Memories Past

I reined my horse in as we reached the top of the hill. I was unable to fight with Lady Jordan sitting on the horse behind me and this hill was a good a place as any to make a stand. I slid to the ground and lifted my charge off the back of my mount. My horse was battle trained and would fight beside me in the coming conflict. I handed my dagger over to my Lady and instructed her to stay behind me as I prepared to make my stand. We had been running for days, always one step ahead of Lord Aaron’s forces but now I was afraid our time was finished.

Vastly outnumbered, I nethertheless fought to protect my charge. I spared a glance for my Lady as I was overwhelmed by sheer numbers. She had managed to creep out of the main tangle of fighting and was slowly climbing away from it. As I felt the sword pierce my side, she made it over the top of the hill. My last sight was of her running out of view. Hopeful that she had escaped, I toppled to my death.

Five Hundred Years Later

I bolted upright in bed and frantically grabbed for my side, sure that I would feel blood gushing from a wound there. Reassured slightly when I only felt the t-shirt I had slept in, I climbed out of bed and turned on the small lamp next to my bed.

I padded across the floor to my mirror and lifted the edge of my shirt, still expecting to see some sort of mark on my body. I twisted to the side, lifting my breast out of the way, and was surprised not to see even a mark on my skin.

I have had the same dream every night for the past month and every night I examined my skin, looking for the mark I was sure had to be there. The dream was too real for me not to have a physical manifestation of it. Just like every other night, there was no mark on my skin. Sighing, I pulled my shirt back down and made my way out to the kitchen. I knew I wouldn’t go back to sleep for a while, if I went back at all tonight, the dreams were often too realistic for me to settle back down into my bed.

With mechanical motions, I prepared the coffee pot and put it on to brew a pot of decaf coffee. I didn’t want to flood my system with caffeine in hopes that I would get some more sleep before I had to start my day. I knew I had a seminar that day, I needed to be alert. Teaching computer basics to salespeople wasn’t the most exciting job but it was a living that allowed me plenty of time to read and review books for the local bookstore.

I watched the coffee drip into the pot and tried not to zone out on the repetitive motion. In order to distract myself, I took my jacket off the hook by the door and emptied the pockets. I tossed out gum and candy wrappers, then sorted through the other miscellaneous stuff. Five business cards were filed in my card box, I never knew when one would come in handy. I poured myself a cup of coffee when I was finished sorting out my pockets. I dumped in a liberal amount of sugar and cream and settled at the table. I contemplated my dream as I sipped the coffee and watched the sun rise over the treetops outside my kitchen window.

I had been having the same dream for the past month now. Repetition made it seem less like a dream and more like a memory. It was almost like I was having these dreams because I had some unfinished business from the past.

I was halfway through my cup of coffee when I remembered a lecture I had caught the tail end of a few weeks ago. I scrambled through my card file and finally found the business card of the parapsychologist. He had mentioned something about hypnosis and past life regressions in his talk. I wondered if he could help me with what I needed to answer my questions. I put the card in my purse, since it was too early to call the office. Then I looked at the clock and realized I was going to be late if I didn’t get myself in gear. I dumped my coffee before I left the kitchen and restarted the pot with a caffeinated blend, before going to take a shower.

Forty-five minutes later, showered, dressed in a business suit, and with my hair pulled back into a stern looking bun, I had just enough time to grab a travel cup of coffee before heading out the door. As I started the close it behind me, I remembered the business card and I grabbed it before running out to my car. I tucked the card into my pocket and reminded myself to call and make an appointment on my lunch break.

My morning went smoothly. It was a refresher course for this group. I normally came in and taught basics to a group of people (salespeople this time), then two to three months later, I went back to the same place and taught a refresher course. This allowed people to become comfortable with the basics and they were generally ready with other questions about more advanced features when I returned.

I walked over to a near-by deli and bought a sandwich for lunch. I ate my sandwich slowly, enjoying the taste of the fresh meat and cheese. Then pulled my cell phone out of my purse and called the number of the parapsychologist. “Doctor Prescott’s office. How may I help you?” a perky young voice answered the phone.

