The Dreamers

The girl stood on the shore with her long rustic hair blowing in the onshore breeze as she spread her arm's wide and closed her eyes with the sea lapping around her bare feet.

She smiled and breathed deeply of the brisk fresh air as she listened to the sounds of the waves crashing on the rocks in the distance. Behind her, on the beach, the people were enjoying the late afternoon sun as it glowed in the deep blue sky.

Opening her eyes, the girl looked over her shoulder at the people. Some wandering alone, others with companions, most in family groups sat on the golden sands looking happy and content. She gave a faint smile of regret for the world and those in it seemed at peace with themselves.

Her attention was drawn to a group of children playing and splashing in the shallows a short distance to her left without a care in the world. She looked down at her feet and wriggled her toes in the wet sand as the tide went out to rush back in again a moment later. Each trouser leg of her dark grey uniform was rolled up and she turned to pick up her boots that she had left on the sand behind her as the device beeped behind her right ear.

She turned and raised her hand to shield her eyes from the bright sun looking for him. Where was he? The beep turned into a whisper and the whisper told her he was close.

It was then she saw him. Standing slightly away from a group of other children and adults.

The girl grinned when she saw he was looking up into the sky with his arms spread wide. She was certain it was him as she slipped on her footwear and walked towards him.

"Hello," she said as she knelt down in front of him.

The boy turned and looked at her with a frown on his chubby face. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Oh, just someone," she said to him, "A friend."

The little boy lowered his arm's and turned to face her. "Do I know you?"

"No," the girl replied as she looked into his brown eyes, "But you will do. One day."

"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

The girl nodded. "That's good advice. Just remember, I won't be a stranger forever."

It was then she saw a middle-aged woman and man approaching her. The girl stood up and looked down at the boy. It was obvious they were related in some way.

"Ah," said the woman, "Can I help you?" she asked as she took the boy by the shoulders and hugged him to her. The man was behind her fiddling with a device of some sort. He took a few steps back, raised the small black box to his face and pointed it at them before he let it hang by the strap around his neck.

The girl shook her head and smiled. "Oh, I was just saying hello to your little boy. He's a charmer."

The woman visibly relaxed and looked down at him. "He is that. I'm sorry but I don't think we know you and I've always told him to be careful who he talks to."

The girl nodded. "I understand. It was nothing. I just had the urge to say hello. I'd best be on my way. Nice meeting you."

She gave the boy a short wave and watched as they made their way back up the beach to where their chairs, baskets, and things were laid out on the sand.

"What is your name?" she called after him.

The boy stopped and looked up at his Grandmother who nodded. He stepped forward a few paces. "Harry Watts," he called to her, "My name is Harry Watts and I'm six years old!"

The girl stared at him for a moment. This little boy who would come to mean everything to her in her future. She raised a hand as she felt the tears sting her eyes.

"Till we meet again, my love," she whispered.

The girl turned away to walk back along the shore and from whence she came.

***

The music slowly faded away and all that was left was the sound of silence and those special words hanging there in the dark.

It was a silence filled with so many things. Anticipation. Expectation. Even fear. Fear of disappointment. Fear that three years of that anticipation and expectation wouldn't be met.

The auditorium held its collective breath as I glanced along the row at my friends sitting to my left. Friends who had been on the same journey as I had. A journey that had taken six years to complete and here we all were at the end of it. After today, everything would just be nothing more than a memory. Something to look back on and say we had been there.

The moment had arrived as I felt my heart thudding madly in my chest.

Then the world exploded into a cacophony of light and sound as the fanfare blasted out and everyone began to clap and cheer.

"STAR WARS: EPISODE VI RETURN OF THE JEDI"

Like everyone around me, I sat there with a stupid grin on my face as the story began to unfold before my eyes. It was May 25th, 1983. I was eighteen years old and all was right in my world.

***

Three hours later.

"Teddy bears," said Barney around a mouthful of double cheeseburger with everything on it, "Are you telling me a bunch of fucking teddy bears kicked the Empires ass?"

The Burger bar was rammed packed and the four of us sat huddled together in a far corner on the ground floor as Benny and the Jets rocked from the old style 50's jukebox next to us.

