Of Restraint

 

He did wonder

What she meant

What she saw

He did not

Why was she

So seeming tense

Why so silent

Eyes so staring

Lips pursed tight

Hands first clenched

Then suddenly spread

Was it something

He had said

Or just something

From the past.

You will find my short stories further down in the blog. They were posted first.

The Golden Rule

 

Brahmanism
This is the sum of duty: do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you. Mahabharata, 5, 1517

 

Buddhism

Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful. Udana-Varga, 5, 18

 

Confucianism

Is there one maxim which ought to be acted upon throughout one's whole life? Surely it is the maxim of loving-kindness: do not unto others what you would not have them do unto you. Analects, 15, 23

 

Taoism

Regard your neighbor's gain as your own gain, and your neighbor's loss as your own loss. T'ai Shang kan Ying P'ien

 

Zoroastrianism

That nature alone is good which refrains from doing unto another whatsoever is not good for itself. Dadistan-I-dinik, 94, 5

 

Judaism

What is hateful to you, do not to your fellowman. That is the entire law; all the rest is commentary. Talmud, Shabbat, 31a

 

Christianity

All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. Matthew, 7, 12

Islam

No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself. Sunnah

 

A Birthday Thought©

By Richard A. Falb

 

Birthdays come and birthdays go

And with advancing years

Some do not like to count them

But others proudly do

It is a milestone to be marked

Another year survived

Why is it some do worry

As years go speeding by

While some see cause to celebrate

At each new year they can begin

To start anew a new fresh page

To see what can be writ upon

A new adventure some new friends

Perhaps a different place to see

It's really how you look at it

It can be bright It can be dark

It's really you can light the spark

That grows into a bright new light

Or dies into a gloomy night

My West Side

By Richard A. Falb

 

I grew up on the West Side of St. Paul. Not West St. Paul, but the West Side of St. Paul. Of course we often referred to our area as the Cherokee Heights Area. I grew up in a rather old house on Ohio Street between Baker and Morton Streets. On Baker Street corner across Ohio Street was a fire station. I think it was Number Twenty One. Of course this occasionally added a little excitement to the neighborhood. We loved to chase the fire engines. I should say I grew up there before World War II. It was time when milk was delivered door to door everyday and almost every area had an ice house, where blocks of ice could be purchased for ice boxes. We did not have electricity in our house early in my childhood. We had gas lights. I remember going down to George and Ohio streets to the only store that had the mantels we had to put on the light. They glowed when we turned on the gas and lit them. When I was young I was always scared of them. I guess I thought they might blow up if you lit them wrong. The stove in our kitchen was a large wood burning stove. I remember chopping wood for that stove. Of course I also remembered the wonderful things that came out of that oven. A coal heater, that sat in the dining room in the middle of the house, heated the house. We used to load the top of it every night and then replenish it in the morning. Needless to say we needed heavy blankets in the upstairs bedrooms where we kids slept. In spite of this I really loved winter because just two blocks East was Baker playground where a large rink was flooded and there was a nice hill to slide on. In addition, about seven or eight blocks in the other direction was Cherokee Park that ran along on the bluffs above the river. Of course those areas were fun to play on in summer also. Baker playground is where we played our pickup football games. It was also the place they played Legion ball and sometimes the High School baseball games. Humboldt High School was just eight blocks east of my house. There were two grade schools one about three blocks one way from my house and the other about two blocks the other way. That one only ran up to fourth grade, it was Bryant School and it was brand new. The other, Douglas, went to eighth grade. It was old when I went there. It no longer exists. The street cars ran along Smith Avenue, just three blocks away in the direction of the Park. That is where our local business district was complete with Jordan's Drugs, Cherokee State Bank, the movie theater, Cherokee Bakery and a large Grocery store. Jordan's Drugs had an Ice Cream Parlor where you could get great malted milks, on the rare occasion you had the money. I think they cost a quarter. Of course we had a small neighborhood grocery store on the corner of Morton and Ohio streets, where on the rare occasion we had a few cents we could get candy or even, if we were really flushed, an ice cream cone. As at that time, fireworks could not be sold in the city limits, we had to go up to Annapolis and Smith, where just over the border in West St. Paul a fireworks store would be set up. To earn money we used to do what was termed as passing bills. This was taking the ads of the local stores and going door to door and sticking them in their front doors. One of the memories of this, is in winter we would pass them in the evening right around supper time. You often could look in and see the table being set for dinner and it looked nice and warm and cozy. It kind of warmed me up. In summer we would head out just beyond Annapolis Street to pick berries at the farms there. Annapolis was only eight blocks south of our house. A mile or so walk would get us out into the farm land. South of Cherokee Park on the Mendota Road it was mostly woods as the road ran along the bluffs. We used to hike out that road to what we termed Second Bridge. It was the second bridge on that road which spanned valleys that cut across the road. Below Second Bridge there as a stream that ran down to the river. There was a place we could build a bonfire and roast wieners and make semores. There was always plenty of dry wood to gather. We used to gather a group of teenagers during the summers and have impromptu picnics. Luckily the girls could talk their mothers out of the wieners, buns and other goodies. There were empty lots at several of the corners in our neighborhood, where we played ball and other games. There was a lot next to the fire house and depending who was the Captain in charge, we could often use it as a playground although we never played ball there. Ohio Street was rounded in the center so there were gutters on both sides running down to a cement catch basin. It was covered by a manhole cover that we could lift. Many a time, we had to lift it to use a rake to rescue a ball that we didn't catch before it went down the drain. Luckily there was a small bit of water where we could use the rake to rescue the ball floating on the water. We got pretty good at it. Of course in Spring and after a heavy rain the gutters were fun places to float stick boats down. Oh we found a lot of interesting things to do for fun around the neighborhood as there were always plenty of kids around when I was growing up. As I was writing this, I was thinking it brought back memories of a rather carefree period of my life in spite of the fact it was in the time of the Great Depression.

Caerialda the Elf Child©

By Richard A. Falb

She was a little elf. A rather precocious one. It wasn't that she meant to cause any trouble. She was just so active and a little scatterbrained at times. Everyone liked her, she had a engaging charm about her. The children in the village and the area around, loved to play with her. Sometimes she led other children into the Elven forest to play with her. She would forget human children became confused when they entered the magical Elven forest. Sometimes they would wander off and be lost for hours. Caerialda told her father the children were lost. Caerialda's father always found them. Caerialda then returned them to their families.

Some of their parents were not very happy about their being lost, but most of the children thought it was a lark. The forest was so beautiful they never felt afraid. Some of those parents told their children they couldn't play with her anymore, or least they couldn't go into the forest with her. But she was so much fun and could think of such wonderful games, the children would conveniently forget what they had been told. She could not see, why those children became confused, she did not. She just saw them as children like her. She never saw them as different.

She lived with her family at the edge of the Elven forest. Her father was one of the guards who patrolled the border of the forest. The guards did not try to keep anyone out, they were there to lead out any who came in and got confused. She didn't have any elf children to play with. It never bothered her to go outside the forest, so she left the forest to play with the children from the nearby village. She always told her mother where she was going. The village children saw the Elven forest as very beautiful and a wonderful place to play. They forgot from time to time they would become confused and lose their way. After all, they were always found and returned home. The forest was not a scary place to them, actually to most it was kind of an adventure to be lost in that beautiful forest. They knew they would always be found.

One day she found a young boy who didn't have anyone to play with. He was about her age. The other children said he looked different, but that is what they thought of her. That never bothered her. Of course, she was so much fun to play with they forgot she looked different. The boy was shy and didn't know how to play with other children. No one seemed to want to play with him. It wasn't that he was ugly or that he was mean, it was just he looked different from other children. Besides, he only had a mother and they had just moved into the village a short time ago. His mother was a healer, so she was looked on as different also.

One day Caerialda did not find any children to play with her. She went to find the boy and asked if he would like to go and play in the forest with her. He readily agreed. He had never been asked to go play in the forest before. He had heard it was beautiful. His mother had never warned him to stay away from the Elven forest, but he had no one with whom he could go with. He had played a couple times with her, but then someone else would come and want her to play with them. He was never invited by the other children to play with them. Caerialda, the elf child, thought it was strange he never came with them. She hadn't realized the other children didn't want him to play with them.

