Chapter 2: Chapter 1: Surprise

It's Thursday, November 9th, 2017, 0920 am, location: Chicago.

I just parked my rental car in the parking garage and am now walking to a nearby gas station for a refill. Not for the car, but for me...because I'm in a desperate need for coffee. Yes, it's that cold this morning and the museum won't open for another 10 minutes. 

My coat is somewhat protecting me from the cold wind, but my ears are beyond frozen. God, I need to warm up. The gas station's doors slide open and I make a beeline for the coffee machine. Only a man who seems to be in his fifties is mopping the floor.  

I point at the coffee machine and ask him "Mornin. Can I get a coffee?"

"Help ya self, it's over there." He doesn't look at me, but still points to where the machine is located. 

"Right, thanks." I already knew where it was, thank you very much. But you never know if it's self-service or not. This one apparently is.

I walk over to the coffee machine and pay with some small change I have for emergencies like this. I choose "extra strong, no sugar, no cream." The machine then takes care of the rest and beeps to indicate when it's done creating the divine nectar.  

I grew up in a small town, and am used to always saying "hi" or "bye." I somehow always forget that city people don't have the time for these pleasantries. But still, I wave goodbye and say "thanks." 

Just before leaving the gas station, I can hear a "see ya."  
This makes me smile for a moment, and then I decide to head for the museum.

After a five minute walk, I find myself standing in front of the Chicago History Museum, waiting for the museum doors to open. Just a few more minutes before I can wait inside for my next interview subject to arrive. 
Lucky for me a big delivery truck, parked just in front of the museum, is sheltering me from one tormenting cold autumn gust after the other. Guess they were spot-on calling this the "windy city."

Sure, it's more winter than autumn, but that's not important. Important is the fact that my cold hands are now being warmed by a cup of coffee I got only minutes earlier. Oh god this is great. Life slowly starts to return to my previously frozen hands and the remaining coffee makes it down to my stomach way faster than I had hoped it would. I throw away the empty cup and decide to enter the museum, the exact moment when the museum doors open for a new day. 

The doors slide open and I enter the museum. Instantly I feel better as it's nice and warm inside. Well, compared to outside at least. 

"Morning," a young lady at the ticket window said, smiling at me. I wonder if she will still be so cheerful in the afternoon.

"Yes, good morning. Eh, a ticket for one, please," I said, while taking my wallet out of my jacket. 

After paying for my ticket, the still smiling young lady gives me the ticket and a receipt, then recommends a temporary exhibit about Egyptian influences on western art.

I thanked her for her suggestion, knowing that I didn't care for art at all. But she doesn't need to know that. Still, I'm honestly somewhat surprised that nobody here seems to care that an adult enters the museum in the early morning on a working day when they should probably have more important things to do. Well, I am at the job, technically speaking, so I don't feel guilty. Could have been my day off too, whatever, don't think about it, Robert.

 

After a few minutes of warming up, I open up my coat and put my scarf in my coat's pockets. My official Unexplained badge is proudly decorating the front side of my coat, so she can't possibly miss me.

While waiting for her to show up, I find myself lost in thought in the Abraham Lincoln exhibit, the place where we are supposed to meet. Honestly, Civil War history has never been my favorite subject, but I'm still fascinated by how many people visit this exhibit every day. I'm more of a dinosaur history kind of person. I always try to imagine myself standing next to such an enormous creature, feeling lucky they are the ones who went extinct. 

A security guard walks past me and we make eye contact for a second, I nod and decide to move on. He probably thinks that I'm a history nut for standing almost motionlessly in front of a painting for ten minutes already. Definitely time to move on...

After showing a fake interest in a few more paintings, I slowly get the creepy feeling that I have been set up here today. Maybe the guys in the office pranked me? My gut tells me the lady won't show up for the interview, don't ask me why. Well, the boss paid for the ticket, so I might as well enjoy myself, right? And if she does show up, I will still have some entertainment to look forward to.

Half an hour has passed when I notice more and more people entering this section of the museum, including a group of children who are probably on a school field trip. I pity them, most of them seem to be thoroughly bored. A guide is overloading them with history facts, while their teacher is making sure that they are paying attention.  

One little rascal escapes the teacher's clutches and approaches me. 

"Hey, Mister. Do you really like looking at paintings?" 

The boy must be around seven or eight years old. "Ah, morning. Well...not really. I am waiting here for someone."

"Yeah, I don't like this place either." 

Well, I didn't say that! "Maybe the other exhibits are more interesting?"

The kid looks at me in the universal "you've got to be kidding me" way, and says "no way, mister. This place is boring. They told us we would have a great day on a field trip. They lied!"

But before I could reply with a smile, I could hear the teacher call him "Pete, get back here now!"

Pete ran back to his teacher and said something that I was unable to hear..... "must be great to be an adult. No boring school."

