KIMMY'S LIST

CONTINUED….

One week later it happened again, another nocturnal visitor in Kimmy’s dreams. This time she didn’t wake up. She slept through until her phone alarm disturbed her sleep.

After her shower, Kimmy wandered into the kitchen. The tantalising smell of toast and freshly brewed coffee welcomed her. She smiled at Boyd enjoying his breakfast, when she entered.

‘Morning, Hun…’ she said.

‘What time did you get in…?’ She shuffled over to the coffee percolator, grabbed a mug and poured herself a cup. She breathed in the wafting aroma.

Boyd’s eyes lifted to the wall clock. ‘About twenty minutes ago…’

‘How was work?’ Kimmy held her mug with both hands while she sipped on her coffee. She leaned back against the sink.

Quiet. We only had three call outs all night.’ He lifted a finger. ‘A heart attack…’ He lifted a second finger. ‘A drug overdose…and an assault victim,’ he said lifting a third finger. ‘All were transported and all survived, which is good. How about you…? How’d you sleep…? No dream time visitors,’ he asked with a hint of flippancy.

‘As a matter of fact… I had another visitor during the night…’

‘Really…? Same one?’

‘No. A different one this time…a man. I hadn’t seen him before, either.’

‘Did he want help too?’ Boyd said with a cynical smirk.

‘He did.’

‘Really, Erm…’ He said, riddled with disappointment. ‘Surely you’re not believing this is actually happening.

You don’t believe you are being visited by dead people…Do you?’ His tone pleaded with his wife.

‘It seems so real…They actually talk to me.’

Boyd scoffed then sipped on his coffee. He replaced his cup. ‘You know who you sound like…?’ He began. ‘One of those nutters at that seminar we went to, the ones who believed they actually talked to the dead.’

Kimmy didn’t respond.

His words cut deep. She expected unconditional support from her husband, not ridicule. These nocturnal visions, while no longer distressing, still concerned her.

‘What did this one ask you to do?’ Boyd asked.

‘Same thing as the young woman…He wanted me to help find him, so his wife knew where he was. He looked about mid-thirties and was dressed in bike riding gear. I asked him if he was a rider. He said he was. He said he was near Airey’s Inlet but he doesn’t know where. It was dark where he was and wanted help to find him.’

‘Was he injured?’

‘I don’t know. He said his neck was sore though…’

‘Maybe he fell from his bike and broke his neck…that is of course, assuming all this is real,’ Boyd said.

‘I think it is…’ Kimmy said.

‘I genuinely think all this is actually happening. These are dead people talking to me.’

‘Coz you have…’ Boyd held up quotation mark fingers.

‘The gift, hey…’ he said, riddled with cynicism.

Kimmy glared at Boyd. ‘You need to go to bed and I need to go to work…’ She emptied the dregs from her cup into the sink and placed it in the dishwasher.

‘Come on Kim…I’m only teasing you. Look at it from my perspective.’

‘No…’ Kimmy snapped.

‘You look at it from my perspective…I’m the one being visited by these….these……’

‘Ghosts!’ Boyd said with a smirk.

‘People….’ Kimmy said. She glared at Boyd. ‘I’m the one who has to reassure myself that I’m not going crazy. I’m the one who has to cope with all this happening around me. And the one person I thought I could rely on for support, ridicules me.

Thank you very much. I’ll see you tonight.’ She gathered her hand bag and car keys and stormed out of the kitchen, ignoring Boyd’s please to come back and talk about it.

Emily and Naomi casually strolled to their favourite café for their morning coffee break. It was an opportune time to update Naomi on everything that had happened, without prying, judgemental ears listening in.

She knew everything about these dream - time visits sounded absurd to the average punter, but to her, it was all very real. Fortunately Naomi didn’t judge her. In fact, she seemed genuinely interested. More importantly, she was supportive.

Naomi opened the café door and allowed Kimmy to enter first. ‘So, let me see if I’ve got this,’ Naomi said, following Kimmy inside. ‘Two people have visited you…’ Naomi glanced around the busy café. ‘In your sleep,’ she said in a lower tone.

‘And each one asked for your help to locate them….?’

The girls joined the back of the order queue that snaked back towards the front door.

‘That’s right…’ Kimmy said.

‘How do you plan to do that….?’

‘I don’t know … I wouldn’t know where to start.’

‘What does Boyd say about all this….?’