Caerialda took his hand and walked to the forest. His home was on the side of the village toward the forest. Like a good son, he told his mother he was going to play with Caerialda. His mother was happy for him to have someone to play with. She knew the other children seldom played with him. She knew they thought he was different. She also knew that Caerialda was Elven, so she was different from the other children. His mother realized that it did not make any difference to the other children that Caerialda was different.

Caerialda and the boy went to the forest and entered it. Caerialda took him to a place in the forest where she often played. It was a place she could make up wonderful games. They played all day and then Caerialda went with him back to his home. As she was returning to the forest, she realized the boy, his name was Karlian, had not become confused, but enjoyed playing in the beautiful forest with her. She asked her mother, why Karlian did not become confused like the other children from the village. Caerialda's mother was not listening closely to her daughter's chatter, for she did love to chatter. She absently said she didn't know.

Meanwhile, Karlian was telling his mother what a wonderful time he had playing in the forest with Caerialda. His mother smiled and said that was a very nice, and she was glad he enjoyed himself. She hoped that Caerialda would come and play with her son again. Because Karlian's house was closest to the forest, Caerialda decided she would go and get him to play with her in the morning. She really enjoyed playing in her forest home, but up until now she didn't have anyone to play with that was not confused by the forest's magic. She thought it was wonderful to have finally found someone. After she had asked her mother, she forgot that it was strange that Karlian was not confused.

She did go and get him in the morning and they told his mother they would play all day in the forest, if that was alright with her. She quickly gave her consent. She was happy her son had someone to play with. Besides, Caerialda was a very happy, intelligent child who everyone thought of as very nice. Karlian's mother knew why Karlian was not confused by the magic of the Elven forest, but she would tell no one. Caerialda had made friends with many of the creatures of the forest, which made it even more fun for Karlian to play with her in the forest. She would tell him what each animal and bird was. She taught him the names of the plants, the bushes and the trees. They had a wonderful time, and again Caerialda brought him back to his house. She was used to doing this with all the other village children, after they became confused.

Karlian's mother thanked her for coming home with him. She gave Caerialda a little doll she had made for her. Caerialda was delighted and made much of the doll. It actually was made with many of the things Karlian's mother used as a healer. It would help keep Caerialda from getting sick. Caerialda could hardly wait to show her mother this wonderful doll. Because Caerialda had brought Karlian to her home at the mid-day hour so they could get something to eat, Caerialda's mother realized that Karlian was not confused by the forest. She looked very closely at Karlian without letting him know she was watching him. Suddenly she realized why Karlian was not being confused. Karlian must be part Elf. That is why he looked different from the other village children. She decided not to tell Caerialda. Caerialda was just happy she had found a young person who could play with her in the forest. It would not make any difference to Caerialda if Karlian was part Elf.

Caerialda didn't think of the village children as different from her. They were children that she might play with. She was very happy she had found someone who could play with her in the forest. Karlian was just happy to have some one to play with, and especially someone who lived in the forest so he could go there to play. It was much more fun to play in the forest, than around the village. Besides, sometimes the village children were not very nice to him. Caerialda was very nice all the time and he enjoyed being with her. Caerialda's mother was happy that she had found someone who could come into the forest and play with her.

Because Karlian could come into the forest and play, Caerialda began to go fetch him practically every day. Some of the parents in the village were happy about this, but the children were not. They missed playing with Caerialda. She was so much fun. Of course it had been the parents of some of the children who had looked on Karlian as different and this had been communicated to the children. However many of the children noticed, that Caerialda did not seem to look on Karlian as different, and was very willing to play with him. Caerialda was asked by some of the children why she played with Karlian. They said their parents said he was different.

Caerialda didn't see why that would make any difference or why that would mean she shouldn't play with Karlian. After all she was different and they liked to play with her. She told them he was fun to play with and was very nice. She said her mother didn't see anything different about Karlian. Caerialda also told them she liked Karlian's mother and thought she was very nice. Then she asked them,

"Why don't your parents tell you not to play with me? I'm different. I'm Elven. I do not see why that should make a difference." She was very positive about this. She thought they were being silly. Caerialda began to insist, if she were to play with them, then Karlian must also be allowed to play. She told them otherwise she and Karlian would go into the forest and play.

Caerialda had discovered that if she brought the village children just a little way into the forest they would not become confused. She found a small clearing where they could all play. If any of the children happened to wander off, either she or Karlian could go find them. A couple of the village children, whose parents had not said anything about Karlian being different, decided they would be willing to let Karlian play with them. That way Caerialda would play with them and bring them into the forest with she and Karlian. Karlian was very happy that some of the village children were now willing to play with him. Soon these children no longer saw Karlian as strange. He, like Caerialda, was proving fun to play with. Karlian also seemed to be able to think of wonderful games to play especially in the forest. Besides, there were now two who knew about the forest and did not become confused.

Now these children began to look on Karlian much the same as they looked on Caerialda, he was fun to play with and that is all that mattered to them. When they were asked by other children, why they played with Karlian, they answered like Caerialda answered them. A few more of the children began to think about that, and decided they could also see no reason why they should not play with Karlian as well as Caerialda. After all, because the two of them looked different didn't mean they weren't fun to play with. Some of them told their parents that. Some of those parents did think about that and decided the children were right. Karlian actually was a nice, polite boy who was intelligent, much like Caerialda.

This began to reflect on how they viewed Karlian's mother and soon they began to treat her like everyone else in the village. Karlian's mother was very happy to be friends with anyone who would be friends with her. More and more of the people of the village began to see Karlian and his mother as regular members of the village and not as someone different. This caused Karlian's mother to be sought out as a healer more often, and pretty soon, she was able to fix up their little house and make it more comfortable.

This made Karlian happier and he became less shy because he could now invite children to his home. Caerialda had already been to his home many times. She had not seen that it was any different, a little smaller and with not as nice furniture as some of the other village houses. That didn't matter to Caerialda because she liked Karlian and his mother. Being the little chatterbox she was, Caerialda told the children that and soon these children began to see this as Caerialda did.

Little by little more and more of the village people began to have the same attitude. They began to see Karlian's mother as just a good healer and a friend and Karlian as just a polite little boy who lived in the village. There were some of the parents and some of their children that did not see this, but it no longer mattered, because most of the rest of the village did see it this way. Of course Caerialda remained a favorite of the village children and most of the village parents. Some of them even realized it was she who made them realize looking different, shouldn't really matter. It was what the person was like that mattered.

The End

A GRAVE GRAVITY SITUATION©

by Richard A. Falb

 

Tom was working late this night. He was pulling together his research. It had to do with the current flurry of claims an anti-gravity device would soon be perfected. Tom had his Ph.D. in Physics and had earned a reputation as a top expert in the effects of gravity. He also had published extensively.

According to his research, no one had actually proven there was a scientific break-through in this area. In spite of this, reports an anti-gravity device would soon be announced kept cropping up. Tom's own research had established, with present knowledge, such a device was probably out of the question. The article, Tom was writing, would basically say he did not think such a device was possible. He was putting this article together for the most prestigious scientific journal in this field. His conclusion, it would be wasting valuable time, effort and money seeking such a device. Tom had finished putting together his basic conclusions for the beginning of the article. He planned to write a popularized version for a larger circulation, popular-type scientific magazine.

As Tom sat back from his computer to reflect on what he had written, he caught some movement out of the corner of his eye. Tom looked toward one wall of the room. A door was opening. There never had been a door there. It swung wide open, revealing a young woman in the doorway. She was dressed in what Tom could only term a very scanty outfit. Tom shook his head to clear his brain. She was still there and she was beckoning to him.

I must by tired, my eyes are playing tricks on me, he thought. The vision did not go away. A young woman was indeed standing there in the doorway and beckoning to him. Tom felt compelled to get up from his chair, go over to that wall and prove to himself, it was indeed a solid wall.

Instead of a solid wall, Tom got a real shock. The young woman, who Tom now noticed was attractive, reached out her hand and took his. She was indeed solid flesh. She was not an apparition. Tom stepped through the door to meet her. He found himself in a scene he had never experienced before. It was like a scene out of a futuristic movie. The type of outfit she wore was apparently worn by most of the young people in this city. She turned to Tom.

