Tom's final fanfiction

Regression...

2009

There's this strange recurrent daydream or vision that I simply can't shake and at the same time, it's unclear exactly what I see.  It usually happens when I'm near the house next to where I grew up.  As if I'd lived there before, I keep getting this feeling; a strange déjà vu draws me closer.

Working with me is my therapist who often listens to these visions and déjà vu.  He's recommended hypnotherapy to attempt to determine the root cause of all this, so here we are, I'm about to embark on my regression.  ‘Close your eyes and try to relax, take a deep breath and let it out slowly.  Concentrate on your breathing and imagine a brilliant white light above you, focussing on this light as it flows through your body.  Allow yourself to drift off as you fall deeper and deeper into a more relaxed state of mind...’

1929

Like a dream, I step into the light and immediately recognise the neighbourhood I grew up in although there's plenty of unfamiliar sights and faces.  I check out a paper at a newsstand to get my bearings and almost choke seeing the date.  Could what I thought was a dream just possibly be a form of memory? Back at the house, through the window I see a man and woman talking and laughing together before disappearing upstairs, so I move on, but, at least now I have the first piece of the puzzle.  They look vaguely familiar but I need to find out more.

Later in the day, a man arrives at the house.  I'd been doing a little research and reconnaissance about the area and headed back to again. This time it's a different man, he appears to be the man of the house and while cordial, almost friendly, I could see there was a clear tension between the two.  Was he even aware of the affair? If so, had it ever been mentioned? The scenario before me versus what went on previously has left little to the imagination.  

2009

Coming back to the present with more questions than answers, I go to the house to see what I find.  As I walk up the path there's a sudden chill and I pull my jacket a little closer.  The house has been empty for some time and was easy to get into.  Moving up the stairs I find the master bedroom, the atmosphere is still eerie but curiosity now had the better of me and I wanted answers badly.  Looking in the mirror brings the biggest shock of them all.  Instead of seeing my own reflection, I see the husband staring back at me, the door closes suddenly and a man’s voice shakes me from my vision.  ‘I wondered when you might show up again.’ He said.

It's the old man who lives over the road.  He invited me back to his house and told me a story about a couple who lived in the house ages back when he was very young, a young woman married to a high profile lawyer who was alcoholic and a gambler.  Outwardly, they looked the picturesque couple however, behind the scenes there was almost constant turmoil and she was indeed having an affair with his brother, a local cop.  One day there was report of an apparent murder-suicide when the woman met with her husband in an out-of-the-way alley before dinner.  The only witness was a local cop, who happened to be the man she'd been having an affair with (I knew from the description matching the first man I had seen at the house).  Since there was a note, although widely talked about in the community, it was generally accepted at face value, but, it was never totally clear who shot who first or why.  With some pieces falling into place and fresh leads to take up, I had to go back.

1929

This time I walk into a new scene.  It's dark and there's a lot happening around me but, I catch the couple disappearing off to one side.  Following them, I watch from the shadows watching as they chat quietly and embrace.  Now I start to understand what's happening but before they're finished, there's a shot from out of the shadows to one side.  The woman screams and I drop dead. More shots fired, she falls next to me then a man walks out with gloved hands and places the gun in my hands placing a note in my pocket.  Horrified at the events unfolding in front of me, I've just witnessed my own murder and the image in the mirror finally makes sense.  How did I not see this coming? The man I trusted most, my own brother killed me and my wife after evidently realising she was never going to leave me for him and now I'm reliving this all over again.

1929 & 2009

I'm shocked by the revelation, but maybe I can learn to live with the memories that reside within me.  At least now I understand what happened and why I’m affected.  As I walk away I start to hear music, the tune is old but also familiar and I hear a voice speaking to me.  ‘Open your eyes Nicholas’.  I open my eyes back in the suite.  ‘What?!’ Across the room, I see my therapist with a glass of whiskey in one hand and a gun in the other...