Between One Step and the Next, Part 1

Sam Wells sat on a bench and tried not to cry. He had just come from a frustrating meeting with a government agency and was debating in his head what he should do next. Months of underemployment had left him on the edge of losing his home, but nobody seemed able to help him.

He finally gathered himself, and looked around him. Across the street was The Arch, a rather unique work of art. It looked like two streetlamp poles placed two and half feet apart, on a concrete base. The poles were about ten feet high, and had decorative bowls on the top. The end result looked like an arch or a doorway, and Sam had always wondered what would happen if you went between the poles at the right moment.....

“Why not?” he thought to himself. He got off the bench, and walked toward The Arch. He put one foot between the two parts of the Arch …...

And stumbled out.

He felt horribly dizzy, unable to regain his footing. He felt like he was walking on stilts, and could hear a strange clicking sound as he walked. Then he looked down at his feet ….

He was wearing heels. Skirt and blouse too, from the quick glance down. He was just about to collapse when a young woman came up to him, took his hand, and eased him to the floor.

“Sam? You okay?” she asked.

“I .. I don’t know.” Sam said “I …”

“Let’s go to the washroom, and you can splash some water on your face, okay?”

She helped him up, and dragged him toward the ladies room He was too confused to object, and so he did as she suggested, and splashed some water on his face, and then took a look at his reflection. The woman in the mirror looked she had seen better days, but she wasn’t bad looking.

“I look like my sister, if I’d had one.” He thought.

The other woman asked him, “Better?”

He said, “I … I don’t know. You knew my name, but I don’t know you, do I?”

She searched his eyes, and said, “You’re … not kidding. You don’t know me?”

He shook his head.

“Okay. Now I’m scared. Let’s get you to a hospital.” she said, and pulled out a cell phone from her purse.

“Wait a sec.” Sam said, went to sit down on a bench outside the ladies room, and thought hard.

<”it happened. I really went …. somewhere when I stepped through the Arch. And in this place, I’m a woman, I guess. But If I and tell anybody that, I’ll end up in the funny farm. And there is … something about this woman. She …. seems to care about me, and that’s not something I had in my own world.”>

“Can .. can you take me home instead? Maybe stuff will come back to me in familiar surroundings.”

“Okay. Let me call your boss and mine, and we will go home.”

A short while later, the woman was leading Sam down to the parkade, and toward a small, sensible Kia Forte.

“This is yours?” Sam asked the woman.

The woman laughed, and said, “Its yours. The keys are in your purse.”

Sam fished for the keys and said, “One more thing. Can you … can you tell me your name? I know I should know it, but it wont come to me right now.”

Sam could see grief and pain on the woman’s face, and then added, “I.. I feel very safe with you, if that helps you feel better.”

The woman relaxed, smiled, and said “I’m Tina.”

Sam said, “Thank, you, Tina. For everything.” Sam found the keys, held them out. “you want to drive?” he asked.

Tina took the keys, and said, “You’re welcome. Come on, lets get you home.”

They didn’t speak much on the trip. Sam found himself reaching for the free hand of Tina, and then shied away. Soon, they were on the outskirts of town, and pulling into a small house.

“Is ….this where I live?” Sam said.

“Yes” Tina said. She pulled out a key, opened the door, and led Sam inside.

“Do you …. do you want to lay down?” Tina asked. “Or maybe I should make some soup or something?”

“Do I have a … comfortable chair?” Sam asked, “And maybe something to drink.”

Tina directed Sam into the living room, and sat her into a recliner. “I’ll get some tea started.” she said.

Sam kicked off the high heels he was wearing and wiggled his toes in relief. He noticed his toes were painted a florescent pink color, and shrugged at sight.

A minute later, Tina came back in with a hot cup of tea, and then sat opposite Sam.

Sam took a sip, and said, “Okay. As egotistical as it sounds, tell me about me.”

“Well, we’ve known each other for 6 years now. When I met you, you were a student at the University.”

<”That is the same as my world.”> Sam thought.

“What was I like then?” Sam asked.

“Kinda quiet and sad. Of course that might be because you were pretending to be a boy named Samuel.”

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