"I was sent to bring you here to show you the future. This is your city as it will look many, many years in the future."

Tom shook his head, trying to clear it. He could not believe this was really happening. He was sure he must have fallen asleep and was dreaming. The young woman, who was his guide, smiled at him.

"You do not believe you are really experiencing this. You are not asleep. We have perfected the ability to travel back in time, under certain very specific situations. I was allowed to travel back to get you. We felt it necessary to bring you forward. We knew we must show you your conclusions, which you were soon to publish, are wrong."

He was now beginning to wonder if this was really true or not.

"Why do you want to show me that? Why is it important to you what I publish?" he asked the young woman.

"Because you are a highly respected expert, what you publish could set back research in this area and affect what happens in the future. That could change what you now see," she told him.

"You mean what I publish could change what I am now seeing?" he asked very incredulously. "You are saying that a change in what happened in the past could have a definite effect on what the future will be like."

"We know that to be true," the young woman answered. "That is why I am going to not only show you what anti-gravity devices can do, but also how we were able to arrive at their successful design."

"Will I be sent back to my time after I am shown this?" he asked somewhat fearful of the answer.

"Yes," the young woman said somewhat sadly, "That will be necessary so you can rewrite your article." Tom looked at her thoughtfully.

Then he asked, "Will I retain the knowledge of how you successfully built those devices?"

She smiled at his question. "It will be buried deep in your mind. You will only be able to give a vague description on how you think these devices will eventually come into being," the young lady replied. "Otherwise you might change the future by having these devices invented before they would ordinarily have been."

"In other words that also would change the looks of this world," he said.

"Yes," the young woman replied, "And I wouldn't have done my job the way I was suppose to do it."

He smiled at her. "I wouldn't want to disturb your world. I shall try to do my job the way I am suppose to do it." Then another thought crossed his mind. "Will I be able to stay here for a little while?"

The young lady smiled at him. "I think that can be arranged, but are you sure that is what you really would want."

He looked at her. He had somehow been too busy with his career to be serious about any one woman. No woman had attracted him like this young woman did, and she was from another time.

"Yes," he finally replied, "I would like to be able to stay here for a little while. I would like to get to know you better."

"In that case, that will settle the question of where you will live, because then you can live with me," the young lady said, then because of his rather startled, questioning look, she added, "that is perfectly normal in our society."

They took a vehicle that was parked along the street. She drove him to a residence that looked like a futuristic massive apartment complex. She parked the vehicle in the street in front of one of the entrances and led him into a courtyard within the building. The impression he got was he was in a yard with sunlight streaming in.

She led him to a transparent tube, walked into it and motioned him to follow her. Immediately they were shot up and then stopped. The young woman walked out, onto a pathway exactly like the one on the ground floor. They were again in a courtyard. She led him to a door, which opened to admit her. He followed her in. They were in a very attractive home. She showed him all through it. He was surprised at its size. He was also surprised to note that some of the walls of some of the rooms looked like they were large windows. They appeared to look out on a beautiful scene of gardens and woods, and in the distance, some hills. They did not look like any mural he had seen. They were three-dimensional. He also noticed there was only one bedroom. He noticed she was looking at him with a smile on her face.

"Do you think we need more than one bedroom?" she asked.

He took a deep breath, "Oh no," he quickly replied.

The place was completely equipped, although many of the things, especially in the kitchen, he had never seen before. Some things in the home he recognized vaguely. They came into what he assumed was the living room. On the one wall, a large panel lit up and suddenly a woman appeared on the screen.

"You have arranged as to where he is going to stay?" the woman asked.

"Yes," the young woman replied, "he is going to stay with me. He asked if he could stay a while and get to know me better."

The woman on the screen smiled, "I am not surprised, but did you ask him if that is really what he wanted to do?"

"Yes, and he replied that it was what he wanted to do," the young woman answered with a smile.

"Then I will let you get acquainted, Seranze, and you can show him the city today. However we must start his instruction tomorrow. We cannot delay his return to his own time too long," the woman on the screen told her. "Requisition some appropriate clothing for him. We do not want him to stand out, as your are taking him around the city."

The screen faded and the wall assumed its former look. Seranze took Tom into another room and lead him over to the wall. She pushed a panel on the wall and something looking like a computer keyboard slid out. Seranze then told Tom to stand beside her and slowly turn around in a complete circle. Then she punched a series of keys.

In a short time, a door in the wall, slid open and a large package came out. Seranze began taking clothing out of the package. She piled some up in his arms and then gathered the rest up and led the way into the bedroom. She touched the wall, and doors opened, revealing a closet half filled with clothes.

"You can put yours on this side. Then you can select an outfit and change into it. When you have changed we can go out and look over the city. I will introduce you to my friends as a childhood friend. I will introduce you as Tomazin," Seranze told him.

He looked at her wondering if she was going to stay while he changed. Then he thought that was a stupid thought. It was obvious that she intended that he would be sleeping with her.

Actually she help him decide what outfit he should wear and then showed him how to put it on. With her so close, he had an almost overpowering desire to take her in his arms and kiss her.

He resisted, realizing he didn't know what the customs of this time were. He did not want to do anything that might offend her.

"We will eat out today. I have been issued plenty of credits so I can show you around," Seranze told Tom as she led him out of the house and into the tube, then on to the street. There she again got into a vehicle parked there and motioned for him to come in beside her. She punched a few keys and the vehicle took off.

They were soon in what appeared to him to be the heart of town. Seranze parked the vehicle and led him, into what apparently was a cafe or restaurant. Seranze was obviously known here. She was greeted by name as she came in. Tom began to realize this was not just an ordinary young lady he was with. She must have some real stature in this society. She stopped and introduced Tom to some of her acquaintances, but she led him to a secluded table. It seemed obvious they were not to be joined by anyone here.

"I will tell you what you should order, and explain why, after our server has gone," Seranze told him. She leaned close to him as she briefly explained the menu and indicated what he should order. Tom did exactly as she said, and then she explained why. She quietly briefed him on the food he would be eating and what type of eating establishment they were in. She also briefed him on the other most popular ones in the city.

When the food and drink arrived, he was pleasantly surprised at how good it was and how much he enjoyed it. Seranze was obviously pleased at his reaction to her choices for him.

After they finished eating, and Seranze paid the bill. She took him to some bars and entertainment places. It was at those places, that Seranze introduced Tom to her friends. No one questioned who he was. He was accepted as Seranze's friend.

The afternoon and evening went very swiftly, and it was late before they returned to Seranze's home. They again went into the building, into the tube and then to Seranze's place. She waited for him in the bedroom, then swiftly undressed and slipped into the bed. Seranze motioned Tom to follow her example. He slipped in beside her. When he woke in the morning, his first thought was that apparently making love hadn't changed much over the centuries.

Seranze stirred, lazily slipped into his arms, gave him a kiss and then slipped out of his arms and slipped out of bed.

"I will shower and get dressed. Then I will fix us some breakfast. You can shower and dress while I am making breakfast." Seranze set out the outfit Tom was suppose to wear today. As they were eating breakfast, Tom noticed Seranze's outfit for today was a little more subdued and covered more of her. He wondered if the outfit she had worn when he first saw her was for a purpose.

The next days were very busy, as Tom, was briefed by experts in the field of anti-gravity. However, the evenings he was able to spend with Seranze. She seemed to delight in showing him the many sights of the city. The time went much too fast for Tom. He learned all he was supposed to learn, realizing some of the research that was being done in his time was going somewhat in the right direction.

He also realized he did not want it to end. He was falling in love with Seranze. He knew this was impossible. He had to go back to his time, but he did not want to go. Finally the day came and Seranze lead him back to the point where they entered the city. She put her arms around him, kissed him, and then quickly turned him around. He was back in his own room and the door closed behind him. He turned back to feel the wall. It was completely solid. There was no sign of any door.

He reluctantly went back to his computer. After sitting there for a while looking at the blank screen, he called up his report. He read it over then deleted it from the computer's memory. He began to rewrite the whole article.

