The Renaissance
Prologue
The year was 2074 and Hannah Snow Descouedres was dying. Thierry sat at her bedside holding her hand. Her hand was wrinkled and leathery with age. Her hair was silver white, but her eyes still held that intelligent air. Thierry, on the other hand, looked as young as when he had first married her 77 years ago. Those seventy-seven years had been the happiest of his life. Hannah was 97 and they had just celebrated her birthday a couple of months ago. "Don't die on me," whispered Thierry, sadly. "I love you more then anything in this universe.
Hannah looked at him lovingly, a slight smile on her lips, "I love you Thierry. I suppose I always have and I always will," Hannah whispered, hoarsely. "Just promise me one thing."
"What?" Thierry asked.
"Just survive until I am born again, even if it takes two hundred years," said Hannah.
Thierry nodded saying nothing, as Hannah slowly kissed his lips, then breathed her last breath and died. Tears started rolling down Thierry's cheeks and he couldn't stop them. He kissed her forehead gently then slowly covered her with a sheet.
75 years later
Thierry Descouedres sat in his limo trying to get some work done, but all her could think about was Hannah. He had sensed 17 years ago that his link with Hannah had been renewed. He had been searching for her for nearly a year and had not found her yet.
Thierry sighed and closed his eyes slowly, bringing Hannah's beautiful face into view—her blondish-brown hair, her gray eyes; her slim figure and her birthmark that lay like the petal of a rose across her cheek. Thierry sighed again opened his eyes and tried to get back to work.
~~~Thierry and Leigh~~~
Leigh Thornson sat in class sighing. She lived in one of the most boring towns in the universe namely a small town known as Castle Rock Maine. Not to mention all the boys were so immature. She needed a man in her life, but every boy she ever dated just wasn't right for her. They all meant well, but they were all so boring. She sighed again, pushing her long blondish-red hair out of her face, to reveal a birthmark across her left cheek. It looked like a petal of a rose had rested on her cheek for a moment and left an imprint on her flesh. Her blue eyes tried to concentrate on the board ahead. Finally the bell rang for the last class of the day and Leigh practically leapt out of her chair. Her best friend Cat had a hard time keeping up. "What's wrong?" asked Cat. "You seem so restless lately."
"I don't know, I just feel like my life is so empty," said Leigh, sighing. "It's like a part of me is missing," said Leigh and she had no idea how true that statement was.
Cat did not reply she just sat beside her friend as Leigh drove home through the skies.
~~~Thierry and Leigh~~~
That night Leigh went to bed and fell asleep only to have the dreams start again. They had been going on for almost a year, ever since she had turned 16. She dreamed of a man, his white-blond hair falling over his forehead, his dark eyes full of love and affection. She felt as if she knew him, though she couldn't say from where. All she knew was that here was the man she had been looking for all her life, if he really existed. The man seemed to be calling her name, "Hannah," he called. Leigh frowned in her sleep, confused. Hannah wasn't her name, but maybe it had been in another life. Suddenly her dream changed and she was getting married to the man, only it wasn't her and yet it was. Her skin was lighter, less tanned, her hair was darker and she had gray eyes instead of blue, but the birthmark was there, the same one that was on her cheek right now. "I love you Hannah," the man was saying in her dream, "And remember I will always love you. We will meet again in another life I promise you."
Her dream self kissed the stranger then and Leigh felt love as she had never felt before in her life. Suddenly, something seemed to grab her dream self and Leigh screamed in her sleep. She sat up and it took her a few minutes to realize she was in her own bed. Leigh wiped her brow slowly and lay back down. It was a long time before she fell asleep again.
~~~Thierry and Leigh~~~
Thierry paced through the halls of his home, a worried frown on his brow. He could sense even at this distance, that Hannah or whatever her name was, was upset. He sent a wave of love and affection in her direction and she seemed to calm down. If only he knew where she was, he would go there immediately. As Thierry continued to pace through the halls, he thought of Hannah, her long, blondish-brown hair, her intelligent gray eyes, her slim figure. Thierry sighed again he just had to find her.
~~~Thierry and Leigh~~~
Leigh walked the halls of her school, heading for her next class when someone approached her from behind. "Leigh," said the voice, as he walked beside her.
"What can I do for you Ridge?" inquired Leigh, afraid she already knew the answer. He had been hounding her for months about going out with him, but she had always turned him down. She thought he was he was a jerk, even if he was the most popular guy in school. And as most of the girls he sighed over him said extremely handsome.
"I would like you to go with me to the school dance," said Ridge.
"Sorry, Ridge, I already have other plans that night," said Leigh, politely, but firmly. Ridge had dark hair and eyes that seemed to change color constantly. He was built like football player and was on every sports team in school.
"Nobody has ever turned me down once, much less all the times you've turned me down," said Ridge, angrily.
"To bad, now if you'll excuse me I need to get to class," said Leigh, walking away without another word, praying that he would not follow.
That afternoon Leigh entered her room and sat down on her bed, reading over the note she had found in her notebook again. She kept finding these notes, she had supposedly written in a lot of odd places. Oh they were in her handwriting all right she just didn't remember writing them. On read, "You have got to find your soulmate." Soulmate? Leigh asked herself. Another note said, "His name is Thierry, you have got to find him." Was that the guy in her dream? –The one with the white blond hair and sad; loving eyes? Leigh wondered. Leigh shook her head wondering if she was going crazy, but somehow she didn't think so. It was if she had memories of a past life locked away and they were dying to get out.
