Christine

I tossed and turned in the bed I share with John all night. I was still upset with him. That fight we had had earlier that afternoon still stuck with me. How stupid does he think I am? I know that he's cheating on me. I just don't know with who or how to catch him. And I don't know what I'm going to do when I do catch him. Would I be strong enough to walk away from him?

My worries about my relationship with John weren't the only thing on my mind preventing me from getting a good night's rest. The interesting stranger who came in just before last call was on my mind too. I knew him from somewhere. I just couldn't place where. He kept saying 'you do remember me, don't you?' I believe in reincarnation. Could I have known this interesting stranger from another life? And if so, why was he so interested in me now? What kind of life, if any, did we have together in the past? I still get chills when I think about how my body felt like it was on fire when his hand touched mine. Why did he keep calling me Abigail?

This gentleman wasn't really my type. John is my type. He's strong, he's got a great sense of humor, he's handsome, he's an all around good guy and everyone loves him. This stranger, Bray, was something else. I didn't really like facial hair; he had an impressive beard and longer hair. He wasn't fit and trim like John; he was shorter and stout. Although I could tell that he was sort of muscular too. The one feature that I could not get out of my head about him were his eyes. They were blue and they seemed to peer right into the depths of me. He was searching for something when his eyes met mine, I felt that, but what exactly was he looking for?

"Babe? Are you still awake?" a sleepy voiced John mumbled beside me. He glanced over at the alarm clock. "It's almost five thirty….did you sleep at all?" I shook my head and moved closer to John, allowing his big arms to wrap around my waist and pull me closer to him. With his face resting in the crook of my neck, I finally felt myself relax. I closed my eyes. I would worry about this interesting stranger another time….

.

.

It was three days later, and many hours of thinking about what I was going to do, before I finally worked up enough curiosity and courage to go to the North End Hotel. Thursday was my official day off and usually I spent it preparing meals to freeze so John had something to eat for supper when I was at work. I also ran errands and got caught up with housework. I was in training to be the perfect housewife. Too bad the chances of John actually wanting to settle down and marry me were slim to none. He was happy with our current arrangement. He was also happy with the fact that he thought I was too stupid to realize he was cheating on me.

I parked my car in the hotel parking lot and turned off the engine. I still have time to back out, I thought to myself as I sat there for a few minutes. I had just about convinced myself that this was a bad idea and put my and on the key to turn on the ignition, when there was a sudden rap on my driver side window. I let out a small screech as I peered into the dark and empty eyes of one of the men that was in the bar the other night.

He tapped on the glass again and motioned for me to roll the window down. I slowly rolled down the window. "Yes?" I squeaked. This guy was creeping me out. He had long dark hair with a long black beard. His eyes were so brown they almost looked black. And blank. They had such a blank look to them.

"He's been waiting for you," the man said simply before he reached down and opened my car door. I didn't know what to do; should i close the door and get the hell out of there, or should I go through with this and see what the interesting stranger wanted?

Against my better judgement, I grabbed my purse and got out of the car. Once the man saw that I was indeed coming with him, he abruptly turned around and started towards the hotel entrance.

.

.

"She taught me. She taught me from a young age. She said 'you got to get them before they get you. A rattlesnake's skin is the same color as the leaves,' she said. And we all understood her. She led us with her love but she taught us that the fires, well, they were our friends too. 'The world is an evil place,' she said. And we agreed. And I was there, I was there when she took her final breath."

The interesting stranger was pacing back and forth in the hotel room when I followed the tall man with dark hair into the room. He immediately took a seat next to the bald man with the red beard and stared at the man who was pacing; he was the reason I was here as well, so I tentatively took a seat on the edge of the bed.

He smiled widely at me before he started speaking again. "She pulled me in close and she said, 'you're the one.' She said, 'They chose you, long before you were ever in existence.' And I understood what she meant. Her touch could save the world but her kiss burns it to the ground. I love you, Sister Abigail."

He came over to me and knelt in front of me. "Tell me, Abigail. Are we going to save the world, or burn it down?"

The moment his startling blue eyes met mine, I knew that I did indeed know him from another life. Visions of running through the woods, his hand in mine, starting to run through my mind. Visions of him laying me down on a soft pile of leaves ran through my mind. I knew. I knew him. He was my lover…..and he had every intention to pick up where we left off.