Flight of Fancy

Ana remained lying in bed for quite some time after ‘waking up’. It didn’t exactly feel like waking up, but more like being thrown from one room into another.

One dimension to another, more like it.

It was hard to come to terms with what had happened. The experience was unique and she was trying to make some sense of it. First of all, the information that was most important was that David was alive – and well, apparently. Secondly, their entire family would have to move to some undisclosed location.

For what? To be in hiding for all our lives?

Where would they be going? As far as she knew, those fuckers, whoever they were, had their agents all over the world, their web extended to who knew where. They wouldn’t be safe wherever they went. Also, why would they trust this person David had sent to talk to her.

Or did he?

Perhaps David hadn’t sent that person to talk to Ana. Maybe it was some unknown entity trying to trick her, or maybe it was even the American agents playing tricks with her mind.

Who the fuck knows?! I feel like I’m going crazy.

It was too much to take. She was supposed to take the word of a voice in her head, a voice coming to her from another dimension. If she went with this to David’s parents, they would pronounce her as crazy and possibly call a shrink to take her away in a straight jacket. She wouldn’t blame them either Even though she was open to many things of this world and beyond, if somebody had told her the story she had lived in her dreams, she would be sympathetic, but would think they had lost their marbles.

‘You know in your heart that it is true.’

What the fuck?!

It wasn’t exactly a voice in her head that had said that, but more like an echo left over from her dream. There was a good chance she really was losing her mind. In that case, there wouldn’t be any harm in following the voice’s plan. She had nothing to lose. But what about her in-laws? They wouldn’t be easily persuaded to simply leave their home and their family. As far as Ana was concerned, she and David were all that mattered, but David’s parents had a life and roots here.

Ana couldn’t really imagine starting this conversation with them. What would she even say? How would she start?

Hi, a voice from a dream told me that we have to leave the farm with David when he shows up. We don’t know where we’re going, but if we stay, we’re all in danger.

Maybe it didn’t sound as preposterous as she had thought, but it still felt extremely awkward. With everything that’s been going on, they might even believe there was a real danger.

What about the voice in my head?

Well, that would take some convincing. David’s mother knew that Ana had some psychic abilities, so she might swallow the story and hopefully convince the father-in-law.

With that, Ana made up her mind and got up. She did her usual morning routine. First, it was time for the bathroom, then some light stretching and after that a nutritious porridge with fruit. After that, some time was spent on the computer and playing with the cat. Then, she didn’t have any more excuses.

It’s time. I have to go downstairs.

Ana stroked her cat and went downstairs, making sure to close the door behind her, so that Liza wouldn’t follow her.

Even though Dawson had assigned surveillance of the camera feeds to his agents, he still had access to everything and none of the other agents knew. It was part of being the team leader. Thus, he was able to watch David’s beautiful wife shower naked and pleasure himself while she did so. She was below him, she was scum, but it still felt good to show her who was boss, even if it was only through the camera feed.

I will get you yet, my pretty.

Dawson was sure there would come a time when he could exert his power over David’s wife.

You need to be taught a lesson.

Dawson was becoming more and more convinced that the camera feeds would amount to nothing. It seemed unlikely David would return there – to the scene of the crime. Somehow, they needed to put some pressure on the family. The family must have some contact with David, something that the agents hadn’t figured out yet. They needed to think outside the box, put some pressure on the family. It wasn’t as if they always played by the rules. They could bend the rules again and use force if necessary to find out what they needed. All the information that his agents had been giving him was just confirming his suspicions. Nothing extraordinary was happening, just a family living their day to day life. It definitely seemed that nothing was going to happen. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the one calling the shots. If something was going to be done, he had to wait for authorisation from headquarters before he could do anything.

Maybe if I suggest something.

That was a good plan of action. If he suggested in a subtle way that there could be a way to persuade the family to give up some information, he might get a bit more respect and a possible promotion in the future.

Still, for now there was nothing to do but wait. He couldn’t get in touch with the agency. They always called him. That was just how it worked. For the time being, he was forced to wait and suffer the boredom. With boredom, he usually started thinking thoughts about revenge. On the menu today was Jane. She had been a thorn in his side for a while and could get in the way of his promotion.

We can’t have that.

Jane was highly intelligent and experienced. While he was sure he had her beat in the intelligence and cunning department, her experience was greater than his. However, she wasn’t counting on his desire for improving his life. Nothing would get in his way.

Yes, Jane, something has to be done with you.