Kimmy glared at Naomi.

‘He says they’re just dreams….’

Naomi waved her hand.

‘What would he know….He’s just a male. I wonder how each one died…?’

Naomi said with a tone of excitement. ‘I wonder if they had an accident and haven’t been found. Maybe that is why they want your help…’

That right there was why she loved her friend so much. Even with something so weird, something as questionable as these night visits from dead people, Naomi still supported and believed her, almost unconditionally. Kimmy knew in her own mind that if it was Naomi who had these night visits, her cynical nature wouldn’t be so believing.

‘Surely their family know where they are,’ Kimmy said. ‘They would probably have buried them after their funerals…’

‘What if they are missing…?’ Naomi said.

‘What if their families don’t know where they are and they haven’t had a funeral…?’

They reached the front of the line. The waitress caught Naomi’s eyes. ‘Oh, I’ve got this,’ she said, then moved to place their order. Kimmy moved off to the side.

When Naomi joined Kimmy, she continued. ‘If they are missing, the cops would have a missing person report for them.’

Kimmy shrugged. ‘Maybe.’

‘You should go see the cops and tell them what you know. It might help them.’

Kimmy glared at Naomi, holding it for an extended awkward period.

‘What?’ Naomi said.

‘You want me to go to the cops and tell them that I was ….’ Kimmy paused to check her surrounds.

‘Visited by dead people in my sleep and I think these dead people might be missing persons….? They’ll probably lock me up, or certify me, or something.’

‘I see your point…’

‘Even if I did do that, I can’t help the cops,’ Kimmy stressed. ‘I don’t know where these two people are.’

‘Order for Naomi’ the Barista shouted.

‘You’re right,’ Naomi said. She pushed herself from the side wall and collected their order. She handed Kimmy her coffee and they exited the café.

‘Maybe they will re-visit you and tell you more information, Kimmy’

Kimmy shrugged as she sipped on her coffee. ‘Who knows?’

Naomi opened her browser as she strolled. She thumbed something into her phone. ‘Hey, Kim, did you know there are thirty - three people missing in Oolong at the moment, all of whom are suspected of having met with foul play?’

‘I didn’t know that.’

Naomi’s eyes remained buried in her phone as she scrolled through the missing person website pages. She stopped walking. Kimmy continued a few steps then stopped and turned back. Naomi’s eyes were wide as she stared into her phone.

‘What’s up Nomes….?’

Naomi’s eyes slowly lifted to Kimmy. ‘What did you say that woman looked like…the one who visited you and spoke to you…?’

Kimmy moved back to Naomi. ‘Um. She had red hair and green eyes. Looked mid - twenties, or so. Why?’

Naomi spun her phone display to face Kimmy. Kimmy squinted then took the phone. Her eyebrows arched and her mouth fell open. ‘That’s her. That’s the woman who visited me…’ Kimmy said. ‘Is she a missing person?’

Naomi took the phone back. ‘This is the Oolong Police Missing Person website, so …yeah, she is a missing person.’ Naomi read the page. ‘Her name is Sarah Moon. She is twenty - six. Went missing from Oolong CBD about six months ago.’ Naomi’s excited eyes lifted to Kimmy. ‘This is the woman who visited you in your dreams, Kim…You know what that means…?’

‘No, What?’

‘You’re not crazy. She must be dead, that is why she visited you.’

‘Can I have a look at that?’ Kimmy accepted Naomi’s phone and visited the photos of all thirty - three missing people. “This one here…’ She turned the display to Naomi.

‘She looks like one of the women who had visited me in the past. This one never spoke to me, though.’

Naomi read from the screen. ‘Jenny Cox. Twenty - six. Left to visit her parents in Beached Marsh. She never arrived. Missing twenty - two months. Twenty - two months, Kimm..She’d have to be dead.’

Kimmy took the phone.

‘This one here…This guy with the beard. This Brian Taylor. I’m sure he has visited me as well.’ Kimmy continued to visit the various pages of faces. ‘I reckon this one here, and this one here, have both visited me at some time in the past as well. They look so familiar.’

‘If they did visit you Kimm, then that means they are all probably dead.’

Kimmy shuddered. ‘This is too much to take in…’ She handed Naomi back her phone. She checked her watch. ‘Oh, shoot. We better move it. We’re running late.’

‘Good thing these coffees have lids…’ Naomi said as they quickened their pace back to their desks.