by Tracey Ward
“’Tranquility of mind is found in a steady purpose,’” I quote.
She wrinkles her nose in disgust. “Bleh.”
“That’s what I thought.”
She shoots me a sideways glance. Her eyes are hazel, deep and round. I don’t remember them from the last time – the first time – I saw her, but now I have trouble looking away. They’re soft and beautiful, and if I let my cynicism take a break for a minute, I can admit that she is beautiful. Young and fresh looking, dressed casual in jeans and a T-shirt. She’s not too thin and not too thick. She’s healthy with full cheeks and a wide smile.
I didn’t realize until this moment that I had a ‘type’, but there she sits. Made to order by my own imagination. It’s like Weird Science without all the mess.
She blinks her big eyes, asking abruptly, “What’s your name?”
“Nick,” I answer curtly.
“Nice to meet you, Nick. Alive this time.”
“Yeah, you too.”
“Alex.”
I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter.”
“That’s harsh,” she chuckles.
“You’ll get over it.”
“I guess I’ll have to if we’re going to keep bumping into each other like this.”
My spine feels taught, a wire strung too tightly. “This is going to keep happening?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think it’s up to me.”
Spoken like a shrink. I didn’t like talking to one when I was a kid and I definitely don’t need to start self-diagnosing in my sleep like this. I don’t have the time or patience.
“If it’s up to me,” I tell her coldly, “it ends here.”
She shrugs, unconcerned by my tone or my certainty. “I guess we’ll see.”
I look down at our feet hovering above the water. Anywhere but at her and her infuriating cool. She’s a mirror of the lake; calm and even. The surface looks like glass. Solid and unmoving. Like you could step down and walk on it. And why couldn’t I? This is a dream, isn’t it?
I scoot forward on the dock, edging my butt toward the edge.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Alex warns lightly.
“But you’re not me.”
“You got me there.”
I hesitate, my hands gripping hard to the rough edge of the boards underneath me. “What will happen?” I ask despite myself.
She shrugs. “I don’t know. This is your dream so that’s up to you, but considering whatever happened to you the other night, I wouldn’t tangle with water for a while.”
I don’t move from my now perilous perch on the edge of the dock. Obviously I don’t feel any fear, but it’s not just that that keeps me considering a jump onto the surface. Her warning has no weight. What happened to me isn’t still with me. I’m not carrying it around like a ticking time bomb of emotions waiting to explode.
“Why?” I push.
She sighs, sounding suddenly tired. Her breath stirs a ripple on the surface of the water, tiny but significant. It immediately changes the way I see the water. The way I see her. “A dream can turn into a nightmare in a heartbeat. Whatever happened to you, I’m guessing it was pretty major. The ‘not breathing’ kind of major. Water might seem simple to you right now but if you jump in you could trigger something. Tap into a fear you don’t know you have and things can get dark real fast.”
“Are you speaking from experience?”
“Everyone is afraid of something,” she answers softly. “Rule two of dreaming; don’t bring in your fears if you can help it.”
Easier not to have them to begin with, I think smugly.
“Have any more deep insights you want— “
∞
It’s wake up call. 4:30 a.m. The image of the sunset and the lake are burned into my vision. My unfinished question still sits on my tongue, in the back of my throat. That dream was too real. The girl was too real. I can see her eyes, hear her voice. I think I’m going insane. Maybe I have latent brain damage from oxygen deprivation.
Dying may have been more serious than I first presumed.
END PREVIEW
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About the Author
I was born in Eugene, Oregon and studied English Literature at the University of Oregon (Go Ducks!) It was there that I discovered why Latin is a dead language and that being an English teacher was not actually what I wanted to do with my life.
My husband, my son and my 80lbs pitbull who thinks he's a lapdog are my world.
Visit my website for more information on upcoming releases, Tracey Ward