Alice scrolled down the email that she?d just received from Karl to see if she could find any indication of why he?d contacted her but to no avail.
There was just one more line:
I know that this will be a surprise to you but please email me back and agree to meet.
Alice?s breathing was slowly coming under control and the pounding of her heart subsiding.
For a long moment, she wondered whether she could ignore his message. After all, it could have been lost in cyberspace. He wouldn?t know that she?d received it. Life could go on as if nothing had happened. She would always wonder what he?d wanted but it would be a daydream not reality. There was no danger in daydreams - unlike reality.
But she knew that she would have to reply. Alice didn?t like leaving matters outstanding. Just to delete the email would be too easy and it would lack finality and completion. Also, she?d bought this new computer with its access to the Internet for adventure. She?d not known what form and manner it would take nor that it would tempt her with a voice from the past. But, the essence of adventure was to rise to the challenge and Alice knew she was intrigued.
She moved her chair closer to the screen, patted her hair and neatly typed a brief reply.
To: Karl
From: Alice
Subject: ?What a pleasant surprise!?
Dear Karl
?A lot of time has passed since we last met and I?ve been happily married for quite a few years. Your email prompted so many questions. How did you find me? What have you been doing in the years since we last met?
Regards
Alice
She held the mouse pointer over the send button for a whole minute before deciding to click and dispatch the email. It seemed a big step, although she didn?t know why.
By the time she?d had a cup of tea to help recover her composure, drunk it and returned to the computer, Karl?s reply was waiting.
From: Karl
To: Alice
Subject: Re: What a pleasant surprise!
When you registered for your email service, you were automatically recorded in a directory of all email users. I have a standing request in my computer, to check that directory whenever I log on. I knew that one day you would join the world of cyberspace and guessed that you would eventually marry John, which gave the second part of your name.
I?d like very much for us to meet and perhaps discuss plans for a reunion of the island party where we first met. I?ll be in Central London today. Please let me buy you lunch and we can talk about old times and perhaps make some plans.
Karl
From: Alice
To: Karl
Subject: You always were a charmer!
Much against my best judgement, where shall we meet?
All the best
Alice?s heart was pounding as she pressed the send button and there was a melting feeling inside her as she waited impatiently for his reply. When it came, she was not surprised to find that the venue he suggested was one of the most expensive hotel restaurants in London. She would have preferred that it hadn?t been in a hotel and for a fleeting moment almost decided not to go. But it was as if her mind and body were taken over by a compulsion that defied any of her usual rules or understanding.
She emailed back her acceptance, changed into some clothes that were more appropriate to the opulent venue and within an hour was on the train heading for Central London. It was all so much of a rush and not at all in keeping with the tidy, organised way she normally ran her life. As she headed with quick decisive steps to the railway station, she realised that when she?d got changed, she?d also taken a shower. This in itself was nothing special - except that it was the second one she?d had that morning.
As the train swept along the track, between the high earthen banks and past the bleak red brick suburban houses in its headlong rush into the bustling hive of London, memories flooded back to Alice.
All those years ago, he?d been waiting at the airport of that remote island seated in an open topped car with an engine that growled with power.
Alice had travelled from England with her friend Greta and from those first moments of their meeting it was crystal clear that Greta had decided she was made for Karl. Greta had long black hair and a slender figure and was much taller than Alice?s five foot five inches. She had a languid sensuousness that looked expensive and which contrasted strongly with Alice?s more homely appearance. As Greta slid her slender figure into the front seat, her already short dress rode up giving glimpses of her long shapely thighs which Alice knew was exactly what Greta intended.
There was just one more line:
I know that this will be a surprise to you but please email me back and agree to meet.
Alice?s breathing was slowly coming under control and the pounding of her heart subsiding.
For a long moment, she wondered whether she could ignore his message. After all, it could have been lost in cyberspace. He wouldn?t know that she?d received it. Life could go on as if nothing had happened. She would always wonder what he?d wanted but it would be a daydream not reality. There was no danger in daydreams - unlike reality.
But she knew that she would have to reply. Alice didn?t like leaving matters outstanding. Just to delete the email would be too easy and it would lack finality and completion. Also, she?d bought this new computer with its access to the Internet for adventure. She?d not known what form and manner it would take nor that it would tempt her with a voice from the past. But, the essence of adventure was to rise to the challenge and Alice knew she was intrigued.
She moved her chair closer to the screen, patted her hair and neatly typed a brief reply.
To: Karl
From: Alice
Subject: ?What a pleasant surprise!?
Dear Karl
?A lot of time has passed since we last met and I?ve been happily married for quite a few years. Your email prompted so many questions. How did you find me? What have you been doing in the years since we last met?
Regards
Alice
She held the mouse pointer over the send button for a whole minute before deciding to click and dispatch the email. It seemed a big step, although she didn?t know why.
By the time she?d had a cup of tea to help recover her composure, drunk it and returned to the computer, Karl?s reply was waiting.
From: Karl
To: Alice
Subject: Re: What a pleasant surprise!
When you registered for your email service, you were automatically recorded in a directory of all email users. I have a standing request in my computer, to check that directory whenever I log on. I knew that one day you would join the world of cyberspace and guessed that you would eventually marry John, which gave the second part of your name.
I?d like very much for us to meet and perhaps discuss plans for a reunion of the island party where we first met. I?ll be in Central London today. Please let me buy you lunch and we can talk about old times and perhaps make some plans.
Karl
From: Alice
To: Karl
Subject: You always were a charmer!
Much against my best judgement, where shall we meet?
All the best
Alice?s heart was pounding as she pressed the send button and there was a melting feeling inside her as she waited impatiently for his reply. When it came, she was not surprised to find that the venue he suggested was one of the most expensive hotel restaurants in London. She would have preferred that it hadn?t been in a hotel and for a fleeting moment almost decided not to go. But it was as if her mind and body were taken over by a compulsion that defied any of her usual rules or understanding.
She emailed back her acceptance, changed into some clothes that were more appropriate to the opulent venue and within an hour was on the train heading for Central London. It was all so much of a rush and not at all in keeping with the tidy, organised way she normally ran her life. As she headed with quick decisive steps to the railway station, she realised that when she?d got changed, she?d also taken a shower. This in itself was nothing special - except that it was the second one she?d had that morning.
As the train swept along the track, between the high earthen banks and past the bleak red brick suburban houses in its headlong rush into the bustling hive of London, memories flooded back to Alice.
All those years ago, he?d been waiting at the airport of that remote island seated in an open topped car with an engine that growled with power.
Alice had travelled from England with her friend Greta and from those first moments of their meeting it was crystal clear that Greta had decided she was made for Karl. Greta had long black hair and a slender figure and was much taller than Alice?s five foot five inches. She had a languid sensuousness that looked expensive and which contrasted strongly with Alice?s more homely appearance. As Greta slid her slender figure into the front seat, her already short dress rode up giving glimpses of her long shapely thighs which Alice knew was exactly what Greta intended.
