The Gift Of Time Read online

  The Gift Of Time

  The Gift Of Time

  Midpoint

  The Gift of Time

  Today is January the 5th and it’s my birthday. I know birthdays are for kids, only if someone could explain this to my wife. Since morning she has been complaining that I have to go to work today. She is not happy about that. Even during lunch she hardly spoke to me, I told her it’s just for an hour I have a conference call with our New York client but Carol won’t listen, she says I love my work more than her and our little girl Abby. That’s not true I love them more than anything else. But making this conference call successful is important for our future. So I kissed Abby and Carol goodbye and left for work. There was a lot of traffic on the way to work but somehow I managed to reach on time. My assistant Sarah was on her desk when she saw me. She stood up and said Happy Birthday Mr. Brooks. I smiled back and said Sarah you know you can call me John. She nodded and smiled. I went to my cabin and Sarah followed me there and said Sorry Mr. Brooks I tried calling you, the conference call have been rescheduled for tomorrow morning. I looked at her and said you should have started with that, I am out of here. Bye Sarah, she smiled and said bye Mr. Brooks and enjoy your birthday.

  On my way back I was thinking about Carol and how she wanted to throw me a party. I suggested that we spend my birthday at home I didn’t feel like partying; all I felt like doing was to sit at home with my family and have a glass of wine. When I reached home the lights were off I unlocked the door and walked in to see the dining table was set up for two with a candle light dinner. Carol was sitting there in her red dress oh how beautiful she looked in that dress. She came to me, kissed me and said happy birthday darling then she handed me a gift. I said thank you, baby, but you didn’t need to. She said open it and see I am sure you would love it. I opened it and love it I did. It was an antique looking table clock, it looked amazing. I kissed and thanked her. I took the table clock and kept it on the table near our bed. I went back to the dining table and sat with Carol. I asked her if Abby was asleep and Carol said, yes just tucked her in.

  We opened the bottle of wine and began to drink and talk, we spoke about everything right from the day we met and how Abby changed our lives for the better. The bottle finished and we opened another and then another after that. Soon I realized and I couldn’t drink like before and was really sleepy. So carol and I decide to call it a night but before going into our bedroom I went to Abby’s room. She was fast asleep, she is my angel said, Carol. I looked at her and replied our angel. I bent over and kissed Abby on her nose I loved doing that. Her small sock was there on her bed it was so cute, so I picked it up and kept it in my jacket pocket. Then we went into our bedroom and we started to kiss, as we lay down I took off my blue jacket and threw it towards the table next to our bed, I heard something fall but I was too caught up in the moment to check what it was.

  Next morning I woke by sunlight on my face as I opened my eyes I remembered that I have a conference call today so I turned towards the table clock and it was almost 9 am. I looked towards my left but Carol was not there so I called out Carol why didn’t you wake me up, but she did not reply. So I got up; I had this bad headache, it must have been all the wine from last night. I went to the kitchen and I saw a note on the Fridge. It said, “Have your breakfast before going to work, love C”. I do remember carol saying something about taking Abby out this morning. Anyway, I was late already so I rushed and got dressed. It was almost 9:30 am now, so I locked the house and went towards my car, it was not there. There was a black car in my parking spot. I thought carol must have taken the car and that these neighbors should at least ask before using our parking spot. Just then I saw a taxi so I got in and left for work.

