Instead she toggled her phone on. She saw several missed messages and phone calls. She ignored them and opened her text message app, sending a text to the mysterious man she met with earlier: What can you tell me about my visions?
As she waited for the response, she cleared her notifications and sent a text to a very worried Damien, telling him she was fine and that the doctor prescribed nothing for her.
As she sent the message off, she received a reply from the man: Have you had another vision?
Frustrated she sent back: Why can you never just answer me? Can you answer this… what is your name?
Within a few moments the response came back: I want you to remember my name. It’s better if you remember on your own… explaining it will sound crazy like you keep telling me
Josie responded: I can’t remember your name… I don’t know you
He responded: You’ll remember and then it will all make sense… let’s meet again
Although unsure, the person she most desired to talk to was this man. Why, she wondered, was she so drawn to him? She considered his proposition, again unsure when she could meet him. As she considered her options, another text came through: We could meet in the morning, during your jog… if you don’t want anyone to find out
Josie was taken aback. How was he aware she jogged, and that she did it alone? Moreover, how had he surmised that she was keeping this from her friends? Even with the unsettled sensation the message gave her, Josie found herself typing an affirmative message back to him, telling him to meet her tomorrow morning at the end of her road around 5:30 a.m.
He texted back a confirmation, and the two ended their conversation for the moment. Josie decided she would re-dress and try to finish some work while Damien gave her a tongue-lashing about her lack of response earlier.
The afternoon and night crawled. Josie tried to focus on her work and the mundane details of her day but found herself unable to do so. Her mind continued to return to her strange visions and the conversation that she had earlier in the day. She had another restless night, not getting much sleep with the apprehension of the meeting coming up the next morning. At least, she contemplated as she lay awake, this was one way to avoid the nightmare.
Chapter 12
Josie rose early the next morning, dressing for her run, driven by nervous energy. Despite the early hour the clock showed, she was anxious to get going, so she figured she would wait for the man to arrive before finishing her run.
Much to her surprise, as she approached the end of the road, she spotted a car. She slowed to a walk, approaching it. The man was leaning against the car, waiting for her. As she approached, he walked toward her.
“Good morning, Josie,” he said, as he approached her.
“Good morning,” she said, suddenly concerned this might not be a good idea.
“Did you sleep?”
“No.”
“You had another vision, didn’t you?”
“I did. Of a beach somewhere.” She covered her face with her hands. “I don’t know what to think.”
“It’s okay. You’ll figure it out. I imagine the hypnosis can help.”
“Yeah, sorry, I’m not comfortable going somewhere with someone who won’t even tell me his name and then being hypnotized by someone else whom I’ve never even met.”
The man snorted a laugh. “Oh, I always admired that feistiness you have. You don’t have to come with me, your doctor can do it. I expect it might take longer because your doctor doesn’t understand what to trigger, whereas mine does. But it’s up to you, whatever makes you comfortable.”
“So, you’re not opposed to me saying no and going back to my doctor?”
“Other than you struggling for a longer time, no, I’m not opposed.”
“Why can’t you just tell me what is happening? You keep hinting at it but you won’t tell me. It’s frustrating.”
“Josie, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you, that’s why you’ve got to come around to it on your own.”
“Why are you so concerned about me ‘remembering’ and not struggling and whatever?”
“Because I care about you.” He paused. “And because, truth be told, I need your help, desperately. We all do. The sooner you remember, the sooner you can help.”
“You need my help? With what?”
“Well, I need Celine’s help. And again, you wouldn’t understand even if I tried to tell you, you wouldn’t believe me.”
Josie sighed, crossing her arms and walking a few steps away, turning her back toward him. “Why does this have to be complicated? You won’t tell me your name, you won’t give me any information. The only thing I have to go on is someone else’s memories, this Celine person’s memories. I mean, how do I have them? Do I have multiple personalities or am I possessed or something?”
“No, no nothing like that,” he said, smiling as he approached her again, he put his hands on her arms, giving them another squeeze. “Hey, you better be getting back. Consider my offer, okay?” he said as he backed away from her toward his car.
Josie turned to face him. He seemed more at ease this time, much less agitated. Before she could respond, he was in his car, the engine sputtered to life. Prior to driving off, he rolled down his window and shouted, “By the way, my name is Grayson. Grayson Buckley.”
Grayson, yes, that named seemed to fit, Josie supposed, as she watched the car drive off. She wasn’t sure why, but it made sense to her. Perhaps she was willing it to make sense because she wanted for some piece of the puzzle to fall into place.