Over the next week, he rewrote his research notes to reflect what he now knew. The article he wrote, said that with further research in certain areas, it might be possible to come up with an anti-gravity device in the future. He urged that more research be devoted to this project.

He threw himself into this writing project. He had to keep busy to keep from thinking of Seranze. All the while, he kept hoping that when he had finished this project, that the door would open again and he could return to her. He knew that this was impossible, but he couldn't help but hope. She regularly peopled his dreams.

He didn't dare tell anyone about what he experienced and saw. It now seemed like a vague dream. Everything that is, except Seranze. He could recall her perfectly. He definitely couldn't tell anyone about her. They would have thought he was going off his rocker. Scientists, who deal with futuristic projects, are always suspect. That would have definitely made him suspect.

As planned, his article appeared in both publications. Sometime after the articles appeared in print, he was attending a cocktail party given by a colleague in his field. There were, he noticed a number of people he had not met before.

As he was crossing the room, he heard a voice that stopped him. He turned to look for the woman who was speaking. He stopped short at the sight of her. She looked at him smiled and started toward him. Tom moved toward her.

"I know it is a very old ploy," Tom said, somewhat embarrassed, "but I have a feeling that I have met you before."

The young woman smiled, "It's funny, but I had the same very strong feeling."

Not knowing what else to do, Tom held out his hand and said, "I'm Tom Jansic," he told her.

She took his hand, "If you promise not to snigger or make any remarks, I will tell you my name," the young woman said with a smile on her face, "It is Seranze." Tom gasped. She looked somewhat strangely at him.

"I'm sorry," Tom apologized, "but the moment before you said your name, it popped into my mind."

Seranze looked at Tom, then with a smile she said somewhat flippantly, "Maybe we met in another life and that is why we feel we know each other."

Tom smiled, "Any chance of pursuing that line of inquiry."

Seranze tipped her head, slightly, smiled intriguingly at him and replied, "I think there is a good possibility that it could be arranged. Do you have any other commitments?" she asked.

"None what-so-ever," answered Tom, "Do you?"

"Not in this time," Seranze answered. "I am free to do some research into why we both think we have met before."

Tom quickly asked, "Do you think that dinner this coming Saturday, would be too soon to start?"

Seranze smiled at Tom, then she said, "You do work fast." Then she added, "I think that would be wonderful." They arranged the time when Tom would pick her up.

They spent the rest of the time at the party together. Tom spent that time stealing glances at Seranze when she wasn't looking. He could not believe that this could be. This Seranze looked almost identical to that Seranze from another time. The only thing different was the clothes.

At the end of the evening, Seranze said she would have let Tom take her home, but she had driven her own car.

Tom replied with a smile, "It will be hard, but I will tough it through until the time to pick you up for dinner Saturday night." Seranze gave Tom a bright smile, then blew him a kiss as she walked toward her car.

Over the next couple of months, they went out rather regularly. However, they became very good friends but not lovers. Tom let Seranze set the rules.

One Saturday night, Seranze greeted him with a hug and a kiss. Then as they were driving to the restaurant, Seranze quietly said, "I have made up my mind. Would you like to stay at my place tonight."

Tom was silent for a minute, then turning to her with a smile said, "I thought you would never ask." Seranze giggled and leaned her head momentarily on his shoulder.

As Tom was holding her tightly as they were dancing at a bar they had gone to after dinner, Seranze said, "I made an unusual discovery this afternoon as I was going through my closet. I found a very strange outfit I don't remember ever getting. It is a very skimpy outfit."

"Are you going to model it for me, Seranze?" asked Tom.

Seranze leaned back away, looked at him with a smile and shook her head side to side as if chiding him, "You are getting a little fast, there, Tom." But then she snuggled back into his arms.

Tom had thrown the outfit he had smuggled back from that other time, into the car. He decided to bring it into Seranze's apartment tonight. He wondered if the outfit Seranze had mentioned was the one he thought it was. There would be something chilling about that.

They returned to Seranze's apartment early in the morning. Seranze locked the door after they were inside then she moved into Tom's outstretched arms and gave him a long lingering kiss.

"You would like to have me model that scanty outfit?" Seranze questioned with a tantalizing smile.

"I will make you a bargain," said Tom with a smile, "If you model that outfit for me, I will model a strange outfit I found in my closet for you." Seranze gave Tom a smile he couldn't quite figure out.

Tom quickly changed into the outfit he had brought and waited for Seranze to come out of her bedroom. When she appeared, Tom gasped. It was Seranze. It couldn't be anyone else. Seranze smiled and moved into Tom's outstretched arms.

"I love you," said Tom. He almost said 'I wanted to go to you,' but he caught himself.

Then Seranze said, "They couldn't bring you forward again for me. They said it would be too dangerous for you the second time. I never had really entered your era. They asked me if I wanted to go back to you. I immediately said yes, so they sent me back to you." Then she kissed him, took him by the hand and led him into her bedroom. Again.

 

THE END

Close Encounter of the Best Kind

 

 

Kainan came into the bar and looked around. It was a nice piano bar on the University side of the downtown. He thought he might see someone. Actually his ex. He had heard the hot romance she had supposedly left him for had cooled before it really got very serious, from what he had heard. When she left him she said she was moving in with the guy even before the divorce was finalized. He had heard it never happened, although he didn't know why. The guy had money, a lot more than Kainan had. The guy had met his wife at some conference and started romancing her. Kainan had found out she had gone out with him a number of times before she told him she wanted a divorce. Kainan had just heard she had stopped divorce proceedings so actually they were still married. Chris, his ex, or rather his wife still, had never contacted him so it seemed everything was in limbo. They were both professors at the University, but it was summer and the University had just let out for the summer. Kainan hadn't really seen Chris for almost a year. She had avoided him at the University and they taught in different sections of the University so that had proved rather easy. Chris, or Christine, was a tall, very attractive and charming auburn-haired beauty. Men just naturally looked her over. She was also very friendly. Kainan was very aware of this when he married her. She really was not a flirt, but she did like the attention. Kainan had no idea what caused Chris to take to this guy although Kainan became aware at the end that he had flattered her with very expensive gifts which she had kept hidden from him. He also had no idea why she had gotten turned off on the guy in so short a time. Chris had moved into an apartment and left the house to Kainan. It was a nice house in the area of the University. Kainan knew Chris always liked nice things, but she was never really hung up on that. Kainan was kind of hoping Chris might be there. It had been one of their favorite spots and was the place they had first met. They had been married for about five years when Chris told him she was divorcing him. When he looked around he did see some auburn hair over at the bar close to the piano. Kainan moved in that direction. He noticed the man standing next to the woman was a professor friend of his. He moved to them and greeted the professor. The woman turned toward him gave him a friendly smile and said, "Hello handsome, haven't I seen you somewhere else before?"

With a friendly smile back at her, Kainan answered, "Hello gorgeous I am sure we have met before." The professor, who knew about their breakup smiled.

"Can I introduce you two," he said, "This young lady is Dr. Christine Charles and this gentleman is Dr. Kainan Charles.

"Isn't that interesting we have the same last names." said Chris. "Would you be interested in discussing that over dinner later?"

"Sounds like a most wonderful idea," said Kainan.

"Sorry I can't join you as I have a previous engagement with another lady, in fact one who has the same last name as I have," said the professor with a broad smile.

