Connecting the Dots

By Jeremy Newman

Thanks in part to a unique ability, Thomas Shaw always knows the right thing to say. Almost always in control of any situation, he is suddenly faced with a scenario that he didn't foresee. When all goes wrong and his life gets flipped upside down, Thomas must find the path that reconnects his past so that he may fulfill his destiny.

In this humorous, yet unrelenting story of a group of people who set out to change the world, Thomas remains the focal point. Through a series of life-altering events and unforgettable spiritual experiences, he finds himself in a conversation with God. Acting on knowledge gained from that talk, Thomas goes on to alter the history of mankind. Then, after his second discussion with God in the dimension he helped create, Thomas' world, along with the reader's, gets flipped upside down once again.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Aug 17, 2017
• ISBN: 9781543909272

Book preview

17-Thomas

PROLOGUE

Sometime in May, 1987.

He awoke from a dream. In fact, to be literal, Thomas Shaw awoke from a dream within a dream. No, it wasn’t any of that crazy Inception nonsense. This little boy was in a medically induced coma, put on by strong anesthesia that was causing extreme lucid dreaming.

In what I call his base-state of consciousness, Thomas was himself.

That is to say, he was a wide-eyed, outgoing, and rather intelligent four-year-old boy. He is able to control his surroundings, such as his shoes, his clothes, even his location. He remembers nothing of truly being awake, or of his life before this dream state. Thomas believes that he is in the real world.

There are other people walking around in Thomas’ consciousness. Instead of having faces though, every single person he meets has a translucent, almost holographic spot where their mouth, nose, and eyes should have been. Since this state of consciousness was all that Thomas knew however, he didn’t even think twice about the translucent spots.

Many peoples’ spots were brightly colored, with intricate patterns of unidentifiable shapes that shifted from one instant to the next. Others were much darker, and when looking at them, it was as if he was looking into the heart of a raging thunderstorm.

While in his base-state of consciousness, Thomas would basically wander through crowds of people with spots as their face. Most of these people completely ignored Thomas, but some would casually walk up to him and grab his hand. Others would frantically run up to him and put an ice cold hand on the top of his head. Almost immediately after being touched, whether on the hand or the head, he would become transfixed on the other person’s face, and then drift off... somewhere else.

This next state of being was known to Thomas as his elevated level of consciousness. After losing himself in the spot of the individual who touched him, he would travel through what seemed to be a wormhole. He would then wake up in a fantasy world where he was a different age every time, living in different circumstances. The strangest thing of all was that when he woke up in the body of his older self, it seemed to him that he had been living in that body for its entire life. Only when he returned to his base-state did he remember what his true situation was.

During his most recent excursion from what he thought was reality, Thomas was 58 years old and married to an extremely loud, angry, and abusive woman with the kind of dull, gray hair that looked like sidewalk cement. He was working as an Area Manager for a national pizza chain. He ran one of the most successful regions in the entire company, was vastly popular among his colleagues, had fantastic benefits and was paid more than enough for his needs. Thomas was also absolutely miserable for every minute of his life.

On the outside, Thomas was able to represent a normal, happy guy. Inside, he was drowning in depression. He would go to work, suffer through the same mundane routine of his daily life, then come home to his angry wife and stare at her dull, gray hair and her dull, gray face while she blabbed on about herself. (He didn’t know what to make of it, but while he was dreaming, the spots that covered the faces of other people were no longer different in any way. They were all the same size, shape, and color. An ambient gray.)

These visions went on for an indeterminate period of time, then suddenly he was awake again, back in his base-state of consciousness. Thomas awoke on a small rock in the middle of a vast body of water. He couldn’t see beyond 100 feet in any direction due to a very dense wall of fog, but he knew there would not be a glimpse of any land, even with a crystal clear sky. He knew this place well. He could still feel the ice cold spot on the top of his head left by the person who had touched him.

