Perfect Fit

Echo awakened with a start.

Another dream! It was so real. How can this be? I haven’t seen Harris in a year. And now all I can do is dream about him? Every night? Who am I, Alice in Wonderland? No thank you. Harris! Wherever you are, connect with me or leave me alone. Enough! I need to move on…

She flopped back onto her pillow and pulled blankets up to her chin. Let me sleep… Please!

Echo dozed and slipped back into dreamland.

Harris emerged from a dark forest. On seeing him, Echo caught her breath. She waited as he approached. A slight breeze caught her skirts.

Singing, a trio of larks soared over their heads. She and Harris watched them while holding hands. They laughed together. Paradise…

Echo awoke and groaned. Another dream…

“Enough fantasy… I want the real.” Bed creaking, she stepped onto the floor, wrapped her robe around her and opened her blinds. She half expected Harris to peek in from the third-floor ledge.

They had been perfect for each other. Even their astrologer matchmaker said “I’ve never seen stars more perfectly aligned. A slight glitch with moon signs… But not to worry. Even the Bard promised the course of true love was never meant to run smooth.”

The so-called glitch never manifested until… What was it again? Then, their perfect alignment paled like the moon at dawn.

Was it the moon’s fault? Haven’t heard from him in three hundred sixty days. Coming up on the anniversary of our last kiss. I don’t want that to be the last…

Echo thought she’d moved on but now, Harris was ever present, dreaming or awake.

If he’s back, where is he?

He’s calling me… but from where? Why now? Does he think of me? Is he alive? Must be. I would’ve heard. Wouldn’t I?

So close, I could almost touch him. Only a dream away…

“Call, Harris. Please… Just call me.”

On her balcony, Echo sipped her coffee from the mug Harris gave her. Distant birds circled over the trees in the park across the way.

Has anyone ever felt such love? I have no words for the constellation of emotions I wrestle with. Were such words ever invented? Love? Adoration? Trust? All fall short. Some long-lost civilization celebrated these feelings in lofty poems and songs. Gone. They cared too much.

Every attempt at expressing them sounds like pebbles plopping into a puddle.

With Harris, I lay awake with thoughts and images streaming through my brain. We were two, with one heart. Then it ended. Gone, with no good-bye. Poof.

Now I dream.

Echo looked at the cup Harris gave her. On its side, a picture of birds flying over distant trees. A figure, in silhouette, stood in the foreground, waving. It looked like Harris.

Was he always there? Why didn’t I notice?

Echo went to work. At lunch, she sat with her friend, Donna.

“It’s weird. It feels like he’s sending messages through my dreams. Half asleep, I reach out and expect him to be there.”

“It’s been months… You’re clutching at his memory. Not even him.”

Echo balked. “What do you mean? Focus Donna. I can’t get a decent night’s sleep with this hole in my heart.”

Donna touched her hand. “You sure you’re not just obsessing? You need to get out and fly girl… Distract yourself from that haunting past. Move on. Get a new guy. What about Chas?”

Echo made a face and shook her head.

“Why not? He adores you.”

“No chemistry… And, you know… he’s a Pisces.”

Donna put her hand to her mouth. “Oh… I didn’t know… Well, there are other guys.”

“Not like Harris.” Really. He’s one of a kind.

That was that.

Echo went to her appointment with the local curandera, Madame D’Range. The smell of incense filled the room.

The woman greeted Echo with prayerful hands and a shallow bow. “Nice to meet you. Take off your shoes and have a seat.”

Echo scanned the room. Every surface displayed a statuette of unnamed deities. One wall held a colorful tapestry depicting the heroic exploits of a goddess. She wielded a sword while riding a chariot. The heads of her enemies sailed through the air.

Madame D’Range sat opposite Echo. She poured them each small cups of aromatic tea. “So, what is this about?”

“I’m having dreams about my boyfriend… My ex, I guess. I haven’t seen him in almost a year.”

The psychic raised her eyebrows and sipped.

“So, you want the dreams to stop?”

