LiveLife

You'll Live Another Life

... Dream Another Dream

Story and Illustrations by Vickey Brickle--Macky 1992

In the world of Above, Catherine was doing her own reviewing of
the last days events. It was hard to get back into the swing of
work after the peacefulness of Below. She half-way regretted her
decision to return to this stress filled job possibly too soon
after her father's death. She had only been two hours on the job
and already her the top of her once neat desk was buried under a
mound of manila folders and paperwork that she couldn't see over
and the phone had been ringing so much that she wanted to scream
and throw it out the nearest window.

Then there was Joe and her fellow co-workers trying to pry
out of her where she had hidden herself either by subtle
conversation or outright questions. From her they got either
silence or mumbled explanations of going off to upstate New York to
get away from it all. They watched her like a hawk worried that
she might collapse or breakdown. Then there were all the
sympathy calls and remarks. She appreciated them but she wanted to
put her father's death behind her now and go on. She hoped
that her friends would ease up soon and leave her alone to do
her job. Wasn't that what she was there for, to work?

Catherine tried not to think of Vincent. Did he really
understand or was he just going along with her decision to
return? She sensed, no she knew that he really was sadden by her
return to Above. One day she was ready to spend the rest of her
life below with him and the next she was gone. Why could they
never say the words they really wanted to say to each other. And
neither of them could make the first move and more times then she
wanted to recall they bungled their attempts to be together for
always. She still wanted that, to be with him, but for reasons
even she didn't understand she couldn't give up her life Above,
even though it no longer held any attraction for her.

No, she told herself, I won't think about it. I've got to
put the last couple of days out of my head or I'll never make it
through the day. The phone rang saving her from any further
thoughts on the matter for the moment.

"Cathy, it's Jenny. I just had to call to you," Jenny
Erikson's excited voice bubbled across the phone line.

"Jenny, what in the world is up? You sound so strange!"
Catherine worriedly asked her friend, wondering what had gotten
her so stirred up. Catherine could tell her friend wasn't
frightened, but there was an odd quality to her voice that she
couldn't interpret.

"I'm sorry, Cathy, but you've just got to see it to believe
it. It's you, or at least it looks so much like you that you
could have sat for it. But that's impossible, you weren't even
born then!"

"Jenny!" Catherine protested, getting more and more confused
by her friend's strange conversation, "What on earth are you
talking about? Sat for what? A portrait, statue--what? Tell me!"

"It's the new exhibit at the Natural History Museum. You
know I do volunteer work there once a month. . ." Jenny explained
breathlessly.

"Go on. . . ." Catherine coached her.

She leaned back in her chair, and absent-mindedly chewed on
the end of her pen as she listened. She was glad of the break
from her caseload files which were spread out before her covering
the top of her desk. Joe glanced at her as he walked by, but he
didn't stop his forward motion to his office.

Jenny's next words riveted her. "Cathy it's a temple mural
from Egypt. . . Fifth Dynasty. . . it's a portrait of you and
a man with a lion's face. The mural's inscription claims that he
was a minor deity or god called Kether and the woman was his high
priestess. Their love defied the gods and evidently made the
priesthood furious so that they sacrificed the woman to Orsis.
Kether went berserk, killed all the priests with his bare hands
and his teeth. Then he allowed himself to be killed so he could
join his beloved. They were buried side by side. It's only
recently that they found the burial site and the underground
chamber they were hidden in. The wall painting comes from the chamber as
does their two sarcophagus which are also on loan with some other
artifacts they found there. Cathy are you still there?" Jenny
asked, getting nothing but silence from the other end.

Catherine was stunned. Her mind was reeling with the
implications of the existence of this wall and its story. It was
too fantastic to be believed if she allowed her mind to drift to
the logical conclusion it presented. It implied that she and
Vincent had been together before, with much the same appearances as
they had now but within the framework of another time and place. If
it were true then it could also explain why their bond was so
strong. She had to see that exhibit--see for herself what was
inscribed there!

