Who he was, where he was and what he was doing had not fully dawned on him. For a moment, he thought perhaps he was dead again, for inside Solomon's mansion looked like heaven. The stars shimmered above them, the moon shone brightly too and although they were all artificial, its effects had been quite startling. They were having grilled chicken, potato fries and green salad for dinner. Simon licked his spoon savoring the tastiness of the food. For so long he had not tasted anything this good. The table was made of glossy ceramic which was shimmering with golden glitters scattered all around it like tiny grains of sand. Simone watched in awe as her brother ate ravishingly.
"That's unlike you," Simone said. "You don't eat meat!"
Simon paused, assimilating the information and then said, "Why?"
"You're a vegetarian," Simone replied in shock.
Simon scoffed, "Yeah right. Well I'm not any longer. Starting today I will eat meat."
Simone smiled at her brother silently questioning what was the matter with him. She dug into her brother's bowl of salad and groaned depressingly. She had vowed to start eating right but it was as difficult as climbing a tree was for a fish. Suddenly, the phone somewhere down the corridor erupted with a sharp ring. Simon was again startled. What was a landline doing in a house like this? Everyone had a private android phone.
"Don't worry I'll answer it," Simone said, rising. On her way she patted her brother on the shoulder.
She reached the phone and picked up the call.
"Hello," Simone said softly.
"Aāllō," Hello, a deep intoned voice said in Arabic. "Kayfa hālik?" How are you?
"Sorry, this is a wrong number," said Simone as she hung up.
As she approached the table Simon turned to her and said, "Who was that?"
"Dunno, just somebody who was speaking ara-"
The phone rang violently and Simone swore under her breath. She did not know Simon had followed behind her. As she was about to receive the call in a furry Simon placed a palm over hers and took the receiver from her.
"Aāllō, kayfa hālak?" the voice repeated.
"Fine," Simon said. "Asālam alaykum." Peace be upon you. Simone recoiled in shock. Did her brother learn to do certain things during the coma? How was he speaking Arabic?
"Wa' alaykum as-salām." And also with you said the voice on the other end of the receiver. Simone, eager to hear the discussion, pressed herself to her brother's side.
"Tallama Inglezi?" Do you speak English? said Simon.
"Yes I speak that," the man replied. "What is your name?"
"Ismee Simon," Simon said, stroking his sister's hair.
"Great!" the voice boomed enthusiastically. "Just the person I needed to speak with."
"Speak with me about?" Simon asked, surprised. "What is your name?"
"Peter Brooklyn," the man said, sounding like he was revealing a top secret. "I have urgent news for you but I sense that you're not alone. We should meet at the Breakfast and Bed restaurant on Pearl Street tomorrow morning. The Egyptian man sent me to you."
Simon's eyes widened and he said rapidly, "Takalam bel' Arabia le kay la yafhamo." Speak in Arabic so they don't understand.
"There's no need. However you mustn't reveal what the Egyptian said to anyone," Peter Brooklyn said and the line went dead.
Simon stood transfixed for a moment
Simone waved her hands in his face and said, "Hello?"
"Yeah sorry I, I was just wondering about something," he said as he walked back to the dining room.
"When did you learn to speak Arabic and who is the Egyptian man?" Simone asked as she sat down.
"I was learning before I had my accident," Simon lied. "The Egyptian? Oh I wouldn't worry about him. He is just some old man I'm helping out after teaching me Arabic."
"Right," Simone said. "Guess what? Nevermind you suck at guessing anyways. I saw this hot man in the Breakfast and Bed restaurant the night you came out of your coma."
"Really? Tell me about him."
"He's hot, okay I've mentioned that. I don't know much but he said his name is Kane. He was at our party although I don't recall seeing him. I think I have a crush on him. I'll follow you tomorrow to the restaurant, maybe he will have breakfast there too. I'm dying to see him again."
"I share in your delight dear sister but please I want to meet with Peter in private as requested. So are you planning on asking him out?"
"Well I think he has someone," Simone said with a resigned sigh. "She's really beautiful by the way."
"So why are you going after someone who already has somebody?" Simon said, pouring himself a glass of soda.
"As ladies, some of us have an impeccable taste in men, and when we don't have what we crave, we just can't settle for less. She's just not craving him I can tell."
"I see," Simon said. "We could check in on Kane in the evening. If it's his habit to eat at the restaurant there are more chances of seeing him at night."
"Okay," Simone replied, stealing the glass of fruit juice Simon had poured for himself. She downed its content with guilty pleasure.
Simon laid in his bedroom thinking about Peter Brooklyn. He wondered if any of it was real? He had a hard time distinguishing reality from dreams. Had he really awoken from his coma? He wondered. He shook his head and pinched himself feeling every bit of the pain. Right, so it was real. Then how come somebody else knew about his dream on the island. He recognized himself but part of him felt like he was somebody else. How could he speak a language other than English? How was he able to eat meat? He knew he should not eat it but he was overcome with a feeling of desire. When he ate it it tasted like magic.
