Tale #42 -- Second Sight

One Thursday afternoon at a quarter to four, the doorbell at 906 Alexandra rang.

"I hope that's not another one of those salespeople," Oreo said. "David McDougall always gets annoyed when they show up."

Bandit looked out the window. "It's Ben!"

David McDougall went to the door. "Hello, Ben," he said. "What can I do for you?"

"I saw your truck in the driveway," Ben said. "I wondered if you would like a visit."

"I have flex hours, so I took the afternoon off," David McDougall said. "I'm watching TV. You can join me if you want."

David McDougall was watching a program called Frontiers of Construction. It told all about how the Tokyo airport was built. Ben tried to pay attention, but his mind soon started to wander. He wanted to talk. He waited impatiently for a commercial break.

"Mr. McDougall . . .?" Ben asked.

"Yes?" David McDougall answered.

"What is Second Sight?"

"That's an interesting question! Why do you want to know?" David McDougall answered.

"It's mentioned in the book you gave me."

"Well," said David McDougall, "it's a special ability to see things that other people can't, like fairies and ghosts and sometimes the future."

"Is Second Sight real?" Ben asked.

"That depends," David McDougall said. "Some people think it's just imagination."

"What do you think?" Ben asked.

The commercial break was over, and David McDougall started watching his program again. Ben waited for the next commercial break. Oreo came and jumped on his lap. "Brush me! Brush me!" she said. Ben picked up the cat brush and started to work.

"That's wonderful," Oreo purred. "Keep it up!"

When the next commercial break came, Ben asked again, "Do you think Second Sight is real?"

"I'm just a computer geek," David McDougall said. "I know about information and statistics. I don't pay much attention to the paranormal."

"Well," said Ben, "Sometimes I think that I can understand what the cats are saying. And sometimes I see my grandmother, even though she died three years ago."

"You see your grandmother?" David McDougall said. "You mean you dream about her."

"Yes, I do," Ben said. "But sometimes it feels like I'm awake, and she's really there."

David McDougall looked at Ben and nodded. "I know what you mean."