Already Gone Read online

  "I don't see anything, unusual son. You sure you're OK? Too much to drink perhaps?"

  "It's as though I have a new pair of glasses and I see things how they really are," Marcus babbled. "Some new dimension has opened up for me. The people on the beach, there's more to them than meets the eye. I see a kind of an opaque glow around each one of them."

  Shuffling in his seat the old man replied, "Perhaps you're getting a glimpse of their soul." "What?" Marcus replied with a jerk. "Their soul. The glow you see around them. It's akin to what Paracelsus postulated. That we are much more than our physical body."

  "Paracelsus?" Marcus responded sounding surprised.

  "Yes, Auroleus Phillipus Theostratus Bombastus von Hohenheim, immortalized as Paracelsus. Paracelsus, in my opinion, is the father of modern medicine. He was a controversial 16th-century scientist and healer who challenged the medical world's reliance on classical texts with his holistic approach, an approach that is popular with many people today. As a physician, I've admired his work and studied his teachings."

  "You're a doctor?" Marcus asked. A note of irritation entered the old man's voice, "Don't judge by appearances son. Yes, I am. I had a practice in Berlin for many years. I'm Doctor Adolph Fechtmann. I believe it's time we introduced ourselves."

  "Of course," Marcus replied holding out his hand. "I'm Marcus Reno; Doctor pleased to meet you." "And I you Marcus. Please call me Adolph." "You were saying about Paracelsus?" Marcus continued. "Yes, well Paracelsus believed that we are much more than our physical bodies. We are what he called the Anthropos. The Anthropos or soul, as he would say, is immortal."

  Looking shocked Marcus replied, "I've heard that before Adolph. I attended a meeting yesterday and we discussed the work of Paracelsus. It’s very odd though as I’m sure I’ve had a conversation about him in the past with someone but I can’t recall who." "Perhaps you've read the book Paracelsus by Franz Hartmann?" "Nope, never heard of it."

  "In any event, what you're seeing may be their Anthropos or at the very least their aura. Quite frankly, I'm amazed that you see anything out of the ordinary at all. You're having a spiritual experience, Marcus. Or perhaps, what you’re experiencing is akin to slipping into remembering or awakening. You’re remembering something from the past. From a past life perhaps or a past encounter with someone."

  Fechtmann was a short man with close-cropped, gray hair. He had a down-to-earth approach to clothes as he did to most other things except for his interest in holistic medicine and occult sciences. Late sixties, divorced and quite well off financially he had the time and resources to travel extensively and explore his interests.

  Pointing towards the shoreline he continued, "Look at that couple over there sunning on the beach. Do you still see a glow around them, Marcus?" "I do, yes. It's getting fainter, but it's still visible. The glow surrounding the male’s body is a bluish color with white streaks while the woman’s body emits a violet hue. This is incredible."

  "Stay with it for as long as you can Marcus." "It's all beginning to fade now Doctor. I'm losing the vision." "You seem to be familiar with these kinds of things Adolph." Laughing out loud Adolph replied, "If by these kind of things you mean spiritualism or occult sciences than yes I am. My clinic in Berlin specializes in holistic medicine and past life regression. In fact, that's why I'm here. I'm to give a presentation on past life regression at the University tomorrow afternoon."

  "Past life regression? Another coincidence," Marcus declared. "There's something more going on here than meets the eye."

  "How so?"

  "What made you decide to sit down on this particular bench today Doctor?" "It's odd that you ask. I don't know, I just had a very strong feeling that it was the appropriate thing to do at the time," he replied.

  "Do you know a Doctor Billingsley here on Honolulu by chance?" Marcus asked. "Peter Billingsley? Why, yes I do. Peter and I are guest speakers at tomorrow's seminar." "Oh man, this is too much," Marcus exclaimed rubbing the back of his neck.

  "What do you know about past life regression Marcus? Are you a patient of Peters?" "I'm not, no," he replied. "But a close friend of mine was." "Well, this is a coincidence isn’t it? One might almost call it a synchronicity."

  "That's another term I keep hearing—synchronicity."

  "OK, here's another question for you Adolph. Are you familiar with a Doctor Albrecht?" "Robert Albrecht? Yes, I am. He's well known in our field. In fact, we coauthored a paper on hypnotherapy some years ago." Scratching his head, Marcus exclaimed, "This is unbelievable. Did Albrecht ask you to meet me here today?"

