The Other Side
Part Eleven
"Remember what?" he asked, looking around in the dark.
"Help me, it hurts!"
"What? What hurst?"
Paul sat up, sweating. The same dream, again. He wiped his hands through his hair, sighing. Already it was fading from memory.
Paul got out of bed and headed for the bathroom. The cool water from the shower poured down on him, bringing him back to reality. It was strange how during the dreams he seemed to remember everythin, but when he woke up he could barely remember the dream.
Paul stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He stared at his reflection in the mirror over the sink.
"I don't belong here," he said to his reflection. "But where do I belong?"
Unable to come up with an answer to his question, Paul sighed and went on with his day. He ran a comb through his hair, shaved, and dressed, ready to head out to work.
"So the party's at my place next Tuesday," Dan told him. "Lots of girls," he added with a grin. "You coming?"
Paul frowned as he glanced at his hands holding the burger he was eating. He didn't wear a wedding ring, but still...
"I don't know, Dan," he replied hesitantly. "I mean..." he trailed off. He didn't know if he had someone who was missing him right at that moment.
"Come on," Dan urged him. "It'll be fun. You don't have to come for the girls. Just come for the food."
Paul sighed and shrugged. "Okay," he replied finally. "I haven't got anything better to do." He grinned. "I'll be there."
Wednesday was Paul's day off, and that was a good thing, too, because he woke up that afternoon with a killer headache. He didn't remember much about the party the night before, but he took that as a good sign. Apparently the party had gone well.
He strolled over to his refrigerator and drank a cold can of soda. He wondered if he had any aspirin...
It was not until he was back in bed again after having downed two aspirin borrowed from Tony that he realized something. He hadn't had the dream that night.
"You sure man? It's gonna be great. Supposed to have a live band an everything," Dan encouraged.
"Man, it sounds great. But I promised Michelle we'd see a movie this saturday," Paul replied with visible regret.
"Michelle?" Dan asked. "I thought you didn't wanna get involved with anyone...just in case."
"I don't," Paul replied. "And I'm not. She's my landlord's niece, and they don't want her to go out alone, but she's been dying to see this movie and she doesn't know anybody. So I said I'd take her."
"You sure it ain't anything more?" Dan asked with a wink and a nudge.
Paul shook his head. "Trust me, it ain't," he replied.
"I'm so glad you agreed to take me, Paul," Michelle told him as they found their seats in the movie theater. "I've been waiting to see Monster Aliens Eat Seattle for the past month."
"Monster Aliens Eat Seattle?" Paul repeated. "Um...okay."
"Trust me, it'll be a great movie!" she told him as the lights went down...
"See, wasn't that a great movie?" Michelle asked.
Paul didn't reply. He seemed lost in thought.
"Paul, you okay?" she asked him.
"Huh? Oh, yeah," he replied. "I just had this strange sense of deja vu...like I've seen that movie before."
"I doubt it," she replied. They were walking back from the movie theater across town. "It's only been out for a week."
"Yeah, it just seemed kind of familiar," he replied.
"Have you seen any science fiction movies before?" she asked. "If you see a lot the plots run together and sound kind of similar."
Neon lights
"The titles aren't that different either," she admitted. "Man-Eating Octopus..."
Alien Mummies. Martian Mothers.
"I think I might have," he realized. "I remember some of those titles."
"Really? You remember?"
"Yeah," he replied.
Werewolves Eat Massachussetts.
"Werewolves Eat Massachussetts," he remembered suddenly.
"Did you see that? It was great. Full moon changed the citizens of Massachussetts.."
"into crazy wild werewolves with a grudge,"
"-that went on a wild killing rampage to get their fill of blood," Paul finished. "I think I might have seen it."
"Oh, that was a great movie," Michelle continued. "One of the best I've ever seen.." But Paul was no longer listening.
"Come on, guys, you gotta see it. It's the best movie. I mean the paper gave it four stars and everything."
A man, with wild hair was speaking to him.
"Another science fiction movie? Man, that's the seventh one this month!"
"Paul? Paul? Are you okay?" Michelle asked, worried.
Paul shook his head. "Yeah," he replied. "I'm okay."
Back to main page
Back to part ten