 

 

 

 

Christine Karden was excited but also anxious. She was to meet her father for the first time. It was just after the war had ended. She had been staying with a family in a small town a ways out of London. Her mother had been working in London and a year ago had been killed in one of the bombings. Her father was a celebrated United States Air Force Colonel fighter pilot. Her parents had separated before she had been born and her mother never told her father that he had a daughter. Christine had been told that a letter had been delivered to him a few weeks ago after the war ended telling him of the fact he had a daughter. Christine didn't know if he would even accept her as his daughter. She was hoping he would and that he would take her back to the United States with him. She was afraid he might not. Her parents had married when her mother was a student at Cambridge and her father a student at Oxford. When her father had joined the RAF after he graduated, her mother left him and wouldn't have anything to do with him. She also never told him she was pregnant. She had said she didn't want to be worried about him being killed so she refused to communicate with him. She had left Christine with a friend of hers so that Christine would be safe. The friend had a daughter about the same age. The mother actually seldom had visited Christine and had never shown any great affection for her daughter. Christine thought her mother really didn't want to have a baby. In fact that is what her father, Kainan Karden had thought, so he was totally surprised when he got the letter one day. The way the letter was written was that he was to be told of Christine only if she, the mother had died and only at the end of the war. Kainan got the idea that otherwise he would never have known he had a daughter, although he also got the idea that his wife did not want to have the child, but if she was alive he wasn't going to have her either. His wife had never divorced him he found out, but she had been buried by her family without his finding out she had been killed. He wondered if her family knew about Christine. It didn't sound to him like they ever knew. That is probably why she had written this letter to be delivered only if she had been killed. She didn't want her family to know she had a daughter. He began to think her family didn't know she had married him. He found out where Christine was now living. He immediately began to make plans to pick her up and made arrangements to take her back to America with him. He wanted to have everything arranged so that he could assure her that he was taking her to America and be able to tell her when and all the details. He was able to get some information on Christine from the family so with the help from some women he was able to get some things for her. He said nothing about all this to the family only that he was coming to see Christine. Kainan had no idea what Christine was like, but he had an idea what she must have been going through all these years knowing her mother really didn't care for her and her father didn't know about her. Kainan had no idea what Christine thought about a father who had never come to see her. She might think that he should have known he had a daughter and that he probably didn't want her either. This was all running through Kainan's mind as he tried to prepare himself to meet his daughter who he was sure must be around six years old now. How was she going to act. How could he assure her he really wanted her, when he was trying desperately trying to get a handle on his feelings about having a daughter he had never seen or even knew he had for the first six years of her life. He had friends in the States get an apartment for him in the city where he had graduated from High School. He had no family to come home to, he had been an orphan, whose parents had been killed in an accident when he was two years old. Thankfully they had told him they had rented him a three bedroom apartment that sounded like it had a small yard to go with it. He hadn't told them he discovered he had a daughter at least not until they had rented the apartment. Kainan went over all the possible scenarios he could think of for his first meeting with Christine. He decided he would have to concentrate on her and do everything he could to make it sound like he was happy he found he had a daughter. He knew this was going to be a very iffy situation. At the same time Christine was wondering what her new father would be like. How he would act toward her. Would he look like he was happy she was his daughter in spite of just being informed of it. Would he take her back to America with him. Would he just try to find someone who would adopt her. What kind of father would he be like. Would he like her or be like her mother was. She was hoping for the best, but fearing the worst. That was the situation when Kainan came to the house where she was living. He was greeted by the mother and taken into the room where Christine was now standing by what obviously were her things. She looked seriously at this tall good-looking man in a uniform practically holding here breath. She did notice that he had a very friendly smile on his face and then he said,

"Christine I am your father, Kainan. I have come to get you so we can go to America. Would you like to go to America with me?" and Kainan held out his arms and took a step toward her. Christine looked at him for a moment and then realized what he had said and a smile came on her face and she literally hurled herself across the room and into his arms as she said, actually literally shouted, "Yes Daddy I want to go to America with you, please." and she buried her face in his shoulder as he picked her up in his arms and hugged her. She silently sobbed in happiness as he held her. After a short time she pulled back her head and gave him a big smile and said, "When are we going daddy?"

"We are going to start our journey together as soon as we get your things into the car I have outside," Kainan said as he gave her another hug and a kiss on the cheek. "We can we talk about it as we drive back to London which will be the first leg of our trip to our home." Kainan just realized he had fallen in love with one little girl. Christine gave him another big smile when she heard him say "to our home."

The Girl On Campus©

By Richard A. Falb

 

Dr. Gary Donaldson, could not said to be a professor, female students fell in love with. It was not that he was homely. To the contrary, he was relatively good looking. He was not what you would call athletic looking. On the other hand, he kept himself in good physical shape. It was just that he treated all students alike, whether male or female. To Gary they were students to be treated as students. If really pressed, he would admit he was not always like that.

He was a full professor at the State University, a tenured professor. It was not a large University, but it had an excellent reputation and not just for its athletic teams. Oh they were reasonably good and even some years won their conference. It was a full University, offering both undergraduate and graduate programs. It was also a pleasant campus set on the outskirts of the city that had not yet grown to surround the campus. The city was a fairly large city, but still small enough to retain its friendly feeling.

Gary Donaldson was well liked by his students. Not, because he was easy. He definitely was not. He was a very effective teacher, one who was always willing to talk to students. He usually had students gathered around him on campus, or in the coffee shops he frequented nearby. He taught only graduate school classes, which consisted of fewer students. He tended to be better acquainted with all his students. He had little contact with undergraduate students. He was also well liked by his peers among the faculty. He had an easy, relaxed style about him.

He had been divorced ten years ago and had never remarried. It was a relatively amicable divorce. Because he had a girl walk out on him, when he was a young instructor at a different college, he had the feeling he was choosing the wrong women. Of course he had not been married to that girl. He really had not expected to marry her. It had rankled, however, that she had just left without any warning or explanation. The divorce was also without any real explanation. Oh, there was a stated reason, but he knew it wasn't the real cause. He showed no particular interest in remarrying since that time. It wasn't that he wasn't interested in women or that he didn't date. Dr. Donaldson had settled into a comfortable bachelor's existence. Over the years, he acquired a reputation as a true gentleman. His standing reply, to any questions regarding young women on campus, was that he only chased single female professors. His friends would add, and single career women over thirty.

In actuality he did not chase women. However he did not turn down opportunities to date. The women on campus considered him a prime suspect as far as dating was concerned. He was easy to talk to. Had a somewhat dry subtle humor and could be charming when he put his mind to it. Besides, when he invited a lady out to dinner it was at one of the better restaurants. As a tenured full professor he could afford them. Besides, the house he was living in was fully paid for.

One day, as he was walking across the campus, he was startled out of his thoughts. He found his attention suddenly drawn to a young woman, obviously an undergraduate student. He smiled as she walked past with several friends.

One of these friends said, "Good afternoon, Dr. Donaldson." He returned her greeting, although afterward, he couldn't recall the particular young woman who greeted him. After they had passed, he tried to figure out why seeing this young woman should startle him so. He had a feeling he should know her, but it was almost as if he was blocking something out of his memory. Almost as if for some reason he did not want to remember.

He was not in the habit of noticing young female students, unless they were graduate students from one of his classes. Because his graduate classes were not large, he was able to remember names and faces of students. He made an effort to do so and had an excellent memory for names and faces. This was not lost on his students and added to his popularity as a teacher. You were not just a face in his class, you were a definite person with a particular name. He appeared to have a definite interest in each of his students.

The face, of that young woman, bothered him throughout the rest of the afternoon. It kept impinging upon his consciousness. He wasn't able to put it from his mind until that evening. He had a meeting with several doctoral candidates. The discussions, as usual, lasted late into the night. He was always reluctant to break off discussions as long as they were interesting to most of the group. His interests ranged far beyond the subjects he taught. The next morning, however, he was startled when that face popped back into his memory. He was having breakfast at a cafe near campus.

"You really are off in your own world somewhere," a pleasant female voice impinged upon his consciousness. He looked up to see who was speaking although the voice was very familiar.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Janison, I didn't realize I was off in a dream world," he replied. "Have you eaten breakfast yet, Casey?" he asked. Dr. K. C. Janison was a very good friend. He had known her ever since he had joined the faculty here. In fact, they dated on various occasions through the years.

"No," she replied, "but I don't want to break in on your reverie."

Gary laughed, "I'd be very happy to have you join me. I just started and I would love to have your company."

"You say that so, like you really mean that. I'm surprised some young woman hasn't snapped you up,"

Gary smiled, "They are all far too intelligent to take a chance on me. I'm just an old fuddy-duddy professor."

"I think it is more that your obvious serious interests do not include women," remarked Casey. "I don't think anyone thinks of you as an old fuddy-duddy."

"Oh, I haven't given them up,"

"I didn't mean to imply that you had. Just that your interest in women doesn't run to a serious interest,"

"Is that why dates for me are few and far between?"

