Mind Over Matter: Melody of Familiarity

“Hey James…” Sophie said with a weak smile and a wave. “I hope aren’t too tired from walking.” She whispered with a nervous giggle, “I see the police have left you alone, glad to see that worked…” Sophie said running a hand through her ebony hair, it shone with a subtle aura of power. In fact her entire body radiated with a faint light, from her feet to the top of her head. The ground rippled beneath her, as the power she housed bent reality around her. “I….I don’t know what to say James… except….” She began to fiddle with her fingers, “I’m… I’m sorry, but I can’t stay here…”

The words rang with a finality that caught James completely off guard. He had accepted that he wouldn’t get to see her again but now hearing her say those words brought it all crashing down on his head and heart again. He reached out to touch her but she pulled away. “Why did you pull away from my touch? Will I ever see you again?”

Not wanting to make eye contact with James, Sophie reached for a nearby tree. The bark underneath began to peel away from her touch, “That is why… I understand why the other gods left. They hurt the people that worshipped them… even though they did not mean to.” Tears began to well up in her eyes, “I don’t want to leave you James, but I don’t want to hurt you.” The tree burst beneath her. With a snap of her fingers the world melted away, “I will take you home though, no sense in having you walk home…”

In the blink of an eye and in between heartbeats James was ripped from the reality of where he was and placed in a different place. His stomach lurched his vision grew blurry. His dorm room was around him. Sophie voice was still in his ears. Then his feet touched the floor of the dorm room and the world seemed to lurch and before he could stop it he threw up and collapsed to the floor. Shit Sophie, a little warning next time. Then he remembered that there wouldn’t be a next time. James climbed to his feet and swayed a little as he stood up. He turned around the room and searched for Sophie. He noticed that she wasn’t there but his roommate was sitting on the couch mouth open wide and looking at him as though he could not comprehend what had just happened in front of his own eyes. “What you never see a guy puke before?” His roommate stuttered but could not speak. James laughed a little “go on back to sleep dude cause your baked.” His roommate got up from the couch and walked to his room and locked the door behind him. As the door locked James was alone with his thoughts. “Sophie, I love you, wherever you are, whatever you are.”  

“And I love you too…” Her voice echoed in his ears, “Find your happiness…” She sighed, “I would say don’t forget about me, but that would sound greedy.” Her laugh filled the room; it was traced with a hint of sadness. “I love you… my hero….” Her presence that filled the room began to fade. A picture of the two of them landed at his feet, “Until next time~ I won’t ever forget you...” And like that she was gone.

James bent down and picked up the picture. It was unusually warm, and he knew for a fact that they had never had a picture made together. Yet here was one. It was a good picture. Nothing fancy, just a nice picture of the two of them smiling with their arms around each other. As though the two had posed for the picture. James went to turn the photo over to check the back of the photo and the picture changed. It was not one of his favorite pictures of her. She was stuck in her purse from when she had shrunk. He went to hold it like he had a moment before and the picture went back to them holding each other. He smiled, of course the picture would be special. Each way he turned the photo a different real picture taken with her phone appeared but when held upright the picture was of the two of them.

“Damn it Sophie, you shouldn’t have left this.” He made his way into his bedroom and fell on the bed. He put the picture on the nightstand next to the bed. Then he rolled over onto his back. He thought about what she had said to him. He didn’t have any idea how he was supposed to find happiness without her. One thing he was absolutely sure of though was that he knew that he would never be able to forget her, not if he lived to be a hundred years old.

He supposed that he was lucky. He had lived a lifetime of adventure, and felt real love for a while that was so intense that of course it had to burn out quickly. Most people never got that chance and he had held on for longer than he probably should have been able to. Still how would he just walk back into his normal old boring life.

He would just have to try. That is what Sophie would have wanted. At least he thought so. So he got a shower, went back to bed to sleep. He would have to try and go to class in the morning. Once class was over he would go by Sophie’s apartment. He wondered what would happen to it. He wondered who would tell her family? He wondered what he would tell her friends. No matter what he was going to have a lot of explaining to do before he would be able to move on with his life.

Sleep came to him much easier than he would have guessed. He had hoped that he would dream of Sophie instead his sleep was just filled with darkness, no dreams found their way into his head that night.

When he awoke the next morning he got dressed. Brushed his teeth and his hair grabbed his books and left his roommate staring after him. He sat through a few boring lectures in classes that he couldn’t understand why he had taken. By noon he was free for the rest of the day. So he trecked across campus to Sophie’s old building and found that he had to sneak into the building because he didn’t have a key.