  Once I reached, I went straight to my cabin I did not see Sarah on my way in. When I stepped into my office I saw that it looked different, I called out to Sarah, but she did not reply, I went towards her desk and there was this blonde girl sitting in Sarah’s place, so I asked her where is Sarah. The girl responded by saying: I am sorry Sir, who is Sarah; are you her to see Mr. Gibson? I said what.. She again asked me are you here to see Mr. Gibson. I said no, what is going on this is my office and who are you? The girl responded by saying that her name was Bethany and that she is Mr. Gibson’s assistant. She also said that this is Mr. Gibson’s office and I may have come to the wrong floor. I was sure I was in the right place but I still asked her again which floor is this, and she said it was the 12th floor, I looked at her and said then this is not Mr. Gibson’s office its mine and told her that if she does not leave I will call security. While I was stilling saying this she picked up the telecom and called for security herself. I was surprised but thought well at least I can get this over with. Soon security arrived but they did not look familiar, they came and went straight to the blonde and asked her: Mam what is the problem. She told them that I was an intruder trying to enter Mr. Gibson’s office. So I jumped in and said this is my office, look at the name on the door, what does it say JOHN FUCKING BROOKS doesn’t it? The security guards looked at me in disbelief I turned around and looked at the door and it said “Harvey Gibson”. I was stunned I did not know what to say, the security guys asked me to leave but I did not respond as I was in shock of what just happened. So they asked me if I was ok. I said I was fine and walked out of the office. Outside I stood and looked around, everything looked similar but different at the same time. Like the ice cream parlor across the street. The name on the board looked different. I didn’t believe what I was seeing; I thought that I better get home. I took out my cell and called Carol but I couldn’t get through, the message I was hearing said: “You seem to have dialed a disconnected or wrong number”. I dialed our landline number it rang but nobody answered. So I got into a taxi and left for home. On the way, I was thinking of what just happened I was sweating and breathing hard. The driver asked me if I was ok, I told him that I was fine, just in a hurry to get home.

  When I reached home I could see from the window that the lights were on. I was relieved to see that Carol and Abby were back so I rushed in shouting “Carol, Carol come here soon” From the kitchen, I woman came out she looked about Carol’s age she had a knife in her hand. She came out smiling and said you are home early and who is Carol is it another role play name for me. I looked at her in shock and said where is Carol, where is my wife. She looked at me, smiled and said stop joking come here and help me with the chicken and she went back into the kitchen. I went into the other room looking for Carol but she was not in our bedroom, I rushed to Abby’s room neither Carol or Abby was there. I rushed back to the kitchen and said where is my family where is my daughter. This woman turned around and said, Josh, it’s not funny anymore, stop joking. I saw the knife kept on the slab so I picked it up and shouted. WHERE IS MY FAMILY, WHO ARE YOU, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE. Now this woman looked scared and said, Josh, what’s wrong, are you ok, which daughter are you talking about you don’t have any children. I shouted and said my name is not Josh its John and who the hell are you, tell me before I… She started to cry and said don’t you remember me Josh, what’s wrong I am Cathy we have been together for 3 years now. I said look lady for the last time my name I not josh and I don’t know who you are; now don't move I am calling the cops. She stood there, tears rolling down her cheeks while I called the cops and told them there was an intruder in my house. While we waited for the cops to arrive I kept asking her where my family was but all she did was stand there and cry.

  Soon I heard the doorbell; I shouted in here, she is in the kitchen. Two cops walked in; one with a gun in his hand, they asked me to keep the knife down. As I kept the knife down and the woman ran towards the cops they caught her and asked me what happened. I told them that my wife and kid were not
home when I came in and I saw this stranger in my house. One of the cops asked the woman who she was and what she was doing here. The woman still crying said her name was Cathy Robinson, and that she was my girlfriend, and that we were living together for the last 3 years… I jumped in calling her a liar. The second cop asked me to keep quiet for a minute while they speak to her. Then he turned to her and asked if she can prove what she is saying is true, she said yes. I have my ID the she picked up a handbag kept on the dining table and gave them her id. Then she continued and said, you can look around there are plenty of pictures of me and Josh together kept in the house. The cops looked around and so did I, and to my disbelief, I saw pictures of her and me all over in the house. She looked at me and said to the cops that Josh always likes taking pictures and putting them up. I jumped in and said I don’t know how you have done this but this is not me I don’t even know you and my name is not Josh it's John, John Brooks. I took out my wallet and handed over my driver’s license to one of the cops. He looked at the ID and asked me to sit down and relax; he said he will take care of things. Then he asked the woman to step out with him. I could hear them talk. The cop was asking the woman if this had ever happened before. The woman said no he was fine till last night, I went out early in the morning and I thought he left for work but he came back this way.. I walked out and asked the cop what’s going on and why was he not asking the woman where my family is. The cop turned to me and said Josh don’t worry everything will be alright we have called the paramedics. I looked at him and said do you not believe what I am telling you I just gave you my ID and you are calling me Josh, my name is John. The cop handed over the ID to me and asked me to have a look. The picture on the ID was mine but the name was not, it said Josh Brooks. I dropped the ID and said this is all a lie and I can prove it I ran towards the neighbor’s house calling him out. Rick came out, I looked at him and said god I am happy to see a known face, please tell these cops who I am and who all I have in my family. One of the cops asked Jeff do you know this man. Jeff replied; yes I know him, his name is Josh Brooks and he and his girlfriend Cathy live next door.