"Cathy, can you hear me? Are you still there?" Jenny asked
persistently, starting to get worried at Catherine's ragged
excited breathing.

Jenny's concerned tones finally brought Catherine to her
senses. She shook her head to get the images out of her mind and
she coughed nervously before she answered her friend. "Yes,
Jenny, I'm still here, guess my mind drifted off. I could almost

see myself . . . ." Cathy stopped mid sentence realizing what she
had almost said. She had almost told Jenny about Vincent.

"See yourself--what?" Jenny inquired curious. "Cathy don't
leave me hanging--tell me!" She implored.

"It's too weird Jenny. I could almost see myself there in
Egypt . . . no, just forget it. Anyway I do want to see that
exhibit. When can I come over and view it?" Catherine
questioned, wanting very much to see this as soon as possible.

"Well, I'm beginning to think I shouldn't have said anything,
the way you are reacting."

"Jenny, I'm fine. My mind just drifted there for a moment. I
am serious. When can I see it?"

"The exhibit isn't open to the public for another two days,
but since I work there I can sneak you in before that. Can you
get away--say for lunch too, today?" Jenny inquired hopefully.

"Yeah. I could leave now and meet you on the steps of the
museum, say in a half hour?" Catherine suggested.

"Done. I'll see you then. Bye now." Jenny agreed happily,
and then hung up.

Catherine's mind was still racing. She wondered if Vincent
could pick up her excited agitation. She hoped not. She would
have to get word to him somehow to let him know that everything
was okay and what was happening. Many days she fervently wished
that she could just pick up a phone and call him. If she could
she'd try to tap a message to him and hope that Pascal would pick
it up. In the lower reaches of the building they had found a
pipe that could send directly to the pipe chamber. Having a ways
to communicate from her place of work had saved everyone's nerves
and kept down a lot of unnecessary trips for both of them. So far
the new system was working, but she still wished for a phone.

She straightened up her desk, and was just about to slip out
of the office when Joe spotted her leaving. She inwardly groaned.

He was smiling as he came up to her. "Early lunch,
Radcliff?"

"Yes and no. Jenny Erikson called me. She has something she
wants to show me--can't wait." Catherine hurriedly explained,
hoping to throw Joe off so she could leave. her green eyes were
determined.

"If it can't wait. I guess I'll let you go. Don't forget your
two o'clock deposition, and I need the paperwork by closing time."
Joe added, his eyebrow crooked up slightly as he regarded the
serious faced young woman. He was trying to figure out what she
was up to and what it was that Jenny had to show her that
couldn't wait, but he didn't have a clue. Nor would he likely get
the information out of his mysterious co-worker.

"You'll have it before I leave, I promise." She said
sincerely, making an attempt to step around him. "I was planning
on going straight to the deposition right after Jenny and I were
through."

"Must be something awful important to have you this worked
up." He gibed.

He was rewarded by a momentary flash from her eyes, but she
recovered quickly and then smiled sweetly at him instead. "I'll let
you know. As it is I'm running late." She said glancing at her
watch and mentally calculated how long it was going to take her
in mid-town traffic at the beginning of the lunch rush to meet
her friend.
"I'll talk to you later." Catherine told him. She slid around
him and hurriedly ran to catch the elevator down.

Once on board the car she punched the subbasement level and
impatiently waited. Finally after what seemed like an endless
number of stops she arrived at her destination. Checking to see
that no one was around she headed for the message pipe. She
picked up a loose brick from the floor and was about to pound out
her message on the pipe when she felt a presence behind her.
Quickly she turned around.

"Vincent!" She exclaimed, surprised and puzzled at his being
there. "What on earth are you doing here?"

"I felt your distress earlier. I came to see what had
troubled you so deeply. I knew you were coming here, so I waited
for your arrival." He answered, his deepset blue eyes searching
hers with concern for her well being.

"Oh, Vincent, I didn't mean for you to get worried. It's
really nothing. I'm fine. Jenny called me earlier to tell me
about this Egyptian exhibit she wanted me to see." Catherine
tried to explain.