Although he knew he could be off of his island prison in the blink of an eye, Thomas decided to just relax and examine what he had just been through. He’d had many dreams that he could remember, but he could not think of one where he had been so miserable. It felt so realistic it was close to overwhelming, almost as if it was a glimpse into his actual future. If that was the case, he decided he would be able to avoid that future based on the decisions he made while he was still young. But how would I know what decisions to make and when? he thought.

Thomas came to the conclusion that his future was not set in stone, and there would be critical points in his life where he would have to choose one path or the other. There was no way for him to know which path would lead where, so he decided to keep his eyes open to all opportunities and hopefully, he could avoid the future he had just experienced.

After he had thought through the entire dream multiple times and analyzed every emotion he felt, he decided to get back to civilization. Thomas closed his eyes and envisioned the same building in the heart of the city that he always did. When he opened his eyes, he was staring at a dull yellow ceiling in a cramped room that smelled like dust. He took a shallow breath and rose to his feet. He walked over to the lone window in the room and peered outside.

What Thomas saw nearly took his breath away, as it had every time he looked. His particular building seemed to be in the dead center of a giant and spectacular city which had a constant flow of movement everywhere he looked. There were people streaming in and out of buildings, and down sidewalks and alleys. Thomas only knew they were people because he had been down there, amongst them.

As staggering as the city was, it had no real beauty. The only magnificence to it was the mountain residing just outside the city’s edge. It rose up from the horizon to cover the city and all its buildings in shadow. For Thomas, in his base-state of consciousness, the sun never moved from just behind that mountain, causing the peak to have an immaculate glow surrounding it. Any time he stared out the window Thomas would concentrate on the glow of the mountain, rather than the dark and depressing shadows of the city. He could not explain why, but he knew that somehow he had to get to the other side of that mountain.

He closed the drapes to the window but before the light from outside was completely cut off, it caught something in the corner of the room that Thomas had not noticed before. A mirror. He walked over and picked the mirror up and wiped off the thick layer of dust. Immediately after seeing his reflection Thomas took a step back and had to scrape his chin off the floor. Seeing his face, complete with a nose, mouth, and pair of eyes was not only a jaw-dropping experience, but it had actually stirred some vague memories. In fact, all he could remember clearly was that he knew that face. It was as if he always knew he looked that way, but being surrounded by people with spots as faces caused that knowledge to be suppressed in the depths of his brain.

This was the first time that Thomas truly realized that there were big pieces of his memory missing. Spurred by the sight of his own likeness, he began to remember bits and pieces from what seemed to be a previous life. He had a visual flash of a big white house with green shutters and four large Aspen trees in the front yard. Then, as that vision faded, another replaced it of a woman with deep brown eyes and hair to match. She smiled at him, then faded away as quickly as she appeared. A small tear trickled down his cheek and onto his lips, which he didn’t realize until he tasted the salty flavor. Next, Thomas was throwing a baseball with a man in a yard behind the white house, and he noticed that he and the man were laughing. Thomas knew immediately that this place, wherever it was, was where he belonged. Again the vision drifted away.

Thomas spent some time reviewing the information coming back to him. He felt deep emotions inside when he thought about the man and woman from his visions, and he knew that they were a meaningful part of his life. He just could not remember why. He was so confused. The house he saw and the yard he was playing catch in didn’t look like anything he remembered seeing in the city before. The houses here were all smashed together so you couldn’t even squeeze between them, and they were all painted in shades of brown and gray. The same color as the surrounding buildings and the sun starved landscape outside the city.

In his vision, he and the man were playing in a lush, exquisitely green yard with a fence separating them from their neighbors. The scenery looked like a completely different planet from where he was now. The beauty of the bright blue sky, and the crisp green of the grass; Thomas had no idea that colors like that existed. He was so confused. He couldn’t stop thinking about how that man and woman had a face just like his. Maybe that’s why the mirror sparked these memories, he thought to himself. Thomas decided he was going to find a way back to them. He had no idea how, but he knew it had something to do with the mountain.

