Intentional Fallacy (Book 5)

Chapter 13

How shall I describe her? How also does a man become obsessed with a woman? From what I understand they emit particles –something beyond my rudimentary understanding of science. I know that particles of different sorts carry power. Some are very dangerous. I've been fortunate enough to witness certain chemical equations.

Was Dotty pretty? I've been asking myself all day. Doing things to remember. If I look at myself very close in the mirror I can sometimes—it's a rare occasion but she emits particles too—but sometimes I make out the flecks of green in her brown eyes.

You see! She does exist. She had brown eyes. Dotty.

But, not this common sense, war bond kind of girl. Eve. Common sense? How would I know. I'd expect she'd have the common sense to plan good meals with whatever rations she happened to have. I can over hear her sometimes. She's talking to Jeff and it appears he's sitting alone. It appears I'm there with him. Then she'll speak. Sometimes to me. Sometimes to him. We both pretend we haven't heard her. He continues sketching her picture – I don't care. I am knitting. The doctor told me to knit. I'd much rather be keeping my journals.

That's because I'm writing to you, Eve. You know that don't you? You've figured that out by now, haven't you?

I gasped and dropped the book on to my lap. I thought I'd read it wrong. My eyes scanned the last lines I'd read:

I'm writing to you, Eve. You know that don't you? You've figured that out by now, haven't you?

It was alive. It had a voice. It could see me. I felt such an evil humming envelop me. The house felt haunted. I was afraid. I put my hand over my mouth and took several deep breaths. I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself. She's crazy. She was completely crazy. She wrote it because that's what was in her life. She knew about me. He was drawing pictures of me. I didn't even understand what I was doing. I poured some more scotch and took a sip. I realized I was too frightened to stay home. I also realized I wanted to keep reading. I got up. I left the diary on the bed. It seemed to have its own evil about it. It scared me just looking at it. It and what was in it changed what had been my life, my home, my marriage.

I walked to the phone and dialed Matt's home number. It rang again and again. Waiting between each ring for him to pick up increased my panic. I hung up and called the theater lab. A young man answered.

"Theater Lab. Ken here."

I knew Ken. He was one of the actors who'd been with the Lab back when I was seeing Matt. He'd continued acting in shows through the seven years Matt and I were together, and for the ten years since I'd been back with Jeff.

"Ken, it's Eve."

"How are you Eve?"

"I'm fine. Is Matt around?"

"Per chance?" he said in an extended affected voice. "Let me check for you my dear!"

I heard the phone clang against the desk as he went to find Matt. I looked back into my room. The light looked eerie and stark. I felt like the floor was covered with snakes and dread filled me when I imagined going back through to collect my things.

Matt picked up. He sounded a little out of breath. "Eve. Are you all right?"

"Yes. I'm sorry if I worried you."

"What's going on?"

"I've gone completely crazy."
"That's ok. You're OK. What's happened?"