She
awoke with a start; heart pounding, sweat dabbing at her forehead, breath
coming out in short, uneven gasps. It was
just a dream, she thought. It’s always
just a dream.
It was
never just a dream.
It was
2:16 in the morning. Across town, young adults were still partying. Even if the
pounding beat of the clubs died down and the bouncers kicked them out, they
would carry on, the smell of alcohol following them faithfully around town. In
her own neighbourhood, the streets were quiet. Filled with families and elderly
couples, each house had turned in for the night. The lights were dark, the
inhabitants sleeping and dreaming peacefully.
Partiers
and dreamers. Neither act really appealed to her. So instead, she walked.
She
walked down the stairs; past her worn mother, asleep on the couch. She walked
out the door; a shiver voiced her skin’s complaints at the sudden change in
temperature. She hadn’t thought to grab a coat.
She
walked down the street, past her sleeping neighbours in their silent houses,
past the deserted parks and darkened store windows. She walked until her skin
felt tight and stiff from the cold, until her feet started to complain, until
dreaming finally started to appeal to her. She walked until her legs gave out,
sending her spiraling downwards. The ground was like liquid; she sunk beneath
it as she fell, the cold earth swallowing her. The ground was alive; it reached
up, closed itself around her neck, too eager and impatient for her to sink naturally.
It had to pull her down itself.
She
awoke with a start; heart pounded, sweat dabbing at her forehead, breath coming
out in short gasps. It was just a dream.
It was
never just a dream for her.
~~
Until later,
- Justyne
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