Paranormal Case 9

Chapter Six

When Valaria had called Travis to pick her up, she believed the meeting with the Leon's had gone very well. She felt particularly fortunate that Natalia was amenable to speaking with her. In addition, she was appreciative that the girl was so forthright about her condition, which by all accounts, seemed truly beyond her own understanding.

It was around seven-thirty when she was driven back to the Seven Gables Inn. It had been a full day and it seemed also so for Travis, who had worked that afternoon at the Cal State Monterey campus setting up his psychology summer course.

"So, it went well with the family?" he asked, as they pulled into the Lover's Point area.

"Totally, Travis. I'm so grateful to you for contacting me. And bringing me in on this case. The whole experience has been so rich."

They got out of the truck and began walking slowly along the flower-lined boardwalk in the direction of Valeria's hotel.

"I mean, so far the incidents the girl presents seem to have some evidence of actual telepathic transfer. There's signs of remote viewing a well. It will be pretty easy to establish this through simply researching the details of what she has said. Much as you had done initially with her story of the Chinese bone diggers."

"Yeah. A pretty strong case for paranormal activity there."

"And her naivete! Total Innocence about these things she speaks of . . . such an absence of experiencing them herself. That's an essential factor in this case. That kind of solid validity is pretty rare in most paranormal inquires."

"Well, I just thought the peculiarities surrounding this girl's behavior while asleep was worth some serious looking into. You seem to be just that element, Valeria."

They stopped as the coastline opened up to a small cove where people were sitting on benches above on the cliff. Preparing for the day's last light. The area seemed intended for such contemplation and perhaps romance for some.

"So . . . are you familiar with cases like this, involving sleep-talking?" Travis asked. "And where the subjects are oblivious to the behavior when they wake?"

"Well, this is my first chance to study it firsthand. I've read of certain celebrated cases involving this sort of paranormal activity during sleep. You've probably heard of Edgar Cayce, during the 1920's and 30's?"

"Oh yes . . . I believe he was known as . . ."

"The Sleeping Prophet."

"That's right. Supposedly made some pretty remarkable predictions about the future while sleep-talking. Many which have already come true."

"Not only. Cayce was documented making correct medical diagnoses of people, speaking authoritatively and using purely medical jargon. The things he said and prescribed could not be easily known or understood by a farm boy with only an eighth-grade education."

"Really? I wasn't aware of that."

"A lot of people don't want us to know these things, Travis. Let alone study them. Yet they're going on in rare instances in all countries. Generation after generation. Casey's case spanned decades and received a lot of exposure, due to the radio broadcasts that featured his alarming predictions. People just eventually started paying attention. Many of the things he said while in a trance-like sleep are just now making sense to us in our technological world."

"Wow . . . Like?"

"Like telling in the 1920's that the Japanese . . . only a minor military power in those times, would eventually be at war with the United States."

"Well, he was certainly right on that one. Pearl Harbor in 1941."

"There's a remarkable series of 'readings,' his followers called them. Visions he described while in a dream state and asleep."

"And this was all documented, you say?"

"Carefully. The sessions of his sleep narratives were written down and accurately recorded in those times. For instance, he spoke of a light beam being developed in the 1960's, some forty years later. He claimed the light would be so sharp and powerful, it could be used for surgery."

"The laser beam . . ."

"Many of Cayce's visions about the future had no relevancy in their time. When he spoke of them in his sleep. Only now are people seeing the connections to what he had predicted."

"Truly remarkable. So, do you believe Natalia might have this ability?"

"Not exactly. Her power isn't about future predictions or medical diagnoses. But she does seem to present through those nightly recitations some very real images. Scenes of things which actually have occurred but in the past. Most of what I learned about her paranormal activity is about reporting unseen events. As if she were there. Other things come to her more as events past and present but out of her reach. Out of her understanding. But nevertheless accurately."

"As in the clue of where the girls' bodies were buried in Monterey?"

"Right."

"So . . . can you explain all this . . . when it's so accurate?"

"Right now, I don't attempt any explanation, Travis. I'm just chasing it. To maybe get a better view myself."

"Well said," he responded. "And right now, I'll just be chasing some handouts I have to make for my students tonight . . . and hopefully a good night's sleep."

"And that's what I plan after some reading on the Net this evening. I have a list of things I want to cover. But I want to thank you again for this wonderful day, Travis."

He walked her across the street, to the gate of the Seven Gables.

"By the way, I know you'll be wanting to get back to the Leon house before you leave. Right?"

"Oh yes. Possibly tomorrow. It all depends on what comes up on the digital recorder I gave Natalia's mom. I'm hoping we get a good sampling of her voice and some subject matter. Let's hope it happens again tonight."

"Excellent, Valeria. Now just know . . . anything that comes up which would be of interest to the Monterey Police Department, I have an obligation to tell them. Involving our assistance."

"No guarantees we'll have anything more there. But I'll see what comes up."

"Perfect."

There was an awkward moment in parting when both wanted to show something of a growing attraction but were somehow too self-conscious to initiate it. Valeria solved this by reaching out to Travis for a warm hug. He complied, and for Valeria there was that immediate satisfaction of feeling a man surround her with his arms again. It had been a long time. Neither wanted the embrace to end, but for fear of it progressing into something they both were still uncertain about, they soon stepped apart. The evening for them concluded with a warm and satisfying 'good night.'

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