"An exhibit?" Vincent questioned, his eyebrow arching, and
his brow drawing up in puzzlement. "Why does this trouble you?"

"It's difficult to explain. Jenny wants me to see a wall
mural that dates to the Fifth Dynasty. She claims that the woman
in the mural is a dead ringer for me. The man, though she doesn't
know it, looks like you. He was a god, and she was his high
priestess. They fell in love and she ended up being killed
because she dared to love him. He allowed himself to be killed so
he could join her."

"A Romeo and Juliet of a different age and time. I can see
now why you were so agitated. You are going then to see if there
is resemblance?" Vincent inquired.

"Yes, I feel I must." Catherine acknowledged, moving in
closer into the protecting circle of his arms. Then she rested
her head on his shoulder and looked up at him, searching his face
for clues as to what he was feeling with her news. "What are you
thinking, Vincent? Your mind seems very far away." She asked.

"I'm not sure. I felt a coldness, a chill when you told
me about the exhibit. And strange scenes flashed before my
eyes, then they were gone," he replied his eyes focused on some
distant landscape, then he snapped back his attention and focus
on the woman in his arms. "It is nothing. Do not worry about me.
You go on with your friend and see the exhibit. Then you can tell
me all about it when I see you tonight." Vincent added, his eyes
sparkling, and his voice a low purr emphasizing as he his last
words.

"I will, I promise." she replied trying not to get lost in
those blue liquid pools, then she glanced down at her watch. "Oh my
God, I'm late. I was supposed to be there right now."
Catherine exclaimed, relucantly disentangling herself.

Vincent grinned as she let go. She still had problems being
on time for anything. That was just Catherine being Catherine, he
had long ago decided.

"Goodbye, Vincent, see you tonight." She called as she raced
for the service elevator, hurried rebuttoning her coat as she
ran, her high heels clicking madly.

He sighed to himself as he watched her retreating figure
vanish. Then he turned and made his way back out through the
hidden entrances to his world. As he walked through the tunnels, he
wished he could go with her. There was so much he couldn't share
with her, and so much he wanted to share as he knew she wanted
to with him.

The exhibit intrigued him. There was something about it that
pulled him as it had her. It wasn't that the museum was
inaccessible to him. He had spend many nights there wandering the
deserted corridors studying and marveling over the ancient works
shown there. He knew how to get into the wing that Catherine was
visiting undetected. Since the wing was closed until the exhibit
was opened, there would be few people. He could see the exhibit
for himself without being seen. This would be as close as he dared
to share an experience with her. He smiled to himself and then
began to retrace his steps through the tunnel passages.

"Cathy, I was just about to give up on you. Where have you
been?" Jenny asked in exasperation, as she met Catherine getting
out of her cab.

"Mid-town traffic and last minute phone calls." Catherine
half-lied, as she paid the driver and gave him a large tip for
getting her there so quickly. He grinned, and didn't say a word,
figuring his passenger had her reasons for her fib.

"Thanks lady," he yelled as he pulled away. "Have a good
day."

"God, that's a rarity, a polite cabby in New York," Jenny
exclaimed in surprise as she watched the cab disappear in traffic.

Catherine giggled as they turned and started walking up the
steep steps. "So anyway, why did you drag me out to see this
exhibit. You know I've got tons of work back at the office," she
asked.

"It's like I told you on the phone. I couldn't get over the
resemblance between you and that priestress. It gave me the
creeps. I wanted you to see it before some of our friends did.
Believe me you are going to be a hot topic of conversation for a
while." Jenny said, trying to be nonchalant about it but not
succeeding.

"Oh really, me a hot topic. When have I ever been a hot
topic?" Cathy laughed.

"Well. . . , there was you and that painter at school, then
there was the law student, then the . . .," Jenny went on,
reminding her of all her old flames, "Then there was Elliot
Burch."

