...to be continued

Love can trancend space and time to heal...

LOVE AMENDS
by  Elliot Richard Dorfman

    Bemoaning a past that makes you so sadly grieve,
    Because it’s a  tragedy that’s hard to believe.
    Brought on by a reckless soul who tried to deceive,
    Back to make love amends your heart needs to retrieve.


     It was late at night. The new blue/white 1953 Lincoln Cosmopolitan sedan quickly headed downstate from the Catskill Mountains as the road increasingly became slippery from the summer storm. Rita brushed away tears from her eyes. Life had been so wonderful until half an hour ago when she arrived at the Concord Hotel where Brandon, her husband of four months, had decided to stay overnight after performing as the featured nightclub singer. Entering his room, a voluptuous female that was laying on the bed, grabbed her clothes and hurriedly left. Not waiting to hear any lame excuses, the distraught wife rushed back to her car, never telling her husband that she was pregnant Twenty minutes later, the vehicle skidded on a curve, smashed through a railing, and plummeted down the ravine below.

    Elaine Jansen woke with a start. “My gosh, what a horrible dream that was!”

    Getting off the bed, the young woman sat on the window seat and looked outside. Above, a full moon glowed in a dark sky filled with twinkling bright stars. A warm breeze gently rustled branches of nearby maple trees as a pleasant scent from colorful budding flowers arose from the garden below. An hour later, the sun rose on the small Connecticut town where she lived.

    Elaine could have gone back to sleep since it was the spring recess and there was no second grade class to teach this week. Instead, she decided to go downstairs and make a leisurely breakfast. Just as she was cleaning up, her mother, Mildred, called. Mildred was a widower who lavished most of her attention on her only daughter. Unable to take her mother’s stifling possessiveness anymore, Elaine moved out and rented a small farmhouse right after getting a teaching position in the local elementary school the past year.

    Elaine braced herself for a third degree.

    “So, now that you have the week off, are you going to take the cruise?”

    “Cruise, what are you talking about?”

    “Well, I heard that some of your friends are taking a five-day cruise. Aren’t you going with them? It’s a perfect way to meet a man.”

    Elaine shook her head. The investigation was in full swing. “Mama, I’m not interested. I just want to hang out and relax for the week.”

    Her mother gave a long sigh. “Oh honey, what’s wrong with you, do you want to land up an old maid like Cousin Beatrice? But then what the use in my talking to you, it’s hopeless. Even when you do meet a nice guy, it always breaks off just when the relationship gets serious.”

    “Please Mama, I’m only twenty-three. There’s no rush.”

    “Well, the years start adding up. At your age I already was... ”

    “Yes, I know. At my age you were already married. I‘ve heard that cliché so many times. Well, I’ve got to go. My dog needs to go outside before she has an accident. Talk to you later.”

    Elaine hung up the receiver, not waiting for a reply. Actually - Delilah, her dog, was still sleeping on the floor.

    “There might be some truth to what mama says about me becoming an old maid,” the young woman pondered. “Yet committing myself to one man seems like a gamble. What if the relationship turns sour? Most couples put their best foot forward before tying the knot. Their true colors never show until after the marriage. Maybe the dream that I had last night was warning me about that.”

    Later in the afternoon, Elaine took a drive. Turning onto a dirt road, she saw a solitary little odds and ends shop standing a few yards away. Curious, she parked her car and went in. The place was brightly painted. All kinds of old and new objects were displayed on large wooden tables.

    A sweet white haired old lady that reminded her of the fairy godmother in “Cinderella” greeted her. “Hello, dearie. I’m Milly. I think I have something that you’ll like.”

    She handed her a thin volume of poems. “This is a very rare edition, but I’m going to lend it to you for a while. It should be very meaningful to you.”

    Elaine skimmed the pages. She was not familiar with any of the selections.

    “Keep it as long as necessary,” the woman remarked. “ I’ll come and pick it up at your house when you’re done with it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m closing.”

    She hustled the school teacher out of the shop and locked the door.

