Tweaking Fate

By Wynne Stevens

A young man, on his way home to reclaim a special relationship, suffers a fatal accident. His sudden death denies him the opportunity to reunite with the beautiful young woman he abandoned years earlier. In the hereafter, he pleads with God to change the circumstances of his death so that he might show this young woman that he has changed and is now worthy of her love. God agrees on one condition: the young man must enter a parallel universe to help a demented old man find love. When he finds the old man, he comes face to face with himself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wynne Stevens
• Release date: Dec 19, 2011
• ISBN: 9780984819904

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Acknowledgments

I gratefully acknowledge and dedicate this book to my wife, Andrea. Thank you for all the support and encouragement along the way.

Thanks also to my son, Drew, for his creative insight and inspiration.

Tweaking Fate

By Wynne Stevens

Copyright 2011 Wynne Stevens

Smashwords Edition

ISBN 978-0-9848199-0-4

Formatting and cover design by Wynne Stevens.

www.wynnestevens.com

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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Table of Contents

Preface

PROLOGUE - A Matter of Seconds

CHAPTER One- Maplewood

CHAPTER Two - Emilee

CHAPTER THREE - Jason and June

CHAPTER Four - Los Angeles

CHAPTER Five - Reunion

EPILOGUE

PREFACE

Consciousness has become a clichéd and overused concept to describe, among other things, our perception of reality. However, what is real? Since perception is a sensory interpretation by the brain, reality is only as good as our ability to see, hear, feel, taste, and smell. A tree exists as reflected light captured by the eye’s lens and transferred to the brain via the optic nerve. The tree, therefore, is merely a biological interpretation of light waves stored somewhere in the brain. Does that make it real?

Such abstract concepts remain beyond the realm of human understanding, at least for the near future.

Our concept of space and time is likewise a perception used to define ourselves by some link to a reference point. Where would we be without it? Yet, how can space or time exist without beginning or end? It’s just another abstraction.

The introduction of quantum theory has raised the possibility of other worlds like our own, different worlds in which we exist, perhaps as the same person, but with different life outcomes.

Future events have a range of possible consequences. Like a game of chance, each possible consequence lives in a world of its own. Theoretical parallel universes exist in which we might find ourselves as the same person living different lives.

The young and old characters of this story are, in fact, one and the same. The lives of each, however, proceed in a radically different way, based solely on chance.

Ordinarily, neither would have any knowledge of the other, each being locked in a self-contained world.

A unique opportunity occurs, however, when the young man is transported into his parallel world and discovers himself at the end of his life.

Could it really happen? Well, I guess that would depend on your own perception of reality.

PROLOGUE

A Matter of Seconds

Why is it we hurt the one we love most? Lee Brandon pondered that question again and again, searching for an answer that would explain his behavior. It was a futile search; Lee knew there was no plausible explanation. He had been a fool, plain and simple. He allowed his ego and sense of self-importance to dictate the course of his young life. Only from the emotional pain of separation and loneliness did he summon the courage to look inward, and only then did he realize how wrong he had been.

Lee was young and thought he could make amends. Someday, he and June would look back on this time in his life with compassion and forgiveness. Lee assumed he had time on his side.

§

As the motorcycle crested the next hill, the empty asphalt road lay before him, gently winding into the valley below where it disappeared in a dusky haze. With both hands firmly on the handlebars, Lee glanced at the speedometer watching the needle hover near 55. He pushed the throttle ahead ever so slightly with his right hand. The 1100 cc engine responded effortlessly.

Be careful. Take your time. This is the most important trip of your life.

He was in northwest Colorado traveling east on a deserted stretch of US 40. His destination for the evening was the small town of Craig, four hours west of Denver. In Craig, he planned to stop for the night. He would resume his journey early tomorrow morning.

Today was a day of hope and excitement for Lee. The day began just outside Elko, Nevada. Now, as the evening sun touched the horizon behind him, he glanced briefly at the odometer. He had traveled over 500 miles – through the salt flats of Bonneville, around the Great Salt Lake, through the traffic and congestion of Salt Lake City, and, finally into the high desert of Western Colorado.

He and his bike were but a speck on the endless ribbon of highway that weaved through this isolated landscape. Lee’s right hand rotated the throttle again, ever so slightly. The speedometer needle passed 60. The oncoming wind pushed ever more forcefully against his face and chest, filling his half-opened jacket with warm, arid air.

Only 40 miles to go.

Lyrics of a song crept into his head.

"She said hey ramblin’ boy, why don’t you settle down

L.A. ain’t your kinda town

There ain’t no gold and there ain’t nobody like me…"

...Dave Loggins

The song was right. He was ready to settle down. He was coming home...to June.

Lee called June from Seattle three nights ago. They hadn’t talked in almost two years. The sound of her voice again filled him with emotions and sensations like no others. Her words now echoed in his mind, overpowering all other sound.

"Oh, Lee. How can I ever believe you again? Please don’t do this to me!"

She wanted to see him again though.

