Sorry for the Delay...

For those wondering why I haven't updated the story recently, I lost my notes regarding the next section!! Grrr... I'm such a professional, huh?

I will get it together and begin updating this blog again soon. I will announce the update at The Slacker Shack once I'm ready.

Sorry!

Best Wishes!
Drake :)

When Reality Shifts

It has been well over a week since my last entry. So much has happened, I nearly forgot to log it all.

It was either two or three days after the strange late night call when I finally received the call I've been waiting for: Theresa. After waiting for close to a month, after all the unusual occurrences surrounding the book she sent me, I finally could tell her of my experiences and try to get some feedback.

After telling her everything - I even told her of this blog just to make sure I didn't leave anything out - she was silent for a several seconds. When she finally spoke, I wasn't prepared for what she had to say.

She said that she never sent me the book, but she gave it to me in person at the Dal Cuore restaurant! The owner was not only not dead, but he sat with us to discuss the book - He is an expert of ancient and unusual manuscripts.

If anyone else had told me this, I would have been furious. But I knew Theresa was never one for pranks or jokes during serious discussions. Whatever she said, she meant it. So I didn't argue with her - I just felt numb when I heard her version of events.

She didn't accuse me of lying or joking either - She said experiences like mine are not too uncommon when one was associated with the book.

I will omit the long discussion we had, since it basically is a recap of this entire blog. In the end, we agreed to meet once again at Dal Cuore this Sunday. She ensured me that it was still open and told me to bring the book along.

I hated to hang up the phone, since she seems to be my only connection to this strange phenomena. I fear that she won't be there Sunday or the restaurant will be closed again or some other unexpected obstacle will prevent of from meeting. She did promise to call me more often, to try to keep a line of communication open between us.

I checked on the book - It was still properly located on the shelf where I last put it. I threw away the packaging the book came in, so I cannot prove to Theresa that it was mailed to me.

But then, what if she is correct and my view of what happened is completely wrong? Slowly, I am losing track of what is real and what is not.

After an hour after I had spoken with Theresa, another call came in. It was a male's voice, sounded like he was talking in a coffee can - Very tinny, hollow. I could barely make out what he was saying, but it sounded like a warning or a command, repeated over and over again. I could make out the word "don't" a few times but nothing more. Finally the line was disconnected.

I knew I wouldn't make it through the day without some sort of paranoia gripping me. I am becoming used to the sensation.

Phase One: Table of Contents

Drifting Stars Introduction
01: Late Night Call
02: Lunch For One
03: Unwanted Dreams
04: A Package Arrives
05: Order Into Chaos
06: An Unpleasant Calm
07: Shattered Silence

Shattered Silence

It's been a week since my last entry. Other than this unrelenting sense of paranoia, everything seemed back to normal. I worked overtime at work to complete the first draft of my video project. No strange phone calls, no "psychic" experiences, or other strange occurrences. The mysterious book remains on my bookshelf. All in all, my mundane world had returned.

And then it happened... Early this morning, around 3:30 or so, the phone rang. I groggily answered it, not awake enough to consider the possibilities of whom it could be.

Initially, I had to strain to hear the voice. But slowly I could make it out. In a soft, Italian accent, it asked, "You could see me, see all of us."

I asked who he was and started to wake up a bit more. The voice on the other side repeated itself: "You could see me, see all of us." Then he added, "You are now aware." And then the line when dead.

I hung up and could barely think about this brief conversation - I was still so tired. It wasn't until later that I really gave it some thought. An Italian accent? Too obvious - I guess he was supposed to be Mr. Tabellini. But who would have played a such a hoax on me? And why?

While I tried not to give it too much thought, the voice kept repeating in my mind. "You are now aware." What specifically am I aware of?

Probably this isn't even worth wondering about. But it is the first noteworthy incident in a week, I suppose. I'm not going to worry about it for now.

An Unpleasant Calm

The weekend passed with no further incidents. I stayed locked up in my apartment Saturday, the phones disconnected, myself wrapped in the confusion of the previous week.

It has been a week since my visit to a no-longer-existent restaurant with the "ghostly" owner eyeing me. If that weren't enough, I remember other patrons in the restaurant as well. Who were they? I didn't really pay attention to them at the time, so I probably would not recognize them if I ever saw them again.

I did get up the nerve to drive by the Dal Cuore yesterday, and sure enough it was closed with a large "For Lease" sign in the window. My co-workers were right.

Today at work was a mess. My boss was furious at my sudden departure last Friday and with my vague excuses as to why I fled. I furiously plodding along on my video project, vaguely wondering if I will still have a job after it is done. Oh well... That is the least of my worries now.

Even now, I still bounce back and forth between fear and disbelief of the recent events. However, the book I have been cursed with seems to be behaving now. It hasn't disappeared or reappeared mysteriously since Friday.

After thinking it over the past couple of days, I've concluded that the only keys to this mystery are the book (which I cannot decipher), Theresa (who I cannot contact), and possibly the owner of the Dal Cuore (who had committed suicide weeks ago). Three strikes, and I am left out in the dark.

Perhaps I can put this aberration behind me, either pretend it never happened or was just "one of those things," a bizarre anecdote like those found in UFO and paranormal books. Perhaps some debunker could find a quick, pat explanation for it all, while I, the experiencer, will always feel the matter unresolved.

I have plugged the phones back in, and so far there have been no calls. Everything is quiet. Just me alone in my apartment, sitting in front of my computer, journaling away a week of life.

To think, the only reason I started this blog was to document my reunion with Theresa. I had no idea my little online narration would become so detached from normal reality.

But despite the normalcy of the weekend and today, I still have a bad... I don't know... Premonition? Just a sense that things are not completely back to normal. Somehow, reality just feels different - I still feel a nagging sense of dissociation with everything. I want to believe it is simply paranoia, given the events of last week. But I think that is only wishful thinking.

In my heart of hearts, I know the shadows behind the cracks of reality are watching me. But are they benign or malevolent? And will the come back out to taunt me again?