It is blue black everywhere. No horizon. No sound except for the water lapping against me. It’s freezing and I am alone. I start to sink and realize I am going to die.
The lapping sound stops once I disappear forever from the surface. Now the black is impenetrable and…
With a jolt, I wake up in a dark room except for a sliver of yellow light crawling towards my bed from the street light outside my window.
Covered in sweat and fear, still holding my breath, I feel no relief just yet. I am still there; suspended between the dream world and reality.
Calm down. Deep breath in. Deep breath out.
My dog Sammy is twitching away in his sleep. I hope he is the one doing the chasing in his dream.
As I sit there hugging my knees, trying to stop the shivers and shakes, Sammy opens his eyes. They are as black as night and eerily remind me of the water.
WAKE UP! He screams.
I throw myself backwards against the headboard. His mouth is getting bigger and bigger and his voice louder and louder. He is coming towards me. I turn on the light. There are bloody paw marks all over the bed, walls and floor.
I feel his fur touch my ankle.
Jolt number two and I am in a dark room with a scream in my throat. A sliver of yellow light is crawling towards my bed, but Sammy is sleeping peacefully curled up into a furry ball.
Switching on all the lights as I half stumble towards the kitchen, I pinch myself hard. OW! I am really awake now. Right? I pour myself a glass of water, then text my sister who replies with an expletive as it is 3:00 in the morning.
Alright. Everything is going to be okay, I say out loud reverting to my six year old self.
Just the same, I think I’ll stay up for a while and maybe catch a late night movie on tv.
Photo by erdinu00e7 ersoy
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