"Elliot? He and I did make a bit of a stir on several
levels. But that's over. He's off in the Caribbean somewhere, I
heard. Jen, I just don't have the time to get involved with
anyone, nor do I want to. Elliot was it--period. So no more match
making, please."

Jenny sighed, "Too bad, I know this great book editor over
where I work who would just love to go out with you. And he's
single, and independently wealthy." She added as they went
through the main doors.

"No, Jen, no!" Catherine replied in exasperation, "Which way
to the exhibit?" she asked as Jen showed the guard her pass and
they were let into the main lobby.

"This way," Jenny directed, taking Catherine by the arm and
guiding her to one of the elevators. "It's on the lower level.
Right now every one is on lunch break so we should have it pretty
much to ourselves. They've got it pretty much put together.
There's just a few odds and ends to be put in place then it be
opened."

The elevator let them off on the basement level. They had
just recently made this into an exhibit area because of space
problems in the other wings. They were building two new wings but
they wouldn't be completed for another year, Catherine recalled, so
this was just a temporary space for this special show. The
lighting was subdued for present, tomorrow this corridor would be
more brightly lit for the people who would come. They stopped
before a large pair of carved doors. A small sign advertising that
the exhibit was temporary closed was posted on one of the doors.
They stepped over the ropes in front of it and Jenny opened the
door with her passkey.

The room was shrouded in total darkness, as dark as a tomb,
Catherine thought to herself as she waited until Jenny found the
lightswitch. Jenny did not turn on all the lights, instead she
luminated the exhibit as it would appear. Fake torches sprang to
life here and there in the darkness and the only other
light s were those of the subdued stragetic lighting of the pieces
in the display. From some hidden source came music that reminded
Catherine of old Egyptian movies she had seen as a child.

"Not overdoing it are they?" Catherine asked as the music
came on and she shook her head at the fake threatricals.

"Don't look at me it wasn't my idea. This is how they have
the show set up. It's pretty corny to me too." her friend
giggled and apologized.

It was like stepping back in the past. The entrance way was
from the original tomb. It had been brought back piece by piece
and reassembled as had other pieces of the tomb, trying to
reconstruct as much as was possible the original whose site was now
being flooded because of a new dam in the area. The museum had felt
very fortunate to get these pieces before they were lost for all
time.

Catherine was dazzled by it all. It was like taking a
time machine back into the past. But overriding her feeling of awe
was the feeling of familiarity with many of the objects in the
room. Maybe they look like similar things she had seen in the past
in museums, she thought to herself as she tried to shake the
strange feelings she getting.

Jenny just let her wander and look at the objects on
display. She was quiet, oddly so, as she observed her friend
and her reactions.

Catherine was getting more and more involved and it took a
great deal of effort to not tell Jenny about each object she
recognized. Her mind was being assaulted with images and names of
people and places she had never seen or been, nor could have any
knowledge of. There were very few things in the outer tomb room
that she did not somehow know or recognize.

They stopped before a glass case and inside was a turquoise
pleated dress banded with elaborate designs worked upon it's hems
and sleeves in gold. The model wore a turquoise, ruby, and gold
necklace in a winged lion pattern with matching earrings and head
dress. In its clasped arms it held two finely worked staffs that
showed the rank and authority that the original wearer of the dress
had had in serving her god.

Catherine knew that dress, she could feel it on her bare skin
as she walked in it. Before she could stop herself she blurted
out, "Jen, look at that dress isn't it beautiful? I wore that
when I first saw Kether . . . ."

Jenny was more then a little alarmed at Catherine's
outburst, "Cathy, are you okay?" She asked solicitously, coming
over to her and turning her around to face her.

"Sure Jen, I'm okay. What's wrong?" Cathy asked confused,
not remembering what she had just said, her eyes held a very
puzzled look as she looked back at her friend.

"Cathy, you're acting really strange. You just told me that
that was the dress you wore when you first met Kether." Jenny said
slowly letting the words sink in. "Maybe this was a bad idea.
Maybe I should take you home. It's too soon after your dad's
death. You're not as recovered as you think you are."