Casey looked up from the menu she was inspecting, "If dates are few and far between for you, it only means you haven't been asking for dates as often." Then she added with a smile, "I haven't heard any single woman I know saying she turned you down."

Gary Donaldson smiled then turned thoughtful.

"Will you keep a small secret?" Gary asked. Casey looked at him expectantly. He continued, "A young woman's face has begun popping up in my mind." Casey looked questioningly, but didn't say anything, waiting for him to continue. To her this was a rather startling confession for Dr. Donaldson to make. This seemed entirely out of character. He was not the type to zero in on female students no matter how attractive.

Gary went on, "I saw her walking across campus the other day. It startled me. I felt compelled to look at her. It was as if she reminded me of someone from the deep, dark reaches of my memory. The trouble is I got the feeling I was deliberately blocking something in my memory. As if I deliberately did not want to remember."

Casey looked at him rather thoughtfully. "It must have been someone who impressed you very much, or to whom you had been very close," she commented, then she hesitated and continued, "Might it be connected to some traumatic experience that makes you want to keep it shut out."

Gary had a thoughtful, but rueful smile on his face. "Well I will admit, my first few years as a young instructor will filled with a bit of turmoil. I did make a few mistakes and bad choices that I would rather forget. But what would be so traumatic to me I would want to block it out completely. But I can't remember. I can't pull up a single clue from my memory. I don't even know if it is someone I actually knew," Gary said in obvious frustration. "I can't go ask her who she is." Then he thought for a moment, "I don't even know if that would be of any help. I'm drawing a complete blank, except that her face seemed very familiar. It is starting to drive me crazy. I would have thought that something would jog my memory, because her face just jumped out at me when I saw her. It's just the face. There's no clues that go with it. No place or time. Nothing that face brings with it. It is becoming downright eerie. This has never happened to me before. "

"You mean there just may be something about her that hit a memory chord. It may not be that the person in your memory looks anything like her."

"No that is the thing. I have the feeling she may look like someone from my past. I just can't make the connection. I don't even have a clue why that face should stick in my mind. The young woman's name may not be of any help what-so-ever," Gary said rather emphatically. "Actually, I don't even know if she really reminds me of someone I knew. But her face seems so familiar and I got a vague feeling it is not really a good memory. The impression seemed too strong to be just a coincidence."

"This is obviously beginning to bother you," Casey remarked. She tipped her head at Dr. Donaldson. "Perhaps I should walk across campus with you this morning. Just on the long shot that you would see her again and point her out to me. I could make the inquiries and see if I could find out who she is, and maybe get some background on her. That might give you a clue. It might tell you if it is something you should even worry about."

Gary took a deep breath, "I really have no right to ask you to go through all of this trouble. Although I must confess, I would be happy to have your company."

Casey Janison lifted her eyebrows and smiled at him. Gary Donaldson did have a very natural way of being flattering. It seemed to just slip out.

"It's no problem," she replied. "It's starting to intrigue me."

"Maybe I'll be sorry I asked," said Gary with a smile.

"You mean we may drag up some skeletons from your closet you'd just as soon keep hidden from everyone's view?"

"You never can tell."

"I don't believe you have any skeletons in your closets," Casey said rather emphatically. That is true, she thought. Gary just didn't seem to be a person who would have something in his past that he would want to keep hidden. It would be out of character. He had always been open and above board in everything he did. He had always been a gentleman. That was especially true when it came to students. However Casey realized she did not know much about his background. She had not had any reason to dig too deeply and Gary had really not offered any information. She realized he had said little about his younger years.

Casey Janison's breakfast, came and they concentrated on eating. Afterward, they did walk across campus together, but they didn't spot the young woman. They really hadn't expected to do so. There were quite a number of students on campus and the walks were usually full between class periods. It was a very pleasant campus with mature trees lining the walkways and the roads. That they didn't spot the girl didn't really matter to either Gary or Casey. They were in interested conversation all the way across campus. It was obvious they enjoyed each other's company.

Dr. Donaldson did not see the young woman again during the following week. He was able to put it out of his mind almost entirely. He did have lunch with Dr. Janison a couple times. The conversation centered on other things. It was about a week later. Gary was having coffee with Casey at a coffeehouse just off campus. They often did this as the opportunity presented itself. It was a coffeehouse they frequented rather regularly. It was a favorite of many of the faculty and graduate students. He spotted the young woman coming in the door.

"There she is," Gary quickly but quietly said. "Just coming in the door."

Casey turned to look, as the young woman hesitated and looked around the room, obviously looking for friends. She was able to get a good look at the girl. She tried to study her without being too obvious. She wanted to be able to recall her in the future. The girl looked to be the age of a graduate student not a young undergraduate. Of course, that didn't mean anything, she could have been a little older when she started college. Then she turned to Gary.

"Let's see who her friends are. That might be helpful in finding out something about her," Casey said. They watched, as the young woman spotted her friends, and moved toward them. They were only a couple tables away. Both Casey and Gary watched to see if they might know any of the young people in the group she was joining. They were able to get a good look at the young people in the group without being obvious. The group apparently met here fairly regularly. They seemed to know the young woman and greeted her in a very friendly fashion.

"We may be in luck. I think I recognize two of the young women in that group," Casey Janison said. "Now if I can figure out a clever way of getting information from those two young women without them suspecting anything. This is really getting interesting," she continued with a little conspiratorial smile. She found she really was enjoying it. It presented a challenge. And it could possibly help a good friend.

Gary Donaldson was also looking over the group. "One of those young men is a doctoral candidate who is part of my evening discussion group."

Casey looked at him thoughtfully, "That might be a little more ticklish job for you to get information on that young woman from a young man. You are after all a bachelor professor," said Casey with a smile at him. "In spite of your well known reputation as a gentleman, any obvious interest on your part, regarding a female student would be suspect. I think you should approach that with extreme caution."

"Especially as she seems to be an undergraduate and I teach only graduate courses," Gary added.

"No," said Casey. "You couldn't say you mistook her for a student in one of your classes. Which is a flimsy excuse even under normal circumstances. For you that would be no excuse at all, under those circumstances. You have a well known reputation for knowing all your students by name."

"Of course I could say I saw him with a group of students at this coffee house and that I didn't recognize all of them as graduate students."

"You might get away with that, as long as you didn't pursue it, but let him take it from there," admitted Casey with a smile. But then she added, "I think I can be more direct in my inquiries, because I am obviously interested in female students."

"Yes, Casey, you do have a reputation for being their friend on campus. Your interest would appear natural. Not highly suspect like mine."

Casey laughed, "Yes you better not begin now to start asking around campus regarding a young woman. Everyone would start wondering about the abrupt change in character."

They began to prepare to leave. Casey said, "I'll get in touch if I find out anything. I'm going to stop by their table to greet the two women students I know."

For the next week, Dr. Donaldson did not see the young woman again. He was beginning to put her face out of his mind for the most part. However it kept creeping back into his consciousness at odd moments. It would really bug him at those times, because he still couldn't put any thing to that face. It was just the face, nothing to tie it to. The trouble was, it was now becoming a troubling experience, as it something threatening to come to him he did not want to remember.

It was a week later, as Gary was preparing to leave his office for the afternoon. Casey Janison walked in and remarked, "If you are willing to buy me a sandwich, I'll fill you in on what I have learned so far."

"I'd be happy to buy you a sandwich even if you didn't have any information."

Casey smiled at Gary, "If I didn't have a vague feeling we might be incompatible, I might be interested in you. You say such nice things so easily and so naturally." That incompatibility wasn't really true, but it made a good excuse to keep their relationship on a strictly friendly basis. So far, both of them felt most comfortable with that.

"Story of my life. All the interesting ones always turn out to be incompatible."

Dr. Janison laughed and headed out the office door. Dr. Donaldson followed, locking the door behind him.

The two walked to a restaurant near campus. It was relatively deserted at this time, although it was a favorite of faculty and graduate students. It was a little ways off campus and the prices were a little higher so fewer undergraduate students frequented it. They found a booth toward the back, where they figured they might be undisturbed, and ordered a light meal.