"Leia was hot," said Duggie as he contemplated his extra large hot dog stuffed with fried onions. His eyes had practically bugged out of his head when he saw the Princess wearing that skimpy slave outfit.

We all nodded and mumbled in unison. Yeah. No doubt about that. Hot didn't even begin to cover it.

"You'll have to buy Debbie that get up for Christmas, Harry," laughed Wade as he gave Barney a nudge, "She might be into all that kinky bondage stuff."

I gave him a look. "Sure," I grunted at him sarcastically, "Like she would ever wear something like that, you dope," Which was true enough sadly. She may have been the potential apple of my eye but that girl had been born a nun.

God knows, it had taken me all of my time to even get to first base with her and trying to steal second inside her blouse or under her skirt would definitely be a step too far. To get that far would probably mean either a ring on her finger or her old man standing behind me with a shotgun and a Priest out front.

I sighed and stuffed a handful of fries into my face. Why'd she have to be the cutest little thing in class? Her and that long blonde hair of hers. And those boobs. And ass. And the legs that went on forever. You big dope. Always a sucker for a pretty smile. It's not like I was head over heels or anything either.

Why was I making life so complicated for myself?

Wade took a long slurp of coke through his straw and looked at me. "I hear you got onto that work placement scheme," he said, "Through the College. Metro-Grid or something?"

"Yeah," I nodded as I grabbed a tissue and wiped my mouth, "Start in a couple of weeks. Think I got lucky as a few put in for that particular slot. I guess keeping wide awake in Physics and Math back in High School paid off."

"What are you going to major in?"

"Linesman tech, hopefully," I replied, "Working outdoors. Installations. Maintenance. That sort of thing. Work my way from the ground up so that I can be on a crew and, if things work out, get my own truck in the future. Simple."

Except it really wasn't. Linesman was a good paying job especially for these parts so there was probably going to be a lot of competition for however many slots were available this turnover.

Barney made a face and shook his head. "Nah, screw that," he laughed dismissively, "That sounds like too much hard work. Have you seen the Winters around here lately? You'll be out at God knows what hour stuck up a pole with two feet of snow under you and a blizzard blowing around your ball sack. Just stick me in a nice warm office with a nice big desk, a sexy brunette as my secretary, and a new company car each year and I'm good to go."

"More like asking if they want fries to go knowing you, you lazy bum" snorted Wade as he avoided the rolled up burger wrapper thrown at him.

"Asshole," grinned Barney as he yawned and stretched in his seat, "What about you, Chief?" he wondered as he looked across the table, "Got any plans to get out of this dump?"

The fourth member of our little troop was Josh. He was the strong, silent, and languid type. A regular slow-mo Joe who looked like a hicksville version of a young Clint Eastwood. Nothing much bothered Josh. Least of all a sandy-haired, freckled faced motormouth like Barnabus Willaby the Third. Josh was also the oldest at nineteen and kind of the defacto leader of the gang. Nothing official or set in stone, but if shit went down Josh was always the first one to stand up and the kind of guy who would go the extra yard for you.

"Lumber probably," he said in that drawl of his, "Working for the old man until the old man ain't working anymore. From then on I'll be my own Boss. Harry here has the right idea. Get a trade, a profession under your belt. Do something that folks will always need. With him, it's the electric. With me, it's lumber."

The rest of us sat there listening and nodding. The man talked sense and pretty much had the right of it. Even motormouth had shut up for once.

Yeah. If none of us were going to get the hell out of Dodge at least try and find something that made staying here bearable. Life was pretty much going to be; get through College, get a decent job, find a girl, get married, settle down, have kids, see them up and gone, retire and, finally, shuffle off this mortal coil.

And then see what happens next.

Now that was depressing as fuck.

***

The girl looked up.

All around her, the stars burned brightly across the vast nothingness of space as her little ship neared its destination.

A slight vibration told her that she was about to slip back into observed reality and the numbers flickering and floating inside her cockpit would be the precise point the insertion would take place. She stared at them as they slowed with her machine adjusting its position as it flew along the Newton line.