Catherine continued to look at her friend in puzzlement.
"Jen, whatever are you talking about? I'm fine--really I am. I
don't want to go home I want to see the rest of the exhibit. You
must have heard me wrong. I've never seen that dress before in my
life and I only heard the name Kether when you told me about him
over the phone. Relax please, I am okay-- really!" Catherine
protested trying to placate her friend.

Jenny was still dubious but outside of bodily dragging her
friend away she could see no alternative other than to follow her
through the rest of the exhibit. They entered the tomb itself
passing a huge sunboat which the ancients routinely put into the
tombs of notable personages. The realistic almost life-size
rowers frozen in their places as they ferried the figures of Kether
and his high priestess on their journey through the lands of
the Egyptian neither world and cosmos added even more of an
aura of unreality to the setting. Catherine bypassed the
impressive display without so much as a backward glance, heading
for the inner most room that contained the sarcophagi of the two
ancient lovers as well as the tomb paintings.

Vincent heard the two women entering the outer chamber and
made himself invisible by fading into the dark shadows of the
room behind Kether's coffin. He was not sure what reaction he
would get from either of the two ladies. And he was very
worried about Catherine. Her thoughts and emotions were getting
more and more confused the longer she stayed within these
rooms. He was experiencing similar difficulties but he willed
himself to ignore the random images that wraithed through his
mind. He was more concerned with his beloved's difficulties than
with his own.

It was the painting that riveted Catherine's attention as
soon as she entered the room. She stood still at the entrance for
many long moments, then slowly she moved forward to see it better
in the dim lights. Jenny followed a few paces behind, watching
Catherine closely.

The painting told the story of Kether's coming. How he had
come walking out of the vast desert alone, garbed in strange
clothing. A living god or so it appeared to the people who
immediately fell down and worshipped him. Since he was not one of
their known gods, a special temple was erected and dedicated to
him, the Temple of the Lion God, guardian of the desert
wanderers. Soon he had his own priesthood and rituals as well as
followers in the years that followed. Only his priests and their
helpers saw him and tried to communicate with him. He became
almost a virtual prisoner within his own temple. And his life
span was long, longer than those that served him and he saw many
generations born and buried. After a time he became more and more
reclusive, even his priests no longer saw him. Then he became a
legend, and his cult began to fade into obscurity.

Then one day a new priestess began to serve her god. She was
young, and beautiful. Her parents had dedicated her their god.
She was left as a living sacrifice to him on his altar one night.
She had prepared herself for death, knowing full well that the
high priests would come in masks and cut her still living heart
from her body and offer it to the god.

When the moon had risen to its zenith, the god himself
appeared to her. He started to take her life as he had down to so
many victims in the past and stopped his clawed hand from
ripping her open when he looked into the deep green liquid pools
of her frightened eyes. He knew then he could never harm her and
that she was the woman he had searched for for so long. To her
surprise he loosed her bonds and released her, bowing down
before her. Needless to say, the priestess was in left in a state
of shock because the god she worshipped was a living, breathing
being, and was now offering himself to her.

She made him arise and when he did and they looked into each
other's eyes and knew they were forever bond together. Then their
troubles began. The following morning instead of finding a corpse
on the altar, they found the god and his very living priestess
in his rooms. When they tried to reclaim the priestess and
complete the necessary rituals, the god intervened and slaughtered
several of his supposed followers before they could harm her. The
god then proclaimed her his wife and his highest emissary then he
decreed that he would no longer remain hidden from his worshippers
and would walk freely outside his temple walls. His priests were not
pleased with these new turns of events and secretly vowed to
restore things to what they had been.

From the scenes on the wall painting it was clear that it
took several years for the priests to enact their revenge. The
paintings showed that Kether and his priestess were well loved by
his followers because of their devotion and love to one another
as well as for their wisdom on matters of the heart and family.
Their following grew and drew attention from other lands as well
as many flocked to see the living god. In time they had children.
And their power and influence began to rival that of the royal
house. When the new pharaoh came to power the priests began to put
their plans in motion.