The grim reaper had spared their lives. Instead of death they were given a choice. The gatekeeper to the afterlife had given them another chance. Perhaps it was a chance to say goodbye or a chance to start over. Shane had died in order to feel alive that very morning. So instead of waiting for the grim reaper to come for him he had taken the bold step to the gates of the afterlife.Death had been unwilling to claim Shane's soul and in exchange she took that of another. At first Simon had been unwilling to participate, but then he thought what the hell? Rather than die, if it was only his soul, the seat of his emotion, that was going to be exchanged to keep those his priceless memories then why not?However, memories were not just formed from experience of the mind alone. The soul, the centre of emotions, also stores
Stephanie was driving down the road from her new apartment to the Breakfast and Bed restaurant. Tiffany rode with her in the front seat. "Come on, look alive!" Stephanie said, eyeing Tiffany from the corner of her eyes. "You always tell me to go out with Kane. Today I've decided we will all go out on a friendship date and you look gloomy as hell." "I don't think he would appreciate me coming along," Tiffany said, not hiding her frustration. "Look at the bright side," Stephanie said, finally entering the street where the restaurant was situated. She could see its facade. "With you by my side I'll be more confident in playing along with his demands." "Just accept his marriage proposal already," Tiffany groaned. "Shane is gone, you should live on." "Honestly," Stephanie said, turning off the ignition as the car stood still in the parking lot. "I've considered d
"Great news Simon!" Simone said, eyes wide open. They were sitting on the soft grass in the beautiful orchard that surrounded the driveway of the mansion."What news? Come on, tell me!" Simon said, sounding desperate for it."Dad has decided that we all will go to California for the summer," Simone said."Woah!" Simon said, enthusiastically. "That would be awesome!""Yea of course it'll be," she replied. They both fell silent for a while.Simon forced his eidetic memory to remember if he had been to California but there was no record of it. He was familiar with California. It was one of the coolest resort centres in the world filled with beautiful beaches and it was the perfect place for a summer vacation. A slight breeze blew, the grass swayed gracefully beneath the spectrum of the descending sun. Looking at the horizon, Simon saw the blazing clouds. His
Kane had driven past the B and B restaurant and continued on his way down to the construction site. He was slowly starting to resent the restaurant. Over the past few hours he had struggled with himself not to go and check in on Stephanie. She was a tough nut to crack. One minute he thought he had her, and the next she was turning down his marriage proposal.He breathed the air of the city deep into his lungs and there was a warm feeling accompanied with it. He noticed the changes in the leaves of the trees and grasses on the lawns. They had started to dry up, making them turn shades of brown or yellow. He spotted a woman watering her flowers in her garden near her front porch. It indeed felt like summer was approaching. Part of the sky looked remarkably orange in color as the sun went down.As he rounded up a corner entering Pearls Street, he saw the construction site come into sight. He just wanted to have a view of it, he told
Kane and Stephanie were still sitting on the window pavement. His phone was buzzing.He answered, "Hello, who's on the line?""Hello Kane, it's me Simone," she said. Kane looked at Stephanie but she was smiling softly at him. She was sitting close enough to hear both of their conversations."Simone Solomon?" Kane asked, looking astonished."Yes. I know you're wondering how I got your number," Simone said, pausing for his response."Well, it's my business line, I mean you could literally just get it off my company's website. But hey I never told you what job I worked, so yeah I'm wondering.""I'm not contacting you for business Mr Kane. Far from it," Simone said, pausing for three seconds. "Where are you now? I'm at the B and B. Could you make it there? I really want to see you please.""Well I'm really busy," Kane said. Stephanie ga
The Joker Grand hotel was legally owned by the Solomon's. Tonight its beautiful event hall was used as the venue for the book launch of Try Again. Try Again was written by New York bestselling author Erik Wilson. He had written three successful books on reincarnation stories and this was the fourth. It never got boring.Journalists, reporters, sponsors, and other famous writers gathered here. Stephanie and Tiffany were dressed in long embroidered gowns that made them look like princesses. They strided through the long red carpeted floor moving towards Peter Brooklyn and his friend. They both had their backs against the ladies and were talking and laughing at the same time. Peter had gotten them their invites.As they closed in on Peter, they saw who he had been talking animatedly with from a distance. It was none other than Erik Wilson the author. Erik was an average human with a clean shaven head and light brown eyes. He wore a transp
Erik had gone ahead and talked briefly about the characters and plots contained in his book. Then he got up and said, "I have a demonstration to make and I'd like to invite my friend Peter Brooklyn who's an astrologist and mystics to join me up on stage." "What's this about?" Tiffany asked Peter who was already getting up. "I don't know what Erik wants from me," Peter said corkily. "But it's gotta be very amazing going up on stage with the star of the night." Simone cleared her throat which made Stephanie and Tiffany turn their attention to her. Simone then went on to say, "Hello ladies this must feel awkward but believe me it's nothing. We picked this seat because we know you guys and it'll probably be the last time we will be seeing each other in a while. Tiffany you can stop scowling now." "I just don't get you Simone," Tiffany said. "Why are you stalking someone else's fiance?"
The book launch had come to an end with the demonstration. Erik and Peter were still up on stage. They could be seen attending to a line of people. Stephanie was walking back to the table with Simon."Hey that was really weird," Simon said."Yeah I am not sure how I feel after that," Stephanie said, pausing in her tracks. "I mean I was so sure I'd fail at least once!""You bet!" Simon said, "I thought it was a bluff but now I'm starting to feel otherwise."Stephanie continued walking and she said, "Anyways, I think it's a trick. I watch a lot of magic shows. We should inspect those pearls properly. Maybe there's a way it changes its colors."They arrived at their table. Simone and Tiffany looked like Tom and Jerry forced to be in the same space. Something in Simon's memory made him think Tiffany would have been the kind of girl he should like. However, his emoti