Make your own kind of music

And suddenly, she woke up after the first two rings of her alarm, followed by a few knocks on the door. It was like a new era. The sky was still dark blue, hiding the sun beneath the wet green hills. 

Her coffee – sweet, black, with one tablespoon of butter – was waiting to be made.

Or at least the one she was about to make, if she wasn’t heading for the door, cautiously scanning the peephole. She saw a man, about a quarter the size of her door, wearing a dark green velvety coat and a blue hat.

Shoot..she thought, as she leaned back and turned her back at the door.  I have never seen such an interesting man. But it’s 5 AM. I might be sleepwalking or something. 

As she opened the bathroom door and the faucet water hit her warm, sleepy skin, there were another 3 knocks, clearly intentional this time. She washed her face, tapped gently with a dried white towel, and left it on the washing machine. She dawdled towards the door, with snail-like steps. Maybe the man would think no one’s up yet. 

She returned to the peephole, and the man was staring back at her. He had luminous blue eyes, and she was shocked that the color came off so clearly through that dusty visor. She immediately bent her knees, lowered her body, and stopped breathing, hoping he hadn’t noticed.

Still, he was persistent.

– I know you are up, Claire. I have something important I need to discuss with you. Something that bears no postponing and must be discussed at an early time of the day. It’s vital for your life.

A cold shiver crept up her spine. Important for my life? – she thought.

The man’s voice was soothing, though, like honey and whisk cream blend. It reminded her of her father. He has a serene, gentle voice and a lower, masculine tone.

–I don’t know who you are, she replied. I can’t let you in. And how do you even know my name?!

–I just do. Can’t you simply accept some things? Please let me in, I don’t want neighbors peeking at our talks.

–It’s 5 AM, and no one peeks at anything. 

–It’s 5:16, said the snide man.

–You’re right. –You can tell me why you came here! And uhmn, how do you think I would let a small, weird man in my home? I have watched plenty of horrors to make the most gruesome scenarios right now. I jus..

–Claire, it’s nothing like that. I need to talk to you face–to–face; otherwise, it won’t have the same impact.

–Well, I bet that’s what the villain would say in the movie.

–Ok..I’ll tell you what. Leave me your phone number and I will tell you like that. I have real privacy issues, and this whole back–and–forth starts to bother me.

–Oh, it bothers you? Couldn’t you have guessed that it would bother me having to have this talk at 5 AM with a strange man?

–Yes. I suppose it would. I had no choice, believe me.

–Yeah, like I would. I’m not giving you any number. You already know where I live, which to me is suspicious enough, and if you don’t leave, I’ll call the cops.

–I don’t have any more time, Claire. Listen carefully. Please come closer, I can’t yell for crying out loud.

Claire traipsed for 5 more steps.

–You need to pay attention to cherries and big stop signs.

–What?! She spoke louder than she thought she would. 

–In the next couple of days, things will take a different turn in your life, and it’s not what you think it is – don’t dramatize – you will have that tendency. Instead, think objectively – why is this happening to you?

–Are you shrinking me right now? Are you a shrink?

–No.

–An astrologist?

–No. Listen

– From the day you wake up at 5 AM without resistance, the change will begin. You know how much you’ve wanted this, but it has never happened before. Today, you almost did – right before your alarm clock rang. Do you know why that is?

Claire opened the door, in an impulse she couldn’t control. Her hand moved, pushed, and pulled the knob, revealing a small man with a bigger nose than she had expected. Brown skin, patched with aging signs, and a small, round mouth. His clothes reeked of the Renaissance period.

–Do not come in. Just tell me why, she muttered while looking in awe.

–Because you shifted the reality you had so far. You just entered a new one.

–A reality with..a man like you?

–No, there are just a few more like me.

–Then…what? What reality? Am I still me? Am I dreaming?

–You are not dreaming, and you are being you. A different you.

–I still like the same things, she said while giving a frugal thought to everything she liked.

–You might now. The crossing is slow, and it takes time.

–The crossing?

–Yes. You will cross a different realm. One that most people don’t and can’t see their whole lives.

–Ok..this is weird as fuuu….

–It is, yes.

–What’s your name?

–Me?..Oh..it doesn’t matter.

–Why? It matters to me, tell me

–No no 

–Yes yes

–No no

–Yes, please

–Ok. Deneb.

–The name of a star. How do I know that?…

–You just do. And more things will come to you. You will see.

As Claire followed how the strange man went away, without giving away more than just vague phrases about her life, she felt dizzy, and the right phrase for it – is brain fog. But not the usual menstrual brain fog. This one was a total fog. She had no clue what had just happened. Who was that here at my door, and what did he tell me?

After a few seconds, she started doubting there was ever someone at the door, and after 5 minutes she had it clear. Nothing happened.

She had just woken up, her hands were still moist from how she had washed her face, and for some unexplainable reason, the sound of the coffee machine was more soothing than ever before.

Click, buzz buzz, drip.

She sipped a sweet coffee, while opening her laptop to write the title of a song that’s been making rounds in her thoughts ever since she woke up, “Make your own kind of music”.