Lifesigns

As Elizabeth wandered around the room, an uncomfortable feeling grew. She felt as though she was intruding into someone’s private and personal moments. It wasn’t quite like standing outside a house in the dark, watching the occupants through an open window, but close. Various toiletry items lay on a side table: a sterling silver manicure set with engraved monograms, ivory hair brushes whose bristles were yellowed with age and bent by dedicated use and beautiful lace pieces with intricate stitches which must have taken much time and thought to complete. Then, her eyes were drawn to an item that created a prism of light as the afternoon sun reached out to it.

A wooden box sat amidst the paper clutter on her friend’s desk. Its crystal lid, which held the figure of a dainty female seated at a piano, projected the rainbow colors which filled the room. The detail fascinated her. It was complete with miniature keys upon which tiny fingers rested. On the piano’s top, a sterling heart shape contained the same initials as the manicure set, ‘S.H.’. Black wood gracefully flared out from the bottom of the box and still held a polished shine. Elizabeth was mesmerized by the unique piece and impulsively reached for it. Her last, logical thought was to turn it over and see what the heavy base contained.

The ebony beauty seemed to glide into her approaching hands and as her fingers touched the wood, it was surprisingly warm---a warmth one would not expect from a thing that did not breathe. She lifted it and as she did, it began to play a tune. Startled, Elizabeth quickly set the box back on the desk. In this process, the crystal cover fell off and slid onto the desktop with a scraping sound. Inside the exposed box, a large, white powder puff rested. A white, satin ribbon was conveniently attached across the back, to be used as a handle and tiny, pink, perfectly embroidered rose buds decorated it, giving the illusion they had magically grown there.

This time, the urge to touch the box overrode any fears Elizabeth might have and she picked it up again. Following some unwritten directions, she closed her eyes, raised the box to her face and smelled the sweet, soft scent still lingering in the puff. The sound of the box’s music became louder in her mind as the smell produced an intoxicating feeling. With her eyes still closed, she felt weightless and the accustomed communication from mind to body disappeared.

At that exact moment, a clear image of a young girl with high, chiseled cheek bones and pale, white skin appeared in Elizabeth’s mind. Like a living postcard, this beautiful girl lifted that same box to her face, eyes also closed and lips gently curved in a smile which could only mean sublime happiness. Her long, elegant fingers held the treasure tenderly, as if she held life itself.

Stunned with the shock of this insight, Elizabeth also realized she knew what this girl was feeling-and why! She was deeply in love and her lover had given her this box. They were betrothed…

More images began to flood through her mind at rapid speed. Her senses pulsated with tastes, smells and sounds. People’s faces flashed into her brain, people who should be strangers to her, yet she knew them. She knew who they were and what they felt…no, it was how this young girl felt about them. Yet, Elizabeth was experiencing these emotions, too!

Earlier that morning, Dr. Elizabeth McClellan’s day had started out without indication that an ‘out of body experience’ might be on the agenda. In fact, it began with a relaxed, almost vacation like atmosphere. It had been a miracle that her ever present beeper had been silent through the night. Therefore, by her calculations, she had achieved her first, eight hours of uninterrupted sleep in about three weeks. And, beyond miracles, she was not on call. The bay view from her balcony doors predicted unusually sunny weather.

This was her favorite time of the day, those first moments of regaining consciousness, when she returned from some faraway, foreign land where all seemed to be in sync. Stretching her long frame with a catlike sense of pleasure, she ran her hands softly over her flat stomach and up to touch her breasts. She sat up on the bed and glanced at the clock on the nightstand. Pleased to see that it was still morning, she pulled the huge Mozart Festival shirt over her slim hips and padded into the kitchen for her morning pleasure-- a good, strong cup of dark blend java.