Past Destinies by Constance Ruth Clark

Author:Constance Ruth Clark
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781616502706
Publisher: Lyrical Press, Inc.

Chapter 16

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Elizabeth was struggling to work up the courage to ask Doug if he was from the future, while attempting not to think about their close proximity. Finally Elizabeth felt her shivering cease and pulled away from him.

“Mr. Coleman, may I ask you something?”

“Call me Doug.”

“Thank you,” she replied, “but I prefer calling you Mr. Coleman.”

“Suit yourself.”

It was probably better if she didn’t use his name, come to think of it. It would make him even more aware of how alone they were.

“What did you want to ask?” he said, sitting back on his haystack.

“I know you told me where you are from,” Elizabeth began, “but I fear you might think me mad if I asked you when?”

“When?” Doug asked carefully.

“I know, it’s silly of me.” Elizabeth regretted asking as soon as she had. “Never mind.”

“No, no it’s okay,” Doug said, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. “I was just surprised that you asked. If I thought you were mad for asking I would have to be mad myself because I am from a different time.”

Maybe it was because they were sitting in virtual darkness and reality seemed far away that he answered her honestly.

“In truth?” Elizabeth asked in shock. “You are not poking fun?”

“Truth,” Doug responded. “How did you know to ask?”

In the growing darkness his voice was close enough to hear over the storm but not close enough to cause her discomfort. She felt a sense of unreality in the darkness surrounding them and in the words they were speaking. With the answer to her question being positive, her heart began racing with excitement.

“Did you come with a fortune teller?” she asked, avoiding his question.

“No,” he answered, confusing her. “I just woke up here one morning.”

“Where were you the night prior?” she asked, wondering if he had misunderstood her original question.

“I went to bed in my apartment, in the year 2011.”

“Apartment?” she asked in confusion. “And you woke up in the year 1868?”

“I said that,” Doug replied.

Elizabeth fell silent. He was from the future, but he didn’t remember a fortune teller bringing him? Perhaps traveling from the future was not so very spectacular after all. If that was true then he truly wasn’t the man the fortune teller had promised she’d send. Bitter disappointment filled her, and she struggled to hide her feelings in her voice.

“So you weren’t sent here by an old gypsy woman,” she stated.

“How did you know I dreamed of an old gypsy just before I woke up here?” Doug asked. “I don’t remember telling you that.”

“You didn’t!” Elizabeth felt her heartbeat increase again.

“Come to think of it, the day before I woke up in Miss Waters’s boarding house I met an old gypsy-type woman at the restaurant where I was taking my date,” Doug commented, thinking aloud.

“Date?”

“Uh, yeah,” Doug said. He must have realized she had no idea what that meant. “I was taking a lady to dinner.”

“I see,” she answered bitterly. Of course he had a lady love--she’d been stupid to think he hadn’t.

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