“My name is Aiden Sommers. I saw Doctor Prescott talk last month at Beverly College. I was wondering if he would be able to speak with me about a past life regression.” I was proud that my voice didn’t shake when I stated my purpose and also happy that I wasn’t attracting attention from the near-by patrons.

I heard the rustling of pages over the phone and then the perky voice was back. “Doctor has a cancellation at five pm today if you’d like to take that appointment. Otherwise I can get you in next Tuesday at three.”

“I’ll take today’s appointment. Thank you very much.”

“I’ll pencil you in to Doctor’s schedule. Please call two hours in advance to cancel the appointment and have a nice day.” She hung up with a gentle click. I snapped my cell phone closed and gathered up my garbage. I had just enough time left to get back to the board room before the afternoon session started.

The attendees were lethargic after eating lunch and I had a hard time keeping their attention. This was when I really hated my job. They didn’t want to be here, many of them probably figured they could do this better than me, and they just generally didn’t want to pay attention. I hurried as much as I dared through the topics we had to cover and hoped that they would remember what I was saying. I could feel the sweat dripping down my back as I taught, not because I was nervous about the class but because I was beginning to regret my impulsive call to the parapsychologist. A couple of times, I almost picked up my cell phone and called to cancel but I forced myself to leave my phone in my purse. I needed to find out what these dreams pertained to and canceling my appointment wouldn’t get me any closer to answering the questions. As soon as I was able, I wrapped up the seminar and shooed the people out of the room. I cleaned up my materials, shoved them willy-nilly into my briefcase and left as quickly as I could.

I settled myself by taking deep breaths and letting them out slowly as I drove across town to the office. I was surprised to find his office in one of the new townhouses that had been built recently. I parked on the street and walked up to the door, still taking my deep breaths. I didn’t find that the breaths were settling me but the repetition of the motion was helping relax me. I rang the doorbell and a moment later the door was opened by a young girl.

Her long white blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail that rode high on her head. She was dressed semi-casually in slacks and a turquoise sweater. She held a portable phone in one hand and smiled brightly at me. “Hi. You must be Ms. Sommers. Come on in. Doctor is just finishing up a conference call and he’ll be right with you. You can have a seat in the front room. Can I get you coffee or tea or water or something else while you wait?”

“No thank you. I’m fine,” I replied, glad to have a few minutes to myself before meeting the mysterious doctor.

About ten minutes after I sat down, an older man entered through the door behind the perky girl’s desk. His salt and pepper hair was perfectly coffered and styled. I suspected that gel or hair spray held it in place since it didn’t move as he bent to offer me his hand. He was dressed in slacks with a tie under his hound’s-tooth sweater. “Ms. Sommers, a pleasure,” he greeted me in a crisp British accent. “I’m Doctor Prescott. Why don’t you step into my office?”

I got to my feet and followed him through the door and into a comfortably appointed office. “I appreciate you seeing me on such short notice, Doctor.”

He sat down in a wing back chair and motioned me into the on across from it. “It wasn’t a problem. I’m glad I happened to have an appointment open. What can I do for you?”

I was comforted by the office and the calm, unassuming manner of the doctor. “I’ve been having these dreams,” I started, then stopped, unsure how to continue.

The doctor smiled reassuringly. “I’m not going to ask you questions. I want you to describe the dreams to me and then we’ll discuss treatment. Just use your own words and describe as much as you can remember.”

I took a deep breath and began to detail my dreams. When I had finished describing my dreams as much as I could remember, he nodded. “That’s all I can remember. I’m sure there are things I’m forgetting but I can’t think of anything else.”

“That was a good start. I can’t tell you for sure if your dreams are a past life memory but I can hypnotize you and regress you, trying to find the past life.” He motioned to a couch that was near the chairs where we sat. “Why don’t you lay down on that and close your eyes. I don’t want you to go to sleep but we have to get you into a relaxed state.”