  When I heard this I lost it I caught Jeff by his collar and asked him why he was lying, both the cops caught me and pulled me away. I kept screaming why are you lying, why are you lying, where is my family. Suddenly I felt a prick on my shoulder; I turned and saw this paramedic had injected me with something. Before I knew it I got dizzy and dosed off.

  The cops and Jeff got me to my bed. The paramedic spoke to Cathy, he asked her if anything like this had happened before. She explained that this was the first time she saw anything like this happening. The paramedic then said that this could be a one-off episode due to stress sometimes we lose track of reality and Josh should be fine when he wakes up. If he is not we will take him in for a few tests and then the paramedic left. I slept like a log while Cathy and Jeff stayed up in the hall room and the cops were outside in their car. Cathy called up someone from the land line and said dad can you come over its urgent. The voice on the other end said is everything alright, where is Josh. Cathy said he is here, please come over its urgent. The voice said I will be there within an hour and hung up.

  I started to hear voices as I was coming around. When I opened my eyes I saw Jeff sitting on a chair next to the bed and as he realized that I was awake he called out to Cathy. I sat up and asked please tell me what is happening, where is Abby, where is Carol. Cathy came in and said see who has come, this old man walked in, I could not believe my eyes as it was my father. He said, sunny boy, how are you? I looked at him and did not know how to respond as I saw my father standing in front of me knowing that I had buried him over a year ago. He again said sunny boy are you ok or shall we get a doctor. I said; how are you alive, I buried you, this is not possible, you died, what is happening to me. He came to me and said don’t worry everything will be alright this is just all in your head don’t worry you will be fine soon. As I dozed off again I could hear my dad tell Cathy, let’s take him to the hospital it’s for the best.

  Next, I woke up in a hospital bed, my head hurt like I had a hangover. I was not sure what had happened. Just then the doctor walked in and asked me how I was feeling. I told him about the headache I had, and asked about my family, about Carol and Abby. The doctor said that that the headache was because of a drug they found in my blood stream. He even said that because of the drug I was hallucinating and may have formed false memories. I asked him what he means by false memories, he said one second and he called in my father. My father stood by the bed, while the doctor asked me do you know who this man is. I said Dad, but it can’t be him he died a year back. The doctor said and yet he is standing here in front of you; if he was dead how this could be possible. Your mind is playing tricks on you. You have digested a strong hallucination drug which has reacted badly with you. But don’t worry all these false memories will go away in a couple of days and you will be back to normal. This was when I thought maybe they were right, maybe I was hallucinating. My dad came and sat next to me he asked me how I was feeling I did not know what to say, Carol, Abby it all felt so real. My dad said get well soon next week you and Cathy are supposed to go fishing with me now don’t forget that. I looked at him as I remembered that I used to go finishing with him but Carol used to be with us. I told him I wanted to rest. He said ok sunny boy you rest it out, Cathy and I will be waiting outside.

