzled. I didn't listen to what he said after that, I got caught up in his voice, his eyes staring at me.
I sat up and looked again. It seemed we were on some lawn. Now I heard the sound of a few cars in the distance, and some people were laughing. My left foot hurt and looking at my hand I saw it was scratched and bleeding a bit.
"Er, I must have slipped," I said.
"Yeah, and you were gone for a few seconds or...minutes," John said, looking a bit questioning.
"Might be," I said. Man, I couldn't stop looking at him, I tried to force myself to look the opposite way and he somehow seemed to notice. Especially because I kept looking so amazed, it was hard to believe.
"Well, let's get to the others," he said, getting up.
"Others?"
"Yes, the rest of the Beatles."
"So you're really....one of the...Beatles?"
This made me feel so surprised. With half a dozen childhood memories coming back, and remembering him only from there, I was only stunned that this in fact happened. How small the world was.
"'Course fooly, you know me, least you said my name so...."
I blushed, felt something bounce up inside. Oh yes... I thought. How I know you...so very well.
"Well, let's get over there then, er, if you feel like getting up and stand on your feet, that is," he added.
"Oh quite easy," I said. I got up too but it seemed a bit too fast as I instantly fell against John. He put one arm around me so that I wouldn't lose my balance again.
"Er, I don't really trust this," he said and walked in the direction of where the other voices came from with one arm tight around me...
I felt terrible, I couldn't imagine what on earth had spoilt all the energy inside me, my legs just didn't feel like carrying the rest of my body. It was a good thing that John held me, and now I was a bit used to the whole situation I felt some different chills going through my body.
"Ah, there she is," Paul said.
"Should I call...." I heard a different voice right beside John.
"No, she's ok, some drink will do enough," John said.
"Oh you'd love to give her a good treatment," someone said right opposite me. Gee, did he really think that.
"George, you stick to your own birds," John muttered. Still "George" kept looking a bit curious at me and the way John held me.
"Just mind your own, you really never think of soemthing else," I heard somone else say.
"Now let's just get in before..." and the rest ended in a sigh.
We got in the back of some car and while I sat beside John, he kept looking concerned at me and checking if I was feeling better. The rest didn't say very much else and made jokes at John about how he could perfectly cure me. Only Paul looked a bit annoyed; he was probably quite tired of the whole day.
"Here, some energy," he said, throwing some sweets right on my lap. I could use a bit of sugar. I gazed around a bit and like a robot I put some caramel kind of thing in my mouth.
"You're really far away aren't you," he said.
"I'm exhausted," I sighed, and after that I yawned. Again John looked worried at me.
"You should get some rest then, some private room or a couch to lay down, you want that?"
"yes,
er...no," I suddenly said fast. Now I sat here with John and
figured I was bound to meet the rest of the Beatles, I didn't
want to miss anything out now. I found him back and I wanted to
have all the time of the day to just look at him, listen to his
voice and feel what I felt while all this happened.
Inbetween thoughts like that and little talks with John, I sometimes stared at Paul, wondered what the expression on his face could mean. I could only make out that he seemed in a very pensive mood at once.
Suddenly the car stopped in front of a hotel and we all had to get out. I didn't even have to get up I was lifted from the backseat right after John got out.
"Nice instrument isn't it?" someone giggled behind us.
"I told you..." I heard John's voice, and it didn't sound that friendly. Why did he defend me like that? I knew it was all wrong what this guy talked about but the way John instantly made some comments back. Besides, I was just a girl, some silly fan who fainted because she finally saw the Beatles, I surely looked like that to him. Or had he recognized me? I hope so, I thought. Why else would he bother to take care of me and bring me along here? And Paul...I could tell him so easily from the others...of course I knew John better but something rang back in my mind when I heard Paul talk. I tried to grasp the little fragments that popped up in my mind, but they slipped back in the unknown as soon as I tried to catch them.
Another arm was put around me while I thought all this and I was dashed in the hall and put on a couch in the corner.