“I want him back. My dreams are full of life. I’m desperate. His absence is stronger than any other presence. I need him in my real life.”

“Did you bring a personal object of his?”

Echo pulled a pair of socks from her purse. “He left these. I never washed them.”

Madame D’Range gave her a packet of lavender and instructions on how to use it with the socks to draw Harris back into her life.

“How soon does it take effect?”

“After you complete the ritual, you should see results in about a day.”

“How will I know it’s working?”

Madame D’Range chuckled. “Oh, you’ll know. There’ll be no doubt.”

Echo went home and performed the prescribed ritual. It felt good to do something positive. She felt her problem was finally getting solved.

That night, she dreamed again. She and Harris walked on a beach together. A flock of seagulls wheeled around them, one after another. Gliding with their wings spread, the birds looked like fanciful notes on a score. It was magical.

That morning, feeling energized, Echo drove to Malibu, near the beach, for a job interview. The manager had told her over the phone they looked forward to meeting her. This would be her dream job.

“Between you and me…” he said, “…your resume is impressive. The face to face is required, but at this point, I think it’s just a formality.”

The interview went well. Or so Echo thought. While driving home, the manager called to tell her they decided to take a different direction.

Echo couldn’t believe it. He said I was perfect. What went wrong? They were practically drooling...

Then it hit her. Harris. He didn’t want me to move to Malibu and fall in love with some rich surfer. He loves me that much.

Echo took solace in this evidence that her spell had worked. And that Harris was re-entering her life. All to the good, she thought.

She put on music to listen to while driving. What she and Harris called ‘their song’ came on. The signs were unmistakable. Harris was coming back. Echo bounced to the beat and sang along with it. She felt great.

The flashing lights in her rear-view mirror squelched her mood. A cop pulled her over and gave her a ticket for speeding and erratic driving.

What’s going on, Harris? That money was already set aside for getting my highlights done.

Then it dawned on her. Harris loves me as I am. He doesn’t need me prettier. He doesn’t want other guys looking at me. I never saw this jealous streak before.

I’m so glad you care…

Echo arrived home to find a notice in her mailbox from her landlord.

It read, ‘Rent increase. Effective at first of the month.’

Echo couldn’t believe it. It’s almost double. What is going on?

Walking into her apartment felt strange. The same old apartment. But now I’m putting on the Ritz.

Echo wanted to cry. But didn’t. She walked to the window and looked out to the distant trees.

Oh, I see. Harris wants me dependent. I’ll have to move in with him. I’ll be at his mercy… He wants to call all the shots. No way.

Echo’s phone buzzed with a Facebook update; a friend request from Harris. ‘Echo, it’s been a minute… I smell lavender everywhere and I can’t stop thinking of you. Let me tell you how much I’ve missed you.’

Mind blank, Echo stared at her phone. She watched her thumb, acting on its own, click ‘Decline.’

She called Donna. “What have I done? Harris just friend requested me and I ditched him.”

“You did? That’s fantastic. You go, girl!”

“How can I undo it? How can I…?”

“No way. It’s done. You were decisive. Congrats.”

“Really? Oh… You’re a good friend.”

“Let me know when you’re ready to take the next step. You won’t be lonely…”

Echo signed off.

She remembered. We were cuddling. Discussing the future… But he seemed distant. Said he needed to tell me… We met under false pretenses. When he went to the matchmaker, he falsified his chart. An experiment! We matched perfectly! Incredibly compatible. Never a glitch… But… I couldn’t be with an Aries. Despite everything, I knew, eventually, his true self would manifest. And then… I couldn’t… I couldn’t…

Content for the first time in forever, Echo relaxed. The eventful day had tired her. She shut the light. As soon as her head settled onto her pillow, she slept.

Echo dreamed she was walking toward a lush copse of tall trees. It was sunny and warm. She wanted to rest in the shade. Very quiet, there were no birds. Though she walked steadily, the trees did not get closer. They receded. The trees disappeared. Echo realized she was alone in a desert.

Clearly healed. No trace of yearning. Only the fading after-image of… she couldn’t remember what.