You Are Special - Chapter 1
[WP] You’re sitting in a coffee shop surrounded by strangers but then it dawns on you that these were the same “strangers” who were in the restaurant where you had dinner last night. You head to the beach and realise again that the people around you are once more the same.
It felt so good to wake up not hungover on a Sunday. Dry January was giving me the feeling that anything was possible. This was the third productive weekend in a row. The mind was clear, the anxiety levels were low, and I think I was on my way to discovering the meaning to life! But, first, always first, it was time for a cup of coffee. Well, a mocha from Jerry’s diner to be more specific. It was a special treat to myself for being so good to my body these last 3 weeks.
I was freshly showered and clothed so I grabbed my hat, gloves, and coat for the brisk walk. It was just a short stroll through Roosevelt Park where I always admired the natural beauty in an otherwise grim city setting. Then, it was through the gates and a quick left for another 8 minutes or so. I have done this walk a million times before but always tried to notice differences, intricacies. Ever since I could remember I have been prideful of my observation skills. I am a very socially aware individual but no one seemed to understand the advantages of this. Namely, it was my ability to assess a situation and specifically the people in the first 2 minutes of being somewhere. Then I could form a plan of action for myself. Too many people take everything for face value. It might work for them but, not for me.
As I walked I couldn’t help but think about work the next morning. I left a lot on the plate Friday for Monday morning Charlie to deal with. At least the head would be clear enough to take everything in stride. I then began ridding myself of that anxiety by daydreaming of the cup of coffee that I was about to sit down and enjoy. I was just past the post office so it would only be a few doors up on the left. Finally, I stood right under the massive “Jerry’s Diner” sign that hung overhead the old creaky door entrance. I took a step into the warm and cozy enclosure and pulled off my hat and gloves before approaching the counter where I always sat in my spot closest to the register. I looked up and an all too familiar feeling came over me, I’ve seen this before…
‘What can I get ya, Charlie?” Sheila asked as she laid a menu in front of me.
‘Huh?’ I replied a little flustered.
‘Everything ok?’ the concerned Sheila prompted again.
‘Oh… Yeah… Have you ever had deja vu?’ I asked as I looked hurriedly around the room?
‘Oh yeah, every day working here I have deja vu… The same thing over and over, blah, blah, blah. So, the usual then?’ Sheila nonchalantly stated as she walked towards the espresso machine with her back to me.
‘Yes, please!’ I shouted. Still in a confused but intrigued way about this whole situation.
I looked around the room at every detail but couldn’t grasp the familiarity I felt. I hadn’t been in this exact situation before but it sure felt like it. Humph, I sounded to myself but then half shrugged it off as my mocha and maple and brown sugar oatmeal appeared in front of my blank face.
‘Ah, thanks Sheila!’ I yelled again as she replied with a ‘yep!’ her back turned, on to helping another customer.
I picked up the paper and flipped to the crossword, feeling around my pockets for a pen. Up, down, left, right, nothing there. I turned around and politely asked the table behind me if they might have a spare pen to use for just a little while. An old man turned his face to me and exclaimed, “Yes, of course” as he placed a black ball point pen in the palm of my hand while staring into my eyes with a slight smile on his face. The feeling was back, but now intensified. I had seen this man… Last night at dinner… and the woman across the table he was sitting with as well. “Who…?” I mumbled as I turned to look further in the distance near the window and then around the diner. Every person at every table was now looking at me with a slight smile on their face. Warm but really creepy. I recognized each and every one of them from the restaurant last night. I mumbled again, “Whaaa…?” After a moment I swung my head around to face the counter and yelled out, “Sheila, what’s going on!?”
The side dishwasher’s door was swinging, bacon and eggs were sizzling on the grill with no cook at the helm, and Sheila’s pen and pad dropped to the diner floor. The workers were nowhere in sight. It was like they had vanished just before I looked. I turned back to everyone, mouth opened wide, when a young man around my age rose from his seat in the center of the diner with his hand outstretched towards me and quietly said, “No need to be scared Charlie, it will only take a few minutes to explain. You are a very special person you know!”
I stood and backed up quickly, stumbling over the diner stool bolted to the ground beneath me. I backpedaled fervently, away from the man’s outstretched arm. My hand reached for my jacket on the coat rack behind me. I yanked at it, turned on the heels of my feet and bolted out of the old squeaky door, not looking back. I stumbled again on the sidewalk ice patches below my feet but caught my footing and built up a sprint to get as far away as possible from the diner and whatever that scene was inside. I ran down the main road towards the small city beach next to the university where I knew a lot of cops patrolled. I needed help. I needed an explanation.
As my mind was racing and my breath was getting short I began to realize that I was uninterrupted as I ran. There were no cars on the road, no people in the shops, and no one on their usual Sunday stroll. I looked back and no one was following me. What the fuck was happening? I thought to myself. But, I knew one thing at the moment. I needed to get to the beach to find a policeman and explain the situation. It was only another quarter mile to the lake. I knew my body was in proper form from the last few weeks so I picked up speed as if coming around the last bend during my old track running days.
I reached the beach entrance and ran onto the sand hoping to see a police officer patrolling for underage drinkers or junkies. There wasn’t a soul in site and after my heavy breathing slowed, not even a sound. No planes in the sky, sirens, birds… Just the gentle breeze of the wind and the waves rolling in and out as I gazed in every direction. I was lost in every sense of the word. I couldn’t come up with an answer. Just as I lowered my head a familiar voice came from the street at the end of the beach behind me.
‘Charlie, I know this doesn’t make any sense right now. We are here to explain,’ said the same man from the diner followed by all of the others that I recognized from the diner and the previous night.
‘Wh… Who are you? Wha… What is going on!?’ I asked in total disbelief.
‘This is going to sound unbelievable to you right now, but please just trust my words. We are what humans refer to as Plucidians. We come from a planet not unlike yours in a solar system at a distance and time unfathomable to the human mind. The reason we have come is that we finally need your help, Charlie.’
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