Thomas began his normal routine that he stuck to when returning from a dream, but this time he was going to try something different. He went down to the first floor of the building and observed the steady stream of people flowing in and out of the revolving front doors. Thomas stood in the middle of the small lobby and watched for someone wearing a peculiar coat, the same person he looked for every time. The coat was one of few he had seen that was multi-colored and had bright red buttons, rather than dull colors with a zipper. Sure enough, a few moments gone by, that same coat worn by an unidentifiable individual strolled through the revolving doors and headed for the stairs, just like everybody else. Thomas began counting.

He had followed the flow of people upstairs on a couple of occasions, but had been confused when they didn’t stop or enter any rooms. They walked straight to the top, across the hallway and to the other staircase, then straight back down and out the front doors again. It was just a big meaningless loop that accomplished nothing at all. It also left him panting for breath, so he no longer followed.

After counting to one hundred nine times and reaching 57 again, he raced over to the staircase where people were coming down, grabbed a big piece of that multi-colored coat, and yanked on it as hard as he could. The person wearing the coat came down with a crash right next to Thomas as the people in line behind moved along without losing a stride, just as he had hoped. Thomas knew these people kept to exactly the same schedule all of the time and he did not want to see the effects of disturbing more than one of them. He watched as the person gathered itself to its knees and shook its head, as if to compose itself. Thomas gasped as the person turned to face him and the bright red, blue, and green spot that was there moments before had vanished, revealing a woman’s face that he immediately recognized as the woman from his most recent vision.

Thomas was in shock from seeing someone from a dream right there in front of his eyes, but he quickly recovered. He leaned in as if to give her a hug, but she looked him in the eye and frantically ran for the door. Thomas was completely taken aback by her reaction, but a voice inside his head told him that he could not miss this opportunity. He bolted through the large revolving doors, not thinking twice about knocking people out of his way and began scanning the streets in every direction for the multi-colored coat. He finally saw her, looking back in his direction and then disappear behind the side of a building. That was weird, he thought as he followed. It was almost like she waited for me to see her before she kept going.

Since the sun never moved in the sky, there was no concept of time inside Thomas’ consciousness, so he had no idea how long he had been tracking the woman when she finally ducked into a medium-sized building. Thomas felt fortunate to not have lost the woman in the masses of people in the city. It seemed every time he thought to give up after not seeing her for awhile, she would catch the corner of his eye, always looking back in his direction, and then move on.

As he approached the front of the building, Thomas realized he had never been in this part of the city before. It was always disorienting in the maze of streets and difficult to get any sense of direction, but he knew he had never seen this building. Above the front doors was a small sign with the picture of an eyeball with three golden lines streaming vertically from it. Almost all the buildings had some sort of sign on the front, but most contained just words, and none were of an object that nobody in this world had except him. He shook off that train of thought and joined the line of people parading through the front doors.

Thomas saw her immediately at the top of a very high escalator. The moving stairs ascended from the center of the lobby all the way to the top level of the building, just less than one hundred feet up. The strange part was that it bypassed every floor on the way up, without a landing anywhere to get off, except at the top. Thomas also noticed that nobody else was using the escalator. It was almost as if it was there just for him and nobody else. He took in his surroundings for a few moments, then headed to the escalator for the ride up.

About halfway to the top, Thomas noticed the woman still standing at the railing, staring at him intently while he made his way toward her. Even at that distance, he could feel her big brown eyes penetrating into his soul. He knew the feeling that overcame him was love. Neither of them broke eye contact or lost their smile until Thomas was seconds away from getting off the escalator. Then she once again turned and ran to an open doorway at the end of a long hall, slamming the door behind her.

This time Thomas was not going to let her get too far ahead. He was so sure the woman was going to wait for him this time, and maybe embrace him. Thomas could really use a hug. He bolted down the hallway, as fast as his tiny legs would take him. He almost tripped headfirst into the door after he tried to slow down and caught his foot on the carpet. Hesitantly, he stepped through the threshold and into the room.