  "No, of course not. I haven't spoken to Robert in over a year. Where are you going with this Marcus?” "I'm not sure Doc. Humor me a bit longer. You ever hear of the Mandela?" "Afraid not son unless you're referring to Nelson Mandela, the deceased South African anti-apartheid leader.”

  "No, never mind just going out on a limb here. How about a Vidur Padmavati?" "No, I don't know him. How is it that you're acquainted with Doctor Albrecht?" "He's an acquaintance of mine from San Diego,” Marcus replied. “Sorry, that I'm rambling here Adolph I'm just trying to figure all this out."

  "I'll try and help if I can son. But first, tell me how you know Doctor Albrecht." Leaving out the parts of the story involving Roy Dunn, Marcus recounted how he met Albrecht and Cracker's recent experience with Billingsley.

  "That's quite a story Marcus. I can't pretend to understand why your spiritual experience happened when it did just now, but perhaps it has something to do with your exposure to this Mandela outfit. I'm afraid all I can offer is another observation from Paracelsus: He would say that the particular life in which you are currently engaged, with what you think is all your being, is only one of an infinite number of lives of which you, the Anthropos or Soul, can experience. It's quite likely that your soul is waking up now while you are alive rather than after you are dead."

  "Is that even possible?" Marcus exclaimed.

  "I believe it is both possible and beneficial for a soul to wake up while alive to discover that its current life is not all there is but one of many."

  Marcus felt a gentle tap on his shoulder and turned around to find Maggie standing behind him. "Four o'clock on the dot Marcus. Glad to see you," she said with a smile. Rising to his feet Marcus replied, "Maggie, I'd like you to meet Doctor Adolph Fechtmann. The Doctor and I have been sitting here chatting for the last hour."

  Taking in her astonishing beauty the Doctor replied, "Please call me Adolph." "My pleasure Adolph," she replied walking around the bench to shake his hand. "Are you here on vacation?"

  "Yes, that and business as well. As a matter of fact, I should attend to that business now. Enough lolling around the beach." "I must be off," he said turning towards Marcus. "I have a dinner date and I need to get back to the hotel and change. Pleasure to meet you, Marjorie. Enjoy the rest of your day and—Namaste."

  "What did you say?" Marcus exclaimed looking shocked. Walking away and looking over his shoulder the old man said, "It's an old saying from India. Namaste, it means the spirit in me salutes the spirit in you."

  "I'll be damned," Marcus said aloud rubbing the back of his neck. "What's the matter, Marcus? You look like you've seen a ghost?" Maggie asked. Looking stunned he replied, "You don't know the half of it, Maggie." Taking a seat on the bench Marcus motioned Maggie to join him.

  "For days now I've been wondering just what I would say to you," he stammered. Turning towards him Maggie replied, "You can start with telling me more about what happened to Cracker. I'm sure her death was a tremendous shock to you."

  "It was," he replied. "Still is, in fact. Willy phoned this morning with news about her funeral. He's trying to get in touch with her family to inquire about the arrangements."

  "And how is the professor? Are you two going to continue your search for buried James gang treasure in Oklahoma?" "I can’t speak for Willy but, that's over for me now. Willy’s returning to San Diego shortly and I've embarked on a new life here on Oahu. A life I
'm hoping to share with you," he replied hopefully. "That's a bit presumptuous Marcus. I don't know that anything has changed between us," she replied with a flip of her hair.

  "Listen, Maggie, for a long time, a big part of my identity was as a hustler and a card cheat. That's over now. I've made amends with Robert and I'm trying to do the same with you. After the beating, I took from Roy Dunn I'm just happy to be alive. I've got a good job now and a place of my own. It's a start. A fresh start. So how about a fresh start for us?"

  Looking intently into his eyes Maggie replied, "Holly won't approve, but maybe I'll consider it. But let me be clear Marcus, we start over completely from day one. No more hustling, gambling or cheating on your part. And you know full well what I mean by cheating."

  "Agreed," he replied with a smile. "Shall we seal our agreement with a drink over at the Shore Bird?" "I can't right now," she declared. "Sorry to rush off so quickly but work called and they need me to come in and sub for someone who's ill. How about tomorrow at six instead? I'll meet you there then, and we'll see how things go between us."

  "You got it," he replied enthusiastically.

  ≈≈≈≈≈≈

  The next morning Marcus awoke to the sound of birds chirping outside his bedroom window. Pulling the curtains to the side and peering out he could scarcely believe what he saw. It was like there was a tear in the fabric of life. His consciousness had once again expanded somehow. Everything was fresh, vivid and shown in a brilliant light. The world was the same but infinitely richer and better with greater depth. He didn't want to move or to try to do anything that might interrupt the grandeur of the moment.