Once he got to her huge apartment the door was unlocked and he went inside only to find the place was empty. As though it had not been lived in, in a while. He walked back outside dumb struck. He had just been there days before and it had been filled with her life and her things and now it sat vacant, as though she had never been there at all.

He attempted to shake off that feeling and walked back across campus again to get some lunch at the mess hall. Once inside he ran into a few of Sophie’s friend who had been part of the little group that all hung out together. Neither of the girls seemed to remember who James was. It was as though they had never met him before. “Sophie, do you remember Sophie?” He asked the girls. He went through the motions of describing her, and yet both the girls looked at his as though he was nutty. Both girls walked away from him shaking their heads.

James looked around the mess hall. He knew that he had to look crazy. Honestly he was feeling a little crazy. No one seemed to remember Sophie, everything about her was gone. He grabbed a bit of food and absently began munching on it. Some how the world had changed and it was as though she had never existed.

He was pretty sure that she had that kind of power, but living in a world where she had never existed was not the kind of world where he wanted to live. Sophie you didn’t have to wipe out everything, a lot of people loved you, they deserve to remember you. Not just me.

He kind of slammed his hand down on the table rattling his plate and glass. “Son of a bitch Sophie.” He was angry and confused. He was trapped in a world that didn’t remember her, he alone remembered who she was and what he had felt for her. It wasn’t fair.

At that exact moment someone sat down across from him. They didn’t ask, they just sat down across from him. He started to lift his head from the down position it had been in. “Look, I just kind of want to be left alone, ok.” Then a feminine voice cut him off, “Yeah well it’s lunch time and this is the only open seat so…” and his head snapped upright.

Leighseach sat in front of him. “Leighseach?” The girl sitting across from him looked at him stupidly then around the room. “What did you just call me? Look, I just want to sit and eat something.”

James laughed a little. “I’m sorry, you just look like someone I knew.” He held out his hand “My name is James.” The girl who looked like Leighseach put her hand in his and shook it lightly. “Nice to meet you James. I'm Aria, it is a pleasure to meet you." The woman said with an easy going smile. An aura of chill radiated from the girl, "So... I look like someone you knew." Aria said fiddling with her thumbs. "I hope in the good way of course, not the ooh she's a bitch kind." She laughed, "So what has you in a frump mood Mr. Grump?”

James smiled at her questions. He started by brushing the second question away with a shrug of his shoulders but as he continued to look at her, he leaned back in his chair, folded his arms across his chest, took a deep breath. “That first part really is a good question.” He leaned forward and partly across the table trying to get a better look at this figure who was sitting across from him. She of course leaned back away from him while still keeping a smirk on her face. Seeing her back away a little he returned to his normal seated position. James began shaking his head a little. “I’m sorry it’s just a little crazy how much you look like her.” A smile broke across the girl's face.

James could see that she was still waiting for an answer to her question. He fought the urge to reach out and poke her to make sure she was real. “Well honestly Aria, I’m still not sure how I felt about the person you put me in the mind of. She was kind of hard to read, she had her moments I guess would be the best way to put it.” He watched her face to try and see her reaction but she just continued to smile. James had to know something so he just had to ask “are you new here? I don’t remember seeing you here before.” Hearing a back story would help him at least understand something about this Leighseach look-a-like.

“Well… I am not her, so whatever image you have of her lose it.” Aria said with that playful smirk, “Well yes I am new here, I actually just started work here yesterday.” She gestured to a folder next to her, “I just got a job as a history professor, I know I know I look too young to teach.” The woman laughed, “Twenty four is not that bad! I have heard of professors teaching as young as twenty before, but I am not that kind of genius.” Lifting her drink to her lips, Aria took a sip. “It just so happens my grandpa lives here too, so I am staying with him for a time.” Setting the glass down she eyed James, “So there is your backstory, now how about I get yours? Or are you afraid to talk to the new professor?”

James felt himself staring, with his mouth open  as he took in everything she said. He forced his mouth closed, and looked away quickly just to kind of reset the conversation. Turning his head back toward her he kept his eyes in a neutral position, the last thing he needed was to offend a professor. He had run afoul of enough authority figures in the past few days. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be so rude professor.” He fumbled a little trying to figure out what to say next. “I just figured that you were a student.” He regretted the words when they left his mouth. “ Not that I’m normally rude to anyone.” He smacked his forehead. He noticed her smile and a light laugh. He collected his tray to get up. He was embarrassed. “Again, I’m very sorry to have been rude.” As he stood up the woman placed  hand on his, causing him to pause for a moment.

