The headache I expected when I awoke up did not materialize, but though my brain was not in pain, it wasn’t business as usual either. I woke up thoughts racing, mind still blown, yet being in my own bed and alone in the dim quiet gave me some focus, which helped.
I swung my legs down and sat up, took a couple of deep breaths, and started talking to myself as I often did when alone – especially when unsure or overwhelmed, which I was, in spades.
“OK, Maxx, forget about all the craziness. Shower & dress, don’t worry about anything else just yet. Do the normal routine first, worry about the other stuff later.”
Which is what I did.
Bathroom routine: Blood pressure and anxiety pills. Two sets of eyedrops for glaucoma. Brush hair. Jump in shower. Take far too long because having long hair is a pain, especially in the shower. Jump out. Brush hair again. Dress. Skip breakfast – on diet – but grab a single flavored oreo to curb cravings. Grab bottle of water from fridge.
It’s just occurred to me that I’ve assumed that everyone reading this book will know exactly what I look like, as “famous” as I am (or should I say, “infamous”, lol), but I probably shouldn’t make that assumption, especially for how I looked back then – so here goes:
6’1″. 250 pounds and dropping 2 every week. Brown eyes under distinctive thick brows and behind glasses. Long brown hair, flowing freely. Beard. Quiet, mysterious, intense – unless you were one of my few friends, in which case make that verbose, cerebral, and intense. A little clumsy. Somewhat hearing impaired, due to tinnitus. (Hearing aids were the next step, I had started shopping them.) Often wearing slacks and a polo shirt. A dimple on my right cheek under my beard when I smiled.
My morning routine finished with, I could avoid dealing with the reality of the impossible no longer. The fact that it really happened and wasn’t a dream or hallucination was evident from the punctured couch and the new floor and ceiling patch jobs.
No, it had really happened.
I sat down on my bed to think this through – still talking to myself. “Alright, I had an out of body experience yesterday. After that, I could see something inside of people, including,” I glanced down to confirm my hands were still doubled like yesterday, “yeah, including myself. Can I make myself have another out of body experience? Nothing to do but try.” I lack back on my bed, took a few breaths, and willed myself out.
Once again I was standing, looking down at myself laying on the bed.
I reached towards the bed, and again my hand passed right through it as if the bed – or I – wasn’t really there. On inspiration I regarded my hands, which were no longer doubled.
“So I guess this is my astral self or something?” I asked myself. “And maybe the reason I see people doubled up is I am seeing their astral selves inhabiting their bodies?
Glancing back at my slumbering body I grinned and said, “Wait there.” and walked out through the main room up to the apartment door. Just to double-check, I reached for the knob, but of course, no dice. So I took a breath and stepped through the door.
Found myself in the hallway beyond. “OK, let’s go for a walk” I said, walked to the end of the hall, went down a half flight of stairs, and walked through the external door to the outside. I was still uncertain as to how I was able to use stairs but walk right through doors, but Rome wasn’t built in a day.
As I exited the building I realized that it was still only barely Spring and I had forgotten to throw on a coat – but then I noticed that despite the snow and ice, I was not uncomfortable and didn’t feel cold – a perk of the astral form, I guessed.
I walked down the street, heading to the main drag in Walpole with all the restaurants and stores. Traffic was moderate on Route 12, which gave me a terrifying idea.
I stepped in front of a moving car, my heart racing at my boldness.
The driver didn’t react, and both he and his car passed right through me.
I kept walking, and got to the main grocery store with many people coming and going – all of course doubled. I waved my arms in front of them and shouted, but got no reaction.
After a while it got boring so I sat down on a nearby bench, and wondered why I could sit on this bench at all. Or walk on floors, or take stairs. I stood up again, and reached down. My hand passed through the surface of the parking lot. That I was standing on. Argh, I simply didn’t get it!
I sat back down on the bench and leaned back, tried to think about it logically.
“OK, I know I can’t touch anything with my hands, and a car just drove through my whole body. No part of me is cold though it must be at least freezing now. And yet being able to walk on stuff instead of passing through it… wait a minute, what if gravity doesn’t affect astral things? But I don’t feel weightless. But maybe astral beings don’t even feel the lack of weight?” I shrugged, starting to feel a little frustrated – then had a crazy thought: “Since as far as I can figure, the material world doesn’t exist for me, what would happen if I tried to walk up some stairs that weren’t there?”
I stood up again. I pretended I was in front of an invisible staircase right there in the parking lot. I put my astral foot where I imagined the first tread to be, and stepped up onto it. And it worked.
I went up a few more “invisible steps” and stopped at the pretend landing I was imagining. I was ten feet off the ground, standing in the middle of the parking lot, with nothing but air underneath me, with shoppers utterly unaware all around me, going about their business. It was a very amusing scene to me, and I laughed.
I swapped my imagination around, and pretended I was hovering in the air with nothing underneath me at all, invisible or not – would I fall?
Nope.
I had a sudden insight. I looked upward, punched my fist towards the sky, and flew up into it, just like the superhero that in that moment I felt like I might be!
Wherever I thought myself, I went, my astral body completely under my control. I swooped and dove, rose and banked. My adrenaline – at least my astral adrenaline – was pumping. I couldn’t believe it.
But this was real. My only regret is that no one would be able to see me, be able to share my newfound joy.
I dove back down to the ground, hovering slightly above it. “How fast can an astral body go?” I wondered. I aimed a mile or so down the road, and got there in mere seconds. “Faster.” I said, and shot back to my starting point even faster.
“OK,” I said grinning from ear to ear, “This one’s for all the marbles. Let’s see just how damn fast I can go.” I aimed back down the street again and WILLED myself to the maximum velocity I could achieve. After all, it wasn’t like I had to worry about hitting anything!
Reality turned into an insane blur for two seconds, then I stopped.
I was in outer space with nothing but unknown stars around me, and neither the Earth nor the Sun were anywhere in sight.