34:15:25:05:1983 - 33:15:25:05:1983 - 32:15:25:05:1983 - 31:15:25:05:1983

There was another stronger vibration as the engine throttled back and the insertion began with the girl feeling herself being pushed back into her padded seat. This part always made her heart beat faster for it was the most dangerous moment of her journey.

The canopy of her ship tinted as it emerged into bright sunlight with the vents to the rear opening to allow the engine to cool down. The dark panel in front of her erupted into a digital firework display as reams of data skittered across its surface.

The girl sat forward staring intently at the readouts and main dials.

She was here. She had arrived in exactly the right place and at exactly the right time that had been pre-set and arranged by the team back home.

She had landed in the Holocene epoch. In the astronomical year of 1983. On the twenty-fifth day of the month of May and it had just gone three-thirty in the afternoon. The girl smiled and did her initial prep before she stepped out into a whole different period in human history.

"Tint minus 40," she said as she peered through the cockpit at the outside world. The ship was in some sort of back alley with brick walls rising high either side of it. It was partially hidden in the shadows cast by the sun as it sat overhead.

"Open please."

There was a soft click then hiss as the teardrop shaped canopy slid back into the slot above where her seat was. She could feel that peculiar "kick" in her chest as she drew her first breath and exhaled slowly. Standing up, she carefully stepped out of her cockpit and watched as the canopy slid back into place.

"Plus point one. Voice recall. Kira J. Copy."

The machine beeped and disappeared.

Satisfied, the girl brushed off the faint layer of dust that had settled on her flight suit with her right hand and slowly made her way to the entrance of the alley.

***

The mid-afternoon sun was high in the sky as we made our way out of the Burger Bar onto the sidewalk across from the local cinema where another long line had formed for the next showing. All around us people were going about doing their thing and the buzz of bumper to bumper traffic filled the air.

"Need a lift?" asked Josh as he fiddled around in his denim jacket looking for his keys.

Barney and Wade nodded. "Taxi to go!" laughed Wade as he slipped on his shades and stood running his fingers through his slick black hair as he stared at his reflection in the shop window.

For some reason, I felt I needed to do my own thing so I waved my hand at them. "Nah, gonna go for a walk. I need to get some tapes for the VCR. Have a look around some stores. That sort of thing. I'll catch you guys later."

"Okay, Bud," said Josh as the three of them turned and crossed the road to where the oldest member of our group had parked his Chevy, "Don't do anything stupid!" he laughed, turning to give me a thumbs up.

Yeah. Sure. Whatever.

I turned and headed North along the long line of stores which made up the main shopping street in the district. Stores that pretty much sold everything from a paperclip to a house as I browsed in their windows and wandered on my way. I glanced up as I walked under the old station clock and stopped for a moment not sure where I wanted to go next. It had gone three-forty-five and I could do with a drink.

It was a seriously hot late Spring day and the light breeze was a blessed relief as I stopped at the lights waiting for them to change. The problem with this place it was either too damned hot or too damned cold. It was usually one of the other with Autumn passing in the blink of an eye. I stood there shielding my gaze from the bright sunlight when something caught my eye. Something out of the ordinary.

There across the street.

It was someone, not a something. Standing next to the alley that divided Brookers Supplies and O'Malleys the Pawnbrokers. I frowned as I tried to make out who it was that had drawn my attention.

I suddenly froze and felt a cold shiver run down my spine.

No. Wait. It couldn't be.

The lights changed to red and I quickly crossed the road along with the other pedestrians and stood there in a store doorway staring intently at the figure who had stepped out into the daylight so I could finally see what she looked like.

It was a girl.

An impossible girl with long auburn hair blowing freely in the breeze.

My whole world was concentrated on her as she turned and walked away from me as she began to look in the various store windows that she passed. I could see a smile on her face and a happy bounce in her step as she made her way oblivious to the people around her.

It was then I realized what she was wearing. A dark grey one-piece outfit that looked more like a uniform than anything else. A uniform that I had seen before.

