Page 101 of If We Meet Again

“Luckily for you, we are the same size and I have a drawer full of jeans youcan borrow.”

Madison opened said drawer and pulled out thefirst pair.

“Except those ones,” Emily removed them from her grasp, “or those. Actually, they are really expensive so maybe not those either.”

Jason wrapped his arm around Ashley and led her towards the door. “I think we can leave them toit. Drink?”

“I thought you’dnever ask.”

***

Jason poured himself another glass of bourbon as Ashley observed. It was only her second compared to Jason’s fourth and she already felt tipsy. They sat comfortably, listening to some R&B classics whilst Emily and Madison finished applying their makeup.

Like almost everyone, Ashley experienced moments of déjà vu; she remembered the last time she’d experienced the uncanny sensation. The year before, she’d been paddle-boarding with Emily and Madison. Whilst her arms motioned underneath her body, gliding across the glistening water of Lake Ontario, she had a distinct memory of being under the same clear blue sky, feeling the warmth of the sun on her back and the waves lapping gracefully at her feet. Before that, it happened in New York, when she entered a neighbourhood unknown to her. Although she felt lost and disorientated by her whereabouts, a part of her remembered the same tree-lined street, despite not being able to connect it to a time in her mind—the unsettled feeling faded quickly.

There were many other times throughout her life that she failed to recall, but she remembered the feeling and compared it to the one she felt at that moment. Looking down at her phone, she saw a picture of Megan. The picture had been taken earlier that morning and uploaded to all her social media platforms. She felt an irrepressible urge to smile as she observed the photo. Megan stood with a bunch of flowers in front of a VW truck. The photo was beautifully staged with perfect surrounding colours complimenting the flowers in the background. Then there was Megan; the Nashville summer sun beating down on her glowing skin, her eyes as pretty as the lotus petals in the background, her smile so wide the edges of her mouth crinkled, creating another set of dimples to accompany her already present ones. Ashley couldn’t help but feel captivated by her beauty, a genuine smile that revealed her soul to the world. It was rare, that kind of irrefutable beauty that made you stare over and over again with no reason other than to admire the elegance on show.

That’s when Ashley felt the fleeting sense of déjà vu. The picture seemed familiar; the way she posed with the flowers. Jason being present, offering Ashley another drink. Then when Jason spoke, it felt even more surreal.

“Why are you grinninglike that?”

“Nothing.”

“Is Madison sending you rude messages from the other room? I’ll be having words with her.” Jason walked towardsthe bedroom.

“Jason, that’s not it at all. Don’t go in there.”

He raised his eyebrow inquisitively. “Not from Madison then?”

“I haven’t received anything from anyone I was just smilingat a video.”

Ashley was a terrible liar. She knew there was no way he’dbelieve her.

“Prove it.” Ashley looked at her feet, any eye contact broken. “Megan?”

She nodded. No wordswere needed.

“Can’t I smile at a photo now?” Ashleychallenged.

“Sure. No judgement here.”

Except he was judging, and Ashley could sense it.

“Have you ever felt a strong sense of déjà vu, but you’re almost certain it hasn’t happened before?”

“Of course, all the time. Do you feel that now?”

“Yes, weirdly.”

“What do you think about it? Some people like to believe that you’ve been there in a previous life, others are morescientific.”

“What’s the scientific theory?”

“I looked it up once. It’s described as a conflict in your mind between the sensation of familiarity and the awareness that the same familiarity is in factincorrect.”

“So your mind’s playing tricks on you?”

“I guess you could say that. Apparently, as you get older, you don’t experience it as much because your mind gets weaker.”