― Ray Bradbury
Clare
I lost my wife in a plane crash ten years ago and my life fell apart as a result.
In the years that followed I struggled with depression and tried to self-medicate by taking to drink, but of course, that was bad deal and caused my work to decline.
I lost my self respect and my friends and finally ended up losing my job as a reporter at The Toronto Telegram.
I guess I reached bottom the night I tried to commit suicide by jumping off my apartment roof only to be rescued by my landlord.
Yet bad as that was, the night marked a turning point—I realized what I was doing and resolved to make a change in my life.
Well, that was the plan and I believe I would have kept my resolution, but something happened that completely caused me to come undone.
You see, the very next morning after I figured my life out, I went for a walk by our old house and was stunned to see my wife come out and drive away in a car that looked exactly like the one we owned when we lived there.
So, there you have it—something that's impossible to be true, but it happened.
Now you know why I have to put everything on hold while I try to come to grips with what I saw.
This is a major crisis no matter how I spin it—either I’m suffering from some type of psychotic delusion or alcohol has completely messed up my mind.
I need somebody to help me sort through this mess and it can’t be my cynical landlord—his sarcastic attitude would drive me back to the booze.
But the problem is I’ve lost contact with everyone in my life and the last time I saw my work colleagues was five years ago.
But I do need somebody sane to give me some perspective.
I go on Facebook and do a search but the only person I can readily find is Clare Linwood, a girl younger than me that I worked closely with at the paper.
Contacting Clare will be tricky though. I always kept the relationship at arms length because I sensed she and I were becoming too close.
Clare would often joke about being my work spouse, so I tried to open some distance between us.
But she was the only one I could ever really talk to at work, despite the fact I felt her a danger to my marriage.
Still, she was open and caring and that's exactly what I need now.
After a brief hesitation, I text her and anxiously wait for a reply.
She gets back a few hours later and after a few pleasantries I suggest we get together for drinks.
I use the excuse that I'm interested in getting back into the newspaper game and wonder if she'd share some contacts.
She agrees to meet and we set up a dinner date at The Sly Foxe.
I have no idea if there's still chemistry between us but hopefully she’ll still be the same caring person and open to listening.
I just hope at the end of our conversation she won’t think me certifiably insane.