Ana walked down to David’s parents’ apartment. It was Saturday, so they were both at home. The weather was also quite bad and obviously nobody felt like going out. They were both in the lounge. Her father-in-law was playing chess on the computer, while the mother-in-law was knitting. It was obvious that they were both looking for something to distract them from their son being gone. It was becoming more and more likely that he would never come back. They were coming to terms with the loss in their own way. Ana felt a wave of sadness come over her as she watched these two people, who have become her family and accepted her, face the reality of losing their son. It took a lot of effort to hold back the tears, but she managed somehow and entered the living room. It took a while for them to register Ana, but once they did, she was greeted with a warm, albeit slightly forced smile. It was hard to smile in the face of adversity such as this. Ana understood that and loved them all the more for trying to make an effort to console her.

If David showed up, she didn’t think she could go away and leave David’s parents behind.

If they saw him, would they go with him? Would they trust that it’s him?

Ana didn’t have the answers to those questions. She knew they were very close to David and this was as big a shock for them as it was for her, perhaps even worse. It was hard to imagine what it felt like for a parent to lose their child. True, David was already an adult, but it was still difficult to cope.

Ana was just standing there, thinking that it was taking too long to make a decision, to make a move. She knew she looked awkward just standing there, but she just couldn’t make up her mind about her next move.

“Why don’t you sit down,” said her mother-in-law gently. “I’ll make you some tea. And we have some nice cookies to go with your tea.”

“That’s alright,” replied Ana, touched by the offer, however not feeling all that hungry or thirsty. “I won’t have any tea, but thank you for the offer.”

“Why don’t you take some sweets?” suggested her father-in-law. “They’re really good. David’s father was renowned for having a sweet tooth, however Ana would have to take a rain check again.

“Thanks,” she replied. “But somehow I’m not very hungry at the moment. I don’t think I’ve been hungry ever since David’s gone missing. I don’t know what I’d do without him if…”

“I know, dear,” said David’s mother. “It’s hard not to think about the worst, but we have to stay positive. I think David will show up.”

Ana thought about this for a moment. Did David’s mother really believe that? She saw her opportunity to ask them the question the voice had implanted in her brain: “I don’t know. I just think if David showed up, he would be on the run. If there was a chance, I would go with him, no matter where he went. From seeing those agents and what they did to all of us, not just David, planting evidence and harassing us, all with the support of our government, I just don’t think we’ll ever be safe here again.”

There was a prolonged silence and Ana thought that her point hadn’t come true, but then her mother-in-law chimed in: “I think you may be right. If David came back, we would have to do all we could to help him.”

“What would you do if he came back and asked you to go with him?” asked Ana.

The question was meant for both of them. David’s mother looked at her husband and he replied: “I really don’t know. If he said to go with him and he knew of somewhere safe, we’d probably go. What do you think, mom?”

“I don’t know,” replied David’s mother. “From what we’ve seen here, even some of the neighbours seem to be against us. It could get worse or it could get better. But I suppose if David said to go with him, we’d go.”

Ana was very pleased with the answers, however still needed to link it to her dreams.

“I have a feeling,” Ana said, “that David will come home soon and he’ll ask us to go with him. I think we should. We need to be ready for that. You know me, I have certain premonitions…”

“Yes,” said her mother-in-law. “I remember your readings. They were very accurate.

“I’ve been having strange dreams,” explained Ana. “From those dreams, I can conclude that something bad will happen here and that we need to leave with David. Of course, we have to wait for him to show up, but I’m certain it will happen very soon.”

“Well, we don’t really want to leave,” was the dejected reply from her father-in-law. “But if David asks us, we’ll go with him.”

“Yes, this is our home,” explained Ana’s mother-in-law. “We’ve been living here for a long time. Still, it’s true that things have been getting strange lately. There is a good chance that our home will no longer be safe for us. We’d be reluctant, but we would leave our home.”

“What would you take with you?” inquired Ana.

“Oh, nothing much,” said David’s mother. “Probably some clothes. We’d even leave the dog. Your uncle can take care of him.”

“I have a feeling you won’t even need clothes,” said Ana. “I just think we need to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.”

“Well, you know us,” said David’s father. “Most of the time we just watch TV and work around the house, so we’ll be ready.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about us,” agreed David’s mother. “If what you say will actually happen, we’ll manage to be strong. Somehow we’ll manage.”

Ana couldn’t believe how easy it was. It was almost as if David’s parents were waiting for somebody to ask them to leave, especially if David came for them. It was another sign that the universe was listening and that all the pieces were falling into their place.

Now all they had to do was wait.