Infinite Loop - Chapter 38

Warren's Explaination

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Chapter 38

“Let me start this way. In your dreams, you see yourself in places that are familiar, yet you’re sure you’ve never been there. I mean it feels like the world has changed. Something has completely altered the people, places, and things you hold dear. Yet, somehow you feel like you should be there. Like you have memories caged somewhere and, yet your mind won’t allow you to believe it?”

Amber’s face went pale as she whispered yes.

“Ok, now we come to the crazy stuff,” Warren said then paused, tapping his finger on the cup for a bit as he thought. He looked up after a deep breath.

“First off, and don’t laugh at what I’m telling you,” he stated deliberately as he glanced around the diner.

“My full name is Warren Howard Phillips, not Warren Baker. I was born on March 10, 1972, in a town called Fulton, Missouri. Before we arrived on the ship, I’ve never stepped foot in Boston. I woke on that ship in the middle of the ocean between Cuba and the U.S.”

He kept a close watch on her expression while her eyes widened at his statement.

“Oh, this gets even better,” he reassured her with a thin chuckle. “I died was sometime in 2013. That was the first time I experienced death. You see, I only remember driving my SUV to work, then I felt chest pains. The next thing I saw was the interstate sign coming at me. I can’t do anything about it. The last thing I can see is the windshield shattering as the car tumbled down into the ditch. The images of my wife and child came before the blackness.”

Warren paused, then leaned back while observing Amber’s mixed emotions coming through. Within a span of seconds, disbelief changed to reflection and back again.

“It’s a lot to take in. I understand how freaking nuts I’m sounding. Do you want me to continue?”

She looked down at the cup again.

“It is crazy.” Remaining silent for a moment, the woman took a deep breath while keeping her focus on the cup.

“Keep going,” she finally whispered.

“You can’t remember everything, mind you, especially not at first. Life was just going along while I’m in Panama. I have a wife who hates me and people I can’t understand. But I struggled through while I wondered why I couldn’t remember things. Stuff like my childhood or I couldn’t remember the faces of my parents. Then I had strange dreams wake me.”

Warren paused as he looked out the large window at the rain. The pouring rain reminded him of the Panamanian jungle.

“At first, I thought they were just nightmares,” he continued. “I just tried to rationalize them. You know, like I had too much pressure on me, or I was just tired. Then, something struck me.”

“What happened?” Amber asked after waiting for a moment.

He blinked and came back to the present.

“One morning somewhere in that twilight zone between sleep and coming awake, I suddenly remembered. One of my daughters was in my arms. My little girl lay there, so fragile and delicate. She even held my pinky finger in her hand,” Warren admitted and dropped his head briefly.

“How can you forget something like that?” He asked when he looked up again.

Amber saw the tears welling in his eyes. However, she froze when she suddenly recalled a dream. He noticed her reaction.

“Something like that happened to you, didn’t it?”

“Y—yes,” she stuttered. “I saw my mother holding me when I was a little girl. But it wasn’t the woman in the pictures in my apartment.”

Amber stared at the cup in her hands again.

“In fact, I’m so mixed up. I tried to find things about my past. That’s part of the reason I went back home. There was really nothing there. It makes no sense to me.”

They went quiet for a moment.

“That makes sense. It’s not surprising if you think about it,” Warren suddenly stated. “The writers don’t give a lot of detail about background since the character’s past is not central to the plot. There’s no reason to add details about a character getting knocked off soon anyway.”

He finished his coffee.

“Hold on, I’m getting more coffee,” Warren got up to get a refill of coffee at the counter.

“Wh—what are…” she stammered to herself while she stared at his back. A single thought came to her.

Are both of us crazy?

Warren handed the cup to the man behind the counter. Her mind tried to comprehend his incredible statement.

Returning to the table, he noticed Amber’s confused and frightened expression. He slid into the seat and gave her a comforting smile.

“Like I told you, everything I’ve figured out appears totally nuts at first. The idea is overwhelming. It’ll make sense as I explain more,” he assured her.

“Oh, I doubt that!”

Trying to calm the rising sense of panic, Amber glanced out the window at a couple hurrying along the sidewalk. The man across the table talked so casually about things which made little sense. He acted like what occurred to her happened all the time. Then again, maybe it did.

“You said you were married with kids,” she finally turned back to him.

“Yes, I remembered Victoria a while back. I was just sitting at a table and suddenly an image emerged across from me. Her blonde hair flipped over to hide one of her blue eyes. Then, I remembered the place we met in college looked like the place.” He tapped his finger on the table again.

“It came to me in a flash one night. I recalled almost everything in one moment. The day we got married, happiness and then the arguments between us. Hell, we had a blowout on the day of the wreck.”

His expression grew dark as he looked out the window. He recalled the events leading to the marriage falling apart.

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