Satellite Souls

Meeting Him

-Fiona's POV-

The morning had arrived, and I was accompanied by a pounding headache. I tried to replay everything that had happened the night before but my mind was a blur. However, there was a pitch in my stomach, overwhelmed by a feeling of worry and anxiety.

Hangxiety was real, I had just begun to realize it.

“Fiona” His voice can never go unheard. I stared at the ceiling, unable to recall the events of last night. My brain tried to comprehend the confusion by relying on something I had read on Wikipedia three years ago. Statistics indicate between 3% and 10% of the population hear voices other people don’t. Maybe I am one of them. After collecting my thoughts, I proceeded to begin my day by frantically scrolling through my phone. I had four messages; three from Lydia and one from Charlie.

“Fiona, wake up!”

“I can’t believe you invited a hunk for the wedding and didn’t introduce me”

“Never mind, I introduced myself. We’re in the living room. WAKE UP!!” – Lydia

“Goodmorning Sleepyhead! How’s the hangover?" – Charlie

I stared at my phone and wondered what Lydia was talking about. I could hear Lydia’s fangirl laugh all the way from the living room. Before I could go out, I needed to get freshened up. I walked to the bathroom and proceeded to remove the corset I had on underneath the party dress I wore the night prior. I smiled at the thought of Lydia taking off that tight dress and giving up halfway before tucking me in.

I turned the shower on and felt the water rush against my skin-boosting my alertness of the surroundings. A nice quick shower in the morning had somewhat calmed my nerves and for the rest of the day, I could only wish I was as stress-free as I am right now.

After getting dressed, I blow-dried my hair to help break down the water molecules faster. My dark brown hair had grown so long, it took me a while to style it. Sometimes I wished I could just chop it all off, but I had intended to keep it long for the wedding. I let my fingers run through my hair, remembering something I had once dreamt of.

“I like your hair long” I, recalled him saying. The vibrations on my phone interrupted my thoughts, Lydia was now calling me.

“Jesus Fiona, are you awake?”

“Yes! I am hung over and hungry. So don’t mind me taking it easy today” I pressed.

“Well, I’ll have you know that there’s someone waiting for you in the living room. He’s been here for two hours to see you. He’s alone and probably bored as hell by now. I am in my car off to work. So you better go out and meet him”

“Someone? Who? Why did you leave me alone with a stranger?”

“He knows you. Says you invited him to the wedding. He said his name is Aiden. Also some of us ain’t marrying royalty and need a job to pay bills, so don’t blame me for leaving, I waited as long as I could”

“Aiden” the name managed to leave my lips as my mind began to spin. What had happened last night was coming back to me now.

There’s no way in hell, I thought. No way. No f*****g way.

I opened the door and proceeded my way to the living room. As I am walking down the steps, I see someone sitting on the couch. Our eyes meet and I instantly freeze.

“Fiona” He stands up immediately.

“Oh god” I muttered under my breath.

“Please don’t freak out! Umm . . . how do I even begin to explain all this?” He struggled to find the words. I took small steps towards him unable to believe that this is happening. He looked exactly like the man in my dreams.

“Aiden” I whispered.

“Yes?” He replied politely. His arms reached out for me but he slowly put them away.

“How are you real? You look exactly like him” My hoarse voice could barely make it. I trembled in confusion and strangely not in fear.

“I am real” He stood straight and gazed. A few seconds pass by, and none of us said anything. We just stared at each other.

“You can’t be him” My words came out more like a whisper. I pulled out a chair and sat down worried my legs might give out gesturing him to do the same.

“I am him. Listen, I don’t know where to start. I just had this feeling . . in my gut that you were real. I have been searching for you for a long time. I’ve looked for you everywhere, Fiona” He looked at me and paused. I stared at him in absolute awe.

“I’m sorry, I just can’t believe . . .”

“Your name is Fiona Livy Miller. You love horses, you grew up on a farm in Durn and were surrounded by plenty of them. When Kirby, your favourite horse died, it broke your heart so your parents moved. As far as your current location goes, I didn’t know where you had moved. But you had once told me about Charlie’s parents; how they threw your engagement party at Grande Maxus Hall in late June. And you got . . married to Charlie in August of this year. So . . . I checked every Grande Maxus Hall in the city and finally found the one under Charlie’s name, booked a flight all the way from Australia and found you”

There it was. The silence again.

“I know I am coming off as a stalker right now. I’m finding it so hard to process all this myself” He sighed.

“You found me” I said in a tone that sounded slightly like a question.

“Hi, I’m Aiden” He smiled and reached for a handshake. I could feel my brain cells dying and regenerating at the same time. I shook his hand, and felt all my hair stands rise up. This wasn’t the Vision Aiden anymore. No more smirks or flirty looks along with snarky comments. He was a human being, right in front of my own eyes.

“Hi” I managed to say. Still stunned. “I have a billion questions”

“Ask away” He smirked playfully with his green eyes locked into mine. I could feel myself flush. There was no way he was real. But Lydia confirmed his presence, last night and today. So am I going crazy or my life has just gotten very very complicated?

