A Mysterious Photo

Dave and Susan were sitting at the dining table. They were discussing a trip they were about to embark on. A trip to Dubbo. Their son Mark was now living there with his fiancée, Caroline, and they were getting married in a week.

Susan’s phone beeped letting her know she had just received an email. It was from Mark; he had sent several photos. One of the photos was of Mark and Caroline standing in front of a large weather board house.

“Oh, this a great picture of the Mark and Caroline.” Susan said as she showed the phone to Dave.

Dave looked at the photo.

“I wonder where that photo was taken.” Dave queries.

“I don’t know, why do you ask?”

“I have seen that house before” Dave replied.

“You have probably seen a similar looking house in your travels.”

Dave continued staring at the photo. The feeling he had seen that house before was quite strong. Even the large tree at the side of the house was familiar.

Neither Susan or Dave had been to Dubbo before, and they were now planning their trip.  It would take ten hours for them to drive the eight hundred kilometres from Brisbane to Dubbo and they were wondering if they should drive straight through or stop overnight along the way. Mark had recommended a couple of accommodation options in Dubbo and Dave and Susan decided to look them up on the internet. As they scrolled through the photos of Dubbo Dave had a weird feeling I had seen these sites before, just like with the house in the photo. But I couldn’t have as I know I haven't been there before he reasoned and shrugged the thought off.

They chose what they considered to be the best accommodation option and made a booking for three nights.

Dave had a lot to take care of before their trip so decided to turn in early. It was nine pm which is early for him. He laid in bed wide awake, his head filled with thoughts. After a half an hour of fidgeting Dave decided to get out of bed.

Susan had managed to drop off, so he decided to go and sit in the lounge room for a while. His thoughts returned to Dubbo, he wondered why he was having such, strong, feelings about having been there before? He picked up his phone and looked at the photo of Mark and Caroline standing in front of the house. He had gotten Susan to send it to him. Why, am I feeling so emotional over a photo of an old house, he was wondering.  Dave grabbed the I-Pad and googled Dubbo again. The more he looked at the photos of the town the stronger his feelings were that he had been there.

Dave woke up with a start, he looked at the clock it was two am. He was covered in a lather of sweat. He had been dreaming, about of all things Dubbo. He went into the kitchen and heated up a glass of milk and decided to settle back down on the recliner chair in the lounge room as he didn’t want to disturb Susan.

Dave woke up again to the sound of bird calls. He looked at the clock, it was six am. He felt drained as he had a terrible night. He decided to make a coffee and was sitting at the table sipping his coffee and was joined by Susan.

“What happened to you last night” She asked.

“I couldn’t sleep to I decided to sit in the lounge room for a while and fell asleep.” Dave replied.

“You have been acting strange, is there something bothering you Dave?” Susan asked

He didn’t know how to reply. If he told her he was having DeJa'Vu feelings about Dubbo, she would think he was stupid, and why not he was feeling that way himself.

“No all good” he replied.

They had a lot to do before they started their trip, and it kept Dave’s mind busy. They had packed the car and were on the road heading to Toowoomba. They were making good time, and it wasn’t long before they had crossed into NSW. As they travelled further south passing through these western NSW towns Dave’s feelings that he had been here before was getting stronger. They passed through Gilgandra and were heading the final 65kms to Dubbo.

They reached Dubbo and drove to the accommodation they had booked. It was a recently built building and was well set out and very comfortable. With the opening of the zoo, Dubbo had become a very popular destination.

Susan rang Mark and he came straight over. He was wearing a broad grin and gave them both a hardy hug.

“God, it’s good to have you here. “He said still wearing his broad grin.

“Yes, we are so happy to be here too, when do we get to meet Caroline?” Susan asked.

“When you are settled and feeling up to it, we can go over to her parent's place, she is there. She can’t wait to meet you both.” Mark replied.

