The rain was coming down in sheets, lashing against the windows of the small flat. Thunder rolled in the distance, almost covering up the sound of a frantic doorbell ringing. But he’d been expecting his visitor for sometime, so on the third ring, Professor Pendergast opened the front door. “Why hello!” He told the, somewhat wet and bedraggled coed standing out on his doorstep. “I’m glad you made it safely.”

The young woman nodded, shivering slightly, as she quickly stepped inside, eager to get out of the cold rain. She stood, dripping on the entry hall, trying to wring some of the wetness out of her long, auburn hair as she looked around. The Professor has something of a reputation on campus as the “weird professor” and his house, what she could see of it from here at least, seemed to live up to that reputation.

The walls were crowded with curios and artifacts of every kind: african tribal masks jockeyed for spaced with medieval manuscripts while the shelves were crowded with little statuettes and figurines from at least half a dozen different religions, ancient and modern. Briefly, she considered turning and leaving right now, but the thought of heading back out into that storm gave her pause. And besides, she needed the money.

$500 for assisting him with his research project? Even if the only thing he was researching was “how to get a coed in bed”, it wasn’t like she hadn’t done worse to get her grades up in the past. At least Professor Pendergast was fairly young, in his late 30s or early 40s, his hair still dark and full. Beneath the academic sweater and dark slacks he wore, his body, while by no means super fit or athletic, at least wasn’t flabby.

“May I take your coat?” The professor asked, extending a hand, “Miss...”

“Flora.” The young woman replied. “Flora Devon.” She unzipped her jacket and slipped it off. Underneath, she had on the usual sort of outfit she wore around campus, when the weather permitted: a lightly colored tank top, blue jean shorts, socks and tennis shoes. Simple, easy and did a great job showing off what five years of high school and college volleyball practice had achieved.

“Well then...” The professor said, after her wet coat had been hung up on a coat rack to dry. “shall we begin.” He turned, motioning for her to follow.

Flora nodded, and started after him. “Just what will we begin?” She asked.

“I am currently involved in a long running study into the theory of reincarnation...” Professor Pendergast told Flora. He led her into a study, the walls filled with the same eccentric curios as the entryway, at least those not filled with heavy oak shelves groaning under the weight of countless thick books. “It is my theory that everyone has past lives, going back through the ages, and that it is possible to recover memories from those lives.”

He directed the coed to the center of the room, where an old fashioned psychologists couch was sat beside an overstuffed armchair. “Naturally, this opens all sorts of possibilities for expanding our understanding of history, metaphysics, philosophy...”

“How do you...er...recover these memories?” Flora asked, skeptically as she lay down in the chair.

“Hypnosis, of course.” The professor replied with a smile.

She smirked with amusement as well. “What, do you have a pocket watch on a chain, or something. Am I going to have to bark like a dog.”

He chuckled. “Oh no...I assure you, this is nothing like those stage performances. We’ve advanced the science of hypnosis a great deal, I and my colleagues.” She nodded, but still had a smirk on her face.

“Now...” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “Just lie back, focus on your breathing, long breaths...in and out...in and out...”

“Will I be getting sleepy?” She asked, with a giggle.

“In a moment...” He replied. “For now, just keep breathing… in and out...” He continued to walk her through her breathing, tapping something on his phone. Despite herself, Flora found herself getting into a relaxed state as she lay, carefully regulating her breathing.

“Now...take a look at this.” The professor held his phone up in front of Flora’s face. The screen was displaying a shifting rainbow of colors, flowing and transforming with no apparent pattern the young woman could see, but she found oddly calming. As she continued breathing in and out, her eyes became heavy. Before she was even aware of it, she slipped into a gentle slumber.

The professor smiled. “Can you hear me, Flora?” He asked in a quiet voice.

“Yes...” The coed replied, without waking up.

“I want you to think back...deep...deep down...try and remember, before you were born...before you were Flora...do you remember.”

“...Yes. I remember.” Flora said, after a long moment.

“What do you see?”

“A valley...there’s ice...a huge wall of ice to the north.”

“And what are you doing?”

“I’m gathering plants in the valley...”