I could feel my heart hammering wildly in my chest. This is ridiculous. This can't be happening. Calm down. Think. Think rationally. There was absolutely no way she should be here. For a second, I thought I was dreaming as the memories came flooding back. Memories that had always been there at the back of my mind.

It had to be a dream. There was no other possible explanation because she had come from a dream. My dream. Back when I must have been about twelve or so. I glanced down at my hands and balled them into fists.

No. No, this was real.

There was only going to be one way to find out.

I suddenly realized I was shaking. Alright. We need to get a grip, Harry Watts. Get a fucking grip. Taking a deep breath, I took a step forward. Then another and another. The girl still hadn't seen me because of the other people on the sidewalk as I followed her to see wherever it was she was going and what she was up to.

***

It was at the corner of Third Avenue and Madison where my life changed forever.

Dexters department store was a four-story building that had been there since the 1920's. It was pretty much the go to place if you wanted something a little bit more classy and a lot more expensive in this neck of the woods. It sold everything from kitchenware to furniture to men's and women's wear and jewelry. If you were a kid, the top floor was manna from heaven with a toy department that was stocked with all kinds of goodies.

I stood watching the girl intently.

She had this odd way about her. Like, how she'd turn and stare at something that caught her eye and she'd laugh and sort of skip away to look for something else. She seemed fascinated by everything and everyone.

I decided to make my move when she went into Dexters. Though I had absolutely no idea what the hell I was going to say or do when I confronted her. How do you talk to someone who shouldn't even exist?

Maybe I had seen her before and that's why she had been in my twelve-year-old dream. She was just another stranger with a strange face wandering around my iD like my mother had originally said. That had to be the only answer. I guess I was about to find out. I was going to come out of this looking like a complete loon.

Nancy on perfumes gave me a smile from behind her counter as I entered the busy store. Nancy was going on fifty and was an outrageous flirt who dressed like Liberace on a bad day.

"Hey, sweetie," she said as she rearranged various concoctions on the shelves behind her, "Mom not with you?"

I shook my head but kept my eyes on the figure going up the escalator to the next floor which was ladies and men's wear.

"No, Nance," I said to her, "Grandma is arriving tomorrow so she's giving the house a once-over."

She leaned forward and thrust out her voluptuous chest in my general direction. "Maybe I can do something for you then?" she teased as she raised her eyebrows and played with the string of fake pearls hanging around her neck.

I glanced at her. The woman couldn't help herself. I frowned for I thought she was seeing Ted. Ted from the Barbers a couple of stores up. "Uh, think I'll pass, Nance. Maybe another time."

The older woman laughed and rolled her eyes. "Can't blame a gal for trying. You take care, hon, and go spend some money!"

I gave her a friendly wave and headed for the second floor.

***

The girl was standing before a mirror in the lingerie department holding what looked like a see-through red chemise in front of her as I stood quietly watching from behind a stone pillar.

I still hadn't managed to have a good look at her face because of the way her long hair curled and flowed around it and down over her shoulders. I could hear and feel my heart rattling around inside of me but it had slowed enough to let me catch my breath so I could stand there without making a noise.

My eyes dropped to her backside which was tightly shaped and outlined in her outfit. She looked about five eleven in what appeared to be a pair of black ankle boots with a physique that could best be described as stacked and packed. Was she Army or Air Force? She certainly looked like she could handle herself. She was probably going to beat the crap out of me when I said hello.

But there was no turning back now. Whatever the hell this was I needed to know one way or the other.

Do it. Just go do it.

I gathered myself mentally, took a final deep breath, and stepped out from where I had been watching and walked slowly towards her as she looked at herself in the mirror.

Each step felt like a dozen. Like I was sleepwalking in a wide-awake dream. In the mirror, I saw myself approaching her from behind and when I was about ten feet away I stopped and stared at her reflection.

Her head turned slightly to the right and I saw her eyes looking at my doppelganger staring back at her as she stood there in front of me. Then she smiled.

"Well, look at you," she said. Her voice sounded pure and sweet, "All grown up."

She slowly turned and faced me still holding the garment in front of her before letting her arms drop to her sides. Under the bright store lights, it was the first proper chance to look at her in the flesh.