The high priestess was killed as she conducted an outside
service for Kether's followers. The god went on a rampage killing
the priests until he was stopped and killed. Of their three
children only one escaped to other lands. The god and his
priestess were then buried side by side. The priests returned to
the original rituals and beliefs of this cult but they soon lost
all the followers that had been gained and the worship of the god
Kether died out.

The pictures on the wall were very clear, very vivid and in
a style unlike most paintings of that era. The most realistic
though were the life-size portraits of Kether and his priestess on
the opposite side of the room between the two sarcophagi.
Catherine finished reading the story panels and turned around to
read the other walls. As she saw the portraits she let out a
startled gasp and felt her knees get weak. Jenny had been right, it
was her and the god was a dead ringer for Vincent. Even the look he
was giving his priestess was the same as she had seen
Vincent give her. The clothing was different but it was if she
and Vincent had posed for this painting. The elaborate sarcophagi
on either side of it echoed the portraits too.

Was it possible they had met and loved in a different times
and places as themselves, and then had their life together taken
away by the hands of others. Was fate always bringing them
together but never letting them fully experience what they could
have? Were they doomed forever to have just pieces not the whole?

She walked closer to the painting and as she did she felt
herself growing faint, and she collapsed in a heap on the floor.

"Catherine!" Jenny yelled in alarm, rushing to her side.
Jenny tried shaking her with no success, "Catherine, wake up--
please don't pass out on me! Damn, it's all my fault, I shouldn't
have brought you here! It was too soon for you." Jenny berated
herself thinking it was her Catherine's father's death and being
in a tomb that had triggered her collapse, not really knowing it
was the portraits and what they represented that had done it.

Jenny tried for several minutes to revive her friend without
success--Catherine was out cold. Jenny felt absolutely helpless
as she stared down at her friend passed out on the cold tiled
floor. She decided to go for help, and got up from where she sat
and headed for the door to find help. She hated leaving Catherine
alone but there was nothing else that she could do.

Vincent watching from the shadows had had to hold himself in
check to keep from rushing to Catherine's side when she fainted. He
felt as helpless as Jenny did. When Jenny decided to go for help
he felt great relief. He listened as her footsteps vanished in
the distance and then came out of his hiding place to go to
Catherine's side.

"Catherine, can you hear me? Wake up." Vincent asked, trying
to keep the deep worry and fear out of his voice as he picked up
his beloved and cradled her in his arms, hoping that his physical
presence would awaken her. There was no response.

He searched their bond trying to find her, trying to sense
what she was feeling and experiencing. He dove deeper and deeper
into their link, deeper than he had ever attempted on a conscious
level until he did make contact with her and when he did he was
shocked. She was herself and yet she wasn't. She was reliving her
past life in that ancient world. She had become the priestress
and yet she was still Catherine of this present age.

He watched as a spectator as she met Kether and then relived
their brief life together until they were parted in death. It was
then that he stepped into her mind to draw her back to the present
and himself.

She was lost in a limbo she couldn't escape from after she
had reexperienced her death. She wandered helpless searching for an
exit. When she couldn't find it she burst into tears because of
the overwhelming loneliness and frustration she felt.

"Catherine, I am here," Vincent called as he approached her,
homing in her by the waves of despair she was sending out.

He was appearing to her consciousness as himself but the woman
who was Catherine and yet the priestess too saw him as the god,
Kether. "Kether, you're here?" She asked looking up and
recognizing his presence. Joy and hope sprang up within her as she
wanted to believe it was him while not not truly believing
that such a miracle could be.

She ran to him, wrapping her slender arms around his broad
frame and feeling his arms go around her in response. He needed to
correct her assumption that he was Kether and to bring her
consciousness back to being Catherine, but he was reluctant to
disturb the moment and the sensation of his beloved being in his
arms.

They were alone in this void that she had created. More alone
than they had ever been. They were also more vulnerable and open
to each other than they had ever been because so many barriers
had been stripped away from both of them so that their
consciousness's could exist on this plane.