Why did he ever leave her? Why, in god’s name, did he deserve a second chance?

After the way you treated her.

In twenty-four hours, he would be with her again. The image of her beautiful face urged him on.

§

In the loneliness of this solitary journey, thoughts drifted in randomly. He looked down at the blur of asphalt beneath him as his body shifted weight imperceptibly to maintain balance. It was not a conscious effort.

§

In June, he had found a most special relationship, one that filled him completely. She surrounded him with a joy and happiness never before experienced. Her soft, loving energy touched his soul, lifting him to wonderfully lofty emotional heights.

Yes, June had all the prerequisites. She was witty, smart, affectionate, warm, sexy, beautiful... There was more, however – much more. Lee had no means to explain his love. Whenever he looked deeply into her brilliant, green eyes, explanation became unnecessary. He simply knew. He loved her totally...but imperfectly.

You see, Lee carried the deep fears and emotional insecurities of a troubled adolescence. June’s love was like a warm blanket – one that covered and comforted, but could not mend the open wounds inside – wounds that must first heal from the inside. So, when the flimsy trappings of recognition and celebrity tempted him, he had no power to resist. He left for Seattle one cold November morning. He turned his back on June.

It was the lure of fame that so tempted his fragile ego.

Lee was a gifted musician who related life to music. Music was the medium through which he was able to express and feel. Mere words were never enough – they needed rhythm, tone, and poetry in order to translate meaning. When others were able to understand him through song, he felt included. When others praised and wanted more, he felt empowered. These strange and unknown feelings were like an ego aphrodisiac. It quickly became addictive.

In Seattle, he found power. He also found drugs and alcohol.

§

The incessant vibration of the bike resonated with his body. He could feel the power of the machinery beneath him as it carried him noisily through the silent landscape. The vibration changed ever so slightly as the throttle advanced.

Ahead were scattered lights now visible in the late evening light. He was impatient and tired of traveling. Though less comfortable in limited visibility, Lee nonetheless pushed the throttle ahead one more time. The speedometer now read 70.

He could barely wait to see June again – could barely wait for tomorrow.

Sadly for Lee, there would be no tomorrow.

§

Every man must search within, search for that which he has always owned – his truth. Integrity and authenticity form the core of any value system based on truth. In his own discovery, Lee realized the futility of possessions – the futility of serving an ego that was never satisfied. Instead, he learned self-acceptance and pride in his unique individuality. He found there are no substitutes for love.

§

There was very little visibility left. A weak cone of light spread from his dirty, bug-spattered headlight. Although it barely illuminated the road ahead, there was no other traffic in either direction. He had the road to himself. All he had to do was stay on it. He advanced the throttle again.

Lee rolled his weary shoulders and shivered. The cool evening air penetrated each layer of clothing. It was comparable to being in a seventy-five mile-per-hour windstorm. The force of the oncoming rush of air denied him the subtle scents and sounds of the evening. He wasn’t interested anyway.

No. His mind returned to the past. He thought about the music of his life. Music that both nurtured and corrupted.

From his earliest years, music captivated and entranced him. Music could calm his fears while intoxicating his very soul. He loved to create, using infinite combinations of tones and rhythms to say what he couldn’t say on his own. Music made him feel good.

Lee’s only real sense of commitment was to his band. Here, he was a giant – a man among men. Here he belonged. He played lead guitar with a style and subtle sexiness that never failed to pack the house. As he looked out into the audience, he was able to connect in a way that brought him enormous joy and satisfaction. The stage literally belonged to him as he walked on, dressed in torn jeans, a white t-shirt, and red headband. He strutted and shook his long dark hair to the erotic delight of adoring female fans.

You might say Lee had the world by the balls. His relationship with June surely had divine origins; he had music and adoration to support his ego.

Yet, this ego fed on external recognition for its sense of value. Admiration became addictive, the more he received, the more he craved.

The band enjoyed a fair amount of local success, in part, due to Lee’s unique style. Its blues-rock blend evolved through the hard work of it members: a drummer, bass, and keyboard. In addition, they had Vicki, a female vocalist who could electrify any crowd with her unique tone and musical sensitivity. Lee was the handsome and sexy male counterpart. The duets they performed together were irresistible.

With success came demand. Invitations for gigs came from wider geographic circles. Before long, the band was playing in adjoining states.

June accompanied the band occasionally, but was never able to feel its enthusiasm. She was proud of Lee’s talent but uncomfortable with his notoriety. It was changing him. She felt the band’s success diminished the sensitivity of their special relationship. She wished he would quit.

Don’t worry, Honey, he told her. I just want to do this for a little while – only long enough to make money for a comfortable lifetime together. She reluctantly agreed, knowing Lee to be a good and honest soul.

Soon, Lee’s music was on the Top 100. The band had an agent; they moved to Seattle in search of greater success and glory. They found it...for a while.