I lay down on the couch and composed myself, folding my hands so they lay across my stomach. “All right, I’m ready,” I said when I had closed my eyes.

From the transcripts of Doctor William Edward Prescott the third

Prescott: I want you to relax. Breathe in for the count of four, then out for the count of four. Breathe in. Breathe out. Now you feel yourself getting more and more drowsy. Keep breathing, slowly. Slowly. Feel your eyelids getting heavier. Don’t fall asleep but relax. Relax and breathe slowly. Now I want you to find a dark tunnel. This is the tunnel into your memories. I want you to walk down that tunnel. Even though it’s dark, you have no problems with it. You are able to walk without stumbling. When you reach a previous life, you will see a door. You are walking down the tunnel and you have reached the year 1905. Is there a door there?

Sommers: No. No door.

Prescott: Keep walking down the tunnel. You have reached 1805. Is there a door?

Sommers: No. No door.

Prescott: Keep walking down the tunnel. You have reached 1705. Is there a door?

Sommers: No. No door.

Prescott: Keep walking down the tunnel. You have reached 1605. Is there a door?

Sommers: No. No door.

Prescott: Keep walking down the tunnel. You have reached 1505. Is there a door?

Sommers: Yes. There is a door there.

Prescott: Open the door. Step through and tell me what you remember.

Previously feminine voice is now masculine. This is Sommers’ pervious life. Accent is Old Country. Possibly German.

Sommers: I was escorting My Lady and her maid to another manor. Lady Jordan had requested permission from her father to attend the pre-wedding festivities of her best friend. Her father didn’t feel it was safe but agreed as long as I accompanied her. I feared for her but bowed to the wishes of my mistress. We rode out together mid-morning and made good time to My Lady’s friend’s home. We were two hills from the manor when I realized that the men following us did not mean anything good. We were set upon by Lord Aaron’s men. An arrow took out My Lady’s horse and I pulled her onto mine. Another arrow pierced her maid’s throat and the woman fell to the ground. Her horse ran off before I could wheel mine around and catch it. We rode swiftly towards the manor but were only able to reach the hill just before it. I stopped and dismounted, drawing my sword to make a stand in hopes I could allow Lady Jordan to escape. I was swiftly cut down. Oh the pain. I hoped My Lady would escape but I saw the bandits ride her down as I breathed my last.

Prescott: All right. I want you to come back through the door and back up the tunnel. When I count to four, you will wake up and completely remember our session.

End Transcript

I decided on my way home to stop at the bookstore that I often frequented. I hadn’t picked up books in a while and I knew that Mary, the owner, would have a stack for me to read. I could browse for a bit then pick up my reading for the month. I pulled into a parking space and tossed my purse under the seat so I didn’t have to carry it in the store.

I didn’t have a specific goal in mind but after the discussion with Dr. Prescott, I was drawn to the medieval books. I flipped through some of them, finding some things strangely familiar. I was reaching for a book on one of the lower shelves when my hand collided with someone else’s hand. I looked over and then down when I didn’t see anyone at first.

I was met with an infectious grin. “Oops, sorry,” the young boy apologized although he didn’t seem at all repentant. I was surprised to see someone as young as him reaching for an adult book but I noticed he had a stack beside him of similar books. “Are you going to look at Castles of Europe?” he asked.

I pulled the book we had both been planning to look at off the shelves. “I was going to, but you’re welcome to look at it first.”

“Thanks.” He took the book from me and sat down on the ground next to me. “I keep coming back to this book. I really love the one castle.” He flipped rapidly through the book and finally stopped at one page. Tipping the book, he showed me the picture he had settled on. “See. I feel like I’ve been to this castle or something. It’s pretty cool. I couldn’t have gone there for real though because I’ve never been out of the country.”

