My heart raced. I was frozen. Thoughts
began flooding my mind. Did I leave the kitchen light on? What about the foyer?
Did I turn the foyer light off? I remembered turning the entry and kitchen
light on, but I do not remember turning either one off…I began to panic. Who
would be here? Gathering courage I peered at the cabin’s reflection in the
window. Nothing was there and the light was back on. What in the world is wrong
with me? The awareness of the wine glass in my hand slowly came back to me.
Maybe between the stress and wine I just imagined the shadow?
With trepidation, I walked slowly to the
front door and peeked around the corner into the pantry, after verifying the
front door was locked. I convinced myself I was seeing things due to tiredness
perpetuated by a glass of wine. It was time for bed.
THWAP!
I jumped. What was that?
CRACK!
I jumped again. Was that a whip? The
lights began to flicker, creating a disorienting ambiance. My breaths became
short and quick. My heart was racing. Maybe I didn’t imagine the shadow. I
rubbed my forehead in an effort to dispel the headache that was creeping up on
me. My nerves were shot.
Breathe in…
Breathe out…
In.
Out.
I shook my limbs out. I am an adult. It
is time to assess the situation. I decided I wanted to be able to look outside
without feeling as if I was on display. Starting with the foyer I turned off
all of the lights, save the fireplace. Thinking back, the startling noise
seemed to come from the behind the cabin. I can do this. I walked to the
windows and looked outside. It was completely black.
In an instant the entire night sky
became illuminated with the flash of a fierce lightning bolt. Two seconds
later…
CRACK! BOOM!
The thunder faded into a rumble and all
was dark again. I was in awe. An incredible storm rolled in. Nerves calmed, I
stood and stared eager to watch the show. With the next bolt of luminance came
a succession of banging on the front door, resulting in my hearts attempt at
escape, accompanied with a shriek. Whipping around, my breath caught in my
throat. I moved slowly toward the front door…Again.
There were three more knocks followed by
a muffled voice, “Ivy! Are you ok in there? It’s the sheriff, Todd.”
I almost laughed in relief. Rushing to the
door, I quickly undid the locks and invited him in.
“Hey there, are you ok? You look
frightened.” He was wet head to toe, rivulets of water streaming down his hat.
“Yeah, I’m ok. You gave me a fright,
though.” I felt silly. I felt my goofy grin spreading across my face and I was
having a hard time making eye contact. “How long were you out there?”
The sheriff removed his hat and hung it
on a free standing coat rack by the door, I only just now noticed. “I just got
here. I wanted to see that you were ok for the storm. It’s a pretty wicked
storm and there are a couple of trees down. Are you settled alright? Did your
power go out?” He looked around the cabin, running his fingers through his
hair.
Now, what do I do here? Do I choose
total transparency and tell him of my clearly unwarranted fear? What if it
wasn’t unwarranted? Do I mention the shadow? What if I was just seeing things?
I rubbed my head again. “I’m settled.
And, yes, the power flickered, but I chose to shut off the lights so I could
enjoy the beautiful storm…Would you like to come in and warm by the fire with
some hot cocoa?” I met his eyes, happy to see a slight twinkle within coupled
with warmth. Though it’s dark the lighting was able to give enough luminance
to reassure me. It made me smile and I am sure I blushed. Fortunately, I had
the foresight to turn off all light. Stella would love this. If she were here,
she would wink at me and then elbow my ribs.
He returned my smile, “I would love
nothing more, but I still have a handful of patrons to check in on. We have a
few other families visiting the cabins this week…” He paused in a moment of
pondering. My heart was still beating rapidly, however the circumstances had
changed.
“Raincheck?” He reached for his hat,
placing it upon his luscious blonde hair. He paused in the open door, half in,
half out awaiting my response.
“Uh-huh…” I am so eloquent…not! He was
gracious enough to smile, and then he tipped his hat and was gone.
As I stared at the door, I thought about
calling Stella to share this visit with her. Then I thought about Stella and
how long I would be on the phone and felt my body screaming at me in agony from
need of sleep. Choosing slumber over gossip, I put on my pajamas and brushed my
teeth. Normally I read in bed a bit before lights out, but tonight my eyes did
not want to focus.
I was dead to the world upon resting my
head on the amazing feather pillow, taken to another place within the
dimensions of my mind.
Floating
on clouds, I approached a shimmering rainbow I wanted to slide down. Focusing
my thoughts on said rainbow I was magically sitting on it. As the air rushed
through my long brunette hair, I became invigorated. Laughs escaped from me,
freedom wrapped itself around my being, and my thoughts were full of joy.
I
wanted to ride this rainbow forever. Then I fell vertically, slipping right off
the rainbow into a dark hole. Fear and confusion quickly replaced joy and
laughter. Whispers assaulted me from everywhere. I felt a shudder, my momentum
interrupted. Everywhere I turned, blackness, though I was under a spot light.
The whispers echoed, haunting me. I tried but failed at making out their words.
Petrified, I closed my eyes, trying to will myself back into my cloud floating
dream. I did not go back to that wonderful dream…
The
room, lavender walls from the whitewashed chair rail up the sloped ceilings.
There were two windows, one to my right and a dormer directly in front of me.
They were dressed in flowing white curtains possessing a minimal floral print.
Something was different. The curtains are normally still, not flowing. This is
odd. Why are the windows before me becoming larger?
My
heart was racing. My palms felt sweaty. The pit of my stomach burned with
nausea. Outside of the shift in room perspective, I was still outside of my
body. As I approached the window, I heard a voice shouting at me from within:
“NO!”
My
senses heightened, coldness enveloped my body. I tried to stop, but the moment
I entered this lavender nightmare I lost all control of my dream. The window
grew in size. The anticipation of what was outside became an unbearable animal
trying to break free of a cage. As much as I did not want to see what was out
there, I could not help but wish to see in hopes the nightmare would be over.
PAHSHUEW!
CRACK!
There
was a flash of light accompanying a sudden pressure within my ears, as an earsplitting
sonic boom echoed around me. The explosion rocked me backward, everything in
slow motion. The ringing in my ear became exacerbated as silence consumed the
space. I fell backward, an irrepressible scream commenced.
I
just fell…
And
fell…
Terrified,
the scream encompassed my entire being, foreseeing the inevitable death awaiting
me upon my landing – I’M GOING TO DIE!
I slowly came to the realization I was
stuck in a dream, transitioning into reality. Still screaming with all of my
might in hopes of being saved, I was aware that not a single sound was escaping
my mouth. I felt frozen in the arms of fear, unable to move a single muscle.
Finally my eyes opened, reveling in the
rays of sunlight streaming through the windows. Heart still pounding, I sat up
looking about the room disoriented in my surroundings. It took me a moment to
recognize that I was not at home in my bed, but in the cabin retreat. My
breaths became regulated as my heart slowed. I let my head fall back to the
pillow, covering my face with my hands. “It was just a dream. A dream…”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
What do you think happened in the dream? Share your thoughts by posting a comment...
Share what you think will happen! Share your favorite parts of the story!
Sometimes out of nowhere, in a place you would least expect it, a writer captures very your soul leaving you longing for more. Keep doing what you are doing....You have my attention
ReplyDelete