- - - - - - -

I made both of us a cup of coffee. I figured it was best we spend the rest of the afternoon, clearing things out. I needed to make sure I wasn’t going completely insane.

“Alright, so as far as I know, I have been dreaming about you for five years now. In the first dream, we were at the beach . . .”

“And I told you we should get a boat and sail away” He finished my sentence.

“Was that the first time you dreamt about me as well?” I asked curiously.

“Honestly, I started having visions of you first. Five years ago, during college one day I stumbled upon this book in the library. As I was reading it, you appeared right in front of me. I could hear and see you but no one else could. At first, I wasn’t that alarmed but that whole week you were everywhere I went. So when I finally dreamt you, I just thought you were a figment of my imagination and it was totally normal” He chuckled and continued. “You were there during one of the hardest times of my life”

“Your mom . . .” I said remembering something he had told me once.

“During her last days, the vision version of you stayed by my side.” He silently smiled showcasing a certain level of appreciation.

“I don’t know about the vision me, but I remember comforting you in one of the dreams. You missed your mom and told me a lot about me. For the record, she sounded like an amazing woman” I comforted him. “So does that mean Vision Fiona isn’t me? Just like Vision Aiden isn’t you?”

“You have a vision me as well?” He looked surprised as he asked.

“Yeah and he’s … something” I replied replaying the smirk and flirty gestures Vision Aiden does.

“How is Vision Fiona like?” My curiosity had no bounds at this point. I wanted to know everything. We had three different versions of ourselves. Vision Us. Dream Us and now Reality Us. Which was fantasy and which was real, who knows anymore.

“She’ll appear here and there. Usually when I’m stressed out, or in a good mood. She’ll basically put me in my place, make me see the right side of things. Always help me out when I’m drowning in chaos”

“That’s good to know” I smiled and said, really meaning it.

“Everything that’s happening in the dreams is real, Fiona” He looked at me as if he was waiting for a reaction.

“I got that, I’m staring at you” I laughed not really thinking about it.

“Even the part where we’re married. The penthouse we own at Pavilion, the beach, the s*x . . .” He paused while the smile on my face slowly vanishes.

“I don’t quite understand what you’re trying to say”

“We’ve been dreaming about our future all this time. Our future together when you move to Australia and meet me three years from now” He explained.

“How do you know that?” I asked him, refusing to believe what he was saying is true. What does he mean by our future in three years while I’ve been planning mine with Charlie.

“Well, I’m here, aren’t I? I found you.” His voice was low. Probably because he was waiting for me to process what he was saying.

“You said I got married to Charlie in August. Past Tense. How did you know that?” I asked as I don’t remember telling him this in the dream.

“That’s because it has already happened in the dream. You’ve told me things that have happened to you in the past. You can’t remember it because reality won’t let you. There’s always missing pieces in our dreams, like I don’t remember stuff I tell you in the dream once I wake up. But our timeline is in the future so the dream version of us knows what happened. Your past in my dreams is your present in reality. So, in a way, I know what happens next Fiona. And I’m here to stop it.”

Aiden looked determined yet confused. Trying to explain all this was confusing. Are we in different timelines? If we met in three years, wouldn’t he and I be 28 by then? If he knows what happens to me within these three years, did he know what happens to him? Because I do. He needs to go back to Australia. He needs to go back to his father! I know what happens! I realized I had been screaming in my mind for a while blankly staring at him. Aiden needs to go back or he’ll never forgive himself.

“Someone goes wrong between Charlie and me, in three years?” I asked him trying to find a way to tell him he’s making a mistake.

“One Year” He replied.

Wow my marriage lasted one year. “What was it?” Curiosity got the best of me. I wanted to know but I really didn’t.

“Do you really wanna know?” Aiden asked. Knowing would disrupt everything. Knowing could make things even worse. Was I ready to mess up the future even more by knowing?

“No, don’t tell me. If by some magical force we are meant to be together, you will respect the timeline and go back, Aiden.” I managed to finally say. I have to push him to leave this place.

“No, Fiona. You have to believe what I’m . . “

“I do. I truly do. If you know what happens to me, then I know what happens to you. Everything you’ve told me in my dreams hasn’t happened to you yet. You are messing with the timeline, therefore messing up the ending. What if Charlie and I make it work now that you’ve come to me? Maybe before it didn’t last because I was so hung over the 'dream you'. Maybe you being here right now is going to make me stop seeing you in my dreams?” I justified my point. There was no need to disrupt the timeline. I am ready to face the future head on, even if my first marriage lasts only a year. Maybe I needed this heads up to make it work. Maybe just maybe Aiden just saved my marriage.

“Listen, I know you’re upset. And I am sorry for being selfish. But he’s not the guy you think he is. He’ll end up hurting you” Aiden tried to reason with me but I didn’t want to listen anymore. I was partly doing this for him but he helped me realize that this was reality.

“Aiden, you shouldn’t have come here. Whether you’re my future husband or not, I’m still living in my present. And I choose Charlie because I love him” I saw the devastated look on his face but chose to ignore it. And just like that I watched Aiden head out, leaving me feeling hollow.

Did I just make the biggest mistake of my life?