As quickly as the band’s notoriety appeared, it disappeared. Lee discovered that fans are fickle. Popularity exists fleetingly; it’s never permanent. In less than a year, his fans abandoned him like a used and broken toy. The freshness and intimacy for which they once loved him had become stale and obsolete.

Lee took the abandonment personally. Rather than accepting himself as the talented musician he was, he strove for greater perfection. When this didn’t work, he became dark and morose. He began to look to other sources for personal fulfillment. He tried drugs, he tried alcohol, and he tried Vicki. They worked for a while but were never enough. Increasing the dosage was problematic.

Without healthy ego support, the idyllic world of his dreams became a nightmare. It was a world of money, drugs, alcohol, and sex. Being apart from June justified infidelity in his drug-induced reality. He and Vicki were on and off again – grist for the gossip mill. He didn’t care. He had forgotten about June. There was a need deep within that cried for satisfaction – a need that went back to his childhood.

With every rejection, his spirit sank deeper into self-pity and anger. He had abandoned his principles, his friends and, most sadly, June.

One late night, from somewhere within, in the midst of an alcoholic blur, a voice spoke to him just before he passed out. When he awoke at noon the following day, the memory of the voice remained.

"Get out of Seattle – find a place to reconstruct your life. It’s not too late…it’s never too late."

Who was speaking to him...and why? Whatever its source, it had a profound and immediate effect on him. Now, Lee was neither religious nor spiritual. No, he was a firm believer that men create their own destiny – a carryover of his father’s thinking.

So why was he listening?

Someone was trying to save him – to give him another chance. This awareness opened his eyes to the depths to which he had descended. What had he been thinking?

He left the band and left Seattle… for good. Taking only a few meager possessions, and his guitar, he steered his motorcycle south, leaving the swamp that had been home for almost two years. Like giving a horse its lead, he traveled by pure instinct, as if the bike knew where to take him.

He traveled south on Interstate 5. At Olympia, he turned towards the coast and found US 101 which took him along the Pacific Ocean. Lee was mesmerized. In all his time in Seattle, he had never visited the beach, never connected with its limitless beauty and power. As he drove carefully along the Pacific Highway, moving gracefully with each twist and turn, a greater peace and joy filled him. Each rise to a new panoramic ocean vista brought emotions of gratitude beyond any he had ever known.

His journey brought a greater sense of appreciation– appreciation for life and all its potential for joy. He knew he had squandered life’s gifts foolishly and vowed to reconnect some meaningful way.

Passing San Francisco Bay, Lee realized that solitude would give him the best means to reconnect, to find his own authenticity. Just after Monterey, he stopped, overwhelmed by the beauty of Big Sur. He spent six weeks here, alone in a small, abandoned cabin overlooking the ocean. It was here that he had been directed, here that he would reconnect.

With each mile, a greater sense of appreciation filled him – appreciation for life and all its potential for joy. He knew he had squandered it foolishly and vowed to reconnect with in some meaningful way.

Lee needed solitude to reconnect, to find his own authenticity. Just beyond Monterey, he stopped, overwhelmed by the beauty of Big Sur. He spent six weeks here, alone in a small, abandoned cabin overlooking the ocean. It was here that he had been directed, here that he would reconnect.

During the day, Lee would wonder purposely through the woods and meadows, as if he were a student leaning nature for the first time. In the evening, he would sit quietly on the small, dilapidated porch facing west. As the sun set over the ocean and the sky turned crimson, he began to understand what it was all about. No one told him in words. No one had to.

In Big Sur, Lee realized that happiness doesn’t come in a bottle – it comes from within. With a clear head and motivated heart, he faced his demons and made peace with perceived shortcomings. Most importantly, he gained perspective from a higher vantage point where love and bonding are the fabric within which all the beauty of life unfolds. Sadly, he acknowledged that he had abandoned love for ego. God had given him June – he had turned his back on her. Lee needed her now like never before. But, would she ever speak to him again?

"...I’ve found you find strength in your moments of weakness

For once I’m at peace with myself

I’ve been burdened with blame, trapped in the past for too long

I’m movin’ on."

...Rascal Flatts

Lee gained great insight thanks to the voice that saved and guided him out of his self-imposed purgatory. Gratefully, he accepted the unknown, acknowledging only that there was more to his mysterious life than he could ever comprehend. He had no ability to understand the illusory nature of life, fabricated and molded by his own consciousness. Nevertheless, he was now the master of his own reality. This reality now placed him on a motorcycle just outside of a small town called Craig. It was the reality that he was coming home; home to June with an opportunity to start over.

§

At last, Lee had found the courage to call June. Neither had spoken or written each other for almost two years. Ostensibly, June had little interest in seeing Lee again. Lee begged her forgiveness and asked only for the chance to meet one more time. He knew he didn’t deserve her. He prayed that the magic might still there; hoped June was right about this soul partnership thing. It was his only chance.

He pleaded with her on the phone. Please, June, just meet with me for thirty minutes. Afterwards, we can get on with our lives. It will allow me to put this behind me.

His logic made no sense to her. At first, she refused. Lee kept calling.