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#4 is named...
Déjà Vu (Part I)
I found myself in an up roaring panic on the chaotic streets of Paris, France. I wore nothing more than the shirt I bought the day before, a pair of dress shoes, and my favorite pair of dress pants. Paris, the most romantic city that was able to un-clutter itself from my mind, was then torn to shreds. The streets littered themselves with angry and frightened mothers, salesmen, and grocery store clerks. The walls of dismantled buildings seemed to be sprayed an ugly reddish brown. As I ran, I watched- almost in slow motion- as the explosions of nearby cars blinded me. Men gallivanted with rifles and handguns towards crowds upon crowds of people. It hurt to dream about what would soon happen to the people in those crowds, guns locked and loaded, drawn and fingered.
All I could think of was returning to the rotary to find Julia, my girlfriend of three years. We'd traveled to Paris for our three-year anniversary, where I had planned to propose to her. Finally I found her, with but five breaths left to live. The first she used on my name. The second, and third were both a long pause. The fourth was a cough, and the fifth spoke "I'll love you forever." That was all, and as quick as she passed, was as quick as I mourned. I turned sharply to my left and discovered myself in pursuit by three men. I sprinted to the nearest building, and into its back room. I galloped up a flight of steps, and then up two more flights, feeling them cave with each step. Shots being fired echoed through the eerie stairwell caked with bloodshed and the faint sound of a child's screech. One shot nearly grazed my backside. To the roof I fell, slamming my knee on the top two steps. The skyline of buildings was gray of blaze, and was unimaginably reduced to mere rubble.
Local French terrorists drew back the roof door I claimed as my sanctuary. In a split second of ecstasy, shock and disbelief, I turned and leaped at a near rooftop. Shots were fired, and in mid-air I watched a squirt of blood escape my torn pant leg. I’d been shot. I couldn’t feel it because the amount of time that had passed before I realized I was quickly plummeting towards the remnants and rocky remains of the shattered city. Sudden death was simply seconds away, but instead, I sat up in bed with a cold sweat, my heart was racing, and I later realized Julia had been shaking me restless. She told me I awoke her with my screams. She seemed restless and so had I at that time, so we made love until late in the morning, despite our lack of sleep.
Paris, France was then beautiful.