She sensed the difference in him before he could speak and
tell her that he was not who she thought he was. "You're not
Kether!" she exclaimed drawing back a little in his arms, "but you
are--I don't understand. If you are not who are you?" she asked
puzzled and confused.

"I am Vincent, and you are Catherine, my Catherine, but you
think yourself another person in another time. A time that is
long gone as are the persons we were then. I am here to bring you
back to your own world." He said, looking down at her his eyes
serious and grave.

The woman grew frightened and tried to get away but he would
not let her. He held her firmly in his arms, compelling her to
look at him, to remember who she was. She read the love he held
for her in his eyes and in his soul and her fear fell away. She
was not sure whether he was Kether or the Vincent, he had called
himself, she did not care as she got lost in the liquid pools of
his eyes. All she knew was that he was the man she loved
regardless of the name he called himself by.

She turned her face up to meet his downward moving one. She
made the first move taking him by surprise as she kissed him
fully on his unique lips. Her arms reached up too pulling him
down to her. He began to resist and pull away but then he got
lost in their kiss. This was much more than than the kiss
Catherine had given him when she had returned to her world. It
was a kiss that held all the love and passion she felt. He could
not help but respond to her and he deepened the kiss she had
began putting all that he truly felt into it. She swooned in his
arms.

He almost dropped her in surprise at her reaction. Instead
he swooped her slight form into his arms and held her close until
she opened her eyes. She looked up dazzled and confused for a
moment, and then smiled happily up at him.

"Vincent, you're here?" his Catherine asked recognizing him.

"I am, and you are yourself again." He smiled with relief,
seeing no traces of the priestess in her face or consciousness.

"What happened? Where are we?" Catherine asked looking
around and seeing nothingness on all sides of them.

"At present we are in your consciousness or on another plane
or dimension outside of what we know as reality." Vincent tried to
explain.

"Huh?" she asked confused, "How did we get here? All I
remember is coming into the museum with Jenny, entering the
exhibit room, and then seeing the things in the room and the
portrait. But it was like I was looking at them with two sets of
eyes. But it was the portrait most of all. Suddenly I was no
longer me, I was someone else, living their life and their death,
and then you kissed me and I became me again." She tried to
explain.

"I know," he said knowingly.

"But how are you here and how do we get out of this place?"
she asked remembering Jenny and the museum.

"I was in the exhibit room. I have my own hidden ways to
visit the museum and I was watching you when your past self took
over. You fainted and when your friend could not revive you she
left and went for help. When she did I came out of hiding to help
you. Somehow through our bond I was able to join you so that I
could bring you back to yourself."

"You succeeded, in the classic way." she smiled mysteriously.

"Oh? How?" he asked confused now.

"You woke the sleeping beauty with a kiss." she laughed,
then got serious, "if we are here, or at least our minds are,
where are our bodies and what is happening to them? How long have
we been here?" she asked suddenly afraid for him.

"This place is without time. Moments or hours could have
gone by in reality, but I suspect only moments. I would have
sensed the presence of anyone approaching our bodies. However, we
must return as soon as possible." Vincent suggested.

Catherine sighed, rather enjoying being held this closely in
his arms. "Yes, we must, but how?" she answered, letting reason
rule over the stray feelings and impulses she was having.

"We just will ourselves to wake up." He suggested, hoping
that was the answer.

"Kind of like Dorothy telling herself there's no place like
home and clicking her ruby slippers to get back from Oz?" she
laughed, running her hand gently across his cheek.

"Something like that," he agreed, chucking a little too at
her analogy, but he was saddened too. He wished he could prolong
their time together as well. They had never been as open to each
other as they were at this suspended moment.

He dared to chance it, to do what his heart wanted before
they returned to their world where pressures and fears kept them
apart, he lowered his head and kissed the woman in his arms. His
action took her by surprise but she recovered quickly and
responded back without any restraint.