At the same time I said, without anyone hearing me "it must be great to be a kid. Nothing to worry about except for school."

I move over to a rather large window and try to see if I see someone matching the description approaching the museum. Nothing. Just a school bus dropping off more kids. I can't suppress a smile when I see a female teacher forcefully picking up a little girl who is definitely not interested in leaving the bus. She puts her on the sidewalk where the other kids are waiting and seems to be scolding her for her behavior. Well, I feel sorry for her, but can't do anything about it. 

Deciding that this is my cue to get out of here, I walk to the art exhibit which is in the adjacent room. But right before leaving this room, I pass by an antique looking mirror. It's a full length standing mirror of a somewhat peculiar design. Along its edges are strange symbols I have never seen before. They remind me of Egyptian hieroglyphs. Let's just say that I would never want to have that ugly thing anywhere in my home.

But in the end a mirror is just a mirror, no matter how old or ugly it is.
I take some time to straighten my coat while observing myself in the mirror, and make sure that my badge is visible. Then I fix my disheveled hair a bit and only seconds later decide to just give up and go with the "windy" look. I wish this were a magic mirror from a fantasy story that shows you the real "you." This one however only shows me that I wasted my time shaving this morning, I definitely need to buy a new electric shaver.

I see some dust forming on the topside of the mirror and decide to be a nice person and help the museum's janitor to keep this place clean. My scarf appears to be an excellent duster and the dust vanishes in no time from the mirror. 

Nobody has noticed my little autumn cleaning, until I accidentally touch the top right edge of the mirror. ZAP!
"Ouch!" I shake my head when I realize that I'm sitting on my behind on the floor, feeling my heart beating at an insane speed in my throat. Did that thing just electrocute me? 

Everyone is now looking at me. The children are screaming and pointing towards me. The guard has witnessed the event, runs towards me and almost shouts at me "sir, are you alright?!!"

I gaze upwards and my eyes meet the guard's eyes who is looking down at me. "Yeah, I think I got zapped from that mirror," I point to the not-so-innocent-mirror and accept the guard's hand to get me up to my feet again. 

"Do you want me to call an ambulance? Just to check if you are okay?" The guard seemed truly concerned for my well-being. Or trying to prevent me from suing them...nah, he's genuinely concerned.

"No thanks. It just scared the hell out of me, I think I will be fine,"  I said, still trembling a bit on my feet.

"Thank god. Then at least join me for a coffee in the employee room. I will definitely have this room closed for inspection." The guard said, while inspecting the mirror.

I nod in agreement after which the guard addresses the other folks in the room "people, people, attention please. This exhibit will be closed for the day. Nothing to see over here, the man's just fine. Nothing happened, just go to the next exhibit please." He's using his hands to guide them to the next room, just like those people who guide taxiing aircraft to their destinations. 

"Aaaah..." a teacher said, sounding honestly disappointed. The students however weren't sorry at all, they left the room before the teacher did. That's probably my first good deed for today.  

I look around the room, everything looks normal. I feel normal, like nothing happened at all. Thank god for that. At least I have a story to tell my colleagues! That'll teach them to send me on a fool's errand!  

The guard returns to me and asks "how about that coffee?"

I ignore him and ask while pointing at the mirror "is there something special about that mirror? Is it supposed to be an attraction or something?"

"Nah, that's just an old one from the Egypt exhibit we had years ago. The management," he looks upwards for a moment and continues, "thought it looked better here. Kids are touching that ugly thing all day long. You should hear the janitor complaining about the fingerprints he needs to clean everyday. Anyway, I have no idea why it zapped you. Maybe you are just positively charged?" He smiled, no he grinned when he said that.

"Is that a joke? Like....really?" I asked, smiling and looking impressed by his wit. 

"Yeah, I just tried to cheer you up. Hey...what is that?" He points at the mirror.

I turn around and face the mirror....which shows a security guard smiling at a good joke and a surprised looking visitor who has a new electric hair style, all hairs standing up, like I used too much hair conditioner. 

"Oh, for crying out loud,"  I said.

Then we both laughed really loud, until.... the mirror....it changed. 

"What the f.." we both said at the same time. Looking at each other, then back at the mirror.

We both see an image in the mirror. It's more like a television screen than a mirror now. There can be no mistake, we see a presumably live image of Times Square, New York.

"Please, tell me that this is part of the exhibit," I asked, looking genuinely surprised at the guard.

"No sir. That's not supposed to happen at all." His expression is serious, but also shows interest. This really wasn't supposed to be happening. He's as confused as I am.

We both inspect the mirror from all sides, but there are no cables or any places that could hide a TV set or power source.

"You're from that spooky magazine, right?" the guard said.

"If you mean The Unexplained Magazine, then yes. Have you read it?" I looked surprised.