"You do eat rather light, don't you Dr. Janison," Gary commented.

"Have to keep my girlish figure," she replied with an impish smile. Gary reflected that Casey Janison did indeed have a girlish figure. In fact, everyone took her for at least ten years younger than she really was. Even young doctoral students sometimes tried to date her. This, of course, made it much easier for her to be friends with the co-eds.

Gary waited to hear what she had found out about the young woman.

"I have found out her name is Karlyn Sainlon. However, I'm afraid the rest of the information I have on her so far, may not do much good. You see she has spent the good share of her life in foster homes, according to my information source. I gather she was adopted as a baby, but the adoptive parents apparently got divorced and she was taken away from them. It was all very vague."

"The name means nothing to me, but under the circumstances that shouldn't be surprising," observed Gary, "If she was adopted as a baby, that means her mother gave her up for some reason. She may not even know who her mother was."

"I wonder if she has tried to find out," Casey mused. Then she looked at Gary Donaldson, "You are thinking that you might have known her mother." She thought for a moment looking seriously at Gary, "For your own mental well being, don't take that thought any further until we find out more about this young woman."

Gary smiled, "I do not intend to. For your information, as far as I remember, I did not father any child of her apparent age."

Casey laughed, "You mean there might some of another age?"

Gary Donaldson smiled at her remark, but said nothing. He had to admit to himself, he wasn't sure because he was rather wild in his younger years as a young instructor.

"Your wife had no desire to be a mother?" said Casey, as much a statement of truth, as it was a question.

"Definitely not," replied Dr. Gary. "That was one of the reasons she gave for divorcing me. She was afraid I wanted children and might put the pressure on her. I don't think that was the reason, but we won't go into that."

"I can't see you doing that."

"You didn't know me as a young man."

"That would be entirely out of character," was Dr. Janison's very definitely stated comment. Then she continued, "Do you want me to see if I can find out anymore about her?"

Gary thought for a few minutes. "Only if it doesn't entail too much time and work. At this point in time, I don't really know if it is of any importance or not. There doesn't seem to be any reason for me to feel her face is familiar and that I should know someone who looks like her." Then he hesitated, "Or perhaps it is I don't want to find the reason for that."

"But you still have that nagging feeling that is not going to go away."

"If she keeps turning up where I will see her, I suppose that could be true. There's just that nagging feeling in the back of my mind. I know it's stupid," He said thoughtfully.

Casey looked at Gary thoughtfully, then she quietly said, "I think, as a friend and in the interest of your piece of mind, I will keep on digging."

Their food came and they devoted their attention to it. Several faculty members drifted in and stopped to talk.

One woman professor commented, "If I didn't know the two of you so well, I would wonder if there wasn't something going on between you."

"But you know us both much too well for that," said Gary. The professor agreed. However, there were other faculty members and graduate students, who have wondered. This didn't bother either Casey Janison of Gary Donaldson. They had been very good friends for years.

Because of various activities going on campus, and their various responsibilities, Dr. Janison and Dr. Donaldson didn't have a chance to get together for about three weeks. By a very roundabout way, Gary had heard the young woman had attempted to get in touch with her real mother. That is all the information he had gotten. He didn't know if she actually made contact or if she even found out who her real mother was. Gary Donaldson still couldn't figure out why he felt, finding out who this young woman student was, should be important to him. Maybe because her background tended to be somewhat of a mystery, it made it more intriguing.

One Wednesday night, Dr. Donaldson got a call at his home. It was Casey Janison. "This time it will cost you a real dinner at my favorite restaurant on Saturday night," she told him when he answered the phone.

"You really want to start tongues wagging," Gary said with a laugh. "I suppose you have already made reservations."

"Yes, for that matter, I have. You can pick me up at seven o'clock," replied Casey. Gary quickly agreed. Obviously, Dr. Janison had some important information she wanted to give him. She also didn't care if tongues wagged or not. Casey Janison had always been like that. That is why he liked her as a good friend. Besides, as far as Casey was concerned, he didn't care if tongues wagged or not either. Casey Janison was an attractive, intelligent and personable woman. He couldn't figure out why some intelligent male hadn't snatched her up. There were enough, he knew, who were interested in her. She definitely didn't lack for dates or opportunities to date.

He picked her up promptly at seven and she was ready. Casey Janison had always been punctual. She was dressed to enjoy dinner at her favorite restaurant. Which meant that she would be a date that would draw attention from others. They drove to the restaurant and were shown to their table practically immediately. They were both well known at this restaurant. Casey could attract attention when she so wished. She did it naturally, but not obviously. They looked over the menu, gave their order, and Gary ordered a bottle of the best wine to go with their meal.

"I really lucked out this time. I found out the young woman felt she was in need of someone to talk to. I maneuvered two of her friends to suggest she talk to me. I've met with her several times," said Casey. Gary waited without saying a word to interrupt.

"She was able to contact her real mother, but did not get to see her. She said her mother was terminally ill and died two weeks ago." Casey continued, "Supposedly before the mother died, she wrote a letter to this young woman. She showed me the letter. The mother did not know the trauma the young woman had gone through after she was adopted. This girl had run away from two foster homes, and when she was eighteen went out on her own. She finally found her way here to this college. Apparently she had gotten a scholarship here and we were willing to work with her on other financial aid. She obviously is a very intelligent young woman. She is also a little older than the usual undergraduate, although she is an undergraduate. At the moment, I think she is feeling kind of lost. She has no family. She is reminded of this regularly by the letters and packages that some of her friends receive from their families. I think she would badly like to have someone."

"She obviously doesn't know what her mother looked like," said Gary

"Yes, she does," replied Casey, "Her mother sent her a picture with the letter. It was a picture of her mother when she was in college. It looks just like Karlyn looks now."

Gary Donaldson sat there, silent, thinking. "What did the letter tell Karlyn?" he asked. This was giving him some clues he was becoming uneasy about. He wondered if he saw the picture of her mother, if that would mean anything to him. He was beginning to feel it would not.

"Apparently, from what she wrote, her mother was at a small college. She met a young instructor there and they started dating. He talked her into moving in with him. She didn't tell her folks because he was from the wrong social circle. She knew she would have to eventually move home and marry someone from her folks' circle of acquaintances. Then she found out that she was pregnant. She left the college without telling this instructor. She had the baby and gave it up for adoption. Neither her folks nor the father even knew she had a baby. She never wrote the young instructor, so he never knew he was a father. Her mother didn't tell her what college it was, nor did she tell Karlyn what the young instructors name was," Casey told him.

"What did Karlyn want to talk to you about?" asked Gary.

"She asked me if I thought she should see if she could find her father. She also asked me if I thought he would admit to the possibility or if he would be at all interested in learning he had a daughter, especially after all of these years. She admitted that through all these years, before she learned from her mother what actually happened, she thought her father had abandoned her mother when he found out she was pregnant. She did not have a very nice picture in her mind of what her father would be like. Now she would have to rethink all her ideas. She wanted to know, if I thought it was worth looking for her father. I got the impression that she really did want to know who he was. But I think she is also afraid he might reject the idea of having a daughter he knew nothing about. I think she was very afraid of how she would feel if he rejected her. She also asked if I had any suggestions as to where she could start to look."

"And what did you tell her?" asked Gary.

"I asked her to let me think about it. I said I would get back to her. That was all I could think of to say at the moment. I didn't know if she could stand her father's rejection. I wasn't sure if I should tell her to look for him or not," Casey answered. She looked intently across at Gary Donaldson then continued after a moment, "By the look on your face as I was speaking, does that scenario, the mother described, ring a bell? Are you thinking that there may be a remote possibility that Karlyn could be your daughter. Maybe I shouldn't have delved so deeply into this," She said uneasily. Gary sat there for a long time wrestling with the feelings that were swelling up within him.

"Up until the time the mother left college in the middle of a semester, the scenario was as I would have described it. I knew she would go back eventually and marry someone her parents would feel suitable. However, I was angered and hurt she left without saying anything to me about that she was leaving. Consequently I put her completely out of my mind. I did not know she was pregnant. However, as I knew she never slept with anyone else, I am sure it was my child she would have been pregnant with," Gary replied.