    Elaine hadn’t gotten the chance to give her name or address to the woman, but when she knocked on the door, no one responded. Shrugging, she returned to the car. At home, the book was put on the hall shelf and forgotten about.

    That evening after dinner, Elaine took a walk with Delilah down the block. When she returned, a young man came over from the next house. He looked distressed.

    “Sorry to bother you, but could I use your phone? I’m your neighbor’s nephew Ronald Soames. I’ve come from New York to visit my Aunt Matilda for a few days. She said she’d be home, but when I rang the doorbell, there was no response. She’s kind of getting on in years and I’m a bit worried. ”

    Elaine handed him her cell phone. “I hope everything is okay.”

    It turned out his aunt’s doorbell had been on the blink.

    “Thanks. I owe you one. “He began walking away, but stopped and turned back. “ Say, what’s your name?” “Elaine.”

    “Well, Elaine, If you’re free tomorrow, how about having dinner with me?”

    Elaine found herself attracted to this pleasant, handsome man. “Sure, shall we say around seven-thirty?” “Great!”

    Aunt Matilda opened the door and Ronald went in.

    Elaine smiled. “Well, I’ve got a date. How happy Mama will be when she finds out!”

    The next evening Ronald showed up carrying a big bouquet of beautiful flowers. There was a little note attached to it: “Hope you enjoy these flowers that reflect your beauty.”

    “How sweet,” Elaine thought, taking the flowers and putting them in a large vase.

    The couple was extremely comfortable with each other. Ronald was a music producer for a big recording company. He had worked with some of the top musicians and singers in the business. Elaine liked creative people. She had once wanted to become an illustrator. In high school, the art teacher encouraged it, but Mildred vehemently had disapproved.

    “There are lots of people who are far more talented than you. You need to get a profession with some type of security.”

    Being an obedient daughter, she settled on becoming a teacher.

    As Elaine and Ronald’s relationship developed, they began rotating every weekend between Connecticut and New York. Mildred was thrilled, positive that this time her daughter would tie the knot. But when a year passed, and nothing happened, she became disappointed.

    “Just when is Ronald planning to propose to you” she asked her daughter, “he’s certainly taking his time.”

    Elaine chuckled. “Oh, he’s already asked me to marry him more than once. But I like our relationship just the way it is. I don’t think it’s necessary to legally commit ourselves.”

    Her mother put her hands to her head in frustration. “Oh, how stupid you are. A man like him is hard to find. You’re going to lose Ronald, mark my words. Honey, please don’t get offended, but I think you need to see a shrink.”

    For one of the few times, Elaine tended to agree with her mother. Ronald defiantly was a catch. If she didn’t change her staunch attitude, she’d probably lose him like the others. Already, he was starting to show signs of disgust. “Look, darling,” Elaine told Ronald when they next met, “don’t give up on me yet. I need to work out a personal problem and plan to get professional help.”

    Ronald was encouraging. “That’s a good idea. I’m sure whatever is troubling you can be worked out. When I had anxiety problems brought on by pressures from my job, I went to Henry Gilder, an excellent psychologist. He really helped in getting everything under control in only a few sessions. His office is just four blocks from my place. Why don’t you try him? He has weekend hours, so you can see him when visiting me.”

    Elaine agreed and made an appointment with him for the following Saturday.

    A night before going to the New York, she retired early. About one o clock, Elaine awoke trembling. There had been a second nightmare of the car accident. Going downstairs, she went to heat up some milk, hoping it would calm her nerves. On a piece of paper she drew a sketch of the man who in the dream was her husband. There was a noise in the hall. The little book from the odds and end shop had fallen from the shelf. It was opened to the back page. Picking it up, she read a rather strange verse:

   

    Elaine jotted the words down before putting the book back on the shelf. Returning to the kitchen, she finished her milk and went upstairs to sleep - this time peacefully.

    Henry Gilder’s office was located in a swanky residential building on Central Park East. The atmosphere of his first floor office complimented the serene manner of the man. The doctor looked almost too young to be a psychiatrist. He noticed her reaction.

    “You look surprised. Is something wrong?