I glanced down at the picture he had found and was startled to recognize the castle myself. It was the castle from my dreams. I looked again at the boy and could just make out the features of Jordan in his face. He had the same dark hair and vividly blue eyes that she had been blessed with. His features were more masculine but I could still see the heft and grace that I remembered the Lady having. I sank down to my knees next to him and traced the outline of the castle with a finger. “Is your name Jordan?” I asked hesitantly.

The boy looked at me, astounded. “Yes it is. How did you know?”

“You remind me of someone I used to know. Her name was Jordan too. You look a little bit like her.”

“You and this Jordan were friends?” he asked me.

“Not friends exactly. I was her protector and champion.”

“You were a knight?” His eyes lit up with glee. “That is so totally cool.”

His voice was still high pitched enough that he sounded a little like my Lady and it was a bit unnerving to hear modern slang in her gentle tones. I nodded in response to his question. “I was a knight in a past life.”

“Could you help me?” he asked suddenly. “There’s this woman who’s been following me. She’s really starting to creep me out.”

“Where are your parents?” I asked, unwilling to commit myself to helping him despite how much he reminded me of the first Jordan.

“My mom’s at work and my dad’s gone. He just took off when I was six. I’m thirteen so it’s okay for me to be out alone. I’m just really small for my age. This woman is really, really starting to creep me out.”

I was surprised with how he seemed to trust me unconditionally but figured it might be our connection from our past life. I wasn’t sure what I could do to help him but felt I needed to in honor of my Lady. “I’ll try to help you, Jordan. How about I walk you home? We can call your mom from my cell.”

“We can’t call her. She’s on the road for work. I think I’ll be safe enough at home.”

“All right. Let’s go then. Is it close enough for us to walk?”

“Yes. Why?”

“I don’t think you should be seen getting into a stranger’s car.”

“Good point. Can we get going? I’m really starting to be nervous that she’ll show up here.”

“Let me put this book aside to pick up later and we can be on our way.” I took the book out of his hands and closed it. “Just let me know if you see her.” We made our way to the front of the store and I had the book placed with the others I was supposed to pick up. I made arrangements to pick the books up at a later time.

We hurried out of the store and were halfway down the street when Jordan turned around and then quickly jerked his head forward again. “She’s behind us. She’s the one in the black jacket and blue jeans.”

I looked behind us in what I hoped was a casual manner and managed to catch a glimpse of the woman. Frantically I looked around for somewhere we could go. I spotted a YMCA across the road. “Cross the road here and head for the YMCA. Hurry up.”

We looked both ways and quickly dashed across the street when a break came in the traffic. We hurried into the building. We lucked out when we got inside as there was no one at the desk. We rushed past the desk. As we rounded the corner, I heard the main door open and slam shut. I knew it had to be the woman we were running from. Our only hope was to hide in a room along the way and hope she didn’t take the time to check each one.

I started trying doors along the hallway and finally found one that was unlocked. Hopefully the woman would try some of the locked doors and figure they were all locked. I checked the door when we got inside and saw that the lock on this door was broken. I made a sound of frustration. I dug through my purse and finally came up with my cell phone. I handed it to Jordan. “Call the police. Tell them we’re hiding from a woman who is chasing you. You’re scared and you’re in the YMCA on Genesee Street.”

Jordan flipped the phone open and groaned. “There’s no signal.”

“Move around the room and see if you can find one. You don’t need much of a signal to dial nine one one.”

I looked around to see if there was something I could use to block the door but the only things around were fencing swords and the protective garments that fencers wore. I had enough time to get a good look at the room before the door flew open and the woman entered. She glared at me when she saw me. “What are you doing here?”

I recognized the features of Lord Aaron in this woman. She had to be the reincarnated version of my former enemy. That meant she was going to try to kill Jordan again. I had to protect him.

“Who are you?” I demanded, hoping to buy some time. “I know you have to be Lord Aaron but what is your name in this time?”

“Eryn. Are you still Aiden?” she asked.

“Yes. What do you intend to do with Jordan?”

“Kill him. It’s been my goal in life ever since I realized he was alive again. I’ve trained for many years to get to this point. Now get out of my way.”

