STUCK IN TIME

(iii)Book 2: Chapter 1 - An unusual girl from 1970s

NATALIA'S POV

"Did you attempt all the questions?" Dr Aryan asks me as I give him my test paper.

"I did."

"How much are you expecting to score?"

"Hundred percent!" I exclaim with confidence.

"It's very unlikely to get such a high score in neuroscience and psychology at the age of ten. Let's see how much a ten year old girl can do in a course that is taught at university level" He teases.

"It is you who said that I am not an ordinary child."

"Yes that is true but don't ever let yourself be over confident and proud. Now let's see what our Natalia did in the test." He says and starts checking my paper.

I don't go to school. I study from Mom dad and Dr Aryan. Dad teaches me mathematics, algebra, geometry and physics. Mom teaches me English, Latin and German. Dr Aryan teaches me sciences mainly dealing with brain, neuroscience, and psychology. And yes I am only ten years old but I can do better in all these subjects than a university graduate.

My father is a famous scientist. He was happily married for long but had no children. So when I was born after so many years of marriage, they were overjoyed. But the joy wouldn't last long as they realized that I was abnormal. Well that is what they thought of me as a toddler. But little did anyone know that this so call abnormal girl was more capable and more versatile than any normal human being out there.

The abnormality that I am talking about became evident when I was three years old. My parents observed that I couldn't see properly. My father tried taking help from many physicians who said that he should be thankful that she sees, and is not blind further that such natural abnormalities can't be cured easily.

When I was four years old and I was given paper and pens so that I could learn to handle a pen by drawing, I drew the way I would see things. My parents asked me what I drew and I named the object as I knew it to be. They came to know that I cant see patterns and lines clearly, I see static objects as if they are moving.

While he was contemplating the already faced dilemma I presented before him something new about my so named 'abnormality' leaving him more confused than ever about my present state. I got bored and started drawing again, it was a peaceful day and there was an eerie silence. It made me almost fall half asleep and in the drowsy state I had a sort of vision, I closed my eyes and saw my father looking much younger and with him was another person. The only thing odd about the dream was I saw everything differently, It was a clear vision with unmoving patterns and everything still. Later I learned that it was the way normal humans saw everything but back then it all looked so strange and so inadequate as if the world was paused and nothing could move. In the vision I could see my father talking to that man. I told about this to my father and he asked me if I can draw him as I saw him in my vision. I did. And it was a perfect drawing, a completely 'normal' one. 

Father was very happy and he asked me to draw the man I saw him talking to. I did and at first he was happy but later he noticed that this man was his late friend who had died long before I was born. There was no way I could have known him. Father got curious and asked me what him and his friend were doing in this vision. I told him they were talking and described what they wore and what the surroundings looked like and also what they were saying to each other.

I remember his face going almost pale when he told me that this was a true memory and that it was precisely like that. He asked me how could I access his memories. And I told him I don't know. He asked me if I could tell what he is thinking right now and I told him I couldn't. He asked me if I ever saw anything like that before and I told him I didn't.