    “Well, I was just wondering what your age is.” Henry chuckled. “All my patients ask me that. I’m twenty-six. I was one of those geniuses that graduated very early. I have been in practice for two years. Now, just what’s bothering you?”

    His gentle brown eyes looked compassionately at her. She felt completely at ease with him and felt he would be effective.

    It was during the second session that Elaine mentioned her nightmare to him. She handed him the sketch of the singer/husband she had drawn. Henry sat up in his chair and studied it.

    “Mind if I keep this?”

    “Not at all.”

    “Those dreams of yours certainly must be vivid.”

    Remembering the strange verse, she pulled it out of her pocket.

    “This seems to tie in with my dreams. It’s like some sort of predication.”

    The psychiatrist read it with interest. Walking to the window, he looked out at the park across the street, deep in thought for a few minutes.

    “Very curious. It seems to deal with reincarnation of some kind. Tell you what, if you’re willing, I would like to try some hypnotic age regression during our next session. It may be beneficial to you.”

    Elaine seemed amused. “Don’t people sometimes claim to remember former lives when you do that? I remember reading a book on that topic called ‘The Search for Bridey Murphy.’ Think it’s possible, doctor?”

    He handed her back the poem. “Anything is possible.”

    On a rainy afternoon, the following week, Elaine was ushered into a semi-darkened room with some kind of New Age music softly playing in the background.

    Henry placed her on a couch. “Make yourself comfortable. Now, focus on the illuminated swinging pendulum across the room. As you watch, concentrate on my voice, nothing else.”

    “All right, Doctor.”

    “Notice how each time the pendulum moves back and forth it will make you become more and more drowsy. Soon you will feel as if you’re floating in a void. Relax, and let it happen.”

    A gentle darkness encompassed her. Her body felt weightless. From close-by she could hear the doctor’s voice . . .

    “You are at your college graduation. What do you see?”

    “Mama, standing near the aisle as I march to the stage. She’s snapping a bunch of pictures and shouting on top of her lungs for me to smile. Totally embarrassing.”

    “Now you are sixteen years old... Where are you?”

    “I’m at Sadie’s Halloween party. One of the boys is trying to show off to his buddies by French kissing me. I just slapped his face. Wait until . . .”

“Let’s return to when you’re six . . . What are you doing?”

    “Sitting in class. Today’s the first day of school. I’m in the first grade. My teacher, Miss McAlister is real nice and . . . ”

    “And now we’re returned to the day you were born . . . ”

    “The nurse has just handed me to my mother. She feels so nice and warm. I ...”

    “ ... Okay, let’s keep going back. See anything?”

    “I’m floating somewhere.”

    “Floating?”

    “Yes. A beautiful white light is surrounding me. I think I’m about to be born.”

    “Let’s go back even further.”

    Elaine moaned as if in agony, then gave a piercing scream.

    “It’s over. I’m too young to die! There wasn’t any time to escape. I’m never going to have my baby.” She began sobbing.

    “You died, when?”

    “August 1953.

    “What was your name?”

    “Rita Travers. I was driving away from Brandon when my car skidded and fell into a ravine.”

    “Brandon?”

    “Brandon Fields, my husband. I went late at night to the Concord Hotel where he was staying overnight after singing at their nightclub. He wasn’t expecting me. As I entered his room, he was lying with some slut on the bed. As soon as she saw me, the bitch grabbed her clothes and left. When I married him in May, I knew that lots of females would be attracted to him, after all he was cute and beginning to become famous, but I was confident Brandon would resist any physical encounters. Wasn’t that naive? Well, I’ve learned my lesson not to commit myself to one man again.”

    “Perhaps it was a one time affair. Maybe his conscious would have stopped him from doing it again.”

    “Oh, Doctor, what makes you say that? And I though I was naive.”

    Henry checked his watch. “Well, we must end this session. When I count to three, you’ll...”

    Elaine opened her eyes and stood up.” That won’t be necessary. I’m out of the trance and I strongly sense that there is something you are not telling me.”