They climbed into Mark’s car and headed to Carols parents' place. Dave was feeling weird. The sensation that he had been here before was now overpowering. Memories started flashing into his mind. He felt Susan grab his arm.

“Are you ok Dave?” She asked with a tone of concern in her voice.

 “Are, yes I’m fine just tired from the trip” he replied.

They pulled up out the front of a large weather board house wrapped with wide verandas. It was the house in the photo.

“Are you sure you are ok Dad?” Mark asked.

“Yes, I’m fine, maybe I can get a cup of coffee”

“Yea sure I will get one for you.” Mark replied.

They walked up onto the veranda and were greeted by Caroline. She had a huge smile on her face.

“Hello, we finally get to meet.” She said and threw her arms around Susan and gave her a hug, then did the same to Dave. They all went into the house and Mark went to the kitchen to boil the jug.

“Please take a seat” Caroline urged pointing to the lounge. 

“My parents are out getting a few things they will be back soon.”

Susan and Caroline were busy in conversation and Dave sat bewildered by all of the thoughts that were flashing through his mind. He had been in this house before, the furniture was different, but he knew this house.

“How long has your family owned this house Caroline” Dave asked.

“Oh, I’m not sure it belonged to my grandparents, and it was left to my mother when they passed. Why do you ask?” Caroline queried.

Dave was feeling uncomfortable and wanted to know all about the house but decided to get a grip on himself and focus on the reason they had come here, the wedding.

It wasn’t long and the front screen door opened, and Caroline’s mother Nancy walked in.

Caroline stood up and said smiling. “Mum this is Marks mother and father Dave and Susan. Dave and Susan this is my Mum Nancy.”

They all sat chatting and getting to know each other.

“Your father will be home soon he is still dealing with a few things to ensure everything goes smoothly on the big day.” Said Nancy.

“Mum, Dave asked how long the family has owned the house” Caroline said.

“My grandparents bought it back in the 60’s from an old lady who had owned the house for fifty years. She was a widow and had lived here by herself since her husband had died in an accident. There are some pictures of the house taken back decades ago they in a draw over there I will get them” Nancy went and retrieved the photos and sat back down next to Dave and pulled one out and looked at it.

“This is one of the original owners the lady and her husband before he was killed” Nancy said still studying the photo.

“The man in the photo is the spitting image of you Dave. They say we all have a double and here is yours” Nancy handed the photo to Dave.

Dave took the photo, looked at it and all the memories flooded back into his head.

His beautiful wife Marion, living in this house, his job as a livestock agent, and the day he was killed by a large bull.

He sat staring at the photo with all of these memories and emotions filling his head. He could hear Susan talking and looked up.

“Show me the photo Dave I want to see your double” Susan said holding out her hand.

Dave handed her the photo.

“I’ll be dammed, the man in this photo is the spitting image of you Dave, this, is amazing.” Mark and Caroline joined Susan and they were now all looking at the photo.

Nancy had handed Dave another photo which was of Marion standing in the garden holding flowers and smiling. Dave felt tears welling up in his eyes. I’m sorry I left you baby Dave thought. He quickly wiped his eyes. He was feeling unbelievably sad. He and Marion had been deeply in love they wanted children but were not able to.

“What other photos do you have there Dave?” Susan asked holding out her hand.

Dave felt annoyed and didn’t want to hand the photo over and wanted to say my name is Harry. He took another look at the photo of Marion and handed it to Susan.

“Can I use the toilet please?” Dave asked

“Yes, it is through that door over there” Nancy replied.

Dave didn’t need to be told where the bathroom was, he knew every inch of the house.

Dave stood in the bathroom looking at himself in the mirror.

Who am I Dave or Harry?

He didn’t know how to feel.

Is this a result of reincarnation?

Does everyone come back and live other lives?

Am I going to wake up and find I’m dreaming?

Dave Re-joined the others in the lounge room and sat listening to them talking about the wedding.

He was feeling that he had come home, and he wasn’t Dave he was Harry.

He had a lot to think about.