"Are you now sorry I dug and found out?" Casey asked.

"Casey, at the moment I am trying to sort out my feelings. I thought she had adequately protected herself, so I am angry at her about that. However, at the same time I feel sorry for the poor girl and what she was put through. In a sense, actually I feel a sense of excitement. However I haven't the slightest idea how I will handle having a daughter," he answered. Then he thought for a moment. "Of course, I don't know if Karlyn will accept an old professor as a father. Or accept the idea that I could be her father. She still might be feeling I abandoned her in a sense that I should have suspected she might be pregnant and tried to find them."

Casey smiled, "I don't think you'd have to worry about that. After the ideas she had of who her father might be, to find out you were her father and would be willing to admit it, would be an absolutely wonderful thing to her. It would be like giving her a new life. She had no idea, who her father could be. She had no idea, if he would even admit to possibly having a daughter. At the moment she was just grabbing at straws because she wanted so badly to have someone. To have a family."

Gary took a deep breath, hesitated for a moment. "How do we best inform her that I think she is my daughter, who I never knew I had?" asked Gary.

Casey Janison looked across at him. She was very serious. "You are really determined to tell her. Are you ready to change your lifestyle to make room for a college age daughter?"

"Casey I have to take responsibility for my actions, even if I have misgivings, she deserves that. Am I so hide bound that you think I couldn't do that? Answer me truthfully Casey."

Casey smiled at him. "I never considered you hide bound. I actually think in a way you are looking forward to it. Ever since I've known you, you have loved a challenge. This will really be a challenge." Then she continued. "Let me invite her for dinner at my house next Friday night to discuss this problem of hers. You will also come for dinner. I think we can work it out there." Then Casey looked at Gary Donaldson very seriously, "Are you sure you want to go through with this. To maybe find out for sure that she really is your daughter? Are you willing to take the responsibility of having a daughter you really know nothing about? You really don't know anything about her. I will admit that in my discussion with her, she did seem to be a nice young woman, but one who has been bounced around a bit."

Gary took a deep breath, mentally gritted his teeth. "Yes," was his simple reply. "I keep thinking what she has been through. I feel at least partially responsible for it. The least I can do, if she is my daughter, to give her a chance to have perhaps a little better life than she has had. That much I could do for her. I would hope we could mutually work out any problems that might crop up."

Dr. Donaldson's house was close to campus. It was a relatively large house that contained several bedrooms he normally used for guestrooms. He now looked those over, to see what could be done to accommodate a college student daughter. That is, if she was willing to claim him as her dad and if she decided to move in with him. He decided to wait with any redecorating until she could voice her preferences. Come to think of it that might be an icebreaker. Of course, he thought about the possibilities all week long. He was now actually looking forward to Friday night. It was however, with a large amount of trepidation, as well as some excitement. He really had no idea what Karlyn's reaction would be. She might reject the idea that he could be her father. He also had no idea what she was really like.

He arrived early to Dr. Janison's house. When Karlyn arrived she was somewhat surprised to see Dr. Donaldson also there. Dr. Janison easily passed that over by explaining that Dr. Donaldson was an old friend who might have some good ideas. Karlyn seemed to accept that explanation. Dr. Janison had proved to be very understanding and very helpful. The meal passed with talk of what was going on campus. After the meal, they took their cups of coffee into the living room.

After they were seated, they began discussing Karlyn's situation. Gary asked to see the letter and the picture, which Karlyn gave to him. After he had read the letter and looked at the picture, he folded it up and turned to Karlyn. "I have a story I would like to tell you. When I was just out of graduate school, I got an instructor's position with a small college. That first year, I met and started dating an attractive student. That winter I talked her into moving in with me, although we knew she would eventually go home to her parents and marry some man her parents considered suitable. About the middle of the spring semester she suddenly left without telling me. I was angry and hurt that she just left without saying a word to me. I figured she had gone home to marry some man of her parent's choice, but I was very hurt that she never even said good-bye. I never heard from her again. I probably had the suspicion she might be pregnant. Over the years I forced myself to forget her, because I figured she had gone home to marry someone else. I blocked the memory out of my mind."

Then he looked directly at Karlyn, who had been looking intently at him all the time he was speaking. He took a deep breath, "That girl, I am sure, is the girl in this picture." He held up the picture of Karlyn's mother.

Karlyn involuntarily gasped, then she looked at Dr. Janison.

Casey Janison smiled, "That is the story he told me before he read your mother's letter."

Karlyn turned to Dr. Donaldson, "Do you mean you think you are my father?" she asked.

"At this moment, I am positive. I now realize you look just like your mother and that is why you looked familiar. I am sure the child she was pregnant with was mine," Gary told her. "I never knew I had a daughter. The question now is, do you want me for a father."

Karlyn put her hands to her face, and tears began to come to her eyes.

"Oh, yes. I had no idea what my father would be like. I never dreamed my father would turn out to be someone like you, or that you would admit I was your child."

Gary got up from his chair and held out his arms. Karlyn practically sprang out of her chair and ran toward him and threw her arms around his neck. He hugged her for a long time. After a few moments he rather quietly said,

"I have a big house near campus, if you'd like to move in. It comes complete with your own bedroom and separate bath. You can redecorate as you wish," Gary told Karlyn. "I have absolutely no idea how a college age daughter's room should be decorated."

"I don't know what to say. I didn't even know if I would ever find my father. I didn't know if he would even admit he was my father. Now all of a sudden I have not only found him but he wants to know if I want a home," Karlyn said still in Dr. Donaldson's arms.

"Am I going too fast for you. I am now willing to claim you as my daughter. It probably will take us a while to get used to each other, but I'm willing to work at it," Gary said giving Karlyn another hug.

"Is this really happening? I'm not dreaming it am I?" asked Karlyn not willing to let her newfound father go. She couldn't believe it. She had found the father she badly wanted, and found him to be someone she would happily claim as a father. Now, she was also being offered the home she never had, with a father she wasn't sure she would ever find.

"It is real," said Casey Janison with a smile.

"We have a lot of catching up to do. I'm not sure I can make up for all the years I wasn't around for you," Gary said.

Karlyn looked at him, "Dad," she said, " It apparently wasn't your fault. Mother said she never told you that you had a daughter. I'm just happy you are willing to be my dad."

Gary Donaldson smiled, "You know I kind of liked that," he told Karlyn.

Karlyn looked puzzled, "What did you kind of like?" she asked.

"When you called me Dad," Gary replied. Karlyn smiled happily and gave him another hug.

Then she turned to Dr. Janison. "I really appreciate your helping me find my dad," she said.

"Actually it was at your father's request. He said you looked so much like someone out of his past he wanted to find out something about you. He said it would look strange for a male professor asking questions about a young female student," Casey said with a smile.

Karlyn started to laugh. "Who would believe you Dad, if you said you wondered if that young female student was your long lost daughter. Especially when you never knew you had a daughter."

Gary started to laugh. "Yes, my reputation would really take a nose dive." Then he added with a smile, "How am I going to explain that the cute young woman who has moved in with me is really my long lost daughter." Then he turned to Casey, "You are really going to have to back me up on this one. Otherwise I will be receiving some very pointed looks around campus."

"Oh you could really get a racy reputation," Casey said laughing. "It's probably a good thing that you have tenure and your full professorship already." Then she turned to look at Karlyn, she kind of flippantly said, "Of course the two of us could move in with him, and then the rumors really would get interesting."

Gary Donaldson looked at Casey with a small smile trying to think if Casey really meant that. "That would be an interesting idea, wouldn't it," he said smiling at her.

Karlyn looked at the two of them. Casey looked at them with a smile. She might consider getting together with Karlyn now that she had made contact with her. Perhaps she would explore that idea.

Dr. Janison smiled at the two of them, tipped her head and said, "I think Karlyn and I will confer on that within the next few weeks. That is something the two of us women should thoroughly discuss." Casey figured she would wait until Gary and Karlyn began to get comfortable with each other as father and daughter. Then she might consider seeing, if Karlyn would want to share her newfound dad, with another woman. Even, if that other woman was the one who got her together with her dad. And if Gary might consider that idea.

 

 

The End