All the details of the large office, as well as the reason he was there, immediately escaped him. Thomas’ attention was drawn to a person that was a little shorter than he was, standing right in front of him. It had a face of magnificent bright colors, all moving hypnotically in a fluid motion. When he looked close, he could see small flashes of light that looked like faint fireworks. As he stood there, he noticed that the flashes of light were increasing rapidly. They began to get bigger and brighter until finally, the person stretched out its bony arm and with its finger, touched Thomas in the center of his forehead. Euphoria.

He had been touched by what he liked to call bright spots before. There was no doubt that it was much more enjoyable than the ice cold touch of a dark one, but it had never felt anything like that. It was as if this bright spot had reached out and stuck its finger through his scalp, his skull, and his brain, to gently caress his soul. Thomas felt a near emptiness inside himself. His mind was clear of thought. Goosebumps ran up his arms and legs. He had never felt such a profound clarity. He was numb with satisfaction.

Thomas awoke to find himself in bed, sprawled out on a mattress that was much too small for his 6’4 body and, without a box-spring or frame, was laying on the floor. He looked around the small room, and next to a picture of a middle-aged woman with brown eyes and brown hair, he was surprised to see the clock on his nightstand flashing 12:00. Thomas wondered if Jenny had had to pay his power bill to get his electricity back on. Wait, not Jenny. Natalie was his girlfriend’s name. (Things were always a little foggy when he entered his elevated-state.) He smelled the sweet smell of pancakes and bacon wafting from the other room. After smiling to himself for being so lucky, he got up and got dressed. In the kitchen, Natalie was just pulling the last pancake from the griddle and licking a burn on her finger, wearing cute little pink shorts and a skin-tight, white tank top. Thomas loved how she looked right after she woke up as much as when she was made up and dressed up, if not more. She had her golden brown hair tied back in a loose ponytail, and with her back to him said Good morning my love.

His heart skipped a beat every time she called him her love. Thomas sometimes didn’t believe he deserved Natalie and found himself wondering what it was that kept her around, but inside he knew. They were soul mates. If only he could provide for her. He walked over, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her cheek as she snuggled into him. Thomas noticed goosebumps spread on her arms as he kissed her earlobe and whispered in her ear. Thanks for paying my power bill babe, I owe you another one, he said.

She turned to face him and his heart skipped another beat as he looked into her incredible eyes. They weren’t quite blue, and not green, but a perfect mix between. Metallic Hazel.

Don’t mention it. Do you want this good maple syrup I bought or that cheap generic shit? she asked with just a hint of a smile on her face.

Obviously the cheap stuff, he replied sarcastically. And watch your language. Seriously though, I feel like a complete ass when you pay my bills for me. Thomas grabbed his plate and sat down at the table, too embarrassed to lock eyes with her.

Natalie ignored the obvious hypocrisy because she knew it was too important to stop this here and now. She dabbed a piece of bacon in some syrup as she thought of how to put it nicely and then said You are an ignorant fool if you think I love you any less for your current financial situation. I grew up with a lot of money and I have seen how ugly it can be. You are an incredible person and the love of my life Thomas Shaw, but I will leave you in a heartbeat if you ever let money influence our relationship in any way! Her voice rose more than she intended, but her point got through. Thomas smiled and blushed, then thanked her as sincerely as he could, using just his eyes and a gentle footsie under the table.

His world had flipped upside down some time before when he received a phone call from a friend. Thomas quit his job and left everything he knew when he moved to Wyoming and started a business. That’s all he could remember right now of why he had moved from his hometown. One thing he did know for sure was that he felt good. He had a wonderful feeling about his life that could only be described as fulfillment. Leaving Natalie in Colorado had been a very difficult decision, but she made the drive to visit often enough, and they were making it work. In fact, Thomas felt a deeper level of respect coming from her ever since.