Leigh tried to do her homework, but couldn't concentrate. Finally, she sighed in frustration. She was going to have to find a solution to her problem and soon.
~~~Thierry and Leigh~~~
The next; day Leigh and Cat were up in Leigh's room together, when Leigh looked up. "Cat," said Leigh.
"Yes?" asked Cat, after a minute when Leigh did not continue.
"You know those dreams I've been having?" asked Leigh. Cat nodded and waited for her friend to continue. "Well I think the dreams are trying to tell me something."
"Like what?" Cat asked.
"I'm not absolutely sure, but I want you to hypnotize me and ask me some questions. Find out what the problem is," said Leigh. She went on to explain what she wanted Cat to do.
"But isn't that; dangerous? Especially if you don't know what you are doing and I certainly don't," said Cat, trying to talk her friend out of doing something so risky.
"Please Cat, if I don't find out what is going on inside my head I'm going to go crazy," Leigh pleaded.
Cat sighed and finally nodded. Leigh handed her an old pocket watch that had been her father's and lay down on the bed. Cat's green eyes looked worried as she began.
"All right; just relax and close your eyes. Now when I count to three you will be asleep, but answer my questions as best you can and when I snap my fingers you will wake up feeling refreshed."
"I will wake up feeling refreshed," Leigh, repeated, now in a trance.
"Now go back in your mind and find out what has been troubling you," said Cat. A tunnel seemed to form in Leigh's mind and sucked her in. Before she knew it she was somewhere else entirely. "I am in the hall of a mansion, I'm not sure where," said Leigh as she looked around. "The hall looks familiar it is as if I have lived here before and walked these halls hundreds of times. There are two people coming down the hall." Leigh kept up the narration as best she could as she got closer to the two people. The two people headed into a den and sat down.
"So Thierry where are we headed?" asked the girl on the couch.
"Well, Hannah I thought we could go out to dinner," said the man called Thierry. The way Thierry looked at Hannah and the way Hannah looked at Thierry said it all, thought Leigh. The woman called Hannah looked about 25 and the man called Thierry looked about 19 maybe 20. The conversation between the two went on for quite some time and during it Leigh learned she was in Las Vegas around the year 2003. "All right Cat, bring me back," called Leigh to her friend back in the real world.
"All right Leigh now when I snap my fingers you will be back in your room feeling refreshed," said Cat, as she snapped her fingers. At first nothing happened then the tunnel appeared and sucked Leigh through it. Before she knew it she was back in her room. Leigh sat up and looked at her friend.
"So did you find out what you needed to know?" asked Cat.
"I think so and I've got to call Las Vegas Nevada," said Leigh. "Now all I have to do is call the operator have her connect me to the Las Vegas operator and ask for the number of a Thierry Descouedres."
Leigh dialed a 0 on the phone, with, Cat standing over her shoulder and waited for a reply. Nowadays, considering the year was 2149 they had phones with video a screen. Finally the operator came on and asked, "How may I help you young lady?"
"Could you connect to the Las Vegas operator, please," requested Leigh, politely.
"One moment," said the operator.
A moment later the operator of Las Vegas appeared on Leigh's video screen, "How may I help you?" asked the operator.
"I am looking for a phone number for a Thierry Descouedres," said Leigh. I just hope his number is not unlisted, thought Leigh, worriedly.
"One moment please," said the operator. A few minutes later the phone began to ring and after the third ring the line was activated.
A face appeared on the screen. She looked like a young woman about 25, with silvery-brown hair and hazel eyes. And for some reason Leigh felt as if she knew her. "May I help you?" asked the young woman.
"Yes, I'm looking for a Thierry Descouedres," said Leigh, calmly, although she was quivering inside.
"May I ask who is calling?" asked the woman.
"Leigh Thornson."
"I will tell him when he gets in. If you will leave your number," Leigh sighed and silently brushed her hair out of her face, away from her birthmark. In other words thank you for calling, but don't call again without an appointment.
The lady on the screen silently gasped when she saw the birthmark. "One moment please," said the lady, as she hurriedly turned away from the screen so Leigh would not see her shocked expression. As she disappeared from the screen Leigh sat back wondering what the hell had happened. Leigh could hear the woman calling Thierry's name over the connection.
~~~Thierry and Leigh~~~
He appeared suddenly out of one of the rooms in his mansion and asked what the matter was. The girl whispered something in his ear and a shocked looked crossed his face. "Are you sure?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm sure, she has the birthmark."
Thierry quickly walked over to the phone and sat down in front of the screen. What he saw made him gasp. Except for the lighter hair, darker skin and blue eyes, she looked almost like Hannah. And at almost the same moment on the other end of the connection Leigh gasped. It was the man from her dream. She wondered why she hadn't noticed when she was hypnotized.
"Leigh," Thierry began, calmly although he was quivering inside, "I understand you've been looking for me."
"Yes I have, Mr. Descouedres," said Leigh.
"Call me Thierry everyone else does. Now what can I do for you?"
"I have a feeling you are the center of all my troubles Thierry," Leigh began.
"Oh?" inquired Thierry, calmly, trying to keep the excitement he felt from showing on his face. And Leigh began to explain it all to him. As she talked Thierry listened with half an ear as he stared at her. As for Leigh she found she enjoyed talking to him, it was almost like she had known him all her life.
"I will explain everything when I come down in a few days. Where are you?" asked Thierry.
"Castle Rock Maine," said Leigh, as she gave him her home address. Thierry nodded and signed off. When he cut the phone off; he couldn't keep a grin from spreading on his face.
~~~Thierry and Leigh~~~