Deja Vue

Maryanne meets a familiar handsome man at a Halloween party. 300-word flash

Deja Vue

Maryanne looked several times at the handsome man. She was not bold when it came to men. But she had to know.
“Have we met before?” she asked when she finally got close enough to ask.
He looked her right in the eyes and smiled. She smiled back.
“Yes, I believe we have. Perhaps in another life,” he said softly as he took her arm and led her onto the dance floor.
“Being in his arms is like coming home,” Maryanne thought dreamily.

By the time she came to herself again, they were on a beach. Floating on the waves was a barge. The style was something she’d seen before but she couldn’t remember where.
He picked her up and carried her to the boat and set her carefully down under a canopy. He got in after her and oarsmen began to steer it into the current. They glided along as he sat beside her and fed her dates and figs.
“I could do this all night,” Maryanne sighed. To her horror, she was alone. The night had darkened, and they seemed to be travelling downward.

As she rose to her feet, the costume and makeup she wore as Nefertiti became real. She tried to escape. The handsome man returned to her side.
“We will travel to the underworld together, my love,” he said.
She screamed in horror and tried to leave the barge. But it was like she was paralyzed with fear. At last, she broke free and threw herself into the water.
“Maryanne! What’s going on?” her hostess from the costume party was lifting her out of the pool. EMTs took over.
“She’ll be all right,” they told everyone who’d heard her scream.
Maryanne wasn’t so sure about that and never went to another costume party.