  Everything was more there somehow. More alive and solid. "This is indescribable," he said aloud. "This makes the old world seem shoddy and dull."

  A new thought arose in his mind. A new thought that the reality one experiences is not an objective world out there. It is our own creation, our way of choosing from and interacting with a reality far richer in promise than ever imagined.

  Continuing to stare at the dazzling scene outside his window the thought arose that you can come awake from your normal waking state, and that is the natural next step for consciousness to follow—one for which your biology has already equipped you. Once you have had a peek at awakening you know it firsthand. That is your purpose—to awaken.

  "How do I keep this as my predominant state?" Marcus said aloud.

  Immediately, the thought came to him that you will shift back and forth from this heightened state of awareness and your normal state of consciousness again and again until you can maintain it for longer periods. This awareness can be used as the first of a series of steps, leading to deeper states of consciousness. These physical cues can help you distinguish between this state of consciousness and the usual predominating one. You have only to recognize it, learn to hold it and then proceed to experiment with its use.

  The vivid scene in his back yard began to fade. As the colors dimmed, and the brilliant light diminished, he asked one last question—"What am I to do with this? What is my purpose with this?"

  An answer appeared to him immediately—your purpose is to awaken and to assist others in awakening as well. Remember -- You always have a second chance. You may come back to your current life as many times as you wish until you have completed what you came to Earth to experience this time. You brought yourself to the material world to remember who you really are. When you were born, you caused yourself to forget who you really are. You did so in order to play the great game of life. This game of life exists to teach you that you create the world that you know through your expectations and your beliefs. You are a being of divine proportions, knowing no limitation.

  "How do I awaken others to this?" he asked as the scene faded further. "How am I to do this?"

  By remembering. Remembering that which you had forgotten — there is no reason to fear death—You never die—You just change form. This life is but one of many. Inform others and help them to awaken to this truth.

  “How do I inform others?"

  Write a book Namaste, Write a book!

  “What should the title of this book be?”

  Name the book – Already Gone.

  * * *

  Epilogue

  ROY Dunn was stripped of his pension and given a dishonorable discharge from the Navy for the beating he gave Marcus. He's currently working as a bouncer at The Glade.

  Doctor Peter Billingsley published his book on Past Life Regression. It became a best seller in the field. He dedicated the book to Virginia McCracken.

  Convinced that Jesse James did not die at the hands of Bob Ford, Robert Albrecht continues his search for what really became of Jesse.

  Willy was last seen in downtown San Diego with a heavy bag of broken glass in his hand.

  Maggie and Marcus started over and rented an apartment together in the town of Haleiwa on the North Shore of Oahu. Maggie received a promotion to General Manager at the Hiwakulani. Marcus spends his days running the Mandela distribution center and his evenings writing a book on death and crossing over.

  Frank James died a peaceful death at the age of 72 in 1915.

  History notes that his brother Jesse died from a bullet to the head at the age of 35 in 1882. J. Frank Dalton died in 1951 at the age of 103 and was buried in Granbury, Texas. The funeral home, upon examining his remains found markings on the body including a missing fingertip that matched the records of Jesse James. Is the real Jesse James buried in Granbury, Texas?

  The two million dollars in gold and silver, the brothers buried in a ravine in the Wichita Mountains in 1875, has reportedly never been found.

  And Cracker?—Virginia McCracken didn’t believe in a life after death. She traveled to the Waymeet and was met there by Sumantra.

  But that's another story.

  The End

  Connect with the Author

  John Fluent

  twitter: alreadygone1949

  email: [email protected]

  facebook: alreadygone1949

  John Fluent is a freelance writer hailing from

  Vernon Hills, Illinois.

  Already Gone is his debut novel.

  Thank you for reading my book.

  If you enjoyed it, please take a moment to leave a review on Amazon.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One Sumantra

  Chapter Two Marvin Gardens

  Chapter Three La Jolla

  Chapter Four The Hiwakulani

  Chapter Five Ford Island

  Chapter Six The Somerset

  Chapter Seven The Glade

  Chapter Eight Rum Jungle

  Chapter Nine Angus O'Toole's

  Chapter Ten The Pagoda

  Chapter Eleven Already Gone

  Chapter Twelve The KGC

  Chapter Thirteen Déjà Vu

  Chapter Fourteen The Mandela

  Chapter Fifteen Buzzard's Roost

  Chapter Sixteen Namaste