    The doctor was flabbergasted. “What, what do you mean by that?”

    “Doctor Gilder, please don’t try acting coy with me.”

    Henry sheepishly looked at her and took a breath. “Yes, it’s true, but I only found out about it last evening after some inner feeling prompted me to do a hypnotic age regression on myself. I was astonished at the results. It seems that I was strongly connected with you in my own former life. I decided not to tell you anything about it until after seeing the outcome of today’s session. I did some research on the computer this morning, and looked up to see if there was such an accident that occurred in the Catskill Mountains during the summer of 1953.”

    “And did it actually happen?”

    “Everything you described was accurate”

    “I knew it would be. Tell me; just what was that strong connection in our former life?”

    “This might sound almost ridiculous, but, I am - or was - Brandon. In my regression I recalled that horrendous night when you came into my hotel room. How those same beautiful green eyes glared at me with revulsion. After you rushed away, I tried catching up, but you were gone by the time I got to the parking lot. If only you would have stayed and somehow let us talk it over. I could have kicked myself for doing such a reckless, stupid thing! Well, right after the accident, I began drinking heavily to drown out my sorrow, and when that didn’t work, eventually turned to drugs. That caused my career to go down the drain. Twenty years later I died of an overdose in some deserted alley in the city, a broken, lonely man. I must have zapped into my present life right after that.”

    Henry moved close and took her around the waist. “I know this is unorthodox, but I’m positive that we are meeting again because fate wants us back together. It’s no wonder I fell in love with you the minute you first walked into my office. Please Elaine, like the poem says, let me make love amends.”

    There was a pause. The two silently stared at each other, then he embraced her. At first Elaine eagerly responded, but then broke away.

    “Stop, Brandon, I mean Henry. I’m not going to allow myself to get involved with you. Physically you may be different, but not your soul. What guarantee do I have that your infidelity won’t be repeated?”

    Henry gulped. “Take my word, Elaine; I’ve learned my lesson the hard way. It will never happen again in this life, I swear.”

    But his words failed to impress.

    “No! I’m not going to let you break my heart a second time,” she shouted, slamming the door behind her. Thirty minutes later Elaine returned to Connecticut, not giving Ronald any explanations of her rash departure.

    For the next few months, Elaine tried erasing the entire incident from her mind. Both Ronald and Henry attempted communicating with her, but she refused to speak with either of them.

    Eventually Ronald got fed up. Considering her a bit of a kook, he began dating someone else. Henry, however, continued trying.

    It was a late November day. All the leaves had fallen from the trees and there was a feeling of snow in the air. Elaine had just gotten home from school when there was a knock at the door.

    There was Milly, the strange lady from the odds and ends shop.

    The teacher was surprised. “It’s been a while since I last saw you. How in the world did you get my address?”

    Milly smiled. “I have my ways. Well, I’m here for my little book. I hope it was very meaningful to you.”

    Elaine sadly shook her head as she returned the article.

    The woman became slightly agitated. “Oh, but that’s terrible. Giving you that book was a part of some highly complex events that were supposed to make things right for you.”

    Elaine was puzzled. “Make things right? Just who are you?”

    Milly smiled. “Let’s just say a heavenly entity who has been assigned to see that your life is put back on track. In order for this to happen, you have to let go of any grudge or resentment that is stopping you from trusting true love; A love that is meant to repeat itself over and over again through many lives. ”

    “You talk like an angel.”

    “That’s because I am an angel, so please believe me when I say you must marry Henry Gilder.”

    “Is it so important that I had to go through such torment?”

    The angel sighed. “I’m afraid so. After marrying Henry, you will have a child that will someday become a great politician. Single-handedly, he will negotiate a peace treaty that will stop a devastating third world war.”

Elaine was too stunned to reply.

    The supernatural, matronly figure took a deep breath. “Well, that’s it. Hopefully, you will do what’s necessary.” She waved goodbye and vanished.

    After regaining her composure, Elaine quickly called Henry. A few hours later, they were in each other’s arms. Fortunately, everything worked out - not only for them, but eventually for humanity.