Author's Note: Slice of life piece, just a drabble, not really a story. Takes place after the events of Soul. Jerry and Moonwind hang out for coffee and philosophical discussion.
Disblaimers: Don't own. Obviously. I did create Moonwind's "real name" for this piece, just for some humor.
Enjoying Life
Take me on a trip on your magic swirling ship
~Bob Dylan, Mr. Tambourine Man (1965)~
He started meeting Moonwind - whose real name was most ironically "Jerry Garcia" (no relation to the musician of Grateful Dead fame, just a bizarre coincidence) - on Sunday mornings for coffee and bagels.
When he first learned Moonwind's real name, he laughed. Moonwind asked what was so funny, and he explained that all of the entities in the Great Before were named "Jerry".
Moonwind got a laugh out of it, too.
"That makes me like, a quantized entity of the universe then, does it? How cool is that, man?" he crowed gleefully.
They sat for a couple of hours each week and talked about life, death, and the in-between places like The Zone. It was the type of philosophical discussion that Joe hadn't really cared about before his experience. But his experience made him want to live life, not just trudge through it, and he wanted to meet new people instead of seeing the same old faces all the time. Moonwind was a great example. He would have never met Moonwind had it not been for The Experience. A middle-aged white hippie dude twirling signs at the corner of some street in New York City was not the sort of person Joe would have willingly talked to under normal circumstances, but rather avoided. Now, he had started paying attention to everyone around him, observing their faces and behaviors. Most stared at their phones on the subway or diverted their eyes to avoid contact, and Joe realized how sad and lonely they were. Like the lost souls within The Zone, they were burdened by anxiety, depression and obsession. Some of them were probably in The Zone even as he watched them... or maybe they weren't quite there yet, but would be soon if they kept it up.
He started helping Moonwind on Tuesdays whenever he could, becoming the newest member of Mystics Without Borders (they even christened him "Starlight Dreamerdoer" - which, before his Experience, would have freaked him out, but now sounded rather cool and hip.) He may have told 22 that the Mystics were a bunch of freaks, but he now really appreciated them and the work they did in The Zone, and he enjoyed helping them. At lunch on Tuesdays, he would sit in the school band room and play until he zoned out, thus meeting up with Moonwind Stardancer (aka Jerry Garcia the Sign Twirler), Windstar Dreamermoon (meditating in Palawan in the Phillippines), Dancerstar Windmoon (playing the Saraswati venna in Tibet), and Dreamerwind Dreamerdreamer (the shamanic healer in Berkeley) for forty-five minutes or so.
He assisted them in snagging lost souls in the sea of sparkling black and navy stardust, aboard a hot pink peaced-out ship that rocked songs from the likes of Jefferson Starship, Three Dog Night, Bob Dylan, and the Allman Brothers (none of which Joe had particularly listened to before The Experience, but which he now found rather interesting.) Sometimes the souls they captured were a bit freaked out by a bunch of hippies, and that was where Joe most often came in, bringing a voice of normalcy to the scene when the anxieties and obsessions melted away and a soul found themselves staring at a Phillipino mystic, a Tibetian saraswati venna player, a shamanic healer from Berkley, and a hippie sign twirler from New York City.
"Hey, calm down, no need to panic," Joe would say soothingly, and the corporate rookie or insurance agent or bigshot CEO would focus on him, instead. The fear would leave their eyes for a moment.
"Are you one of them?" They would always gape.
"Yes, they're good people. We're all just trying to help you. Now come on, let's get you back. You don't want to stay here, do you?"
"No! This is horrible!"
"Then let's get you home."
Only once did he solemnly ask Moonwind (over coffee - not in The Zone), "Do you think we'll ever meet 22 again? And if we do, do you think we'll know her? Or him?"
Moonwind looked thoughtful, then smiled. "Well, one thing I've learned for certain," he said sagely. "The universe works in mysterious ways. Who knows, man? Who knows? But that would be cool. Soul 22 may not remember us, though. We don't remember our experiences from The Great Before, after all. And we may not know 22, either."
"Yeah. I just hope 22 is doing okay out there."
"Me too, man." Moonwind lifted his coffee in a toast.
"Of course, the way I understood it, the souls could go to any point in time - so 22 could be in our past, present, or future." Joe's brow furrowed in thought; it was a difficult concept for humans. He vividly recalled one of the Jerries referring to the "feeble human mind" and wryly, silently agreed.
"Far out, man." Moonwind looked thoughtful. "The concept of time doesn't exist in the Great Before, then."
"No, it didn't. I don't really understand it," Joe admitted. "The Jerries all said the human mind had trouble grasping the concept."
"Totally! The universe is so much bigger than we are. We're just specks, man. Specks. Like tiny notes of music on an infinite page. Say, you playing at the Half-Note tonight?"
Joe laughed. "Yes."
He was extremely lucky; Dorothea had surprisingly agreed to let him play on Saturday nights with her band at the Half Note, despite the fact that he wanted to keep teaching junior high kids who could use the mentorship. She said she understood that - though it had been a surprise to him. She just gave him a sardonic look and said, "Well, Teach, if that's what you really want to do... I can't stop you. You're a damn good musician, though. Hate to lose you on other gigs. Consider playing out of town gigs during the summer with us, if you can get away," she sneered. But it was a compliment, one she really meant, and he appreciated it.
"Might come and listen tonight," Jerry said. "I always enjoy some good blues and jazz, though late 60's and 70's rock is still far out."
"You know," Joe laughed, "I never listened to that stuff before I met you. I just bought a Buffalo Springfield album at a vinyl store."
"Collecting vinyl is groovy, man. You'll have the shelves full in no time."
Joe rather thought Jerry was right about that. Pretty soon, the shelves in his flat would be full of vinyl. Maybe he could even introduce different music to some of his middle school students via the medium. That would be a trip. But it would be worth it - whatever it took to get and keep their interest.
And who knew? Maybe one day, Soul 22 would end up in his class. The thought made him smile. He hoped 22 was enjoying life...whether it was in the past, present, or future. That was all that really mattered: enjoying life.