Although Natalie had been holding out on telling Thomas she was going to move here with him, he knew that she would. He was ecstatic that he didn’t need to be nervous about losing her. She knew how to give subtle hints when she was thinking about something, as if to let him know which way she was leaning. That morning had been no different when she kept asking casual questions about the town he lived in, such as Are there any other grocery stores in this town, other than Wal-Mart? and Are there any cool wives or girlfriends of guys on your softball team? He knew that she had a lot more to leave behind in Colorado than he had when he left, but she wouldn’t ask questions like that if she wasn’t intending on moving.

When they finished their breakfast, Thomas gathered the dishes and turned the water on in the sink. He let the water run on the dishes for a couple of seconds, turned the water off and went to his room to get dressed. While he was preparing his shower, he noticed the water pressure was low and he knew that Natalie was washing the dishes he had just put in the sink. He was going to have to change some habits when she moved in. Some sacrifices have to be made for the woman you love, he said to himself. He was immediately dis-heartened when he saw the lotion and tissue on the counter, realizing another sacrifice that would be made. As he got into the shower, the water went from just right to scalding hot without warning, and he knew Natalie just paid him back for the dirty dishes in the sink.

By the time he got out of the shower and put his pants on, Natalie was yelling for him to come say goodbye. His heart sank knowing that she was leaving, but after all, it was his decision to put himself in this position. He pulled on a shirt and went to the front door where she already had her bags packed and ready by the door. She was always organized, which made her on time for everything. It also meant that she was always waiting on Thomas, but she smiled as he approached. He couldn’t tell if it was a warm smile or a mischievous one, but as beautiful as she looked wearing it, he didn’t care. All he said was Very funny. She burst out laughing. She thinks her little pranks like the shower are soooo funny, he thought to himself. Even so, seeing her enjoy herself like that, he couldn’t help but laugh with her.

The last thing she said as she walked out the door was You had better start washing your own dishes, ‘cuz that shit won’t fly when I move in next month! With that, she smiled at him one last time, got in her car and drove off. Even though he knew that answer was coming, it overwhelmed him with joy to finally know she would be here soon. For good. He closed the door.

With that, he woke up on an island. No land in sight.

This was the first time anyone else had a real face in one of his dreams. He could not understand why that was, but he did know that he would never forget that face. Or those eyes. Thomas couldn’t think about that now. He wasted no time, he knew what he had to do. Something that caught his eye while in the dream suddenly came back to him. It had seemed like nothing when he was in his 30 year-old body, but now he realized that the picture on his nightstand was of the same woman that led him through the building to his dream. The same woman from his vision. Thomas now knew who that woman was. He closed his eyes and imagined himself at the top of a very tall escalator inside a specific building in the city.

Somehow he knew she would be there waiting for him. He noticed her slight surprise when he suddenly appeared in front of her, but she recovered quickly and gave him a beautiful, genuine smile. He had thought over and over what he would say to her if he got the chance, but now that he knew who she was, all he could get out was a muffled Mommy. She beamed at him and he ran over and threw his arms around her. They both put everything into the embrace and Thomas felt as if he would never let go. This was where he truly belonged, held tight in his mother’s arms. Much too soon for Thomas, she gently pushed herself away from him. When he saw her face again, she looked anxious. She began to pace nervously as if trying to decide what to do next. Suddenly, a strange rumbling sound caught both of their attention.

The people flowing up the escalator were shoulder to shoulder and already ¾ of the way up. Every one of them had a spot as dark as any he had seen before. Thomas could tell by the look on his mom’s face, and by his own experiences that he did not want to be around when they reached the top. But where could he go? The only exit was blocked and he didn’t want to leave his mom behind by imagining himself somewhere else. When the people approached the level they were on, his mom leaned into him and spoke her first words, You know where you have to go.

He had no time to react as she raced over to the landing and put a shoulder into the first people to arrive. The