Aria sat there trying to restrain a most boisterous laugh, “Well…” Raising a hand to her lips she coughed, “I… I will see to it that you won’t get into trouble….” A giggle escaped her, “Oh my god did you actually believe me?” Aria asked as she broke down in a fit a laughter, “Oh dear lord! James I am an history major! I am Dr. Riley’s assistant, not an actual professor!” Her eyes danced mischievously, “I was kidding! Wow, you are a gullible one aren’t you?” Running a hand through her hair she shook her head, “Sorry I could not resist! Boy oh boy…” Locking eyes with James, Aria offered him a smile.

James blushed a bright red. He was embarrassed. He couldn’t believe that he had fallen for an obvious ploy like that. This Leighseach doppelganger was a sly one. He chuckled a moment after his blood went away from his cheeks. “Yeah, you got me good there. It’s just that I haven’t had the best luck of late when it comes to that kind of thing. Better safe than sorry I guess.” He knew he wasn’t going to unload all the craziness he had went through in the past several days on her. Still though with her face it was hard not to just spill everything to her since she looked just like Leighseach. “Still a student assistant is pretty impressive. It’s a title at least.” He paused there not really sure what to say or do next. He started to excuse himself when again she grabbed his hand.

“Where do you think you are going?” She asked guiding him back down. “You did not tell me your backstory Mr. Magoo.” Aria said with a chuckle, “I spilled mine to you, it is only fair that you now repay the favor.” Lifting the drink to her lips she took a casual sip. “Or must I inform Dr. Riley that you left a girl hanging. I am sure he would not be too happy with that.” Leaning forward Aria whispered in his ear, “He has some connections.” Sitting back down she giggled, “Major, age, whatever. It will be something other than just a cute face, so you best start talking..” The woman said pulling out her phone, “Or I will make that call~” Her thumb hung over the contact list.

Sensing a bluff and her willingness to mess with him James decided to play around a little himself. There had not been much of that for him the past few days. Plus he wanted to know more about her as well. “Quid pro quo, is it Ms. Aria? If that is even your real name.Very well then, because I wouldn’t want you to go pushing any buttons that you're not ready to push.” He paused for a moment to smiled and to watch her smile broaden across her face before he continued “because, what could a History professor even one as esteemed as Dr. Riley do to a journalism major such as myself?” She started to say something and James cut her short. “Quid pro quo, Aria, Quid Pro Quo.”  

“That man has some serious connections, spoil sport.” Aria said placing her phone aside. “I am sure he could find a way to take care of you from your newspaper stand.” A wicked grin tugged at her lips as she giggled, “Of course Aria is my name! What were you expecting? Erin? Sofia?” Pulling out her driver’s license Aria showed it to the man, “Aria Bernkastel Loraine, see!” Her finger ran across her name, “Though the picture is not the greatest of me, I was not feeling well that day.” The picture she was talking about was one of her with incredibly messy hair and a half dead look upon her face. “Hideous I know.” Taking her license back, Aria placed it back in her purse. “Vicíssim bone puer.” She said locking eyes with him.

James sat there for a moment not really sure what to say or do. He was pretty sure he had to look like a monkey doing a math problem. He felt around in his pockets for his phone that he had no real idea where it was. He did pull out his wallet, but waited a moment before he opened it. “Ok, you got me, we have reached the official end of my knowledge of latin. Do you want to see my license or what?” He started to open his wallet because if she wanted to see it he would show it to her since had shown him, hers. “I was just trying to be funny and quote an old movie. I do have to say that your picture is far worse than mine.” He smiled again as he said it, and watch her face fein being offended. Just to continue the dig at her he added “What kind of name is Bernkastel?” Then to show that he wasn’t heartless or anything of the sort he continued “you do however look much better than the picture, and I am sure the story behind the picture is a pretty interesting one. As for my photo it’s pretty standard stuff.” He pulled his own and highlighted his name James Harrison Benton. His photo was just a semi smirking version of himself in a non-descript tee shirt.

Her eyes never really left him and while her face and eyes were not hard to look at the fact that she continued to look at him so hard was beginning to make him a little uneasy. The game while fun was not getting him any closer to an answer as to why this woman who claimed to be Aria Loraine was the spitting image of Leighseach. To damn matters even more he had no idea of where to begin to look for the answers that he now desperately wanted. He supposed he would have to do a little digging into the name of the person sitting in front of him. Being a little coy he decided he would be the investigative reporter that he had always wanted to be. He would dig up everything he could on this woman in front of him. “If you’re free from class maybe we could go somewhere else besides this crowded mess hall and exchange other meaningless information about our lives.” He hoped that his smile was as charming as he thought it was. A few days of running for his life had made simple things harder to do. He was sure that no matter how much he smiled, the smile never touched his eyes.  