"Eh, no. But I guess you have something to write about again today." The guard said, grinning. 

"Yeah, it's probably just a prank though. Can I have a closer look? I want to take some pictures, nobody is going to believe me otherwise. Maybe I can even interview you as a witness?"

"Little old me? Sure, by all means. Nothing exciting ever happens here anyway. But not here, I really need to close the exhibit now. Safety first stuff, you know? Just don't touch that thing." He points at the mirror, which still shows the same image.

"Sure, I understand. Just some pictures and then time for coffee."

The guard is blocking access to this room by placing exhibition barriers here and there. It makes the place safe and still appear "normal."

I approach the mirror again, and carefully take pictures with my phone and record a video as well. Then I notice that my scarf, a.k.a. "The Duster" is still attached to the mirror. And...of course a few strands are stuck in the frame.

I pull at the scarf, but it's still stuck, so I pull with a bit more force...but I overdid it. The mirror suddenly leans forward and falls right on top of me, pushing me to the floor again. "Ouch!" This thing is heavier than it looks! My hands are trying to protect me from harm in a reflex, but surprisingly...there's no sound of glass breaking. I can feel the cold surface of the glass on my hands. Then, just when I'm about to push it away,  I get zapped again...

You are reading story Paradox at novel35.com

Without any warning, in the blink of an eye, I see a delivery truck passing me by, then I suddenly hear the familiar loud sounds of cars passing me by while the drivers are honking their car horns. 
I stand up in a split second and see that I'm standing right in the middle of Times Square, only inches away from death by bumper.
Drivers are slamming the breaks and the sound of screeching tires can be heard all around me. WTF?
What happened? I find a way between the cars while people are giving me the finger and some are shouting some remarks like "freak!" and other remarks which I don't particularly care to repeat. 

Finally I make it to the other side and instantly want to sit down on the curb, but I can't. There are people all around me, I feel like I am squeezed like a lemon. Nobody seems to care about my near death experience.  Then I hear a police siren coming closer and a loud voice is asking people to stand back, leaving me standing all alone next to a barber shop. 
What happened? It's so cold out here. I look down...are those....slippers? So that's why I'm freezing.
I feel my pockets, but...where's my coat? My phone! It's gone!

A female police officer steps out of the police car and approaches me while I'm standing with my back flat against the wall, still scared to death while my thoughts are racing.   

The officer says "miss, are you okay? Do you need an ambulance?"

I make eye contact and shake my head. Then I realized what she said. Did she really say "miss?"

"Maybe you should come with me? You know, maybe talk a bit at the station..all nice, warm and relaxing."

I nod, still unable to talk due to the stress.

"Alright, get in there please. People, nothing to see here, step back." 
The crowd already wanted to walk past us, not caring what had happened here for a bit.

The officer scans my appearance from head to toe and back, then helps me to get in the back of the car, pushing my head down so I wouldn't hurt myself. She closes the door and then also enters the car. She signals her partner to start the engine, and then turns around to look at me.

"What's your name, miss?"

"Miss? I'm a guy!" But now that I have stated this fact, I realize that my voice is off, so I cough and try to speak again. "I'm a guy, officer!" But that again isn't my own voice. It definitely sounded feminine.

"Really? So...cosplaying then, huh?" The officer is probably only trying to help me relax.

"Wha???? No way! I'm definitely not cosplaying, officer." Then I look down and see something...different.

Why am I wearing some weird dress?  And...are those....?

My thoughts are interrupted when I see the police officer focus on top of my head. Curious about her gaze I touch my head at that same spot. WTF? Something furry is..."Ouch!" It's firmly attached! Is it glued on?

"Officer, you have to believe me. I was in a museum just a minute ago, and then POOF I ended up in the middle of the road!"

"Sure you are honey. Just try to relax, okay?"  She uses the radio "Officer 2041 to dispatch. We have a 10-56." (intoxicated pedestrian)

"Dispatch to officer 2041. 10-4. approved for 10-19"  (Copy that. Return to station). 

"Officer 2041 to dispatch. 10-4."  (Copy that). 

"Hey, please don't throw up back in there," the driver, a male police officer, said. 

"What? I'm not drunk, officer!" I said, feeling insulted as I would never throw up in a car, let alone in the back of a police car.

The police siren activates for a few seconds so bystanders can get out of the way, then the car joins the other traffic on the road. 

 

My mind is racing to piece together what has happened to me. But nothing is making any sense. First I was in the museum and then I appeared in the middle of traffic. Now I seem to be wearing some kind of weird dress. Did somebody drug me? Did I really lose my mind earlier today and somehow started dressing like a woman?

My thoughts are again interrupted by the female officer talking to me.

"Are you okay back there?"

"Eh...not really....officer. I don't know what's happening to me." Without realizing it, tears are falling from my eyes. Must be stress, sure that's probably why.