  As I lay there I tried hard to remember Cathy, but all I could think of was Carol and Abby. Later that evening, Cathy came in to meet me. She asked me if I remembered her, I didn’t know how to say yes or no so I just said that I only remember fragments and nothing is clear yet. She said not to worry she will stand by me and in a few days, everything will be fine. Next morning we went back to the house. Dad left for his place and Jeff also went home. Now it was only Cathy and me in the house, everywhere I saw it reminded me of Carol and Abby. I went through all the pictures in the house and I couldn’t find any with them in it. Most of the photos were of me and Cathy. My eyes caught the table clock sitting on the table next to the bed. I asked Cathy from where we got this, because what I remembered was that Carol gave this to me as my birthday gift. She said that I bought this back from one of my trips to the south. I asked her what she meant by one of my trips. She told me that I work as a photographer for a magazine and that I travel quite a bit for my shoots. I remembered that as a kid wanted to be a photographer but I moved towards the cooperate sector for a more stable career. By now I knew that she was not lying but I was also not able to accept whatever was happening. Days went by, everyday Cathy trying to remind me of the things we did. I could not remember any of that all I remembered was the time I spent with Carol and my angel Abby. I even tried to track down Carol’s friends and family but it was like they never existed. Cathy even helped me every time I said that I could prove my memories were real she would travel with me, talk to people I thought I knew but no one knew John Brooks they only knew Josh Brooks. The doctors said that all the memories were made up from whatever I experienced that’s why all the names were similar like Cathy became Carol and Josh became John. I tried to forget and live as Josh but I was not able to. Time passed, days became weeks, weeks became months. Now Cathy was even losing patients with me, she wanted me to remember her truth and forget mine and trust me I tried but was not able to. Every time she tried to come close I would think of Carol, I would feel like I was cheating on Carol so I would push Cathy away. I didn’t feel like talking to anyone, meeting anyone. I tried finding the answers to my problems on the internet but all I would find would be some bullish reasoning like time travel, aliens, and multiple universes. Everybody had a theory but no proof or any way to help me understand what was real or not.

  One day Cathy asked me to clean my cupboard saying that I had only been wearing the three pairs of clothes I had kept out. So while she was watching tv in the living room I started to empty the cupboard underneath a pile of shirts and t-shirts I found a blue jacket. As I was checking all
the pockets I came across something in the left pocket, I took it out and it was a sock, as I saw the sock I knew it was Abby’s sock I had kept in my pocket all those months back. I knew I was not mad as I had found proof of my memories being true. I shouted out to Cathy to some and see this. She came running into the bedroom I had tears in my eyes but I was happy. I shouted and said see this is Abby’s sock I remember keeping this in my pocket and it is here. See I am not mad Abby is real, Carol is real, and I need to find them. Cathy looked at me and shouted that enough is enough now you have to choose between your false memories or me, I can’t take this anymore. I looked at her and said Abby is not a false memory she is my baby girl. Cathy turned around; the next thing I saw was her leaving with her bag. I did not try and stop her and neither did she stop. I went down to the police station to lodge a missing person complaint about Abby and Carol but they would not. They asked me to show some proof that they existed, when I showed them the sock, they asked me to go back home and rest. I had already tried searching for Abby and Carol every way possible I did not have any pictures of them but I could see them clearly in my memories. I went back home and did not know what to do, the excitement of finding Abby’s sock, soon became into sadness. A few more days past and all I did was drink while sitting on the bed thinking of Abby and Carol. All I wanted was to be able to see them once.

  I heard the doorbell; when I opened the door it was my father. He came in and sat next to me on the bed, he asked me how I was doing now that Cathy had left. I picked up Abby’s sock and handed it to him. I said this is your granddaughter’s sock and I am going to find her. He looked at me and said son, in your memories I was dead right. How did you feel when it happened? I said I remember getting a call at work that you had a heart attack and were serious. I rushed to the hospital but I was too late, you were gone before I reached. I felt like my world had stopped and I could feel all the pain in it at. My father said; that’s how I feel when I see you like this. You need to leave these memories behind and make a new life for yourself. It does not matter if they were true or not, they are just a memory now and you must move on in life. Find a way to live for yourself and then he left.