Chapter 1

“Believe”
An inspirational fable
By Dayle Schear

     “Hi, my name is Joe. You must be new around here. What's your name?” he asked.
      “Mary. Yes, I’m new. I work down the hall for Mr. Prescott; I’m his new secretary. Thank you so much for helping me, Joe. Well, nice to have met you. I guess I better go.” She smiled.
      Their eyes locked. It was as if she knew Joe. There was something very familiar about him. Mary turned and walked toward the office.
     “Hey, Mary!” Joe shouted. “Can we have lunch tomorrow? Maybe I can show you around and have you meet some of the co-workers so you won’t feel so awkward around here.”
      “Sure, that would be nice. My extension is 240. Give me a ring when you’re ready.” She smiled again.
      Joe was feeling cocky now, self assured. Just another conquest, he thought. “Whoa! I can’t wait to get my hands on this one,” he mumbled softly under his breath.
      The next day Mary and Joe met downstairs at an outside cafe. They were
getting to know each another. Mary was in her late twenties and had a secretarial degree from one of the finest business schools in New York. She was studying to be a stockbroker.
      Mary and Joe hit it off. He was fascinated by her. Every evening he would teach Mary about stocks and give her fine pointers into the stock market. She ate it up like candy. As the months passed, they were bonding closer and closer. For the first time in his life Joe felt alive.
      There was something special about Mary; she wasn’t like all the rest of his bimbo babes. Mary was not only intelligent, but also so soft and demure. Joe found Mary to be very spiritual and romantic. She was loving, tender,
and kind.
      As the months rolled by he was beginning to fall in love with her. There were picnics in the park and wonderful candlelight dinners. Making love to Mary was not mechanical like all the rest; it was more of an art.
      Mary was quite taken by Joe. Although she knew he was a playboy, she was enjoying the attention and the ride. One evening Mary looked into Joe’s eyes and asked. “Do you believe in soul-mates?”
      “Soul-mates. What does that mean?” he asked.
      “Well, Joe, it’s when two people meet, two people like you and me, who are very comfortable with each other. It’s as if we knew each other before somewhere in time. We complement each other. At times we’re one. A soul- mate is the missing part of you,” she explained.
      Joe shook his head in confusion. “Mary, I don’t know about soul-mates. I just know I have very deep feelings for you. I believe in my work; I believe in making money. I believe in working hard. Soul-mates I don’t
know.”
      “But Joe, we’ve been together for only a few months and you finish my sentences. You even know what I want for breakfast before I do. Doesn’t that tell you something?” She cocked her head, waiting for an answer.
      “Yes, my Dolling... It tells me I'm deeply enticed by you and want you more and more every day. That's what it tells me.” Joe chuckled.
      “Oh, Joe, I guess you don’t get it!”
      Joe, could sense that Mary was frustrated. “Okay, tell me more.” He then gave Mary his undivided attention.
      “Joe I really believe in this stuff. I’ve been reading some books and we seem to fit what they’re saying. You see, there is a theory about soul-mates versus twin-souls. Every person on earth has a twin or twin-soul. The
theory goes when God created man there lay his other half. It created a longing so deep within us that we knew some part of us was missing.” Mary looked up to make sure Joe was paying attention. He seemed fascinated.
      She continued. “Lifetime after lifetime we search for each other. We grow and go our separate ways, each of us learning to grow in our own perfect way without each other, before we can complete each other. We search for our other half on earth or in the heavens, a search that can become desperate and filled with wrong relationships, times of sadness, times of sorrow, till our twin arrives so we can become one with the universe.”
      Joe interrupted. “So that's why I’ve had so many weird relationships. You mean it’s because I never found the right one?”
      “Yes, Joe, now you’re getting it. Let me continue,” she said.
      Joe nodded.
      “Joe, look at me; look in my eyes.” Her tone was demanding. “Joe, there is only one twin-soul lifetime after lifetime. For without the reuniting of this one soul we will feel an emptiness inside of us.”
      “Mary, what’s the difference between a soul-mate and a twin-soul?” Joe asked.
      “We have many soul-mates... friends, lovers, and bosses. It means when two souls mate we become one for a short period in time. We learn all our lessons from that person, then we can stay around or move on. The choice is up to us.