"Bernkastel is a German city known for its winemaking. You could say my father was an alcoholic..." Her eyes darted to the side, "Which is true, he was... But my mother was also born there. My name is a slight play on words, an aria of the winemaker." A smile tugged at her lips, "Sure, where would you like to go?" Aria asked leaning forward ever so slightly. "There are a few study lounges in the area or we could go to the classroom." Aria said running a hand through her hair. "I am sure your life is more exciting than my own. Not to much happens when you are living with your gramps."

He laughed at the joke that her family had made of her name. Still she had said a mouth full when she said his life was more interesting than hers. Unless she wasn't who she claimed to be. He decided to be non committal about where they should go to talk. "I don't have a preference on where we go. You can lead the way."  

"Well in that case..." At that moment her phone went off, "Ooh crap, that's my gramps." Aria said answering the phone, "Hey Granda! What's up? Uh huh..." The woman nodded as she packed up her items. "Yup, love you too I will be home soon." Hanging up her phone she glanced at James, "Going to have to do a rain check, gramps needs a hand doing some things." Grabbing a pen from her purse Aria jotted down her number. "When you want to get ahold of me, that is my number. Later Mr. Frump." Aria said with a giggle as she left.

“Yeah Later, Aria.” He said as she walked away into the crowd. Grandfather, that didn’t make any sense to James. Nothing was making any sense. This person Aria, he was pretty sure had not existed until today. He would have remembered seeing her around campus if she had. He did after all have a very good thing with remembering faces, and this wasn’t the largest school in the world. He would have to act quickly though if he was going to get any answers before the sun set on the day. He grabbed up the piece of paper with her number on it, and began wading through the crowd in the mess hall.

Once outside he saw Aria walking maybe several hundred yards out if front of him. He wished in the moment that he had his phone with him. Something he could take pictures on, some way to call her if he needed to stall her. He had two choices and only one of them was a good one. Lose her while he ran back to his dorm room to grab his things then try to catch back up with her, or continue to try and follow her. Of course if she got in a car he was toast any way since his bike he assumed was still sitting somewhere along a highway in Western Tennessee.

He had to try and tail her it was his only real option, and he knew it. So he walked at a brisk pace all the while staying well back from his mark. From the classes he had taken and just regular good sense he figured he didn’t want to be too close so as to arouse suspicion, but not to far away so as to lose her. He figured it was going pretty well right up until the moment she walked into the parking deck. “You’ve got to be shitting me. She’s not even a real person and she has a car.” He pointed up at the sky not knowing where else to point and not knowing who else to blame “Damn it Sophie really?” Then the thought that had been rattling around in the back of his head since he saw this Aria person. Sophie really had to be behind all of this. That’s the only thing that made any sense. “Still she’s been here one day and you gave her a car, but getting my bike back here was to much to ask for.” He didn’t dare walk into the parking deck afraid that it would give away his intention, so he sat on a bench near the exit and waited for Aria to leave in her vehicle he was thankful that he at least had a pen and her scrap piece of paper so he could write her tag down when she left. It would be his last chance to get any information on the girl today.

A minute later Aria drove by in an older model Jeep without it’s top or even it’s doors. Noticing the man on the bench she waved as she passed him. The man intrigued her, hopefully he would be brave enough to give her a call or shoot her a text. The ball was in his court now.

James was a little surprised to see her rumble by in the Jeep. It didn’t seem to fit her personality, what little he knew about it. Still though he stayed on mission and wrote down the tag as Aria passed by. He saw her wave at him and her politely waved back. He had hoped that she wouldn’t see him. He had hoped he could go unnoticed but that had not happened. Still he had the tag number and he could at least run a check on the tag and beginning piecing together who Aria was and where she had came from. Once she had driven from his view he jumped to his feet and began moving back toward his dorm room. Of all the days to not have his phone or his bike. He would really have to try and fix that soon. On the bright side no one slowed him down as he walked back across campus to his dorm.

His loser roommate remained passed out on the couch. The common area smelled stale and just nasty. One more thing that he would have to work on. Just not yet. He knew that he had many more miles to go before he could sleep.

He closed the door to his room and flipped his laptop open on his desk. He signed on and with a few more keystrokes he was searching through DMV records. He had bought the subscription months ago. It was the only real expense he allowed himself while working at the university newspaper. He wrote on the crime blotter and while it was normally just drunk frat boys drinking too much or someone getting caught with weed. Every once in a while it paid to be able to pull tags or driving records when working on a story. Like when an inmate who had escaped near campus last semester and him stealing a car from one of the parking decks. He had been able to run the tag and get more information for his story than most people knew at first. He entered Aria’s tag number and waited for the search. Sometimes it only took a couple moments, sometimes it took nearly an hour. He watched the little spinning wheel on the screen and waited for the results.