“You’ll have to kill me first. I won’t fail Jordan again.”

“Fine. Have it your way. En guard, you fool.”

I quickly picked up a sword from the near-by pile and hoped desperately my high school fencing lessons would come back to me. Mom had spent two years in love with the Middle Ages. The only part I had liked was the sword play and I had spent many happy hours fencing with the light-weight blades we had been allowed to touch. This one was slightly heavier than I remembered and seemed to have a sharp point. Frantically I parried her thrusts and felt my feet fall into the half-recalled fencing position. I hoped my meager skill would be enough to protect Jordan this time.

As I parried her blows, I spared a second to glance around at Jordan. He had barricaded himself behind some mats and was hysterically speaking into my phone. I hoped he had connected with the police because I wasn’t sure how long I could hold Eryn off. Her sword was sharper than mine so I had no hope of killing her but I was hoping I could delay her long enough for the police to arrive.

I was able to go on the attack a moment later and I beat her away from where Jordan was hunkered down. She quickly turned the tables on me though and I found myself defending again. We went back and forth a couple of times; I never gained enough advantage to chase her off, but I held my own.

I was beginning to tire when I heard footsteps rushing towards us. Praying it was the police, I gave one last desperate lunge as they burst in the door. The tableau that the police found when they opened the door must have been a strange sight. I had Eryn pinned on the floor with my sword at her throat. Her sword lay on the ground next to her hand but she didn’t dare reach for it since any small move would drive my point home. I allowed the police to cuff her before I removed my sword. One of the officers covered me as I gently lay my sword down on the ground. “I was protecting the boy who called you,” I explained. I put my hands up so they would see I was now unarmed.

“Just keep your hands up,” the first officer instructed. “Where’s the boy?”

Jordan popped out from behind the mats. “I’m here. Aiden was protecting me. She’s innocent. It was the other lady who wanted to hurt me.”

The officer, an older gentleman, walked over to Jordan. “Are you all right, son? Are you hurt at all?”

Jordan shook his head. “Aiden protected me. Please don’t arrest her.”

The officers’ radios crackled and both leaned their heads towards them to hear what the dispatcher had to say. The younger officer began to read Eryn her rights once the dispatcher was finished. The older officer motioned Jordan away from the mats. “We’ll have to take you and Aiden down to the station. There’s a warrant out for the other lady. We’ll sort everything out at the station.”

He radioed for another car to transport Jordan and me and we took a ride downtown to the station. Eryn was taken away for processing while Jordan and I were escorted to an office. The officer asked if we wanted anything to eat or drink before leaving us alone. I was a little surprised we had been left together but didn’t worry about it. They would need to call Jordan’s mother before they could question him and apparently they thought he would feel safer in my presence.

We had been sitting in the office for about twenty minutes when a woman rushed into the room and gathered Jordan up in her arms. He endured her hugs and tears, then motioned to me when she finally released him. “This is Aiden, Mom. She protected me from the other lady. You can’t let the cops take her away.”

The woman held out a hand to me. “Thank you so much for taking care of Jordan. I swear I don’t know how he gets into the trouble he does.”

I knew that telling her we knew each other in a past life was not the way to earn her confidence so I refrained from mentioning it. “I’m just glad I was able to help him.”

The older officer came into the room. “As soon as we take your statements, you are free to go. The other woman is being charged with attempted murder. I doubt she’ll ever stand trial here though since she’s wanted elsewhere for murder, among other things.”

The officer took me into another room and had me write up my statement, beginning with meeting Jordan in the bookstore. When I was finished writing it, the officer went over it with me and had me sign it. Then I was free to go. I hoped to see Jordan before I left the station but he was no where to be found. I went back to the bookstore and picked up my books, hoping that I would see him there. Unfortunately he wasn’t at the store either. I made my way home after picking up my books. Hopefully the events of the day would chase away my nightmares. I looked forward to a night of uninterrupted sleep.


Special thanks to novusfemina for help with the hypnosis.