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It was warm. It was fulfilling.
I blinked in astonishment as the first
glimmer of yellow light poked its head over the horizon. The
blue dissolved into a series of hues; red, orange, purple.
I felt the sun fall upon my skin. I let it
comfort me. Embrace me. I felt safe. I was fulfilled. Then
as briefly as it arrived, it began to fade. My livelihood
sunk away.
It was about to end.
My eyelids opened to the sight of the frayed,
decaying wallpaper of my ceiling.
I sighed deeply. I clutched at my stomach. I
felt so empty. I felt so cold. This was my reality.
“Ha ha ha.”
The faint chuckle reverberated off my
eardrum.
I peeked out from my cubicle & looked for its
source.
Just as expected.
“I hate purple. It’s my worst colour.”
The owner of the voice apologised as his
friend slowly caught him up in a headlock.
I smiled crawled onto my face.
My pen fell onto the floor. Before I could
pick it up, they reached for it for me.
“Here you go, Nick.”
Before I could respond, I heard a cry of
pain.
Peeking into the room across the corridor, I
caught sight of a woman and a man.
“How can my dreams be about sex? I’m
married!” She exclaimed.
The man’s nametag read ‘Sigmund’.
“but you see, that’s precisely why they’re
about sex,” as he wiped blood from his lip.
I shook my head. This was going to be a long
day.
The lock clicked. I stumbled in. My keys fell
away. My eyelids got droopy.
It was warm.
I found myself strewn over the smooth ridges
of a cobblestone pavement.
I rose and I found myself looking up at a
grey sky.
Great weather.
A flash went by my eye. I took after it.
I stopped by a local theatre and came across
an usher.
He was actively engaged in a spirited
conversation with his friend, both chuckling.
“Excuse me.”
“Can I help you sir?” He exclaimed in a
friendly manner.
Surprised by his friendliness, I continued;
“Do you have any interesting movies due out
soon?”
Catching his breath, he started brightly;
“Yep, we sure do have lots of explicit movies
due out soon,”
I smiled slightly.
“No you didn’t hear right. I didn’t say
explicit.”
“Oh yeah, sure you didn’t.” he nudged.
I glanced at his friend who was now thrashing
about on the floor.
“Okay then.”
“Heaps good!”
I turned around to thank them and found that
they’d had gone.
“Nick!”
I turned and caught sight of someone’s shadow
against a red brick wall.
I darted my way through the swirling fog.
The clump, clump, clump of my shoes echoed
off the walls.
My best hope of making sense of it all was
growing fainter with every pant and puff.
I stopped to pull myself together for a
moment.
I looked up.
“Brrrrring!”
I cursed as I groped for the alarm clock. I
glanced at the empty spot in my bed. I shivered as the chill
descended upon me. I massaged my eyelids. I knew I was
awake.
I filled my coffee cup to the brim. The clock
read 4:00.
“Heaps good!”
I stopped dead in my tracks and spun around.
They turned to me.
“Is anything wrong Nicholas?”
“No, not at all.” I managed to their friendly
faces. I felt a pang in my stomach again.
I fitted the last article of my pyjamas on
and crept under the covers.
I hoped to find an answer. Soon. All went
black.
I found myself in a classroom. I looked at
the seats. Then I see myself in the mirror. ‘That’s
strange.” I think.
“This guy doesn’t look anything like me.”
“Crack.”
The door swung open and a group of girls
stream in.
“There you are!” they uttered, mouths
watering.
I ran for the back door.
“You’re not gonna get away with that this
time!” another voice boomed.
He shambled after me. He looked unnaturally
purple. Must be wearing a suit.
I pushed the front doors open and started
across the road.
I punched the air as I realised I lost him.
Then I saw the man of last night’s dream.
He smiled as he scurried off.
I spotted a crossing. I darted across the
road.
“Whoa!” bellowed the lollipop man in
disbelief as horns started blaring.
I turned the corner.
“Oomph!”
I looked up and encountered someone bald, who
picked up what he’d dropped and placed it on his head.
Then he picked up his box. It read ‘Apple
Pie’.
I chuckled at what had gotten that Sigmund
man into so much trouble earlier on.
“Nick.”
I craned my neck in the direction of the
sound. I spotted a window in the distance. There was that
recurring man again.
I opened my mouth to speak. My voice box
didn’t respond. I tried again to no avail.
Then it came. Shock. It shot through my
system, surfacing as a quiver.
I developed the overwhelming urge to run.
But I stayed. I won’t let him get away again.
In desperation, I drew back my fist. “Thump!”
No response.
I drew my fist back again, until my strength
could no longer support my rage.
I slumped to the floor.
My cheek came into contact with the grainy
surface of the asphalt, and I felt faint.
A hand came into my eyeline.
“It’s ok. I’m here to help.” Enunciated the
soothing voice.
I looked up at the face. It was drenched in
dark. But the tone of his voice said enough.
I took the hand.
“It’s ok, Nick. It’s going to be alright
now.” He reached out.
I jerked.
“I don’t want to wake up. I don’t want to
wake up all alone.”
He took my hand. I watched fear drain away
from my quivering hand. I fell silent.
He smiled.
The warmth returned.
“That can’t happen, Nick. You’ll never have
to feel alone again.” He assured me. |
