night.
Iâd gone to bed at my usual time, but Iâd fallen asleep quickly and immediately had one of my crazy, super-detailed dreams.
This one started out pleasantly enough.
I was on a highway. It was a long, two-lane dealâ¦a place that looked familiar, but I wasnât sure why. And it was foggy. So much fog that I could barely see five feet in front of me as I drove.
Ooh. I was driving . Way cool.
I think thatâs when I suspected I was dreaming. In real life, I hadnât gotten my driverâs license or even a permit. It was just one more thing I resented about my mother. Everyone else my age had gotten their licenses, but after everything that had gone down in Connecticut, Mom didnât think it would be âa good ideaâ if I got mine.
Anyway, in the dream, I was driving, and I was trying to keep my eyes focused because it was so hard to see a thing with all the fog. Trees whipped by in my peripheral vision, and a light drizzle smeared the windshield.
Suddenly, the car slowed down despite my insistent foot on the accelerator. A light was flashing on the dashboard, and I saw that it was the gas gauge. I was running on empty.
There wasnât a soul in sight.
The car puttered to a stop, and the rain started to come down faster and harder, tapping like angry ghost fingers on the glass.
I could hear myself breathing. And I realized I was scared.
Blip. Blip. Blip. Blip.
It was a noise outside the car, something in addition to the rain. My breathing quickened, and I pressed the lock button on the inside of the door.
The noise got louder, an insistent little chirp that reminded me of a hospital heart-rate monitor. It was just a beeping sound, but for some reason I couldnât stand it, especially with the dripping of the rain. I shuddered, and the goose bumps on my forearms tingled.
I pressed my hands against the cool rubber of the steering wheel and looked down at my lap.
Why was I wearing a dress ? I never wore dresses. This one was white with little blue diamonds. It reminded me of those horrible hospital gowns doctors gave their patients to wear in the emergency room, like the gown Iâd worn whenâ¦
I looked up again, and there was a face at the window.
I jumped and smacked my hip against the emergency brake.
Contorted through the rain-smeared glass, the face was pale, ghost-like. I could see dark hair, an open mouth, dark eyesâ¦as dark as holes.
Panicked, I tried to start the car again. It sputtered and stalled.
The face leaned in, and I recognized it! Her!
Sasha? I called, and suddenly I was desperate to open the door to let the girl in.
Why was she standing in the pouring rain, on the highway in the middle of the night?
Sasha! I called out again, and finally pushed the door open.
But Sasha had already begun to walk away from the car. Somehow, she was moving so fast and had gotten so far away from me. I just wanted to get her inside where she would be warm and dry. I wanted to get her away from whatever she was walking toward.
And then, just as fast, I was out in the middle of a field, and the sun was shining. I was still in that stupid hospital gown, and Sasha was gone. It was just me and a flurry of monarch butterfliesâ¦and the woman.
The woman.
Who was she?
Across the field, I could see her. Silver hair and a hat that covered her face. I felt okay for a second. For just a second.
And then I was in a room, and there was screaming, and there was blood, so much blood , and I was covered in blood, and I could smell itâ
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
I woke up, gasping, flailing for the lamp that sat by my bed. The sheets were saturated with my sweat.
I turned on the light and sat up, breathing hard. My heart beat wildly in my chest.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
âHoly crap!â I shouted, because the sound hadnât come from my dream. Someone really was knocking on our front door.
Correction: someone was pounding on the front door.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
And
Iâd gone to bed at my usual time, but Iâd fallen asleep quickly and immediately had one of my crazy, super-detailed dreams.
This one started out pleasantly enough.
I was on a highway. It was a long, two-lane dealâ¦a place that looked familiar, but I wasnât sure why. And it was foggy. So much fog that I could barely see five feet in front of me as I drove.
Ooh. I was driving . Way cool.
I think thatâs when I suspected I was dreaming. In real life, I hadnât gotten my driverâs license or even a permit. It was just one more thing I resented about my mother. Everyone else my age had gotten their licenses, but after everything that had gone down in Connecticut, Mom didnât think it would be âa good ideaâ if I got mine.
Anyway, in the dream, I was driving, and I was trying to keep my eyes focused because it was so hard to see a thing with all the fog. Trees whipped by in my peripheral vision, and a light drizzle smeared the windshield.
Suddenly, the car slowed down despite my insistent foot on the accelerator. A light was flashing on the dashboard, and I saw that it was the gas gauge. I was running on empty.
There wasnât a soul in sight.
The car puttered to a stop, and the rain started to come down faster and harder, tapping like angry ghost fingers on the glass.
I could hear myself breathing. And I realized I was scared.
Blip. Blip. Blip. Blip.
It was a noise outside the car, something in addition to the rain. My breathing quickened, and I pressed the lock button on the inside of the door.
The noise got louder, an insistent little chirp that reminded me of a hospital heart-rate monitor. It was just a beeping sound, but for some reason I couldnât stand it, especially with the dripping of the rain. I shuddered, and the goose bumps on my forearms tingled.
I pressed my hands against the cool rubber of the steering wheel and looked down at my lap.
Why was I wearing a dress ? I never wore dresses. This one was white with little blue diamonds. It reminded me of those horrible hospital gowns doctors gave their patients to wear in the emergency room, like the gown Iâd worn whenâ¦
I looked up again, and there was a face at the window.
I jumped and smacked my hip against the emergency brake.
Contorted through the rain-smeared glass, the face was pale, ghost-like. I could see dark hair, an open mouth, dark eyesâ¦as dark as holes.
Panicked, I tried to start the car again. It sputtered and stalled.
The face leaned in, and I recognized it! Her!
Sasha? I called, and suddenly I was desperate to open the door to let the girl in.
Why was she standing in the pouring rain, on the highway in the middle of the night?
Sasha! I called out again, and finally pushed the door open.
But Sasha had already begun to walk away from the car. Somehow, she was moving so fast and had gotten so far away from me. I just wanted to get her inside where she would be warm and dry. I wanted to get her away from whatever she was walking toward.
And then, just as fast, I was out in the middle of a field, and the sun was shining. I was still in that stupid hospital gown, and Sasha was gone. It was just me and a flurry of monarch butterfliesâ¦and the woman.
The woman.
Who was she?
Across the field, I could see her. Silver hair and a hat that covered her face. I felt okay for a second. For just a second.
And then I was in a room, and there was screaming, and there was blood, so much blood , and I was covered in blood, and I could smell itâ
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
I woke up, gasping, flailing for the lamp that sat by my bed. The sheets were saturated with my sweat.
I turned on the light and sat up, breathing hard. My heart beat wildly in my chest.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
âHoly crap!â I shouted, because the sound hadnât come from my dream. Someone really was knocking on our front door.
Correction: someone was pounding on the front door.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
And
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