"Thanks," I said. I heard the other guys laughing in the other corner and a voice at the desk said some names probably to check them in. John came back to me and took my hand.
"Coming along?" he said. Everytime he said something, he looked straight in my eyes and these eyes...I knew them. I made a note in my mind not to show anything of this, at least not where the others were around.
All the time I thought about that while we went upstairs with the elevator and entered some room. I plopped down on a couch right beside John. I didn't want it, but couldn't help falling against him and leaning my head on his shoulder. I was just so bloody tired at once.
"Ah, you took her along," Paul said bouncing up and down on some couch opposite me. Again I looked at my right side. It was really him, I couldn't believe it.
Inside I knew that I had to stay calm now. Any excited or overacted reaction might would get everything revealed and no- one would have a blind idea what I meant with all that fuzz.
"Here, some water," John said giving me a plastic cup with cool water. He must have taken that from the small basin in the corner but I was too far away in my thoughts to hear anything of that. After I drank that, he kicked it under the bed, sighed and sat down next to me, looking a bit worried.
"John, it's you," I said. Really my voice couldn't get through. I felt it just slip from my tongue, checking for a second if I hadn't said too much.
"Why don't you just lay back, you need some sleep," he said. Lay back? Sleep? I wanted to face him, these eyes, if they were the same like In all my dreams.... I tried to settle myself but everything hurt and some hands put me back where I was. Now he even got up and streched me out all over the thing I was lying on. It turned out to be a bed, as I felt some blanket under my hand while I checked around. My head was on top of a large back and a guy next to Paul made some funny sad look.
"Hey me sarneys," he said on a dramatic tone.
"Sandwiches?" John said. I chuckled.
"Your mother still makes your lunch?" he went on. It made a flaw smile on my face.
"You didn't eat your lunch?" I said.
"I was in that cab by then," the voice said. I started looking around at the four faces in front of me. The only one that kept staring at me was John, and he looked puzzled. Not normally puzzled, like "is she all right?" But more in a way of knowing a face from somewhere and trying to remember where from. I could sense he was doing his best to stay alert, making sure no-one noticed he was deep in thought. But of coruse, once you know him, you notice it still shows. I saw it, and I had a faint feeling Paul saw it too.
"So what happened?" another guy at Paul's left said. He had a very thick accent, wo, if he couldn't undertand that Scouse language then...well I'd try something of that out later, when I felt a bit better, I sighed inside.
"I don't know, seems like I fainted because of something."
"Someone," Paul muttered and the accent-guy, as I called him inside, started to laugh (I kept doubting if this was George or Ring), and couldn't really see his face because some of my hair slipped right over my eyes.) John kept brushing it back but it didn't work, well I didn't really mind, in fact, I didn't mind at all.
"And that's where I found her," I suddenly heard him say. I caught up again with the conversation.
"Poor bird, she was just lying in the grass a bit away from this car and then...she looked just like Alice. You know..." he trailed off.
This struck me, I vaguely remembered who he meant with this but the fact that this also was my name made the whole thing so weird.
"Well, that's my name, so," I stammered with a trembling voice. This must have been a hint to me. I pushed the thought away and tried not to think about it, even while John was suddenly looking surprised at me.
"So I guessed that right?" he said, and then made a short laugh and cleared his throat.
"Well, I'm Paul," Ringo said grinning at me.
"Er....." I said, gazing at him. "You know, you shouldn't do that, I really don't know who's who," I said, blushing all over.
"But you know me," John said. I looked up, and again I had to force myself not to find some deeper meaning behind this.
"Yes John, I know you," I screamed inside. I wanted to bad to say it.
Then George and Ringo introduced themselves and I was busy printing their voices and faces in my mind.
"So, she looked like Alice....Alice who?" Paul asked.
"Paul, did you forget
that-one, Alice in Wonderland." John said. It made me smile,
and I lost track of the rest of the conversation, mainly
because my mind suddenly flashed back.
Written by Yvonne. May not be reproduced without the
permission of the author. Permission may be obtained by
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