The kiss went on taking in all the feeling and love they
dared not say out loud to one another but could only feel and
keep hidden for fear of hurt the other. That was foolish they both
knew but still they did. But they vowed to do it no more after
experiencing this openness here.

When they finally broke apart they were back in the real
world in their bodies. Vincent still held Catherine in his arms
as he sat upon the tiled floor of the museum. Her eyelids
fluttered open and she she saw his face only inches from her own.
They both looked a little embarrassed to find themselves so. There
was a lingering tingle on both their lips that suggested it wasn't
a dream, they had kissed.

"Catherine, are you alright?" Vincent asked solicitously,
drawing back a little.

"I'm fine. And you?" she asked, "It wasn't a dream, it di d
happen all it? From remembering our past lives together, to my
awakening on that other plane, to our kiss--it was all real wasn't
it?" she asked seriously.

"It was. This room unlocked your hidden memories of the far
past as it did mine, but your conscious mind fought it and that is
why you had to go back and relive them. You accept your
memories and now, and your feelings. You had to find yourself and
you did."

"I think I understand, and what about you? Do you accept
yourself. I saw the real you and it did not frighten me. I only
wish we could always be as open with one another as we were
there." Catherine replied wistfully, seeing her own sadness and
regret mirrored in Vincent's eyes.

She sat up, and he let her loose from his embrace. He helped
her up and they stood together in the quiet room, trying not to
let their old fears and shyness with each override their newly
won openness. But they could each feel the other drift back into
the old patterns.

"Thank you for bringing me back," Catherine said finally
breaking the growing silence between them, "if you had not been
here . . . I don't know what would have happened." she suddenly
wondered.

"Even if I had been Below, I would have come to you to bring
you back. Nothing is more important to me than you, you are my
life, then, now, and always." Vincent replied very seriously, then
he straightened up suddenly alert his head turned towards the
doorway.

"Someone is coming down the outside corridor, I must go." He
said releasing her and moving away back into the shadows where the
hidden entrance to the room was.

"I know." she agreed, "Will I see you tonight? There is
still a lot that we need to talk about." she added, hearing
footsteps now herself.

"Yes, tonight. Come Below and I will meet you at the threshold
. Goodbye." Vincent quickly said, pausing for a moment for one
last look at her, and then he vanished into the darkness.
She heard a low sound of stone grating on stone and then
silence and she knew he now safely away to the tunnels.

Catherine turned as Jenny entered on her heels were two
security guards, and two paramedic with a stretcher between them.
Jenny was rather surprised, but pleased to see her friend up
around and obviously alright.

"Catherine, you're okay?" Jenny asked coming over to her.

"I'm fine. I woke up shortly after you left. I don't know
what got into me and why I fainted but I'm fine now." Catherine
explained cheerfully.

Jenny was dubious as were the relieved guards and medics.

"Maybe we should check you over, miss?" One of the medics
asked, readying his equipment.

"No thanks, I'm fine. All I want to do is go back to work
before Joe has a fit." Catherine said seriously, refusing any
help.

"Oh, no you don't. You're going straight home and rest. And
you are going to stay there if I have to sit on you. I already
called Joe and he told me if they didn't take you to the hospital
that I was to make you go home. And you are to take the rest of
the week off. Is that clear?" Jenny relayed still worried.

"Yes, Mother," Catherine replied with a smile, "And I will go
home and I will rest, I promise. I really needed to get my
caseload caught up . . . ."

"It can wait. Right now you need to take care of you, okay?"
Jenny insisted as they walked back to the main corridor. The
guards and medics trailing behind them.

"Okay." Catherine agreed with smile, and as she walked back
to elevator she was glad she had such good friends who did care
about her.

She just wished she could get her two separate worlds to
mesh together and quit living a double life. Maybe with all this
time off she could sit and think how to accomplish this. And she
also thought on the lessons learned today. She and Vincent were
definitely going to have some very long talks on a number of
subjects. She was going to start making changes, so that they
could have a life together and she wouldn't have to dream another
dream, and live another life except the one she wanted with him.