"Just hang in there, I think it's better if we go to the hospital instead."

"Yes officer."  I say meekly.

"Officer 2041 to dispatch. 10-76 to hospital." (proceeding to hospital).

"Dispatch to....officer 2041... 10-4."

The police car's sirens activate and we rush through New York's crowded streets, heading for the hospital.

The hospital is then notified that we are en route to them, while the officer keeps checking if I'm remaining conscious.  

While thinking about whatever has happened to me, I feel some pressure on my back. But it's more of a warmth, nothing hurtful. Maybe this dress or whatever it is, is just too tight. But what could that stuff on top of my head be? And why would someone glue that on top of my head? Most importantly....when did they even do that? 

After a few more minutes of racing thoughts, the sirens stop and we stop directly in front of the emergency entrance where medical staff is waiting for me. The officer helps me out of the police car and helps me to sit down on a wheelchair while the hospital staff rush me inside to the emergency room. The male officer parks the police car to give her some time to discuss the situation with the medical team.

"What happened?" A man, presumably a doctor, asked the female officer while we were rushing inside.

"We found her walking through heavy traffic on Times Square. She seems very confused so I thought of a possible stroke or something. She really believes she's a guy and moments ago started crying back in the car." 

Really? They are talking about me as if I weren't here! I'm not going insane!
"But I AM a guy! Why do you insist I am not?" I then start shivering in the wheelchair as my dress or whatever it is, is not suited for November temperatures. 

"See?" the officer added, while one of the doctors blinded me by using a small flashlight to check my pupil's response. A nurse put a plain gray blanket around me, for which I was very grateful. 

"Okay officer, I understand. There seems to be no immediate danger, she's probably only in shock. Thank you for the assistance and we will take over from here. We will contact the police later today."

"Okay, thank you." And the officer turns around to join her partner in the police car. 

The medical staff then push me inside a room, but at a more relaxed speed. Then all sorts of things start to happen at the same time. People are asking me all sorts of questions while others are drawing some of my blood for analysis. 

"Miss, what's your name?" a female nurse asks.

"Eh...Robert."  I cough because my voice sounds strange again. Probably a cold. "Robert Moss." I say with a lower tone of voice. I am still a bit confused, trying to make sense of all that is happening to me.

The nurse looks surprised at the strange name, as she probably also assumes that I'm a woman, but decides to just go along with things.

"Ehh. Robert. Do you remember where you live?"

"Sure. I live close to Seattle and I work for Unexplained Magazine."

"Okay, can we leave you here for a minute while we wait for the results to come back?"

"Sure, nurse. Sorry to be a bother to you."

"Don't worry honey, it's part of the job." 

She's really nice, huh? But calling me honey? I'm at least ten years older than she is!

She then leaves me alone between other patients in a waiting room, while a receptionist keeps a watchful eye on the people here, including me.

 

After waiting for about fifteen minutes in the waiting room, the nurse from earlier returns and says "alright Robert, we have some results. Let's talk in private, shall we?"

I want to nod, but she's already pushing me into a nearby examination room after checking that the room isn't currently occupied. Then she sits down next to me on one of the chairs against the wall. She makes eye contact, really staring into my eyes, and then starts explaining.

"Robert, your pupil responses, blood pressure and oxygen levels are all normal. We found no alcohol or other foreign substances in your blood. Your white blood cell count is unusually high. Your body might be fighting an infection and you should be running a fever, but you really seem fine. Your vitamin and iron levels are also substantially higher than average. Are you using any supplements?" 

"No, not at all." I shook my head. It makes no sense, I honestly don't really eat that much healthy food. So I would expect lower levels, but higher? Never.

"That's strange. Anyway, those levels are not dangerous to your health. Be sure to follow up with your doctor.
To summarize...you are in no immediate danger. The both of us can have a normal conversation, so it's more likely that you were only in shock. So...physically you seem to be alright. Just relax and take it easy for a while...and..."

I nod, waiting for her to continue.

"And..regarding the relaxing part. The doctor wants to at least have you monitored for another twenty-four hours by other medical staff. You see, you are in the emergency room right now and don't need any emergency treatment. Do you understand?"

I nod again. "Of course, I don't want to be in your way."

The nurse then gives me something to drink and again sits next to me, smiling and telling me that all will be fine. "Thank you for understanding. This stuff will make you feel a bit sleepy, but I promise you will be fine, okay?"

I nodded and said "of course. I'm really, really grateful for your help. I'm so relieved." 

She smiled, which made me smile as well. 

But then....then something strange is happening. I start feeling really cold. I can hear strange whooshing sounds all around me. The room starts getting eerily quiet and I feel a warm sensation on the front side of my head, slowly expanding.

I can barely hear the nurse say something to another person, "those ears seem to be implants. But she also has..."

At this point my vision slowly becomes darker and darker until I pass out.